Hudson River Stripers Blitz - May 2025 Fishing Report

Hey there, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Hudson River fishing report for this beautiful Wednesday morning, May 28, 2025. Folks, it's prime time on the Hudson right now! The water's warming up nicely and the striped bass action is absolutely on fire. After that full moon we had last week, the big spawners have been making their way upriver in solid numbers. Let me tell you, the striper migration is in full swing. We're seeing some real bruisers in the 30-40 inch range, with reports of several trophy fish over 40 inches taken near the George Washington Bridge and up by the Tappan Zee. These fish are fat and healthy after their spring run up from the coast. Weather-wise, we're looking at temps around 72 degrees today with a light southwest breeze – perfect conditions for a day on the water. Sunrise was at 5:28 AM and sunset will be at 8:21 PM, giving you plenty of daylight hours to wet a line. Tide's going to be running out until about noon, then switching to incoming for the afternoon. The best bite has been happening during the first few hours of the outgoing tide, especially around structure and deeper holes. Schoolie stripers are abundant throughout the system, with bigger fish hanging in the deeper channels. Bunker pods have been spotted from Battery Park up to Yonkers, and the stripers are on them hard. Fresh bunker chunks or live-lined bunker are absolutely deadly right now. If you're throwing artificials, try white or chartreuse paddletails on a 1-2 oz jighead, 6-9 inch swimming plugs, or large soft plastics. For you fly guys, 8-10 weight outfits with sinking lines and big Clouser minnows in white/chartreuse or olive/white have been producing well, especially during low light periods. Some hot spots to check out: The flats near Liberty State Park on the Jersey side have been holding good numbers of fish, the structure around the GW Bridge has been consistent, and the deeper water off of 79th Street Boat Basin has been giving up some monsters during the tide changes. Don't forget, there are still some holdover stripers in the tributaries mixing with the fresh migrators, so places like the Harlem River junction can be worth a look too. Just a reminder, stripers between 28-31 inches must be released, and the season runs through December 15. Make sure you're pinching those barbs and handling those fish with care. That's the word for today, folks. This is Artificial Lure signing off – tight lines and see ya on the water! This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.