Fishing the HRBT Lightline

By: Michael Manning

     This is the time of year when some fisherman store their kayaks in the garage thinking that, because the warm weather is gone, so are the fish. This could not be further from the truth. This is the time of year when the water begins to cool down and the fisherman seeking the monster striper eagerly await that magical 46 degree water temp. As of today 12/3/2013 the CBBT buoy 14 shows the water temp between 47.5 and 51 degrees and the Kiptopeke beach is between 47 and 50 degrees. This 46 degree rule is just what I've heard over the years, but I'm sure the big boys should be showing up any day now. Water temps can be seen at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/cbofs/cbofs.html

     Until the big striper show up, there are plenty of schoolie striper to be caught at the HRBT, mostly at night in the light line. Fishing the light line can be hit or miss, but lately, Ryan has been tearing the decent sized striper up and I had a pretty good night on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

 

     This write up should help out all the new comers to kayak fishing this year. When fishing a place free from overhead obstruction, such as Rudee Inlet, you can have as many rods as you can hold in your kayak sticking up in the rod holders. Rigging for the light line at night is completely different. I like to bring only 2 rods with me. One rod will be laying in my lap ready to cast and the other either gets stowed in the rod pod of my Trident 13 or is secured in the bungee paddle holder at my side. The reason I store my rods like this is because when I'm paddling in the shadows under the bridge looking for striper in the light, it is easier to go through the low overhead pilings, rather than backing up in-between the bridges and going around.

     When I'm sight fishing the light line at night, I will paddle against the current under the bridge and pull the nose of my kayak about 3 to 5 feet from the light. If the striper are thick, you will see them either sitting there waiting for bait or darting through the light. Most of the time you will just see a dark outline of the fish in the light just under the water. These fish will spook easily so cast past them and try to retrieve the lure by their face.

 

     People trolling the light line or even just paddling in the light line will spook these fish and they will stay under for a while. If you are under the bridge stalking striper and someone trolls by and spooks the striper, it is usually time to move on and come back later to see if they have returned. Please be observant out there and try to steer clear of running in the light line so you don't spook someone's fish that they are trying to catch. Saturday night I didn't see any striper in the light, but I still made blind casts and found fish, sometimes they are just too deep to see, but they could still be there.

 

     I hope this helps everyone get on some HRBT schoolie striper action and remember to bring a buddy along, wear your PFD and always have the right lights and safety equipment on your kayak, because kayaks are basically invisible out there at night.