Striper action is all in the timing

What a difference a day makes.

Heading out from Captree in search of stripers last Sunday aboard Captain Rob Andresen's 75-foot open boat, Captree Princess, success seemed assured. After all, the fall bass run in the ocean waters east of Fire Island Inlet had been reliable since a wave of sand eels flooded the area several weeks ago.

"We bailed them yesterday,'' said a smiling Carlos Maldonado, 54, from Freeport, of last Saturday morning's trip on which 40-some anglers tallied 144 keepers. "We were tossing back stripers one after another. I'm fishing in the stern today and hoping for a repeat.''

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Stiff winds had silted the water overnight, knocking the fish off their feed. After a few fruitless passes alongside several other open boats, our skipper headed east.

"When the fish have lockjaw,'' said Andresen, 39, of West Islip, "I like to get away from the fleet. If bass are skittish, being off by yourself can be a big advantage.

"I'm going to try and isolate a few pods of stripers with my electronics then drift in quietly.''

Working slightly off from the main fleet, we never did hammer the fish, but we did take a keeper on most drifts.

With each pass Andresen and his attentive crew tried to provide as much help as possible, announcing the depth of the fish showing up on the scope, reminding anglers to retrieve their jigs slower than normal to help cull the bass from among the blues, and suggesting a switch from silver to gold jigs with a hammered finish, which seems to work especially well in stained water. Before the half-day trip was over, we had tallied 11 keepers and a few tossbacks for 26 anglers. Despite the tough fishing, the attitude of most customers remained upbeat.

"I love this boat even when the fish don't bite,'' said Erik Kihss, 58, of Oakland Gardens. "It's great for family trips. It's always clean, the mates work hard and this skipper isn't afraid to burn some gas to find better action.''

Doug Parker, 59, of Englewood, N.J., also was impressed, noting that it was his first time aboard the vessel. "I like how deliberately this captain works, and I like the crew,'' he said. Having caught his limit of two keepers, including a 15-pound pool winner, Parker had plenty of reason to smile.

"The bass will turn back on before long,'' assured Andresen as we headed for home. "We just need to find them in clear water. To that end, Captree is a great port because the skippers cooperate with each other. We all have our own little hot spots and such, but we don't leave anyone hanging when we locate a good set of fish."

True to form, the bass bite had resumed by late afternoon and the Captree Princess needed only one long drift to limit out all 17 anglers aboard before playing a little catch and release.

"Our captains worked together and found a spot of clear water a little further to the east, that was all we needed,'' Andresen said. "Since then, we've also found stripers inside Great South Bay between Buoys 8 and 10, and the night bite on Fin-S-Fish at Robert Moses Bridge has been solid for boats sailing evening trips.''