TROLLING FOR TROPHY STRIPED BASS
By: Nick Honachefsky
Striped bass fishing is a rite of passage in the Northeast, especially in New Jersey where 40 to 50 pound “lifetime fish” have been relatively commonplace since the striper stocks have rebounded from the virtual extinction of the species in the 1980’s. Tony Arcabasio Sr., aka Tony Maja, honed down the bunker spoon concept in the 1990’s and his son Anthony has perfected the tactic along with developing a new line of Tony Maja Trolling spoons and Mojo balls to target trophy stripers.
“We are very lucky to see the big bass around again, and over the decades, my dad and I found that to target big fish, the bunker spoons and Mojo balls connect, so we developed a system that works together,” says Anthony.
“We are very lucky to see the big bass around again, and over the decades, my dad and I found that to target big fish, the bunker spoons and Mojo balls connect, so we developed a system that works together,” says Anthony.
For bunker spooning, Arcabasio’s set up starts with a 7’ 10” Maja Bunker Spoon rod with carb alloy guides, matched with a Shimano Tekota 800 reel with line counter. The reel is spooled with 300 feet of marked wire line Monel marked every 100 feet, then a 200-pound Spro Barrell swivel to a 15 foot section of 60-pound mono leader, a 260-pound Ball bearing snap swivel to which the #4 Tony Maja spoon in white or chartreuse is clipped on.
“I’m usually fishing around 50 to 60 feet of water and the spoons go out first in the EZ Outrodders in the gunnels. The first rod is sent 250 feet back equivalent to 25 feet down and the second rod the wire is dumped 350 feet back which is 40 feet down. A general rule when trolling wire is every 100 feet of wire out is 10 feet down.”
“I’m usually fishing around 50 to 60 feet of water and the spoons go out first in the EZ Outrodders in the gunnels. The first rod is sent 250 feet back equivalent to 25 feet down and the second rod the wire is dumped 350 feet back which is 40 feet down. A general rule when trolling wire is every 100 feet of wire out is 10 feet down.”
For Mojo ball trolling, Arcabasio goes with a 6’ 6” trolling rod with Fuji Alconite guides matched with a Shimano Tekota 600 , spooled with 65-pound braided line then a 10 foot shot of 60-pound monofilament leader and a 260-pound ball bearing Snap Swivel.
“I’ll run two Maja Magic Mojo balls down off the stern lines at 24 to 32 ounces or a 24 ounce with a 6-ounce tandem trailer. Mojos are mainly hanging about 10 feet off the bottom. They sit down nicely in the stern and don’t affect the spoon rods that are set outside off the gunnels.”
“I’ll run two Maja Magic Mojo balls down off the stern lines at 24 to 32 ounces or a 24 ounce with a 6-ounce tandem trailer. Mojos are mainly hanging about 10 feet off the bottom. They sit down nicely in the stern and don’t affect the spoon rods that are set outside off the gunnels.”
With both the Maja spoons and Mojos out, Arcabasio generally finds a troll between 3 and 3.5 knots works the lures most effectively, but it all depends on the current and tide and most importantly, look for the textbook “heartbeat” of the rod pulsating in a rhythmic cadence. “Trolling slower is usually better if you can maintain that constant heartbeat which we timed out to be around 80 beats of the rod tip per minute,” says Anthony.
With both the Maja spoons and Mojos out, Arcabasio generally finds a troll between 3 and 3.5 knots works the lures most effectively, but it all depends on the current and tide and most importantly, look for the textbook “heartbeat” of the rod pulsating in a rhythmic cadence. “Trolling slower is usually better if you can maintain that constant heartbeat which we timed out to be around 80 beats of the rod tip per minute,” says Anthony.
With both the Maja spoons and Mojos out, Arcabasio generally finds a troll between 3 and 3.5 knots works the lures most effectively, but it all depends on the current and tide and most importantly, look for the textbook “heartbeat” of the rod pulsating in a rhythmic cadence. “Trolling slower is usually better if you can maintain that constant heartbeat which we timed out to be around 80 beats of the rod tip per minute,” says Anthony.
With recent striper stock assessments on the decline, new regulations are now in place coastwide on the East Coast. That said, most large fish in that 30 to 50-pound range will now need to be released and Anthony prefers to utilize a wide gap net such as the BUBBA Carbon fiber Fishing Net to prevent any harm to the fish. For keeper slot fish, Arcabasio relies on the 8-inch flex to cut through cartilage and slice the thick fillets off effortlessly. Check out more of the Maja line and photos of the results at www.tonymajaproducts.com
