Get Your Boat Ready Now Striped Bass Season Countdown + Fishing League 2026

Bay Rats & Buoys Podcast – Episode 74 | 19 Days Until Opening Day!With just 19 days until opening day of striped bass season, the excitement is building and it’s officially time to start getting the boat ready. In this week’s Bay Rats & Buoys Episode 74, we’re back in the studio talking about everything you should be doing right now to prepare for the season — checking gear, servicing reels, organizing tackle, getting safety equipment ready, and making sure the boat is 100% before that April 15 kickoff. Opening day comes fast, and the prepared crews are always the ones catching fish while everyone else is still tying rigs at the dock.We also spend a lot of time in this episode talking about TheFishingLeague.com because now is the time to register your team. The season officially runs from April 15 through December 15, and we are extremely excited to get this league rolling across the Long Island Sound. The response so far has been incredible, and we want to thank all the teams that have already signed up and all the sponsors who are helping make this league possible. This is shaping up to be something really special for the fishing community.If you are still thinking about joining, don’t wait — head over to TheFishingLeague.com and sign up your team so you are ready for the start of the season. If you are a business owner and would like to get involved, you can also become a sponsor by visiting the website and clicking the Sponsorship tab at the top of the page. Select your sponsorship package and sign up directly through the site. We’re looking forward to working with more great companies this season.We also caught up with Chef Rob, who has been busy down in South Carolina catching redfish, but he’s already talking about coming back north to get in on the hot spring striped bass bite here on Long Island. It won’t be long before we’re all back on the water chasing bass again.As always, we want to thank all of our loyal listeners and everyone who has helped spread the word about The Fishing League. Big things are happening in 2026, and we’re just getting started. If you’re interested in collaborating this season, feel free to reach out to Captain Gaige.We’ll see you on the water soonhttps://sandcitycharter.com/podcast/