Feast Or Famine: Catching Late Season Schooling Stripers

When it comes to catching late season stripers as they’re schooling up, it can be either an exhilarating day on the water, or you may go without a bite. There are tons of factors to consider that help improve your chances of success when chasing these fish. 

As the late season rolls around, stripers are going to start schooling together with declining water temperatures. At the same time, baitfish schools start to migrate into the shallower inshore waters. This quickly becomes the area that you’ll find the schools of stripers as well, as they begin to feed aggressively in preparation for the winter months.

This is the main reason why we’re describing this kind of fishing as feast or famine. When the baitfish are around, the stripers are going to feast. When they scatter the baitfish, the stripers disappear and you’ll have a hard time catching them.

So we know they’re after the baitfish, but where should you go to find these schools? There are definitely some areas you should key in on, including points that bait gets funneled to, creek mouths with fresh water, and any kind of submerged cover.

If you want a really good indicator of where the baitfish are, pay attention to what the sea birds are doing. If they’re concentrated in an area, chances are there are schools of baitfish in the area. Sometimes you’ll need to employ your electronics to find big bait balls on the screen.

It’s also important to consider when the main prime times are for the stripers. Oftentimes, the early morning and right before evening hits are the best times for them to feed.

When it comes to how to actually catch these fish this time of year, there are two main methods to consider trying. 

Topwater is a really fun and productive way to catch these schooling stripers. Walking baits, poppers, and surface plugs are all effective choices. These lures mimic baitfish well, letting them get attacked in the feeding frenzy. You’ll want to try your best to match your lure size and colors to the type of baitfish in the area that the stripers are targeting to help it blend in better. As for retrievals, try mixing it up between slow, methodical retrieves, and fast, aggressive retrieves. 

Lures that go below the surface are also extremely effective, especially in those areas where bait is piled up in submerged cover. Spoons and swimbaits do a great job at getting down to where stripers are suspended. If you know there are baitfish schools in the area, but nothing is happening on the surface, that’s the best time to try these lures.

Similarly to topwater, mix up your retrieval speeds and styles. Sometimes a fast, straight retrieve will work best. At other times, slow it down, let your lure lift and fall through the water column, and see if that triggers a strike.

Regardless of the method you try, boat positioning is another key factor to consider when going after these fish. You’ll want to approach these feeding areas as slowly and quietly as possible. Don’t just run up fast to the school of baitfish, instead come from down-current or approach from the sides slowly.

When you’re casting, it’s going to work best if you can cast over the top of the school of baitfish and work your lure through it. This puts your lure in the strike zone for a longer period of time, giving you the best chance at hooking into a striper.