Prepping For the Hudson River Striper Season

If one hasn’t done so already, it sure would be a good time to service your reels for the upcoming season. If you’re not comfortable doing it on your own, there are several companies that can do it for you. Two that I highly recommend are Tuna’s Reel Troubles and St. Peter’s Outfitters. Either one can be Googled and both provide great service at reasonable prices. It would be a good idea to strip off the old monofilament before sending the reels in for service or servicing them yourself. I use an electric drill with a threaded rod to put through an empty spool for this task. I use fender washers and wing nuts to tension the spool on the threaded rod so it doesn’t slip when stripping off the old line.

I prefer thirty pound test Momoi line for my main line applications because it is super abrasion resistant and super strong. When on anchor, I Ieader down to 20lb test monofilament and Carolina rig to a swivel which is attached to 40lb fluorocarbon leader snelled to a 7/0 Mustad Big game hook. I pre-tie several leaders on a swimming noodle in preparation for lost hooks due to snags.

Getting the boat out of storage and cleaned up is the next big endeavor. This includes washing the inside and outside of the boat. I have access to a steam cleaner which makes for an easier job. Bottom paint is touched up as needed and the outside of the boat is waxed and buffed. The battery systems are checked out and brought back to full charge. All electronics are brought back onto the boat and re-installed. As a side note, all electrical connections were covered with di-electric grease before going into storage. This virtually eliminates any corrosion problems come springtime. Hopefully all the electronics fire up without any problems.

All the necessary tackle as well as the rod and reels are brought on board and stored away in anticipation of future use. This is where I usually start daydreaming about being on the water and catching fish. In my mind’s eye, I can see the other fisherman out in their boats waiting for a striper to pick up a bait and run with it. I can hear the river. I can smell the water. Back to reality. Last but not least we have to fire up the motors to make sure that they will run. Hopefully all goes well for this momentous event.

If all goes well we will be fishing the Hudson River for stripers during the last week in April until at least Memorial Day in May. As I write this, we still have a few dates left to fill for charters. It’s my belief that given the mild winter and lack of snow that this spring run will be earlier than normal. With the enormous amounts of rain and subsequent loss of fishing days last year, the schools of stripers in the river received very little pressure which should make for a larger than normal run this year. Let’s hope the weather co-operates this year so that we can thoroughly enjoy the Hudson River striper fishery.

Question

I received your e-mail with videos and information on your Lake Ontario trips and Hudson River striper fishing charters. These were very informative. I would like to get my son in law and a couple of his friends to make one of these trips, but he has a labor intensive job and my daughter is disabled, so I don’t know if I could get it together. Do you ever put trips with anglers together. Mike Cmero

Answer

Yes Michael, we can sometimes arrange to get different folks to fish together. It would depend on flexibility of the groups and timing. If you are interested we can explore this further. Please let me know what type of fishing would you be interested in …. Hudson River Striper Trips or Lake Ontario Charters? Capt. Jimmy

Question

Do you let folks use their own fishing tackle, if it meets your requirements? Mike Cmero

Answer

Absolutely, your fishing enjoyment is of our utmost concern. If you feel more comfortable using your own equipment then please feel free to take along your own tackle. Capt. Jimmy

Question

Hi Jimmy, nice pics. I just have a couple of questions. 1. Is there a mate who cleans the catch? 2. I’ve lived in Albany/Troy all my life and I never knew you could eat the fish from the Hudson River. Is that safe? 3. Is there any limit on your catch? James Weaver

Answer

Hi James. Thanks for contacting us. All the fish are cleaned by me right there on the Hudson River and this is included in the cost of the trip. The limit on stripers is one fish per person per day and it must be over 18″. You can also elect to play “catch and release” if you would like. Yes, you definitely can eat the stripers that we catch as these are “sea run” striped bass that are feeding on “sea run” herring while they are in the river. They are delicious. Please let me know if you have anymore questions. Capt. Jimmy

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Prepping For the Hudson River Striper Season

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