How-To: Early Season Nantucket Flats Stripers with Capt. Harold Herrick

We spent 15 minutes on the phone with Capt. Harold Herrick to discuss early season Nantucket flats fishing for striped bass with the Hogy Originals. Here's what we learned...

Capt. Harold Herrick
Website: www.nantucketfishing.com

Location: Tuckernuck Island and Nantucket Harbor, MA

Tides: The incoming, or “East Tide” tend to produce the best fishing for stripers along the flats.

Approach: When trying to time early season striper fishing around Nantucket, Memorial Day Weekend tends to be the unofficial kickoff for the best action. Targeting fish along shallow weed and sand edges in 3′ – 6′ can be challenging for big boat anglers, but those with shallow drafting craft can enjoy some very exciting top water action. Moving slowly, parallel to the weed edges, keep an eye our for small groups of fish lurking around sandy pot holes. These ambush areas hold fish that are actively feeding. The best sight fishing can be had when the sun is over head, generally 10am – 2pm. When targeting fish during low light periods, scanning the flats for surface feeding activity is a sure fire way to locate the action.

Rigging Selection: For a shallow water – weedless presentation, the 5/0 Unweighted Swim Bait Hook is perfect.

Bait Selection: The Hogy 7-inch Original.

Why This Bait? The large profile and extra weight of this bait allow for long distance casting to shallow stripers.

Colors: Bone is a top choice. It rarely goes unnoticed when well presented during a moving tide.

Retrieve:  Walk the dog retrieve at a moderate pace will cause the bait to occasionally pop out of the water. This active speed is best for triggering reaction strikes from roaming stripers.

OUTFIT

Rod: GLoomis 7′ M Fast Action Spinning Rod

Reel:  Shimano Spheros 4000

Line: 10lb Mono tied direct to hook using a loop knot.