I just started boat fishing for rockfish on The Chesapeake Bay. I noticed that most people recommend, actually fresh bunker fish, for chunk. . What’s the deal with that? there’s plenty of white perch that I’ve been catching and would love to use that instead, as it’s free.   but I don’t know I have no idea

Perch is fine, as is any smaller fish.

Back in the day, we would snag them and turn them around for bluefish.

Plentiful and easy to get.

Also, they are oily as can be.   For stripers we used bunker and squid.

I would assume rockfish are familiar with white perch (and eating them) because we catch them far more than anything else. Next time I catch a perch, I’m going to try live bait with it

Never really thought about it, but I guess region specific makes sense.  I fished open water stripers and blues, so bunker and squid made sense.  Crabs as well.

If fishing freshwater like the Chesapeake, I would think perch and spot/ croaker... Would be good.

Shrimp is always a safe bet, too.

They buy them from pound netters.

Bet you never stuck yourself on menhaden or spot?
Can't say that for WP.



I mostly use spot.

LOL, not my part of the Bay.

Striped bass will eat just about anything it can fit in it's mouth.

Striped bass' main forage is menhaden, or bunker, or fatback, whatever you'd like to call it.  It is THE most important fish in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.  Look up Omega Protein and how they are destroying the menhaden fishery in the Bay, and you'll begin to understand why the Striper fishing has drastically gone downhill in the last fifteen years around here.

We use grass shrimp anchovies and squid out on the left coast.  The shrimp are a little better because sturgeon and halibut like it also.

I used blood worms on striper bass in the Hudson.

Bunker are very oily.  They put off a good scent, they’ll even leave a slick when blues are working a school.  
But mostly they’re the most prolific bait and easy to snag/net and fill the well.  If you ask me, eels are better.  But porgies, shad, herring, bergals, sea robins, lobster, crabs…

Bass will eat it all.

Spot on.

Bunkers are oily; used for cosmetics, fertilizer and cat food.   And;   Rockfish fishing is much better today in the bay than 15 years ago.   100x better than 40 years ago.   And the fish factories have worked out if Reedville, Va for 120 years.   Todays take is much less than 50 years  ago.

If it’s true that the take is smaller now than 50 years ago, could it be that the stock has been depleted drastically and therefore the catch is lighter?

Old thread but thought I'd chime in anyways.

On the east coast menhaden (mossbunker, bunker, pogies) are an important forage species for many fish like striped bass and bluefish.

They are very oily. That oil is both good and bad for the angler.  The oil spreads scent.  It also ends up in the flesh of fish that feed on bunker.  For example, bluefish that have been gorging on bunker will taste like ... bunker.  

Bunker is a seasonal baitfish - when fishing you should match the hatch.  Best times to use bunker is late spring, summer, and fall.  I've fished all along the eastern seaboard and have tried leftover bunker in the chesapeake but ... at the wrong time.  In early spring, you want to use bloodworms or sandworms.

Bunker is sold fresh and frozen.  Best way to check on the quality of (not frozen) bunker is to look at the eyes.  If the eyes are red, it's probably suboptimal. Clearer is better.

If you are a surfcaster and a flinging 8nbait into the surf - bunker is a bit problematic because it is somewhat frangible and will fly off the hook (especially frozen).  That's why it's usually better for boaters.

If you don't have bunker, you can always use Atlantic mackeral.  The flesh is firmer, almost as smelly, and, more importantly, it stays on the hook better than bunker.