UTERThe Atlantic striped bass migration runs twice a year: in spring the fish leave their spawning rivers (mostly in the Chesapeake) and push north to New England and Maine from April to June, and in fall they come back south, from Maine in early October to the New Jersey beaches in November and the lower Chesapeake by December. Water temperature drives both legs, so the run arrives a little earlier or later every year, but the order of the stops never changes.
This guide follows the fish stop by stop, month by month, using the same season calendar Fish Scouter's forecast runs on, so what you read here is what the app says on the water.
Where the stripers come from
According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the majority of the coastal migratory stock is spawned in the Chesapeake Bay, with significant contributions from the Hudson and Delaware rivers. In the ocean, ASMFC notes, the fish tend to move north in summer and south in winter. That is the whole migration in two sentences: big fish spawn in brackish rivers in April and May, run the coast north to feed all summer, and drift back south as the water cools.
The stock is not in great shape. ASMFC's 2024 assessment update found it still overfished, though no longer experiencing overfishing, and rules have tightened several times since. Federal waters (3 to 200 miles out) are closed to striped bass fishing altogether, per NOAA Fisheries. Seasons, slot sizes and closed spawning areas differ by state and change often, so check the agency for the water you fish before you keep anything. We link each one below.
The striper run at a glance
| Water | Spring | Summer | Fall peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Bay | Spawn April–May | Resident fish on the lumps, June | October–December |
| Delaware Bay & Ocean City | Delaware River spawn April; out of the bay in May | Night inlet bite | November–December |
| New Jersey | Raritan Bay and the bunker, April–May | Quiet after June | November–December |
| Long Island & Montauk | Hudson spawn April; Sound in May | Montauk rips, June | October–November |
| Rhode Island & Cape Cod | First fish late April | Canal blitzes, May–June | October |
| Gulf of Maine | First fish late May | June–July river mouths | September |
| Outer Banks | Roanoke spawn April | Absent | Only in cold winters |
The spring run, month by month
January and February: holdovers
The migration is at its southern end. Big ocean fish winter off Virginia and the Delmarva coast, much of it outside three miles where the season is closed. Inside, the action is holdover fish: in the Chesapeake around warm-water discharges and deep channel edges, in New Jersey's back-bay rivers (the Mullica, the Toms, the Navesink), and in the Hudson, the Harlem and the Connecticut rivers. Slow soft plastics on warm afternoons is the whole playbook. Maryland's bay is catch-and-release only in winter.
At the Outer Banks, ocean stripers reach Oregon Inlet only in the coldest winters. Most years they stay up off Virginia.
March: prespawn fish move
Prespawn fish push up the Chesapeake toward the spawning rivers and up Delaware Bay toward the Delaware River, where bloodworms in the back-bay creeks start to work. In New Jersey the back-bay bite starts in Barnegat and Great Bay once the water passes about 45°F. Maryland closes its spawning rivers and the Susquehanna Flats to striper targeting through spring, so check the Maryland DNR maps before you go.
April: the spawn
April is spawning month. In the Chesapeake the fish spawn in the Choptank, the Nanticoke, the Patuxent, the Potomac and the Upper Bay. The Delaware River spawn runs from Philadelphia to Trenton; New Jersey and Delaware set different spring rules on the river and bay. The Hudson spawn runs from Croton to Kingston, under rules that differ from New York's marine district.
The ocean fish that are not spawning yet feed hard: Raritan Bay comes alive on bunker schools (snag-and-drop and chunking), and late in the month the first migrants reach Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay, mostly schoolies on soft plastics.
May: the run goes north
This is the month the coast lights up. Post-spawn fish pour down the Chesapeake and out of Delaware Bay; anglers chunk bunker off the Delaware beaches and Cape Henlopen and troll umbrella rigs along the Chesapeake channel edges. Bunker pods off the Monmouth County beaches hold big fish for live-bunker anglers, and the surf bite on plugs is a night game.
On Long Island, post-spawn fish and migrants feed on bunker in western Long Island Sound and Jamaica Bay, with topwater on the flats. In southern New England the run fills in: the Cape Cod Canal, the Westport and Narragansett rivers and the river herring runs, with the big fish following the bunker. Late in May the first fish reach Boston Harbor, the Merrimack and the Piscataqua.
June and July: summer stations
By June the fish have settled. Chesapeake residents hold on the lumps and channel edges: chum and chunk at Love Point, the Bay Bridge pilings and the Diamonds, with topwater at dawn on rocky shorelines. Montauk and the Race light up, with eels at night on the rips. The Cape Cod Canal sees dawn blitzes on mackerel and pencil poppers; Cape Cod Bay fishes tube-and-worm; Block Island is a night fishery. In Maine, live mackerel off the ledges and plugs at the Merrimack mouth and Plum Island, then in July the Kennebec, the Saco and the Scarborough marsh on the dropping tide.
August: hot water, gentle hands
Stripers handle hot water badly, and catch-and-release mortality climbs as the water warms. Maryland has closed all striper targeting in its bay during August in recent seasons to spare fish; check the current Maryland DNR rules. Farther north the fishing carries on at night: Indian River Inlet and the Ocean City bridges on bucktails and swim shads.
The fall run, month by month
September: the fall feed starts in the north
The fall run begins in the Gulf of Maine. Big fish feed on pogies in Boston Harbor and the Maine rivers before the trip south. On Long Island and in Rhode Island the first fall fish show, and the little tunny season overlaps it; see our fall fishing guide by region for what else is biting.
October: the coast-wide blitz
The last schools leave Maine early in the month. Stripers stage on Block Island, the Rhode Island beaches and the Elizabeth Islands before heading south. Montauk fishes sand eels, and bait balls line the south shore beaches with birds everywhere. In New Jersey the run starts with sand eels and peanut bunker, the birds working off Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park. In the Chesapeake, breaking fish under the birds fill the middle bay; jig the schools or troll bucktails along the 20 to 30 foot edges.
November: the heart of the run
November is the peak for most of the mid-Atlantic. The Montauk blitz, with stripers and bluefish under the birds at the Point and along the south shore, gives way to the heart of the New Jersey run: big fish under bunker schools off Monmouth and Ocean counties and surfcasters on every jetty at dawn. The run reaches the Delaware and Maryland surf, where bunker chunks and big plugs work on the Assateague and Delaware beaches. In the Chesapeake the fish fatten on menhaden along the channel edges. The last of them leave the Rhode Island beaches.
December: the tail heads south
The tail of the run works Long Island's south shore and then slides to Cape May, where the last big fish come off the jetties. Big fish run the Delaware beaches south and the Indian River Inlet rocks at night. The big ocean fish return to the lower Chesapeake and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, and Maryland goes back to catch-and-release for winter. At the Outer Banks, watch the inlets when the ocean drops into the mid-40s.
What moves the run: water temperature and bait
Dates on a calendar only get you close. Water temperature and bait set the actual timing. Fish Scouter's striper forecast treats 50 to 68°F as ideal water and 42 to 80°F as workable. In spring that means the fish move north as each bay and beach warms through the 50s; in fall they leave each stop as it cools through the 50s and stack wherever the bait is. The bait matters as much: bunker (menhaden) in spring and late fall, sand eels and peanut bunker in October, mackerel and herring in New England. Find the bait in the right temperature band and you have found the fish. Our water temperature guide explains how the app scores it.
- Tides: the moving tide is the bite on inlets, rips and canal shorelines; the Cape Cod Canal and the Race are tide-table fisheries.
- Light: dawn and night for big fish in the surf and on the inlets, especially in summer.
- Weather: a northeaster can push bait onto the beaches or end a run overnight. Fish the first calm days after a blow.
Rules change: check your state
Striper rules are some of the most changeable on the coast: slot sizes, closed spawning areas, catch-and-release months and gear rules (inline circle hooks with bait in many states). We do not print limits because they go out of date. Check these before every season:
- Chesapeake (Maryland): Maryland DNR; Virginia: VMRC
- Delaware: DNREC; New Jersey: NJ Fish and Wildlife
- New York: NYSDEC (the Hudson has its own rules)
- Rhode Island: RIDEM; Massachusetts: Mass DMF; Maine: Maine DMR
- North Carolina (Roanoke and Albemarle stock): NCDMF
Follow the run with Fish Scouter
We think Fish Scouter is the best way to follow the striper run, because it puts the run calendar and the live conditions in one place. It carries this calendar for every water on the striper coast. Tap a spot and it shows the season stage for stripers there this month, the nearest live water temperature, the tide and the next seven days, and it ranks the fish for the hour you are fishing. Start with the striped bass page or open your water: Chesapeake, New Jersey, Long Island, Rhode Island and Cape Cod or Maine. When you are ready to fish it, try Fish Scouter free.