Striped Bass Spring Spawning Migrations in New England

Following the Striper Migration on Maps

Anglers across New England eagerly await the return of striped bass each spring. These popular gamefish make a migration that takes them up and down the Atlantic coastline and into the bays, rivers, and tributaries that flow into the ocean. Tracking the movements of stripers during their spring spawning runs has become an annual tradition for serious fishermen. With the help of maps that highlight this striper migration, anglers can better plan successful fishing trips targeting striped bass.

When Do Stripers First Arrive Nearshore?

The exact timing varies from year to year, but the first of the big migratory stripers typically start showing up in coastal waters near Boston and southern New England in early April. By mid-April, the early arrivals of larger overwintered bass over 30 inches start to trickle into the warmest shallows of Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, and the South Shore estuaries of Massachusetts.

These first stripers of the season are often traveling alone or in small packs, likely following schools of Atlantic menhaden and other forage fish that themselves are migrating north into New England waters. Anglers specifically targeting these early-season bass often catch them while casting swimbaits, stickbaits, and subsurface diving plugs from boats, kayaks, shore, and jetties.

The Peak of the Spring Striper Run

Late April through the month of May is prime time for catching stripers all along the New England coastline. As water temperatures rise into the low 50s, the main body of the striper migration arrives in full force. Huge schools of large breeding striped bass push hard northward following the beaches before peeling off into the bays, estuaries, rivers, and tributaries to spawn.

This peak springtime migratory period offers a frenzy of incredible light-tackle fishing opportunities for anglers all over southern New England. Stripers will hit a variety of baitfish imitations, including surface poppers, shallow crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits rigged with lead jigheads, and even flies and metal lures. Prime areas to target include rocky shorelines, jetties, breachways, canal mouths, harbor entrances, underwater rock piles, moving slicks showing feeding activity, and sandy/muddy shallow river mouths and coves.

Post-Spawn and the Migration South

By early June, the huge spawning schools of the biggest adult stripers start to break up and begin drifting back out toward open water. This migration away from the spawning grounds happens slowly over the course of the summer. Until early fall, decent numbers of stripers remain scattered throughout rivers, harbors, and bays up and down the New England coastline providing fun light tackle action.

As overnight air and water temperatures plummet in October and November, baitfish and stripers sense it is time to migrate south for the winter. The fall migration often moves faster as stripers join into large packs following schools of menhaden, herring, mackerel, and young of the year river herring migrating out to sea. Casting spoons, plugs, and flies to blitzing stripers feeding on these huge baitfish schools can provide epic fall fishing before the migration heads south for winter.

Map the Striper Migration Yourself

Marking up a map of the New England coastline yourself each year can help you learn and predict the movement of migratory striped bass. When fishing, keep notes about specific spots and dates you locate and catch migratory stripers. Over time, you will start to see patterns emerge on your fisherman’s scribbled migration maps. Passing this hard-won knowledge of the striper migrations in your local waters down to fellow anglers is also an old, honored tradition.

So in summary: Early arriving stripers show up nearshore in early April The peak of the migration happens late April through May as fish move north to spawn Post-spawn stripers start dropping back south in early summer Fall migration ramps up in October and November as bait and bass head south Mapping the migration each season helps predict future movement Now you know more about following those beloved black lines on a migration map that represent the seasonal journey of striped bass up and down the Atlantic coast!

FAQs

When do striped bass start their spring migration?

The vanguard fish of the striper migration arrive in southern New England coastal waters in early April. By mid-April, stripers enter the shallow bays and rivers where they will spawn later in spring.

Where are the best places to catch stripers during the spring run?

Target rocky shorelines, jetties, breachways, canal mouths, harbor entrances, underwater structure, and sandy/muddy coves and river mouths. Anywhere that stripers can intercept baitfish in shallow water near their spawning grounds.

What baits and lures work best for migratory stripers?

Try casting swimbaits, stickbaits, diving plugs, surface poppers, jigs, soft plastic swimshads, shallow crankbaits, metal lures, and baitfish imitating fly patterns.

When does the fall striper migration happen?

As water temperatures cool in October, baitfish and stripers sense it is time to migrate south for the winter. The southward migration picks up steam through November as fish move to warmer waters.