Fish of the Night

I CAUGHT MY FIRST striped bass in New Jersey, a state that tracks the migratory patterns of stripers like helicopter parents following their child’s first year of college. Shoulder-to-shoulder congestion lines the beaches and back bays in early spring and again in the fall. Avoiding the crowds can be as hard as the fishing itself. The only way to navigate through the traffic is to fish when others don’t—either super-early mornings or super-late at night. Early alarms, layered clothing, and hot coffee are all parts of the East Coast striped bass experience, an experience that many New Jersey anglers hold dear.

I’m convinced that striped