Raph Teixeira - Holdover Striped Bass

In this fishing report, we'll be covering the intricacies of fishing for holdover striped bass.

Keep a look out for weekly fishing reports so you can up your chances of catching a trophy striped bass.

Between the week of 4/9/2023 - 4/23/2023 we've has some pretty good weather, and also some pretty shitty weather. Leaving us longing for our first striped bass of the season. I don't know about you, but pretty much ever angler I know is always trying to be the first person out of their group to catch the first striped bass of the season. This year, I was able to narrow down a few spots and locate some holdovers. Which is a HUGE accomplishment for me. Hats off to the guys that are out there every single month of the winter getting after it and snagging holdovers in some of the coldest weather our country has to offer. Hopefully next year I'll be able to accomplish those types of goals as well. But for now, I can at least share my experience with you all and hopefully I can help out in some sort of way.

I've actually never done something like this before. So I really didn't know where to begin honestly. I see people catching holdover striped bass all the time. From some well known salt water guides all the way through some very talented kayak fishermen. Needless to say, I had to scratch that off my bucket list.

I started asking around. Some people were willing to share info, some were not. Then finally, I had a conversation while I was at work, and someone mentioned to me that I should target the rivers in Boston and that they were catching them in certain areas from their boat.

Now mind you, fishermen are very elusive when it comes to sharing information, and sometimes will purposely steer you in the wrong direction so you don't blow up their spot. I knew I had my work cut out for me but I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to get in the drink myself and catch a holdover striped bass. There was only about two weeks left until the season finally cracks open, and I just couldn't sit around anymore.

Where Do I Go...

I asked myself. I literally had no clue what to do besides and sliver of information that they were in the Charles River in Boston. Now, I don't know if you ever looked on the map but the Charles is a pretty big river. Can a striped bass even survive in that type of water? I didn't care. I made it a mission to figure it out.

From the date I gathered, I knew I had to head upriver to warmer waters. So I began looking on the maps in my phone. I was looking for areas that were at least a mile away from any open water. The water temps did not make it any better since everything was below 50 degrees. At this point, I knew that the only way to accomplish this was by seriously grinding it out. I always head out to fish with absolute intentions of catching fish, but I knew this was going to be tough.

Three nights went by. I saw everything from bait fish and even seals that were kind of just there to make things even more difficult. So I chalked that spot up as a loss. I was fine with not getting on any fish, I was just discouraged that I didn't see any stripers. Some can argue that it was cause all of the seals were in that particular area.

After failing a couple of times. I decided it was best to move around and to try dialing in the area around me. I went back out the following night with the same intentions. To land a holdover. During the day it had been a lot warmer than previous days and there was almost no wind. I told myself tonight is going to be the night....

I showed up, tied my leader, threw on the glide bait I was using previous nights. I was ready to give that spot at least 3-5 hours. I wasn't leaving without catching a fish. After two hours of absolutely nothing, my determination had finally paid off. I was able to land a total of 3 hold overs that night. All ranging from 25-30 inches. Nothing can really describe the feeling of going all winter without striped bass, and then FINALLY achieving your goal of catching hold overs.

I'll include the pictures of that night and a few other nights below. The hold over hunt lasted about 3 weeks for me. That's until I ran into some migratory fish this week. That report will be available this upcoming sunday 4/30/23. So until then, keep an eye out for weekly reports like this, and never miss a chance to get out on the water with us. We have plenty of charters and guides that'll fit your needs.

Talk to you guys soon,

Raphael

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