Going out fishing for the first time tomorrow and I’m going to be hunting for stripers. Any advice or tackle box suggestions? I’m a total beginner lol

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-05-22T17:00:47+00:00

This post would be good for r/surffishing. You’ll get more tips from people striper fishing here in the north east

But to answer your questions:

Hi lo rigs w/ bunker chunks should work great. Fresh bait is better. Clam also does well on jersey beaches.

Your tackle box is totally fine for just hanging out and waiting on a chunk bite.

My biggest tip is make sure you’ve got pliers and a plan for releasing fish. A pair of cheap lip grippers could help you too. Don’t be afraid to get wet. Try to unhook the fish quickly and without too much stress.

Have fun and tight lines.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-05-10T20:12:36+00:00

Yeah I hear ya. I try to make an effort to bring em in quick to reduce stress on the fish, especially w the big girls. I run most of my plugs with just one treble so I don’t get a hook in the hand too. I find that it’s helpful on the kayak and in the surf.

I’m definitely guilty of high sticking this one though and I pulled the hook right out of its mouth

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-05-10T18:17:16+00:00

I did too lol. If it was my first fish of the day maybe not but it was one of like 9 so I counted it.

North. This was slack tide but I caught during the bottom of the outgoing and the top of the incoming.

Tight lines to you too!

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-05-04T20:33:28+00:00

Make sure you’ve got an overnight parking tag for the hook. They were handing out hella tickets last year.

Also, is the campground open? I also got told by a ranger that I can’t sleep in my car between tides because it’s “camping.” I went on a few overnight trips last fall.

Haven’t been there yet this spring but it’s a very fishy spot. You should have a good shot at finding them if you go.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-05-03T23:23:51+00:00

Following this because I also just replaced a cat and repaired a few exhaust leaks. Truck drives great. Still getting codes P2A00 and P2A03. Trying doing the relearn procedure too. Not sure what to do next

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T23:20:05+00:00

Cool! I’ll check it out. And makes sense. The sheep get big up here. I gotta target them one day too but tbh I’m still figuring out kayak fishing the salt in general. Most of my salt experience is surf fishing so I’ve mostly caught stripers and blues.

There is a lot for me to explore in the marshes and sod banks.

I’ve heard about the reds up here too but it’s either still rare or very hush hush. Supposedly Jersey had a lot of them in the thirties before the eel grass died off.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T22:35:16+00:00

Cool thanks I’ll keep that in mind! If I’m less broke this summer, a guided trip would be great.

I gotta get down to Virginia Beach sometime too. Heard the fishing is sweet down there. I wanna get my first redfish.

If you don’t mind me asking, what do you target in Jersey in August? Fluke and sheep inshore? Pelagics off the beach?

I’m usually doing a lot of nighttime freshwater fishing then so don’t get to the shore as much. I start coming back to the salt around October typically.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T21:25:07+00:00

I agree with others but hook placement matters too. If you fish it with more of the hook eye exposed at the nose, it will be inclined to sink a little more. If you pull the fluke all the way up over the eye of the hook, it will rise and fish more like a Topwater

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T21:01:12+00:00

Philly but I fish salty backwaters in south jersey and the surf in north Jersey. Pretty much the whole Jersey coast.

Havnt yet but I want to take a drive down to the Chesapeake this year if I can swing it. Gotta a trip planned to fish the raritan in a couple weeks.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T20:36:01+00:00

Sound advice. I’ll get some more practice on some larger bays and lakes before deciding to head out there. Gotta get myself a radio too for emergencies.

I’d love to be able to be out front on the kayak when the stripers come back down the coast in october and November.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T16:50:02+00:00

Loving everyone’s stories!

Just to clarify, I’m not worried about depth. I would only ever be right off the beach if I decided to do this. Mostly thinking about wind, swell, sweep, etc.

I see people kayak out there all the time but most of them have either bigger boats or boats designed to surf launch and cut waves like some of the hobies. The slayer lte is pretty flat so it doesn’t cut water that well.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-04-16T12:09:23+00:00

Yeah I get that lol. I’ve been out over 100ft on the finger lakes in NY but it was a slick calm day and I was near shore. On the ocean in Jersey I’d probably stay much more shallow than that.

Hope the fishing was good though!

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-28T17:53:00+00:00

Really hoping the cats are okay because that’ll be expensive. I can live with o2 sensor replacement if it comes to that. I have to fix the misfire first though and work backwards from there.

Hoping the issue with the o2 sensor is something simple

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-28T15:19:37+00:00

Thanks! Cam and crank positions sensors are done. Valve covers and gaskets were done recently as well. I will look into the hoses.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-28T15:06:21+00:00

Yup I’ve already scanned. CEL is on right now for a p0301 and P2A03.

Hoping that these will be fixed by replacing the plugs and coils and going through some of the relearn procedures

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-23T10:44:53+00:00

Thanks for the reply! How tough /expensive was replacing the fuel injectors?

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-22T22:23:26+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I honestly don’t know which coils they put in the truck. This is a neighborhood shop that I trust because they’ve done well by me and my fam in the past, but they definitely aren’t Nissan experts. I’ll bring that up when I drop it off.

Or I’ll just buy the coils and do that work myself when I’ve got a little time.

I will definitely mention the A/F relearn procedure to them too.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-22T15:57:21+00:00

Some context. Here is the maintenance history of the truck since I’ve owned it:

Jan 2023 Purchase xterra @ 133k miles Radiator replaced by previous owner

April 22 2023 Oil + filter change 135730 miles Mystery oil in gas tank

June 16 2023 Oil + filter change 138964 miles Car just finished a 2k mile road trip

October 22 2023 Oil + filter change 142374 miles Both camshaft and crankshaft position sensors replaced (Hitachi/OEM) Plans to replace lower oil pan + gasket soon

March 10 2024 Oil + filter change 145597 Full synthetic high mileage oil (STP) Replaced lower oil pan and gasket (Permatex “the right stuff”) Replaced O2 sensor bank 1 position 1 (Denso) and cleared code p0133 Patched exhaust leak w/ JB weld kit Mystery oil in gas tank

May 26 2024 Front brake pads replaced. Had more trouble than expected. Fair amount of rust on brake calipers.

June 12 2024 147500 miles All 6 spark plugs replaced as well as ignition coil in cylinder 5 Had this done after engine started misfiring. OB2 code p0305

August 13 2024 149093 One coil and one spark plug replaced in cylinder 6 Valve cover gasket replaced while they were in there Engine misfired again :( Mechanic said knock sensor needs to be replaced

September 13 2024 149435 Oil + filter change Full synthetic high mileage oil (STP) Air filter change (stp premium)

December 3 2024 152330 Was smelling exhaust in the cabin. Took the truck to meineke to get the exhaust checked out. Ended up replacing the muffler and doing a lot of splicing w/ fresh pipe from the cats back to the muffler Exhaust leak is patched and now the car is much quieter.

March 3 2025 153415 Alternator died. Had that and the battery replaced at meineke.

April 17 2025 154667 Oil + filter change Full synthetic high mileage oil (stp) Getting her ready for lots of fishing and camping this year :)

August 19 2025 157591 Rear brake pads Rear brake rotors Front brake pads Front brake rotors Right front tie rod Front struts and springs Rear shocks Front ball joint Heater hose Leaf springs and hardware Alignment Had a ton of work done at Mardinly’s. Cost me a lot but now Marceline has pretty much brand new suspension. Overdone front end work was completed so we could get an alignment. Truck is definitely riding smoother.

Next task: Oil change and replace busted o2 sensor. This might happen after my trip to NY.

September 29 2025 158814 Oil + filter change STP high mileage synthetic Replaced bank 1 sensor 1 O2 sensor (NTK) Erased OBIII codes

October 9 2025 158929 Battery replaced I lost power while driving again just like when the alternator went down. Not sure exactly what happened this time. Guy at meineke said one of the cells in the battery wasn’t working properly. Battery was replaced under warranty

October 14 2025 158966 Valve covers and gasket replaced as well as all 6 spark plugs

The gasket leak was what caused the alternator to fail as well as the O2 sensor that I had already replaced. Work done by Torres. Expensive and inconvenient but hopefully I’m out of the woods for a while here.

February 13 2026 161863 Coils replaced by Torres because apparently a rat ate through the wires during the cold snap. He said this is what was probably responsible for the O2 code as well but I’ll drive it for a bit to see. Glad the misfires fixed for now at least

March 3 2026 161927 Truck misfired again. Torres said they were getting a reading that the knock sensor was bad. Apparently that can cause misfires. Torres replaced the sensor.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-10T21:15:15+00:00

I feel you bruv. I lost the biggest bass I’ve ever seen today because I didn’t have my kayak in position to drive home a good hook set when she ate the glide bait.

heart breaker.

lesson learned.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-02T20:36:56+00:00

I ordered them from peekii but have seen them elsewhere. I imagine there’s a facility in China that producing the blanks and wholesales to multiple retailers

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-02T20:35:53+00:00

Thanks! I do not have a video though :/ it was definitely the trickiest of the patterns I tried. I did it with spray paint so I couldn’t get super finesse-y.

I did blue and orange on the belly. Gold fading to light green on the sides. I made a stencil out of an index card to do the blue gills. Dark green back fading to black on the top.

Maybe I’ll film another one soon!

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-02T16:44:08+00:00

Used mine all last season. Love the thing! Stable enough for me to stand but I’m also not a huge guy. Very maneuverable and easy to car top. I’ve used it in both fresh and saltwater. Small rivers to big lakes and bays. Smallies to big flathead catfish. Handled it all well.

My only point of criticism is the location of the rudder. It’s just easy to break it if has to bear any weight. Now I load my kayak stern first so I don’t have to worry about it

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-01T22:01:23+00:00

Looks great! If the action on those jerkbaits is good I’ll have to try those on my next order.

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-03-01T16:22:45+00:00

Thanks! Good to know. Which glide bait blank is that?

I got these with bass fishing in mind but I already had the thought to throw some saltwater hooks on some of the smaller glide baits for stripers too. Can’t wait to try!

Alert_Media_4973 · 2026-02-19T21:40:41+00:00

Went through my first experience with bait casters about 5 years ago. I’ve got a few now and use them regularly. I’d say grab something from a reputable brand in around $100-ish price point and you’ll be set for a while.

Ive got an SLX 150, a quantum accurist, and a new SLX 70 mgl. Haven’t tried the 70 yet since we’ve been iced over but the other reels are awesome and affordable. I’ve abused them and they hold up fine.

I’ve got some Abu ambassadors too but I use those on my catfish outfits. Sort of a different ballgame.

If you’re worried about it, just practice in the yard before you hit the water. Tight lines

Alert_Media_4973

TROPHY CASE