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 Beginner's Guide to Consistently Catching Stripers from Shore and Boat

Walk into any tackle shop and you'll find hundreds of lures promising to catch striped bass.

There are plugs, swimmers, pencils, poppers, spoons, jigs, bucktails, soft plastics, and countless other offerings designed to separate anglers from their money.

The truth is much simpler.

If your goal is to catch your first striped bass—and then consistently catch more stripers throughout the season—you really only need three soft plastic bait styles.

Why?

Because these three baits imitate the three most important food groups that striped bass feed on throughout their lives:

1. Small baitfish
2. Larger baitfish
3. Marine worms

Whether you're fishing from a beach, jetty, kayak, boat, bridge, or tidal creek, these three bait styles will cover nearly every feeding situation you'll encounter.

Let's take a closer look.

1. The Sand Eel Style Bait

The Ultimate Small Baitfish Imitator

If there is one soft plastic lure that catches striped bass when they are feeding on small baitfish, it's the sand eel.

These long, slender lures imitate far more than just sand eels.

They also resemble:

• Silversides
• Spearing
• Anchovies
• Rain bait
• Small herring
• Needlefish juveniles
• Countless other thin-bodied baitfish

To a striped bass, these baitfish all share one thing in common:

They are easy to catch and easy to swallow.

Soft plastic baits with streamlined bodies or the classic bucktail jig are perfect for imitating these smaller baitfish.

Why Stripers Love Them

Every spring, massive numbers of sand eels move into shallow tidal flats and estuaries to spawn.

This creates one of the most predictable feeding opportunities of the year.

Striped bass quickly discover these concentrations of bait and begin patrolling:

• Sandy beaches
• Back bays
• Tidal creeks
• Flats
• Estuary mouths

Because sand eels spend much of their time close to the bottom, striped bass often become highly focused on them.

When this happens, large plugs and oversized lures may be ignored while a simple sand eel imitation gets crushed.

Best Sizes

For most situations:

• 4-inch bait
• 5-inch bait
• 6-inch bait

When fish are feeding on tiny bait, downsizing can make a huge difference.

How to Fish It

Cast and retrieve slowly.

Occasionally allow the lure to touch bottom.

Use short twitches and pauses.

Think wounded baitfish rather than fleeing baitfish.

2. The Shad Style Bait

The Most Versatile Striper Lure Ever Made

If you could only own one lure style for striped bass fishing, a paddle-tail shad would be hard to beat.

These lures imitate virtually every large baitfish striped bass feed upon.

They can represent:

• Menhaden (Bunker)
• Peanut Bunker
• Herring
• Alewives
• Shad
• Mullet
• Juvenile Mackerel

In other words, they imitate the main course on the striped bass menu.

Why They Work

The paddle tail creates vibration.

That vibration helps striped bass locate the lure even when:

• Water is dirty
• Fishing occurs at night
• Baitfish are scattered
• Fish are feeding deep

The lure's swimming action closely resembles a real baitfish, making it one of the most realistic artificial presentations available.

Two Sizes Every Angler Should Own

Small Version

2.5 to 3 inches

Perfect for:

• Peanut bunker
• Small herring
• Young-of-year baitfish

Excellent during summer and early fall.

Large Version

5 to 6 inches

Perfect for:

• Adult bunker
• Large herring
• Larger forage species

Ideal for trophy striped bass.

How to Fish It

Cast and retrieve steadily.

Allow the paddle tail to do the work.

Vary your retrieve speed until fish respond.

Many beginners make the mistake of overworking the lure.

A natural swimming retrieve often works best.

3. The Sandworm Style Bait

The Striped Bass Candy Bar

If striped bass had comfort food, it would probably be marine worms.

Sandworms, bloodworms, and clam worms have been feeding striped bass for thousands of years.

Unlike baitfish, worms don't swim fast.

They don't escape quickly.

They don't require much effort to capture.

They are a high-protein meal that offers maximum reward for minimal effort.

From an evolutionary perspective, they're almost impossible for a striped bass to ignore.

Why Sandworms Are So Effective

Stripers encounter marine worms throughout the year.

Storms, strong tides, digging crabs, and natural erosion constantly expose worms from mud flats and sandy bottoms.

When worms become available, feeding fish often switch their attention immediately.

Many experienced anglers consider worms the most reliable natural bait for striped bass.

A realistic soft plastic worm allows anglers to imitate this food source without the mess or expense of live bait.

Best Sizes

6 to 8 inches

The longer profile creates natural movement and closely resembles mature marine worms.

How to Fish It

Fish it slowly.

Very slowly.

Allow current and wave action to animate the lure.

Most bites occur when the bait appears vulnerable and helpless.

Remember:

A worm isn't trying to escape.

It's trying to survive.

Why These Three Baits Catch 99% of Feeding Stripers

Many anglers spend years chasing the latest lure trends.

But striped bass are surprisingly predictable.

Almost every feeding striped bass is looking for one of three things:

A small baitfish.

A large baitfish.

Or an easy meal living on the bottom.

The sand eel covers the small baitfish category.

The paddle-tail shad covers the large baitfish category.

The sandworm covers the easy bottom-dwelling meal.

Together, these three baits imitate the overwhelming majority of the forage striped bass consume along the Atlantic Coast.

The Beginner's Striper Starter Kit

If you're just getting started, stock your tackle bag with:

• 5-inch Sand Eel
• 3-inch Paddle Tail Shad
• 6-inch Paddle Tail Shad
• 7-inch Sandworm

Choose natural colors:

• White
• Pearl
• Silver
• Olive
• Sand

These colors imitate nearly every bait species striped bass feed upon.

Final Thoughts

Successful striped bass fishing isn't about owning hundreds of lures.

It's about understanding what stripers eat.

Master these three soft plastic bait styles and you'll have a lure capable of matching almost every feeding situation you'll encounter from spring through fall.

Whether you're standing on a beach at sunrise, fishing a bridge after dark, drifting a tidal flat, or casting from a boat over a school of feeding bass, these three proven bait styles will consistently put fish in range.

Because while lure designs change every year, the striped bass menu has remained remarkably unchanged for thousands of years.

Check out of Sandworm Lures at www.sandwormlures.com