Hudson River Fishing Reports 2014
5/22/2014 I must apologize for the lack of our Hudson River fishing reports 2014 reporting, but we have had a very busy season being on the Hudson River striper fishing most everyday. During the first part of the season, our clients did very well boating some Hudson river stripers that exceeded twenty pounds and most notably a tagged specimen caught by long time friend and angling client Dick Peterson from Williamstown, Mass.This season we were also blessed to have on board my very good friend Chuck Boyles and his son Jesse. Some of you that have been following us may note that last year Chuck’s son Ed had fished with us on Lake Ontario. You see, both of Chuck’s boys are in the military and were able to fish with us during their leaves. It’s an honor and a privilege to fish with those boys and they are in my prayers to keep them safe and healthy. The last few days have been nothing but a challenge. Mother nature as she often does, through us a curve ball by dumping over four inches of rain into the upper Hudson river and surrounding tributaries. The river is a mess and the fishing has been impossible. We are hoping that the river will clean up, its been five days since the rain, and we can get the last of our trips in for this striper season. It is our policy to never take clients for just a boat ride. What we do is offer the clients a chance to reschedule, cancel, or go out on the river for a half day if they so choose. When I get some time, I will be posting pics of some of our successful clients in our photo section.
5/6/2014 We have just finished our first week on the Hudson River for the beginning of what is shaping up to be a banner year. Our clients have been fortunate to catch nice striper bass each and everyday. With the cooler water temperatures, fishing chunk bait has been very productive off of anchor.
A nice mix of Striped Bass
Over the last few days we have been able to get bait a bit better and as a result, we have also been taking a few stripers fishing whole live baits. the chunks, however, are out fishing the live swimmers at least 4/1. Stay tuned as we can only anticipate the fishing only getting better and better as the water temperatures begin to rise.
04/05/14 I just got off the phone with one of my good buddies Bassin Brian who was happy to report that the first wave of River Alewives is on its way to our part of the river. This is the first tell tale sign that striper fishing is about to start on the Hudson River for 2014. Every year around this time, the first wave of anadramous fish to enter the Hudson River on their annual spawning run are the River Alewives.
What’s interesting about this particular species is that they are bound by “photoperiodosm” , the amount of available daylight, to trigger their entry into the river. They are not bound by the water temperature as a trigger to run the river. Striped bass, however, are temperature dependant and are controlled by the river temperatures as a trigger to start their annual spawning migration.
The last group of anadramous fish that we as striper fishermen should be interested in are the Blueback Herring. This sea run species, like the River Alewives, are photoperiodic in nature as well. They typically arrive in the river during the first week of May every year. The last I checked on the Hrfa website, the water temperature was almost 39 degrees in Albany. So what does all this mean?
The magic temperature to trigger the stripers to run the Hudson River is 48 degrees and their primary forage in our neck of the woods are herring both the Blues and the River . Looking at the current conditions and water temperatures along the river, it is my best guess that the river should hit that magical 48 degrees right along the same time that the Bluebacks should arrive. These conditions remind me of the good ole days when the river temps would behave in the fashion that we should see this year. As long as the rains hold off, we should be in for one heck of a season. Com’on spring!!!
Hudson River Fishing Report
By
Capt. Jimmy Samia
I remember a few years back when we were experiencing unseasonably warmer weather during the month of March; we were actually fishing in the Hudson and catching mature sea run striped bass based out of Coeyman’s Landing Marina in March. The warm weather and the warm river temperatures had triggered the stripers to arrive early and in very good numbers. The problem, however, was that herring bait was almost impossible to come by. The common phrase heard up and down the river was that if you could catch herring, you could catch stripers.
Well……I think by now we all know that this is not going to be the case this year, not by a long shot. We are in the process of booking out trips for this up and coming season. It is proving to be most challenging and here’s why. Striped bass are a very temperature dependent fish and their accent into the river is controlled primarily by the temperature of the water. Wondering what the triggering temperature is to trigger the spawning run? History has proven that the magical temperature number is 48 degrees.
In anticipation of when we will be able to have striped bass in catchable numbers here in our neck of the woods, I am suggesting to all of my prospective clients to start booking during the first week of May and on. Besides the obvious reason of when the river will warm up to 48 degrees, the not so obvious reason is that the Blueback herring should be in the river by then as well. The Blueback herring run has historically been triggered by photoperiodism or the amount of available daylight. One other variable that must be taken into consideration with regards to the Bluebacks is also the water temperature. Herring need a bit warmer water to actively attack the sabiki rigs that we use to jig them up with.
Over the years, one thing that I have always noticed is that Mother Nature has a way of balancing things out for the betterment of the species. With this in mind, I do believe that the water temperatures will come up enough in time to coincide with the arrival of the stripers and the herring so that good fishing will be had. As always, to be successful on a daily basis as a striper fisherman, one must have several different methods and the knowledge on how to use them if one wants to succeed. These methods can include chunking, trolling, live-lining, and dead drifting to name a few. There are also alternate bait sources that can be used,too!
Spring will be here before we know it and we will be on the water chasing stripers. We still have a few dates left to fill our calendar with and hope that you will give us a call. In fact, please do give us a call if you have any questions about fishing the Hudson River with us for this year’s striper season. You can reach us at 413-346-7675, e-mail us, or check us out on the web www.acecharters.com
Previous Hudson River Fishing Reports