Greetings All!
Large livelined shiners are great striper baits in freshwater (for example, under the Fairmount Dam in Philadelphia), and I've seen them used in brackish water like the Great Egg River in NJ and the Delaware River on the PA/NJ border.
Sandcrab is right about "matching the hatch" by using baitfish from the water you are fishing. Sometimes stripers (and even bluefish) can be real finicky, especially when it comes to the size of the baitfish. This is one reason why many surf fishermen catch more stripers on the teaser tied in in front of the lure than the lure itself.
In PA, its legal to use sunfish for bait if they are caught by rod and reel from the same water. One reason MD might not allow sunfish for bait is the possibility of introducing new species. Some species of the sunfish family are extremely prolific, and unless there is a predator in place to eat the larger adults, the sunfish can take over a body of water and ultimately become "stunted".
A lot of folks think the bay or even the ocean is a big place, and using exotic baits poses no threat. But look how quickly green crabs became established on the East Coast, or bighead carp in the Mississippi drainage. Its not nice to fool with Mother Nature....
