Targeting “resident” schoolies in nursery rivers?

[VAfly]

Quick intro because I’m new to the forum: I live in VA. I’m a diehard trout fly fisherman, but my dad and I just got our first boat. I’ve caught a couple dinky striped bass on the Chesapeake and now I’m obsessed.
 

Anyway, I always thought rockfish only show up in the upper rivers in the spring to spawn. Figured they all went straight down River after, including the babies. But I’ve seen a few videos and read about people catching schoolies sized “resident rockfish” in the upper parts of the Potomac and Rappahannock year round. This got me wondering if enough are around here that I can target them specifically. I live near Quantico - very close to the Potomac a little downstream from DC, and I’m close to the upper Rapp. too. But I figure this also applies to the other major spawning rivers too (the James isn’t far either). I can’t find much info on the topic, but I’m wondering if anybody here has any insight, or if you can point me towards some helpful resources. I’m not looking for keeper fish. But given the choice between dinky rockfish and largemouth, I’d rather fish for rock. Even if they are in there, I don’t really know where to start looking. I’m not used to water this big.

 

Thanks to everybody. Reading old threads has already been very helpful.

[poopdeck]

I don’t fish in Virginia but I fish the Delaware river. A certain number of striped bass stay in the river year round and can stay for a number of years. At some point the sea will call them back. Schoolie to me means 22 to 30” fish and they are in the river, tidal and non tidal, year round. However, most stripers I catch in the non tidal river, outside of the spawning months, are what I call juvenile at 10 to 22”.  I have caught them up to 33” in august in the tidal river but that’s not the norm. While I don’t target them, I catch them in shallow fast rapids and rock piles in the heat of summer. They just can’t leave a white jerk bait be. 

[puppet]

I dont know your area, but even the smallest of estuaries can hold striped bass year round, but like trout they may move around and find deeper pools when the water gets too warm or too cold.    I feel striped and trout share feeding behavior and will hold on similar structure.  Small bucktail streamers like ray's fly might be a good choice for most of the season.  good luck....and like trout consider barbless hooks.

[Fishit 2]

Several rivers that run to the sea here in South Jersey hold stripers year round, thought it was odd that I'm catching 28" ers - which are 7 years old, how old do they have to be to start spawning?

[poopdeck]

My understanding is a mature striper is about 22” which is why my schoolie length starts there as a schoolie use to be defined as a mature fish. 

Edited January 30 by poopdeck

[The river]

Some do   stay in the upper  Delaware river long after most bass have retreated for the ocean …..

[Surf bomber]

I thought there was a law against striper fishing until march 1 ?

[CWitek]

4 hours ago, Fishit 2 said:

Several rivers that run to the sea here in South Jersey hold stripers year round, thought it was odd that I'm catching 28" ers - which are 7 years old, how old do they have to be to start spawning?

Around 50% are mature at 28 inches and about 7 years old; 100% at 34 inches.

[Livefreeordie]

Not all fish you see in a river are year-round residents of that river, even if it's not a spawning river or if it's an unusual time of year for them to be in that river. They come and go in patterns that do not exactly match the "spring spawn in the Hudson/Chesapeake, drop out and head north" model. I know this from noticing the parasites, color, and size of fish that come and go in my local rivers. Also, big females do not spawn every year, and it's not unusual to find one in the winter in a stream that could not support a successful spawn. Though, every year I find a mass of larger females leaving my river systems during a 1-2 weeklong window. Not all the big ones leave, though.

[Jason B]

Honestly, the stripers in the Potomac/Susky should just be left alone. They just spawning, so just let them run their course. Just be patient, tons of stripers will show up in the bay soon enough, and hate to say it, they ain’t that hard to catch. No reason to go after the big girls coming up the rivers in the early spring to spawn. 
Target the countless nooks and crannies in the bay during the spring and early summer, the bay’s loaded with them.

Edited January 30 by Jason B

[scoobydoo]

how old is a 4-6 inch fish?

[Ben Lippen]

Back bay, ie ; anything from the ocean to the freshwater line is closed on 12 -31 until 3 - 1 each year in NJ. To protect the spawning fish that do not exist according to the eggheads.  Yet every year I see  20+ - racks in the wash on my local beaches. 

I have fished the Potomac  ( great smb ) , as well as regularly the Susky and the Hudson.  Strict rules on those last two rivers for LMB and SMB hunters when it comes to spring and rockfish.  I get checked most every time I go out, at least once. It's welcome to me. Here in NJ we don't have near enough C.O's . 

[RWP]

I recommend that you read the full text of all the laws in Virginia, because there's a ton of them.

 

Here's screenshots of the quick cards, but these will probably update for 2023 before spring. Virginia is really good about changing regulations without telling anyone, so you need to check the rules often.

 

Last screenshot is freshwater striper regs.

Edited January 30 by RWP

[poopdeck]

8 hours ago, Surf bomber said:

I thought there was a law against striper fishing until march 1 ?

Only in NJ.

 

1 hour ago, Jason B said:

Honestly, the stripers in the Potomac/Susky should just be left alone. They just spawning, so just let them run their course. Just be patient, tons of stripers will show up in the bay soon enough, and hate to say it, they ain’t that hard to catch. No reason to go after the big girls coming up the rivers in the early spring to spawn. 
Target the countless nooks and crannies in the bay during the spring and early summer, the bay’s loaded with them.

Got a house, a boat and few hundred gallons of gas at the shore I can borrow? How about we all legally fish where we want to and can or we all leave them be. There’s no reason to go after any of them, anywhere at any time. For the record, the vast majority of fishing on the river is done after the spawn and the vast majority of the fishing is taking place well above the area where 90% of the fish actually spawn.  those of us familiar with the fishery know exactly where and when this is.
 

The OP is clearly talking after the spawn so there is no difference between a river and a nook and cranny in the bay other then 10’s of thousands of anglers also fishing for striped bass. 

[Surf bomber]

I’m from joisey thinking the stripers laws were for the whole east coast … my bad ….