how do striper usually hit?

[bluefish1928thing]

Recently, I have had lots of luck finding stripers along a shoreline area of the Chesapeake Bay. I have been using tsunami swim shads and light tackle jigging to catch stripers from 12 to 26 inches from shore.

 

Using tsunami shads, I had several instances where the fish swim to my lure and bump it without getting hook. In fact, I even saw a curious striper swim beside my lure and ignore eating it.

 

Using a jighead and jerkbait, they seem to hit more aggressively and actually get hooked. I was even able to get follow up strikes.

 

 

 

Is this situation a matter of getting the reaction strike vs hunger? Do striper commonly sample forage? I though the simply swallow head first?

[JohnnyDee]

There will be times when they slam the shad. Fish are sometimes suspect of certain plugs and nudge them. I see it happen a lot when a body of fish has been pressured by fishermen.

[Sweetwater]

If you are getting bumps but few strikes, try downsizing your lure.

[55chev]

They don't hit very hard. No hands to clinch a fist, and those small, short fins don't let them really wind up.

[redfin]

Recently, I have had lots of luck finding stripers along a shoreline area of the Chesapeake Bay. I have been using tsunami swim shads and light tackle jigging to catch stripers from 12 to 26 inches from shore.

 

Using tsunami shads, I had several instances where the fish swim to my lure and bump it without getting hook. In fact, I even saw a curious striper swim beside my lure and ignore eating it.

 

Using a jighead and jerkbait, they seem to hit more aggressively and actually get hooked. I was even able to get follow up strikes.

 

 

 

Is this situation a matter of getting the reaction strike vs hunger? Do striper commonly sample forage? I though the simply swallow head first?

 

If a striper swims by your shad lure and doesn't strike it or gives it a nudge, I would think they got too close a look at it and got turned off. Could have been the lure action, lure profile, leader, snap. etc? If a jerkbait on a jighead got the committed strike and hookup, I'd say it was the profile or the action of the JB (or both) that made the dif. This time of year I would always opt for skinny smaller plastics as the fish are sluggish. I would not expect super agressive hits. either. It would be more of a slurpng or sucking the bait in type of hit. I typically don't ever fish smaller shad baits in my area since the peanut bunker disappeared. I like big shad baits when I see big bunker around. Early season I found curly tail grubs to be best for schoolies . sizes of 3 and 4 inch and swapping jig weights to accommodate water depth and flow. Ribbon tail worms on the same jigheads can also be outstanding especially if there are larger 26 inchers mixed in. As far as bass hitting head first, I believe they do that sometimes but def not always especially smaller fish.

[WickedStriper]

Try speed up your retrieve, particularly when you get into shallow water.  I find that sometimes forces them to make a decision and hit it before the bait escapes.