The fall run for stripers is mid-September to the end of October. The nights get cold, the water drops a degree at a time, and the bait moves: peanut bunker flushing out of the marshes, sand eels back on the bars, herring and pogies late. The days start in the dark and run on the weather. A hard northwest front blows through, and the next morning the birds are up, Monomoy is loaded and the beaches light up. The same run works down Rhode Island, Montauk and the Jersey Shore.
The windows are short, tied to the tide and the front, and most people miss them chasing the last splash. These six cover the run from the surface to the trough.
A striper angler who chases the fall run, casting to birds and blitzes from mid-September through October. Some fish dawn tides from a center console on the Monomoy rips and shoals. Others walk the beaches with a surf bag when peanut bunker are in the wash. Either way the weather runs the week: a hard northwest front blows through and they're going in the morning.
They care about being there when the birds go down, not an hour later. If they keep a rod rigged in the truck from Labor Day on and pull over every time they see birds, this is your angler.
The full set is $95.70 MSRP. One of each covers the run, from the first September birds to the last blitz on the October bars.
Already has some? Buy them anyway. Blues will cost them more lures in a morning than bass do all season.
Not sure of the color? Get what's listed. Bone and olive cover most of the fall, and the Peanut Jig is painted like the bait.
Giving the full set? Print the guide and tuck it in the box.
THE LINEUP
1 Surface Eraser XL “The Everything Lure”
WHEN Birds working fish past where a small jig reaches, wind in your face. The 5 inch matches October's juvenile herring, and the through-wire survives the blues.
FISH IT Short, sharp pops with sideways kicks from the wrist. Cast past the feed and work the edge. Boils and misses? Let it hang between kicks. Fish go down? Jig it.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Wind and distance beat most people in the fall. It's built for ultra-long range, so it casts through both, and it wakes, walks or jigs without a retie.
“My go to for beach sides, inlets and back bays” Chris S.
Add to cart | MSRP $17.95See details ›
2 Dog Walker “The Quiet One”
WHEN October mornings on the Monomoy shoals and rip faces, migration bass pushing bait on top. The day after a hard northwest front is the strongest day of the fall.
FISH IT Slack line: twitch, slack, twitch, and hold the cadence across the current. Fish following without eating? Two walks, then stop it dead. Nothing in a dozen casts, go under.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Fall bass see poppers all week. When they refuse the noise, the walk still gets eaten, and it comes rigged the way I'd fish it, straight out of the package.
“I retired one this year after more than 100 stripers caught.” Stephen K.
Add to cart | MSRP $19.95See details ›
3 OG Swimmer Fatty “The Swiss Army Knife”
WHEN Between feeds, or when fish roll under the topwater and won't take it. Peanut bunker sized, it swims just under the surface where they sit.
FISH IT Steady crank, slow enough to let it roll. In a rip, cast up-current and let it swing. Following fish: tic, tic, pause. They eat on the pause.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT It fixes the most common fall miss. Fish rise and refuse, and people change everything. Drop a few feet, keep the size, and the flag on the tail gives a follower a smaller bite.
“...this sub-surface plug perfectly mimics a wounded baitfish” Michael M.
Add to cart | MSRP $23.95See details ›
4 Peanut Jig “The Finesse Metal”
WHEN Late September into mid-October, peanut bunker flushing out of the estuaries and pinned on the beaches. The 2 oz reaches the fish working past the wash.
FISH IT Steady, moderate retrieve; let the wobble work. Fish under the bait: sink, lift, let it fall. Followed and refused? Lighter fluorocarbon. It needs it to hang right.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT When they're keyed on peanuts, close isn't good enough. We let nature design this one: flat sides, painted and sized like a peanut, which is what a picky fall bass checks.
“When the stripers are lying further out beyond the start of the waves, I put this lure on” Daniel M.
Add to cart | MSRP $11.95See details ›
5 Protail Paddle “The 7-Iron”
WHEN Peanuts pinned in the wash with fish right behind them, or bait holding in the trough. Scout the trough at low tide, fish it on the push.
FISH IT Short casts into the whitewater, straight retrieve, speed change every 10 to 15 cranks. Most people burn it; the paddle needs time to load. In a rip, let it swing.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Stained water after a blow kills most lures. Fish feel this paddle's thump from 15 to 20 feet off, and the single hook pops out of a schoolie fast.
“...we were fishing the white wash and we landed around 80 fish in a couple of hours” James A.
Add to cart | MSRP $7.95See details ›
6 Epoxy Jig “The Gold Standard”
WHEN October on the Cape Cod Bay bars. Peanuts flush out of the harbors on the ebb, and schoolies blitz them on the Sandy Neck bar and Brewster Flats in two feet of water.
FISH IT Drift parallel to the bar, never at it; sound carries in thin water. Cast past the blitz and work the edge. Nothing breaking? Engine off on the flats and lead the wakes.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Small enough for peanuts and heavy enough to reach a blitz from a quiet distance. Best-built epoxy jig there is, and the single hook keeps releases quick.
“They were hitting small bait and this was the ticket” Douglas W.
Add to cart | MSRP $13.95See details ›WHICH ONE, WHEN
| WHEN YOU SEE THIS | TIE ON |
|---|---|
| Birds working past casting range, wind in your face | 1 Surface Eraser XL |
| Bass up on the shoal edges, poppers getting refused | 2 Dog Walker |
| Fish rolling under the topwater and not taking it | 3 OG Swimmer Fatty |
| Peanut bunker on the beach, fish past the wash | 4 Peanut Jig |
| Peanuts in the whitewater, or stained water after a blow | 5 Protail Paddle |
| Schoolies blitzing peanuts on the Bay bars | 6 Epoxy Jig 5/8 |
7-foot medium-heavy spinning rod for most of this bag; it's the everyday rod for 1 to 2.25 oz. The 5/8 epoxy fishes best on a 7-foot medium. Fluorocarbon leader, 20 lb for small bait and the Peanut Jig, heavier as the bass get bigger. A short piece of single-strand wire when the blues are thick.
Single inline hooks on the jigs and the paddle: fewer snags, cleaner releases.
A schoolie blitz is a lot of releases. Unhook them in the water and let them swim off.
More from Hogy: the needle from a boat in a fall wind and the fall run in Buzzards Bay with Capt. Ray Jarvis.
QUESTIONS ANGLERS ASK
What are the best lures for the fall striper run?
Lures that reach the birds and match the fall bait. I work top down: the Surface Eraser XL for fish past casting range, the Dog Walker when they refuse poppers, and the OG Swimmer Fatty when they roll under the topwater. On peanut bunker it's the 2 oz Peanut Jig or the Protail Paddle in the whitewater. Schoolies on the bars get the 5/8 oz Epoxy Jig.
When is the fall striper run on Cape Cod?
Mid-September to the end of October. The water drops a degree at a time and the bait moves: peanut bunker flushing out of the marshes, sand eels back on the bars, herring and pogies late. The strongest day is the morning after a hard northwest front, when the birds are up and Monomoy is loaded. The same run works down Rhode Island, Montauk and the Jersey Shore.
What size lures match peanut bunker in the fall run?
Match the peanut. The 3.5 inch Peanut Jig is painted and sized like one, and when bass are keyed on peanuts, close isn't good enough. The 3 inch Epoxy Jig is small enough for peanuts and reaches a blitz on the Bay bars, and the 5.5 inch OG Swimmer Fatty is peanut bunker sized. Late in October, the 5 inch Surface Eraser XL matches juvenile herring.
