TIME TO MOVE ON AND USE DIFFERENT FISHING TECHNIQUES
The sky is gray without a sign of clearing. The forecast calls for light winds out of the southwest with a 70 percent chance of rain in the morning changing to a high front during the day. You are on the water and have already fished some channel ledges from 30' to 42' deep and points from 25' to 15' deep. These locations have produced some quality striped bass during past fishing trips. The lures or baits used covered the water column from 15' to 42' deep. Today for some unknown reason you have only caught two stripers in the 14" class. You started fishing just before sunrise and it's now 9:00 AM and you realize it's time to move on to different structures and to use different fishing techniques. This is smart thinking, and at first, it will be one of the hardest decisions you will make.  It's always easy to keep fishing in the same location, with the same lures or baits, that have been productive in the past. The main thing to remember here is it's not in the past anymore and time to move on.

At least two major factors should be considered before making that move. One is water temperature and the other is the weather condition. Before showing you a different type of structure that can be productive in the conditions stated above, an understanding on how the weather effects the location of striped bass should be understood. When the weather changes (and this could be from one hour to the next, or from day to day, etc.), you must be flexible and ready to change your location, fishing techniques, lures or baits, and type of structure you were fishing.

HOW THE WEATHER CONDITION EFFECT STRIPERS
Here's an example and the best water depths to start fishing for striped bass throughout the day of 10/13/__.  The water temperature is 70 degrees; a low or warm front are considered the same; the same with a high or cold front. I will stay with low and high fronts throughout this article.

When watching the skies on the 1st day of a high front, the skies will be bluebird bright with no clouds present. Starting the 2nd day after this high front, the skies will start to have some cloud cover present. Each day from then on until it rains, or another high front comes in, the cloud cover increases. The skies will start looking hazy. This means low light conditions on the water. During these cloudy days fishing can be very productive.

Catching striped bass becomes easier while the weather is in a low front condition just before the rain starts. Easier yes, but not the only time. By being flexible and ready to try different depths, techniques, lures or flies, etc., striped bass can be caught during a low or high front.

UNDERWATER MOUNDS
One of the best structures to fish under the conditions stated in this article would be an underwater mound that crests anywhere from 1' to 10' below top water. This underwater mound MUST BE CLOSE TO DEEP WATER. Remember, deep water is relative to the conditions around it. Deep water doesn't necessarily have to be 90'. The sketch will show a good example of the deep water in relationship to an underwater mound.

This underwater mound, according to the first weather condition of the day, has the right habitat to be productive for striped bass anytime from 7:00 AM until 11:30 AM. Knowing how weather conditions effect where fish are located. You can understand how the same points that were fished in depths 15' or deeper could have produced some striped bass, if fished at the correct water depth (using the right lure or bait). I can come up with only one reason why the two stripers in the 14" class were caught. They must have been on a suicide mission.

END NOTE
More productive fishing will occur if you mark structures on your chart, using the current weather and tide conditions, before you leave the dock.
 

Tight Lines,