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Striped Bass Rigs

Things can get a bit confusing when walking down the aisle of a tackle shop in pursuit of productive striper lures. For an angler new to light tackle fishing, any number of questions can arise. What size is best? What about colors? Which lure is best for a given situation? How many should I buy? This last question is easy. As a rule, buy lures in pairs. This wayyou have a spare should one be lost in the course of a day’s fishing. If it becomes the “lure of the day” you can offer the second one, for a slight fee of course, to your fishing partner. Read on and you will find the best scenarios for when to use which type of lure.

The Hi-Low Rig
If you are a beach fisherman in the early season, you are no stranger to the hi-low rig. This rig makes a good choice for use with sandworms, clams and cut baits such as mackerel and bunker. The rig is basically designed to present one of the baits close to the bottom and the other bait about 1 or 2 off the bottom.

The basic hi-low rig can be put together several ways; however, the most common way is to make a double loop on each end of a length of leader line, leaving a 6 to 12 inch length of line on each end on which you snell a hook. A swivel is placed on the top loop, which is then attached to your main line, while a sinker (pyramid for surf-fishing, and a bank sinker for boat fishing) is placed on the bottom loop.

 

No matter how you put together your hi-low rig, one important consideration is the size of the hook you use. When using worms, a short- shank, bait-holder type hook in size 2, 1 or 1/0 will work best. If you choose to use clams or cut baits for bait, bait-holder hooks in sizes 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0 will give you the best results.

Some states have mandated the use of a circle hook when bait-fishing for striped bass, so consult your state's regulations on the use of hooks when bait-fishing.

In-line Sinker Drift Rig
One of the top ways of taking early season stripers from boats is by drifting different baits such as cut bunker, bunker heads, eels and worms. In recent years, a lot more anglers have also started drifting clams for stripers. The one thing most coastal areas have in common, especially in the northern portion of coast, is a healthy stock of surf clams. The abundance of this readily obtained bait has caused more and more serious striper fishermen to use clams during the early season.

When it comes to drifting baits for stripers, the use of conventional tackle and braided line has become the standard among most seasoned bass fishermen. There are two things that favor the use of conventional tackle spooled with braided line.

First, conventional reels employ a direct pull drag system where the line is pulled directly off the spool, instead of an offset drag system like most spinning reels use. This direct pull drag, and no-stretch line, offers a big advantage when using several rods that are held in rod holders to drift the baits. Second, the use of braided line gives the angler a better hook set because of its no-stretch characteristics. Its thin diameter also allows for a better drift with less line drag.

In-line drifting rigs can be put together in several different ways, the most common of which is to snell a hook to a length of leader and attach it directly to your main line via a swivel. Your next step is to attach an in-line wrap around a rubber-core sinker to the line above the swivel. A better way to set up your in-line rig is by changing the sinker to an in-line swivel (a slender sinker with a swivel at each end) or chain sinker. You can then attach you leader and hook directly to the sinker. This type of rig eliminates a lot of the line twist associated with drifting baits, especially when using live eels.

 

A third alternative for this type of rig is through the use of an egg sinker, which is placed on the main line above a swivel. Your leader and hook is then attached to the swivel. As with the previous rig, the size of the hook is dictated by the type of bait you are using.

Three-Way Swivel Rig

Some of the better striped bass fishing in the early spring is in the deeper channels of the bays and tidal rivers where the currents can be very strong. Taking bass from these faster moving currents requires a rig that will not only hold the bait tight to the bottom but will also allow it plenty of movement when drifting. Here, too, conventional tackle and braided line are a better choice for this type of fishing. In addition to the better drag system on conventional tackle and the advantages of braided line, the deeper water and faster currents you are fishing require the use of heavier sinkers.

Of the three rigs we have mentioned, the three-way swivel rig is the simplest to set up. All that is needed is a three-way swivel that is attached directly to your main line, a sinker snap that is attached to the three-way swivel to hold your sinker, and a hook snelled on a length of leader line.

For this type of rig you will want a longer leader (1 to 3 feet long), which will allow your baits to drift slightly off the bottom with a lot of action. The use of stiffer leader material is also recommenced, since the faster currents and deeper water can cause the leader to get twisted and tangled. The use of a stiffer leader will help keep the rig working properly.