A few years ago we were in Boston on a business trip and as a team building activity a bunch of the boys went striper fishing. The 32 foot lobster boat picked us up in Boston Harbor and we steamed over an hour to get to the outer islands.

The Captain jockeyed the boat into a very specific position, which to me looked like the middle of the ocean. I was skeptical, knowing what I thought I knew… “Way out here, in the middle of the bay”? But, I kept my mouth shut and went along for the ride.

The tide was starting to drop and their was clearly good water movement. The crew started cutting herring and pitching chunks over the side. The chunks drifted away off the stern and sunk from site. We were handed rods with 40 lb mono, trebble hooks and a large piece of herring. We were told to “let the herring drift from the stern and allow the line to free spool until a fish picks up the bait. Give the fish a chance to swallow it, then set the hook”. The Captain and crew stated this with absolute certainty, and we wanted to believe.

The first of our baits went over the side, slowly they drifted from view and the line spooled off the reels; 30 seconds, 45 seconds… tug, tug… fish on! For a couple hours we caught 32′ - 39″ striper one after another. By the end of the morning, we were some happy sports!

So here’s what was happening. The Captain was familiar with these waters, and on a going tide, he knew the flow across this particular submerged shoal created the perfect conditions for stripers to take up a feeding position. He also knew their were some big fish working these waters. What he did was position the boat up-current from the shoal so the chunked herring would drift down current and across the shoal. The stripers worked up-current, moving from deeper water onto the shoal to feed. All the angler needed to do was put their bait in with the chum and a fish would pick it up.

Two points to make… 1.) Professional guides acquire a knowledge base that can really help their sports get on fish. 2.) Different techniques, althought new and different from what is local tradition or the local standard can be highly effective. So keep your mind open to new and different approaches to fishing as it might provide insight that results in success.