Fighting Stripers Under Robert Moses Bridge

Fighting Stripers Under Robert Moses Bridge

By Nate Matthews

Source: sportfishingmag

6/19/2022

Credit: James Kirkikis / Shutterstock

There’s a sandbar on the northeast corner of the Robert Moses Bridge where fish sometimes stack up on their way in and out of New York’s Fire Island Inlet. The sands shift year to year, but when the point is long enough, wading out to its tip lets you drop long casts into the shadow line between the second and third bridge abutments, into deeper water where fish like to hold.

But fighting stripers in this spot is no joke. It’s chest-deep water, and the bass force you to shift your feet on soft sand that could crumble out from under you. One slip will fill your waders.

A few years ago, one fish almost got me. We were catching on every cast, all bass over 30 inches. The biggest of the night thrashed while in my grip, and one of the trebles on my chartreuse darter jammed deep into the meat below my thumb.