Newbie to party boat for strippers

[Dclark2]

Capt RON on the Fisherman is top notch out of Atlantic highlands and his mates are top notch. If I am going on a party boat that is my boat of choice..

[Ol Pedro]

Originally Posted by Dclark2

Capt RON on the Fisherman is top notch out of Atlantic highlands and his mates are top notch. If I am going on a party boat that is my boat of choice..

I would also go with Capt. Ron in the Spring. He usually gets the ball rolling in the Raritan. When the fish are up north he's the go to boat. He's not afraid to burn fuel to put a catch together. In the fall the Gamblers is the way to go when the fish are in the ocean between Sandy Hook and Barnigate Inlet. Capt. Bob and Capt. Mike get the job done with limited loads on a fast boat. I generally only fish them in the fall as Spring Bass can be frustrating when they are on Bunker pods. All the sponsor boats on here are good if distance is a concern.
I would use the boats rental tackle if you don't have a 15-30 lb spinning setup. I know the Gambler has rental spinning rods. They come with a jig or rig . If your clamming or livelining Bunker 30lb conventional setups will do fine as you don't have to cast. Hold off on loading up on lures until you see what's working. If you have some Ava 27-47-67s from Blue fishing bring them. Ava's catch everything !!!

[seazu]

THE FISHERMEN
RONNIE IS 🤴

[ErikNJD]

I would stay away from the rental rods if possible. A rod in the 7 to 8ft range, medium heavy spinning would be a good choice to start with.

The party boats frown on braid, hard for the mates to untangle lines if they need to. I use 30 to 50lbs braid for backing with like 3- 4 yards of 25lbs mono or flouro for leader.

Paddletail swimbaits are probably #1 bait - Tsunami heavy shads or NLBNs are my favorites. If bunker is the main forage, flutter spoon works good. Ava jigs, 17 & 27s, are good to have. If the boat is using bait you will need circle hooks.

When it comes to boats there's a few that sail out along the raritan bay that will target striped bass - Keyport Princess, Prowler, Captain Ron, Dark Horse to name a few. They are all pretty close in price and schedule, couple of them will do night trips as well. Couple of the boats down in Belmar will also go out for stripers, but you might have a longer boat ride to the grounds if they have to go north to the bay to find fish.

[bigfish1011]

I would go with the Prowler