Striped Bass Jigging/Popping with Studio Ocean Mark team

[Kil Song]

07-18

 I drove up to Cape Cod with Studio Ocean Mark team for striped bass jigging/popping.
SOM team never caught striped bass, but they wanted to try with light tackle with which they catch Japanese seabass called Suzuki. I encouraged  they could do it as I personally use a light GLoomis 723 rod for strped bass fishing here.
Weather forecast on Tuesday (07-18) was breezy in the morning and light wind in the afternoon.
But it was wrong. we had stiff 20 knot SW wind all day.

We tried Monomoy rip at the end of Monomoy Island first.  Birds were working right on rip.
The rip was brutal. However Capt Jim maneuvered the boat deftly to maintain the boat within casting range.



Imai san got the first hit.






James fighting a fish which turned out to be bluefish.




Fishng Monomoy rip during strong SW wind is not for everyone.


Ohotsuka san's turn




Ohotsuka san's first striped bass ever.


action continues...

[Kil Song]

Tackle they used.

They brought light tackle with which they normally use for 3 - 10 lb suzuki (Japanese saltwater bass).
I talked with James about tackle they use in Japan.  He is American, but has been living in Japan as a professional fishing guide last 20 years. He said they use very light tackle and small lures for suziki in Japan and they want to try those light tackle for striped bass.
The reels they used are Daiwa 2500/3000 and similar size reels with custom Studio Ocean Mark custom spool, arms and knots, filled with PE 1.5 - 2 lines.
When they opened the lure boxes, it looked they are for freshwater bass.
The popping rod is extremely light in weight and action like freshwater bass rods.

















Let see how they perform for 20 - 30 lbs striped bass with such light tackle.

[Kil Song]

Practice is over.
Capt Jimmy and I agreed to leave for the area where we originally planned though action was pretty good at the rip.
Action was good at the rip, but we didn't see any good size stripers and it was not comfortable to fish in rough sea.

When we close to the area, we saw some bird were working. bluefish !! They were impressed with the power of small bluefish. Bluefish are in Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea except Pacific Ocean.
I was pretty sure big bass would be with bluefish.  I dropped a jig just for checking and had a nice bass.
Jimmy urged them to use jigs he provided and they were delighted to catch decent size striped bass on jigs.

















You got to smile after seeing this.









It was very windy day, but we could drift moderately thanks to the drift anchor which Capt Jim used.
I knew they were not going to use jigs forever. Ohotsuka san started to experiment with  1 - 2 oz lure.
He finally hooked up a decent striped bass with it. He said it took almost one minutes to get down the lure close to the bottom. Once they knew they could use light lure they brought, they got rid of jigs.
In deed, they got more hit with tiny small lures than normal 4 - 6 oz jigs.
The small lures were like candies for stripers. I can't remember how many stripers they got with those samll lures.
I can see how much they were delighted. When they left JFK today, they all said "WE SHALL BE BACK."

Who knows they set a new trend of bass popping in the US.
When we went to Red Top tackle shop at the entrance of Cape Cod Canal to show my new Black Hole surf rod/blank, SOM guys just shook their heads after seeing huge striper lures.

 



sea anchor

[Dan Konig]

Great read there and some nice shots.

Had always thought of Bass as more of an inland fish - but guess not!

[George Relf]

It looks like the bluefish are the same family as our own Aussie tailor?

Thanks Kil