# Fingersandclaws.........



## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

Fingers and claws,

If you listen to me then I will promise you that you will be the next guy dragging 2 stripers down the street. You are out at the right time for sure- night fishing is always better for stripers and weakies unless you have a boat.

You want to use some kind of braided line such as power pro or spider wire. Get the 30lb strength but 10llb diameter or something along those lines.....
You can use just an ugly stick rod or something that has some stiffness to it. Not a damn tuna boat rod!

Buy Superfluke Pink 4 inch plastics (I call them pinkies) and also a combination of 1/2 , 3/4 , 1ounce jig heads. I use the ones that have a triangular head to them. The most commonly used one for me is the 1/2 ounce but on a really fast current you may need more.

Now go to that bridge again and stand so the water is coming in at you. Cast out maybe 40ft or so and let the water push the lure back to you.If you want stripers just continue to reel the slack in (You do not want to rip it through the current, this is when the blues smack it). You want to get it deep. Allow the lure to go under the bridge. It feels akward because your line is almost scraping the bridge but I am telling you man, You WILL hook up with stripers.

If you want weakies, Jig it all THE WAY BACK IN. Like this.....

jig,jig,jig,jig,jig....reel up slack, jig,jig,jig,jig,jig....reel up slack,
jig,jig,jig,jig,jig,...reel up slack,

You should feel your lure as your jigging and POW!!!! you will hook up again


I have fished at night ONLY for 12 years and have never used anything different then pinkies. Dont use live bait- it sucks. I promise you that you will do better without the live stinky stuff. It took me 5 years of fishing live bait to realize this. Fishing at night is like being part of a secret society of locals that know how to catch them. They wont tell people about it and either would I but since I fish in a different state I dont mind sharing lol. My best friend just nailed a 15lb 2 ounce weakie in one of our usual hotspots....The scary thing is that 8-10 weakies are a commomplace!!!! But gues who doesnt know about it? Thats right....The guys who fish all day with live bait.

Last year I fished at that Ocean City Bridge in Maryland while on vacation and I snuck out at 1:00am from the wife and kids. In 2 hours I hooked 3 keeper stripers. I had 5 guys who were there all night (I call them the bait slingers) jumping around like mad.


I dont mean to come off cocky or like I know a lot because I dont, but I do know for sure that I can outfish most people fishing the backbays and at night. I am posting this for you and your buddies because your story reminds me of when me and my buddy would pull all nighters in hopes of whacking them down. If you listen to what I tell you, you will shave off 5 years of learning how to catch them. 

Another tip, you will see guys casting straight out and reeling in to them which is fine... A trick would be to cast out at a 45degree angle and let your lure sink for 5 seconds then reel it in trying to get it to "hug" the shadowline. The shadowline is where a lot of the fish are. You see, the baitfish become attracted to the streetlights and they will all school up in these areas at night. The stripers and weakies will sit in the shadow line of the bridge and feed off the baitfish as they swim by or as the get pushed under the bridge. Most people are reeling up their lure and skip the shadowline entirely but this is why I tell you to let your lure go under the bridge. I dont mean let it go to the other side, just maybe 10 ft or so. 

The best way to fish the shadowline is to cast out, reel in the slack and try to get your lure close to the bottom and as your lure starts to hit the shadowline it will swing up and thats when you get nailed a lot! I have owned a boat for a few years and i just cant seem to get the right angle in the boat- The best place is above (on the bridge). 

Fish like this and please tell me how you did. I didnt bother typing all of this just for fun 


One more thing, flounder are also caught like this. They like the light from the bridges too. We have caught several 19-25 inch flatties this way. Not every night but on some nights. They are bonuses!


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## okimavich (Nov 13, 2006)

The boat rods were used at the bulkhead for tog, not stripers off the bridge.


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

forgot to mention a couple key things.....

If you take my advice and buy a braided line, you need to fill your spool with a quarter spool of moofiliment then tie the braided line to that and fill the rest of your spool with the braided line. You need the mono backing or else you will have problems down the road after you cast a few times. 
another, if you dont have a bridge net, then bring gloves. You can lift 10+ pound fish out of the water with this line but if they wiggle, they will slice you deep..take my advice from experience! You can buy a large treble hook and 50ft of thin rope to use as a gaff. Get a clip and clip it to your line so that the large treble hook will ride your fishing line down to the fish and just keep jigging the treble hook until it finds its way into the fish. then keep your bail open and pull up your prize with the rope and treble hook. I'm talking a treble hook that looks like its for sharks or a snagging type. Not a little one that is on lures.


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

"The boat rods were used at the bulkhead for tog, not stripers off the bridge."

i'm not trying to poke fun or anything. I didnt know that they were using boat rods at all. I just said that because my brother always brings a freaking tuna stick out with us and he never feels the jig but he never listens to me lol


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

Thank you very much for your time and knowledge sharing. I fish with these guys and they can't catch chit   ... well neither can I  at least on a regular basis. My biggest problem is keeping my sleepy @ss awake at those hours of the night / morning. Coffee is my blood so when I am sleepy coffee don't do chit for me.

thanks for sharing the info!


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

Anybody else thinking KN? 
Guess a good system works anywhere where the conditions are similar. 
.


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## fingersandclaws (Oct 17, 2005)

Weakie . . . thanks for the post!!!!! The way the boys and I usually fish bridges is like you said, work the shadow lines. I normally use a tandem rig, the top a clouser minnow and bottom either plastic on a jig head or a swimming shad.

Specifically, I use the BPS brand Inshore Extreme 7ft. rated 1/2-2oz with 20 lb. fireline or sufix braid. Definitely no Tuna stick here  

We're headed out that way this weekend for round 2, so I will definitely let you know how I did.

BTW, are the Superfluke Pink 4 inch plastics you mention like the Pink Saltwater Bass Assasins? The P&S guys cleared out BPS last year when there was a post about the pink BAs working at Kent Narrows (bridge fishing area near the Chesapeake). I accept your advice . . . you should sell your knowledge as an infomercial . . . you can sell it!!!!


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

Here is what I use but its not called pink, its called bubblegum. Its a ZOOM Superfluke bubblegum soft bait

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0023182115887a.shtml

Ive used a clouser minnow also but more for when I was drifting for flounder. It works awesome!

The superfluke I use is just like the bass assassins but for some reason I do better with the pink color. I hook them so that the hook comes out the bottom between the two slits. Personally, I thinkl the bass and weakies think its a baitfish or a shrimp. I nail them more when the lure starts to swing under the bridge so that the tail starts to actually face the bridge. If you look at it in the water, it looks like a shrimp and im sure youve heard stripers popping at night feeding on grass shrimp that float down the channels.
I hope you do awesome next weekend. I moved down to Georgia a few months back and I cant wait until I move back up there. I can only do freshwater here unless i drive 4-5 hrs and even then GA doesnt really have stripers that well. I actually feel like crying hearing from my buddy who is nailing 10-15lb weakies right now. Its my first year not going. Dont move away from the shore if you really love it as much as me. It doesnt matter how great the idea seems  
When i'm back up there maybe we can fish togethor some time. Probably not until the fall though. Weakies should be in pretty decent now if you know where to look. The shadowline is the key but it seams like its the most overlooked. Guys look at me like im nuts casting down the shadowline but that changes quickly. Just watch out for the guys who see you hook up and run right next to you to fish - ive been in a few squabbles which can get ugly at 3:00 in the morning.
If you know a decent channel that runs under a bridge where you can walk down the side you could do real well there too. cast out and let the current wash your lure to the bridge and eventually you WILL hook up. It might take a little time to get the technique down pat, but it will be worth it. 
Also, look for someone that has dock lights on, you can see the stripers dashing through the light if you watch for a while. They sit off the pool of light in the darkness then ambush your lure as it cruises by.

You might want to try it without the teaser because that might take away from the lure's (zoom superfluke) action. There is no other lure that works as well for me. I order 50-100 packs in the spring from cabelas and thats all i use all year. In fact, I realized that i have nothing 2 weeks ago when i went freshwater at lake lanier and only had 3/4 ounce jigheads lol


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## chump (Jul 18, 2005)

Hey Weakie,

Thanks for the wealth of information there. We really appreciate it. We will sure give it another try if the weather holds up. They're calling for rain all of Friday and Saturday right now, but it's still early. Thanks again and we'll let you know. When you're up here again, please let us know and we'll fish together.

Thanks again,
Chump


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## fishbait (Nov 11, 2005)

Thanks for the post. As you've probably read, F&C needs all the help he can get. We'll definitely give it a try this weekend. I got lots of the zoom super flukes in bubble gum after BPS had a run on bass assassins which are very similar but a slightly darker shade of pink. 

I'm a little confused about how you are hooking the jig head. Do you mean that you do not put the hook through the back of the body, but just let it dangle in between the slits? It's funny because F&C and I just had this debate last week.


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## LiteTackleChamp (Jul 29, 2005)

have u ever tried the pink gulp shad


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

http://images1.snapfish.com/349;83945fp396>vq=323:>;33>77;>WSNRCG=3235667:9732<vq0mrj


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

Heres how I hook the pinkies. I tried it the other way but it didnt last long. This is the way i found to be best.I also threw a pic of my best friend now that im stuck in ga lol


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## hengstthomas (Mar 11, 2006)

bmcox86 said:


> have u ever tried the pink gulp shad


The pink jerk shad and the eel colored jerk shad are awsome!

Weakie1... Great info and I am glad to see someone that shares the same type of fishing as me. Night time is the right time . Glad i dont fish there though as you may have some guest now armed with your info. But I wish all you luck and take this info seriosly but dont get discouraged if you dont get a bite until you find where they live.

Bubbablue...You got the right idea my friend.

Other lures to try
Fin"S" ...pink,white,pearland my favorite albino firetiger all 4"
Gulp ... jerk shads in pink,eel,or electric chicken.
Culprit worms... anything with blach but black/grey or blck/blue is my preference and go with 7 to 10 inch....we use 10's.

Although this doesnt have to do with rt 50 bridge it still has merit. I usually dont fish the inlet at night and I am usually after bait...blues and shad but a certain closure has forced me to find an alternative spot and IRI has been my focus. You go to the inlet during the day and see few worthy stripers taken but go at night and its a different world and the fish are monsters. Not as many blues or shad at night but the stripers are giants.Fishing here is the same as weakie1 stated above but you dont need the light and your lure wont be coming back at you and you must cast upstream and just let it fall to the bottom and let it slide along with an occasional twitch or the rod tip. In the last week I have had 2 break-offs and had one almost snap my tica before he came unhooked. These were true beasts and fought better than any other striper i have caught and with my PB being 44" and 38lbs I know they were in the same catagory. 4 to 6 inch Tsunamis are my go to but the 10" worms are close at hand. I even throw my flounder rig with white or glo 3 or 4 inch gulp (swimming mullet or minnow) and catch doubles but mostly schoolies but a keeper isnt impossible as my friend Dave will tell ya (he got a keeper on the first night I took him as well as me). 

Cygnus Try setting up times you can fish then check the tides and weather and get a nap so you can go out at prime time.

Weakie1 if you dont mind I am putting this on another site....If you object then let me know. There are only 12 members and its run by me.It was going to be a reference for me but has been let loose so to speak.Its a work in progress and only a hobby.
http://s3.excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=2410


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## Big Rad (May 19, 2003)

*Yepper*



BubbaBlue said:


> Anybody else thinking KN?
> Guess a good system works anywhere where the conditions are similar.
> .


I was thinking the same thing.....
Right down to the pink shad   

At the narrows early fall They were like crack to da keepers. I went and bought quite a few packs for when they catch on  

The funny thing about the pink WES is that the little one don't seem to want em 

 great information


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

Super, stupendous, awesome stuff     

I will put this to use, for sure!


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## Espresso (Mar 18, 2005)

Great info. I've used pink BAs before but didn't realize they were this effective everywhere. So when you hook your plastic lures with the hook going through the slits, does it end up hooking the fish on their bottom lip the majority of the time?


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

*Yep*

Weakie1 has got it goin on fr weakfish. I follow just about the same way except the pink shad. The areas that I fish I use a white 1/4oz buck tail wth a purple worm with a pink or orange fire tail or a bubble gum worm that seems to work really well here. I have used the pink shad but the buck tail set up works better for me. Other then that the rest is the same. Good luck and tight ines.


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## Huntsman (Mar 6, 2003)

BubbaBlue said:


> Anybody else thinking KN?
> Guess a good system works anywhere where the conditions are similar.
> .


Was just thinking the same thing... anytime soon?


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

I would go a step further and ask for tides? Have you found the weakies hit better on incoming or outgoing?


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## hengstthomas (Mar 11, 2006)

*for weakies*



Fishbreath said:


> I would go a step further and ask for tides? Have you found the weakies hit better on incoming or outgoing?


If I had to pick a tide it would be out going but for me 1 hour before slack to 1 hr after slack was the most productive in moving waters and everything else it is more of finding the fish and putting your bait in front of them....Presenttaion at this point is the key...Always go with the current if possible or straight up and down in deeper water.


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

Good stuff. Thanks Tom!


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## weakie1 (Mar 28, 2005)

As far as the tides go, I do better at certain places at certain tides but if the tide switches just go to the other side of the bridge.

If you find a channell that is not toooo wide then it could be deadly on the top of the outgoing tide. You see, when the tide covers the grass and sodbanks, then gets sucked out, it pulls grass shrimp out with it. There has been many nights that I crushed them this way but it needs to be the right spot. The frustrating thing is that you will see them popping all over but they may not hit your pinkie because it sinks too deep. I havent found a way to master these fish yet. Just my one secret spot. I have actually used a bomber lure and did ok with it in this circumstance only.

If you get stuck being able to fish only one side of the bridge another thing you can try is this.....

If your facing the water and the water is running away from you, then cast as far under the bridge as you can and just let your bail open to get the lure as deep as possible. Now keep jigging your lure as the current sweeps your lure out from under the bridge. when your lutre starts to get towards the top again, open your bail and let it sink again. I pounded many like this also. 

Put it this way, I have brought my girl out with me and she never fishes, and she has looked like a pro hooking up with fish this way. The only drawback is that I dont really catch too many stripers over 40 inches. I would say the average is 26-38. I have hooked some monsters but lost them but like I said the average is 26-38 inches overall.

I said earlier, If you do this I swear to you- you will hook up a lot more then slinging bait but dont get me wrong, I have had slow nights but I have never been skunked in over 10 years unless it was the middle of decembor or something but if the fish are in you will get at least 1 or 2. Some nights I have caught 40 weakies and like 15 stripers by myself but that was a better then average night. 

If you try this technique and it doesnt work for you at first, keep trying. It will work soon enough, You may have to practice for a little bit.

Another thing to look for is the "Logs" in the water sitting in the shadowline, These are stripers and I promise you that they have been underneath you and you havent known it! Keep looking at the shadowline and you will eventually see a log like thing sitting just a few inches behind the shadowline. Dance your pinkie in front of its face and you will get him for sure! You wont see them every night like this but if you keep a look out you will eventually.

Good Luck Guys and I promise you that I will be there with you guys one night.


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## fingersandclaws (Oct 17, 2005)

Thanks again Weakie . . . BTW, I like your countertops  You let the proverbial cat out of the bag . . . now there will be a mad rush for Bubblegum superflukes  We'll hook up when you get back from the south!!!!!


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

*Hey Weakie*

That was a real informative post and you definitely put them in the right direction. That bridge is one of my favorite spots of all time as you can catch tons of fish all day/night and pretty much year round. Since you have fished there often I am sure I have run into you more than a few times. Who knows back before I was a semiseasoned RT 50 bridge fisherman I was probably one of those guys who ran right up and casted right next to you after you caught one. In fact I can recall a few times I got into some heated shouting matches with people as after I learned how to fish it I never stayed in the same spot like some people do and was "infringing" on their territory. I will say that although lures are the way to go there you can still catch some nice rockfish with live bait there. You just have to know how to use them that is all.  Again great info as this technique took me a year or two to learn, mostly from the locals, and should definitely get you on the way to successfully catching some fish on the bridge. Tightlines!


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## French (Jun 18, 2005)

excellent post. I must be an odd duck. I caught all my fish in January fishing with the current at my back, not coming to me. I verticle jigged along the shadow lines, s-trolled, and cast paralell to the bridge. Most fish were caught verticle jigging pink saltwater shad assasains behind the bridge pilings in the slack water. Granted, that was striper fishing. 

I am going to try all kinds of techniques friday night. Happy 29'er to me!


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## Andre (Mar 15, 2003)

```
Anybody else thinking KN?
```
50 bridged is going to be packed

Great report

Happy big 29 French


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

*Yep*

Like weakie said, different tides for different places. On the best places here is Higbee's Beach. That's the jetty on the south side of the Cape May canal across from the ferry. Usually 1 hour before high tide, floating blood worms will produce tide runner sized weakfish. Now here is the strange thing, on the ferry side of the canal bloods do not work as well as the white buckatail with the bubble gum fin-s, worm or the purple worms. Go figure. Cape May point and Alexander Ave both set ups work weel at high tide or the out going tide.


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