George wrote:
My father caught one about 36" back in the 70s. He used to fish for stripers
during the winter in the Thames but quit because he wasn't catching
anything. My last trip home I heard that the situation had improved but I
haven't fished in Ct since the 80's. A couple of years ago a large striper
was caught in Lake Mojave, in the 60 pound range IIRC. I intend to start
fishing again this summer, I will probably have to fish at night to keep
from getting cooked.
George in Las Vegas

If the weather and water are hot I would assume you must have to
fish deep, no?

Fishing at night for stripers is the way to go if you want a big one
from the beach here. I should have mentioned the 59.5 and 60+ were pounds
and not inches; sorry. Back in the 80's the bass were so badly overfished
that the fishing went bad everywhere. They finally protected the fish in 1989
I believe, and 1992 saw a big spawning success followed by even better
ones. Bigger fish get more prominent with each year. Last year we saw
entire schools of larger stripers cruising the beach at night. I just love
catching biggies on surface lures. My favorite is the Atom 40. I never
head to the beach without it.

Big bluefish are here in numbers too (summer and fall)and the weakfish are
getting better every year. Last year I got 11 and 10 lbs on consecutive casts
using a Red Gill and 9" Sluggo combo. Most of the big bass I got last year
(over 30 lbs) came in the summer instead of fall for some reason. The rigged
eel was the ticket.


--
Sphynx