No striper-fishing trip on Long Island’s south shore would be complete without wetting a line in Shinnecock Bay. If the fish aren’t biting close to shore, head out for deep-sea adventure around the Shinnecock Artificial Reef. Access to the bay is available at several small harbors along Route 80 in South Hampton off Beach Road, or at the Shinnecock Bay Fishing Station and Marina at 22 Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bay.

Montauk, at the tip of Long Island, offers access to Block Island Sound on one side and the open Atlantic Ocean on the other. Saltwater access just doesn’t get much better than this!

For excellent surfcasting opportunities, visit Montauk Downs State Park off Route 27. Boat access may be had off Soundview Drive.

Hither Hills State Park offers year-round fishing access, but a permit is needed for night-angling. Montauk Point State Park also offers excellent surf fishing opportunities. Shadmoor State Park, east of Montauk Village, also allows fishing along its 2,400-foot beach.

Some of the best surf fishing in the world may be at Camp Hero State Park, open to anglers 24/7 as long as they have a permit.

To reach this 415-acre park, which also boasts a former military base now registered as a national historic site, take Route 27.

NEW YORK BAY
Access to Lower New York Bay is available from several locations, including a sandy beach area with a small-boat launch at Coney Island Creek Park on Bayview Avenue.

Or check out Kaiser Park on Neptune Avenue, where anglers may access a pier as well as enjoy casting opportunities along both sandy and rocky beach areas.

Access to East Bay can be had through Jones Beach State Park off Meadowbrook State Parkway. This park has miles of rocky shoreline where anglers can try their luck for hungry stripers.

Tidal rivers, Big Apple bays and Long Island’s shores offer excellent access to exciting striper destinations in spring.

HUDSON RIVER
“Similar to salmon, striped bass are a species that lives in the ocean and comes into freshwater to spawn,” explained Kris McShane, a DEC fisheries biologist. “Except stripers don’t die. They can spawn multiple times. They migrate along the Atlantic coast in March, April and May, with the 4- to 5-year-old males arriving first. The 6- to 7- year-old females follow.

“Hudson River stripers can swim all the way up to Albany, where they are stopped by the Troy Dam,” he said. “I believe it’s about 153 miles from the tip of Manhattan up to the Troy Dam. Some stripers stop at multiple areas. By May, it’s really spawning time throughout the whole river -- and there’s a lot of ‘em. Our 2007 state-record striper (55 pounds, 6 ounces) was caught near Kingston.

“In sampling studies, we caught two stripers above 50 pounds this season,” McShane continued. “The record we caught with a net was 57 and three-quarter pounds -- the largest striper ever recorded in the Hudson River. That was also in the Kingston area.”

There are boat launches at the Charley Rider Park boat launch off Route 9W, the Sleightsburg launch off Route 9W and Norrie Point Marina off Route 9 in Norrie Point State Park.

In May, head to Esopus Flats, where there is a large, relatively shallow area where striped bass like to spawn. Stripers come here to breed, not to feed, but they do need energy, so they will hit occasionally. A lot of fish are caught, even though they aren’t in the feeding frenzies you may see at Shinnecock.