Porgy which may also be called Bunker or menhaden are one of the preferred baits for catching striped bass. They are known for stripers in fact, and many anglers depend on them for bass hits. Bunker can comprise up to 80% of the diet of a striped bass, it is high in calories, and is oily and fatty making it preferable to stripers. Today, commercial fishermen are taking millions of bunker at a time through a process known as purse seining. One reason that bunker is so popular for commercial fisheries is that food, medicine and even pet food are depending on supplies of Omega 3 oils. Take a look at some of the labels in your home and you’ll no doubt be surprised by some of the foods that you find them in. Purse seining is the process that involves spotter planes identifying schools of bunker, radioing coordinates to waiting fishing boats allowing them to quickly net millions of bunker in a single pass of a net. This is troubling not only because it lessens the ability of anglers to snag bunker, but there is an environmental price that is paid for this large scale harvesting. Bunkers are by design filter feeders, which simply means that they clear up debris in the form of suspended matter and food particles – they remove them from the water which helps keep it clear. Bunker also tend to travel in large schools, it’s not unusual to see millions of them in a small area. Most anglers already know that if you see a single bunker, there is no doubt that a school of them is not too far away. Summer heat means that bunker head to estuaries and back creeks for feeding – it’s not unusual for them to literally suck all available oxygen out of these smaller bodies of water. In fact, bunker are often to blame when there are mass fish kills in these small bodies of water.
Angler learned long ago that due to the nature of bunker feeding habits, they are not likely to be easily caught using traditional fishing methods that involve bait, flies or lures. In fact, there are only two ways that anglers find any success with bunkers, one using treble hooks and one using nets. Treble hooks are far less preferable because this method of fishing is time consuming and it’s downright dirty work – you’ll find that your boat and your clothing will almost always be covered in blood after this method of bunker fishing. If you do feel that this method is for you, merely cast your line into a school of bunker and you’ll be likely to find some measure of success. The “lazy mans” fishing option is to snag a bunker and let it swim around the pod that it’s from and before long the added weight of a hook will create an environment that drags the bunker blow the school. Stripers waste little time in identifying this wounded bunker and you’ll soon find that you’ve landed a striper with the same cast you used for the bunker. This is effective and can be quite relaxing too.
The most effective method of landing bunker is by using gill nets. This method can snag several dozen bunker in one fell swoop without a lot of work. The best gill nets will have openings that are one inch maximum, be four to six feet deep and in the area of fifty to one hundred feet long. To get the maximum benefit of the gill net you’ll need to make sure that you’ve properly weighted it (1.25 lbs per foot of net) and that you are not using a mesh that is too large. Nets work by trapping the bunkers head in the mesh and this tangles up their gill plates. This allows the angler to bring the net out and remove the bunker from the trap that have become ensnared in. Making sure that you have the right size mesh and, that you are using weights and floats correctly is important to your success. A properly weighted net will produce favorable results. . Use too much weight and your net will sink long before you get the bunker and not enough weight will cause it to float and the net will remain empty in spite of your best efforts. Keeping the bunker alive for striper fishing is accomplished with live wells.
When you are starting out it is best to go in the early morning, in the area of a reef. Start in really shallow water and avoid using any weight. You will be astounded when you see the bunker run to the surface as they fight for survival. How often do you get to see a bunker fleeing for his life, get knocked 3 feet into the air, and then be swallowed whole? Just remember as the sun gets higher, boat traffic will increase. At this time, the bass will likely retreat towards deeper water. This is the time when you will want to strap on sinkers and a three-way rig and resort to the more traditional Porgy, Hickory Shad and eels. You may discover that the bunker has become so effective that the scent will stay on your boat and could disrupt the fishing plans of other fishing boats in the area. This is especially true if they were using bait other than bunker. Remember, once the striper gets the scent of a bunker in the water, it may be all they can think about.
When you are preparing to undergo a saltwater fishing experience, it is important that you have the proper fishing gear. Some of the most popular gear include Shimano Saltwater Spinning Reels, Penn Reels, and Daiwa Fishing Reels.
