Hudson River striped bass fishing season: Use of ‘in-line’ circle hooks with bait mandatory

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This year’s recreational striped bass fishing season on the Hudson River kicked off April 1, with a new mandatory “in-line” circle hook regulation for those anglers fishing with bait scheduled to begin soon.

Striped bass are anadromous. They live adult lives in the ocean but migrate into brackish bays and freshwater rivers to spawn.

The Hudson River, where each year a number travel all the way up the river to federal dam in Troy, is one of their main spawning grounds on the East Coast. Spring is the best time to fish for the fish. The recreational striped bass fishing season for areas in the river north of the George Washington Bridge continues until Nov. 30.

2020 Upstate NY striped bass fishing

Jessica Wagenbaugh, of Earlton, N.Y. with her first striped bass measuring more than 40 inches (40.5 inches). It was caught in the Hudson River on live herring near Catskill on April 3.

At this point in the season, the Hudson’s water temperature is about 50 degrees, still too cool for the fish to spawn. But that’s expected to change in the next couple of weeks and there are already stripers in the river. Meanwhile, the annual run of herring in the river, an ocean baitfish that the stripers follow in, is just beginning and a good sign, according to several sources.

The fishing should start picking up in a couple of weeks as the real big stripers start pouring into the river, with things normally peaking during the first two weeks of May, according to Tom Gentalen, owner of the River Basin Sports Shop in Catskill in Greene County.

Gentalen said anglers are currently reporting catches in the 18-20 inch range, with a couple in the 27-28 inch range – all mostly caught using live herring or blood worms for bait.

Capt. Richard Booth, of Reel Happy Charters out of Cairo, hasn’t gotten his boat out yet and is slated to take his first client out April 22. He has also heard that the fishing has been slow, noting a 24-incher was caught this week around Newburgh by an angler casting a stickbait.

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on the Hudson River striped bass fishing scene as boat launches and marinas were closed for most of the spring and fishing guides were deemed non-essential businesses and not allowed to take out clients.

The marinas and launches eventually opened, but the guides were still on lockdown for those of the season. “Things opened up May 25, which for us – it’s done,” Booth said. “Other people went out without clients. I never got out once.”

Mike Tracey, of Monster Hunter Charters up near Troy, said last year he didn’t have any paid outings and refunded all the deposits. He noted anglers who got on the water had good luck.

‘It was a stellar year. I wish I could have taken clients out,” he said.

Tracey expects to get his boat out on the water next week, noting he’s waiting for docks to get put in. His first guided trip for this season is set for April 20, adding after that he’s booked for trips “”straight through May 15.”

The new circle hook regulation follows a change last year in the slot limit on the river that only allowed anglers fishing on the Hudson north of the George Washington Bridge to keep fish one fish measuring between 18 and 28 inches. Previously, regulations allowed that the one fish kept could be a “trophy fish” measuring 40 inches or longer.

No more. These big fish must be released.

2020 Upstate NY striped bass fishing

Marc Yander, of Catskill, caught and released this 41-inch striped bass last year fishing from the shore of the Hudson River in Greene County. He used a live herring as bait.

The new regulations are the result of the state Department of Environmental Conservation working collaboratively with the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission in its effort to increase the survival rate of striped bass caught by recreational and marine anglers. Studies have determined the striped bass fishery along the East Coast is being overfished, that the fishery is currently at a 25-year low point and that steps need be taken by each state to turn things around.

Stiped bass caught on the Hudson River

The clear majority of striped bass caught in the Hudson River measuring more than 30 inches are females, according to the DEC. NYS DEC graphic.

The rationale behind the DEC’s decision to eliminate the “trophy fish” option, which had been in place since 2015, was that most fish caught in the river measuring more than 30 inches are most likely spawning females.

In marine waters and stretches of the Hudson River south of the George Washington Bridge, the recreational slot limit for recreational anglers to keep a fish is 28 to 35 inches and the season is open April 15 through Dec. 15.

Gentalen said many anglers he’s talked to say the new slot restrictions on the river are “a crock,” noting that fish the anglers are catching upstream on the river and letting go are being kept downstream and on the state’s coastal waters.

Charles Witek, of West Babylon, an outdoors writer and a member of New York ‘s Marine Resources Advisory Council, points out said the regulations for the Hudson are currently the most liberal of any striped bass spawning waterway on the East Coast.

In other waterways in other states, Witek said, fishing for striped bass during the spring spawning run is either banned or completely catch and release.

As for the new circle hook regulation, Gentalen said there’s some confusion out there among Hudson River anglers. One reason is the fact that the DEC’s annual fishing guide, normally out this time of year, hasn’t been made available yet to anglers. DEC officials say it’s due out sometime during the middle of this month.

The new circle hook regulation is slated to begin on April 15. Meanwhile, anglers are being asked to voluntarily practice it until that time. Circle hooks will not be required when fishing with an artificial lure, whether or not they are tipped with bait.

The regulation, applies to all New York State waters where recreational fishing for Atlantic striped bass occurs, including coastal waters of Long Island and New York City, the Delaware River, and the Hudson River to the Federal Dam in Troy, New York.

Research has shown that anglers fishing with bait and using circle hooks are less likely to “gut hook” a fish. And more often than not, the fish will get hooked on the side of the mouth, making for a quick, easy release and less damaging injuries to the fish. When regular J-hooks are used, there’s a greater incidence of gutting hooking and puncturing the fish’s organs, causing fatal injuries.

One things that anglers need to be aware of, Gentalen and Witek said, is that the new regulations require “in-line” circle hooks and that “off-set” circle hooks are not allowed.

The difference? “In-line circle hooks lay flat on a surface, off-set circle hooks do not,” Gentalen said.

Witek added the reason off-set circle hooks are banned is that they are less effective in reducing the number of gut-hooked fish.

Fishing hooks

A state Department of Environmental Conservation showing the difference between J hooks and in-line (non-offset) and offset circle hooks. The in-line hooks are now required for fishing with bait for striped bass in New York’s fresh and salt waters.

Visit DEC’s Best Practices for Saltwater Fishing webpage for more information on circle hooks and fish handling tips.

Anglers who fish for striped bass are encouraged to participate in DEC’s Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Program.

For more information, anglers north of the George Washington Bridge in the tidal Hudson River can email [email protected] or visit DEC’s Hudson River Striped Bass webpage.

SEND US YOUR HUDSON RIVER STRIPED BASS PHOTOS:

Photos should be sent to outdoors writer David Figura at [email protected]. Angler who caught the fish needs to be in the photo. Include the full name of the angler, where he or she lives, when and where the fish was caught — and on what.

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