CT Stripers

[Chum Lord]

whats up guys, Im Blowin Holes on iceshanty. Ive been wanting to try and get better at open water fishing to keep the thrill going and catching stripers sounds like fun.  Anyone wanna throw some advice my way?  like location, type of lures/bait, rod, reel, line, leader?  ANything that can be used for bass and pike too?       
I am a open water newbie and i wanna step up my game.   I only have a canoe so im gonna try and figure out some good spots to put in.   thanks

[striper50trout]

Whats up Chum Lord.  I am far from an expert striper fisherman but i can help out a bit.   
I think to start off you should get a 8' or 9' surf rod and a sw reel. Check out something like a Tsunami Airwave for a rod and a Penn Spinfisher or Shimano Stradic for a reel. You can get a decent setup for around $300
I use 40lb Power Pro braid tied to a barrel swivel with about 3' of Seaguar 50lb fluro for a leader. You can obviously use lighter braid and leader if you want. You can tie your leader directly to you plug/lure or use a clip like Tactical Anglers or a duo lock. Clips are great when you want to change plugs often, no retying every time you want to change up.
There are thousands of plugs/lures on the market so just start simple and cheap.  Top water- Gibbs polaris poppers, Zara spooks     Subsurface- Daiwa SP minnows, Rapala Xraps, Cotton Cordel Redfins     Bottom or near bottom- bucktail jigs, swim shads.
You can also use bait like clams, bunker, mackerel or squid fished off a sinker on the bottom. Most bait shops will have the rigs already pre tied.
As far as locations, striper guys are pretty secretive about spots so you probably would get any good suggestions. Best thing to do is go to a local bait shop, buy some stuff and ask questions.      Hopefully I helped a little bit. Good luck this season

[eiderz]

Tall order Chum. Fishing from a canoe in CT limits where you can fish for stripers, as they are found in rivers, bays and in the open sound. In the early spring your best bet is staying in the rivers, especially for the schoolies. There are fish in the Connecticut and Thames Rivers right now, but the water temps are so low the bite may be slow. Stripers lure list is good, my generic advice is to try small jigs with plastic grubs, small sluggos, spoons and swim baits. Subsurface early, topwater usually starts in mid-late april, who knows this year. Maybe the school will hold under an iceberg.   The fish are commonly a couple pounds max right now so a small rod and light line should suffice...until the unexpected big one jumps on! The large migratory fish should start start showing soon to follow the alewives and herring up the rivers, this is when the big ones are accessible to a guy in a canoe. The big ones get north of Hartford, the mouth of large tributaries generally hold fish. There's no easy advice, you need to chase them around as they move during the year.

[eiderz]

Thinking about your canoe reminds me of another tactic. Guys with kayaks have had great success with worm tubes, the 18"+ surgical tube setup with a worm on the hook. They work well trolled very slowly which is perfect for any rowed/paddled craft. The worm tubes look stupid but they work.

[Ravo_Himself]

I would just be cautious about taking a canoe into any main river. With all the snow melt the rivers are about to start ripping

[eiderz]

I would just be cautious about taking a canoe into any main river. With all the snow melt the rivers are about to start ripping

yup, good point

[Skeet190]

open water bass!!!  Now we are talking my game lol...  If you are just starting out I would get a 6'6" med/hvy baitcasting rod and reel and spool it with 14 lb monofilament line...  that is a good all around rod for bass and pike as well...  As far as lures???  again if you are just starting out and you want to catch bass and pike..  Start with spinnerbaits (white/chart), Minnow style baits (#13 rapala silver/black), and a couple of topwater baits (rebel pop r silver/blk and a zara spook bull frog color)...
 that would be a good start for catching bass and pike any where in CT...   

[Chum Lord]

thanks a lot you guys. this is a lot of information to take in but im glad i can read through this and use it as a reference. looking forward to fishing and not having to fight off the cold weather anymore

[weneric]

me too. i only ice fish because im a fisherman. its nice to be warm.

[octanehi5]

The surf casting gear stands ready, as well as the boat gear.Now we need so warm weather

[Newguy123]

im in a similar situation, while i have always been a freshwater fisherman  im looking to expand a bit into salt,  though  the only boat i have access to is my kayak, a 10 foot  sit on top,  not necessarily ideal  for fishing the sound
will look into some spots on the rivers in the meantime