Varivas Braided Line

 

My friend and charter boat captain, Jerry Sparks, got me hooked up with the Varivas line company.  This Japanese line company was looking for a surf fisherman that could be a field tester for them for their premium braided lines and fluorocarbon.  He recommended me, and I'm now using Varivas braided line.

I'll bet most of you haven't heard of this line. I don't know if it's sold locally but they are hoping to expand their market. The staff at Varivas sent be a bunch of samples to try out along with some info about this line. One specific important detail is that the line breaks at the lb. test listed on the package. She suggested I up my line strength from what I currently use (for the most part, Power Pro 30 lb. test).  Generally US made lines break above their lb. test. So, I spooled up with Varivas' 37 lb. test. I spooled my Daiwa BG with the Varivas 8 line in a blue color. I've used it now for several outings. 

Here's my initial reaction. "Wow!" This line is super smooth to the feel, limp and seems to be thinner than my Power Pro 30 lb. test. I also think it's a better casting line as I seem to get better distance.  I used light lures and heavy lures, casted into the wind and with the wind at my back, and I did not get a single wind knot, not even close.

I guess the true test of any line is how well it holds up when it counts. I'm hoping to land a few big stripers in the coming weeks in some real rugged spots. How well will this braided line hold up when a big fish pulls drag out and runs along the rocks and weeds?  We'll see, but for now, all is great with the line.

Here is what an Ai generated review had to say about the line:

Varivas braided line is generally well-regarded for its thinness, smoothness, and strength, making it a good choice for various fishing applications. It is often praised for its casting performance and ability to handle tough situations, like pulling lures out of snags. While it can be more expensive than some other braids, its quality and performance often justify the price for many anglers.  

In the Doldrums- POOR from Shore

 Striper fishing from shore has bottomed out in the last week.  I don't care whether you fish on stormy days or in the dead of night, it is just plain poor. Yes, we are in the dog days of summer, and July is not a very good month for shore fishermen here in RI.  Read the reports and you'll see it's not good in the Bay, it's not good along the oceanfront, and it's not even good in the Cape Cod Canal, a place that has saved me in past Julys.

There's lots of blame to go around for the poor fishing.  The water's too warm. That excessive warm spell we had last week really shot up the water temperatures sending a lot of fish packing.  There's very little bait close to shore.  That's true also.  Looks like we will just have to wait for the peanut bunker to arrive (mid August if we are lucky) to perk up the fishing.  And, the numbers of stripers are way down, a problem that was predicted to happen this year, and we are seeing it play out. 

All late spring and early summer, I had been having some good fishing in nasty weather.  Well, last week I had the stormy and rough conditions. I thought for sure I would score some big numbers and big fish in the white water, wind and rain.  Nope, two days of hard fishing in multiple spots and not even a hit. That REALLY tells you they are just not around.

I know many shore fishermen who have given up until September. I still plan to go, but only a couple of times a week just to keep it honest. I am now turning most of my attention to freshwater where I have been fishing for carp and having good success.  In the last three days, I landed 12 fish up into the high twenties (pounds), near record size for RI.  Several of those fish were over 20 lbs. So, that's a fishery that has been good, even in the heat of summer.

Rough, White Water Turns on the Striper Fishing

The shore fishing was very good
yesterday in some roughed up 
water. This slot fish has a bucktail jig 
in its mouth.  The jig was fished
off a wooden egg float.

 I got out yesterday from shore and had a banner day. Conditions were a perfect 10 if you were a surf guy.  It was overcast, the surf was roughed up from a front that passed through the day before and the water was white and moving. And, while the fishing had been mediocre for the last week, it lit up in the right conditions yesterday.

My lure of choice was an egg float with a half ounce bucktail attached.  I threaded on a three inch , white, Bass Pro triple ripple grub tail onto the jig.  That is so important when dealing with fussy fish and gives your jig that extra appeal.

Nearly all the fish I caught were in the white water in front of me.  I landed very good numbers of hefty schoolies and a couple of slots. So, while we think there are no fish around, they do seem to come around in the right conditions whether its July or October.

Shore Fishing Cools off after the Heat Wave

I got out a couple of days ago
and fished some great water,
but all I found was this lone 
schoolie that I caught on a 
bucktail jig. The fishing has 
cooled off.

 Before that sweltering heat wave we had this week, the shore fishing had been very good.  After the hot weather, not so good. I got out a couple of days ago and the fishing landscape seemed a whole lot different. I saw no birds working, no visible bait and I had to work my tail off to get one fish. The water was great, but there was just not much in it.

The water was also noticeably warmer after the heat wave.  I'm guessing the record heat warmed up the water at least 5 degrees along the oceanfront.  Was that enough to send the sandeels and the stripers packing for deeper and cooler water? Maybe.

Friends of mine went out in the early morning today to search for bonito and stripers along the oceanfront. There was a lot of effort, a lot of guys fishing and only a few small bonito were caught. No stripers.  The bonito were also more plentiful prior to the heat wave. Bait has a big influence on the bonito numbers and it wasn't there today.

So, for now, it seems that we are heading into a summer lull.  That sandeel invasion is usually a June/early summer thing, and I'm guessing most big schools have left the area.  The next bait wave to draw the stripers to shore would be schools bay anchovies and peanut bunker.  Those baits usually show up in late summer. So, it could be a wait until the shore fishing lights up again.

Sun Protection

 

Decked out and ready
for a day of fishing 
in the sun.

I'm very cautious when out fishing in the sun. I take a lot of precautions since I am really prone to skin cancer.  In the last ten years, I have had two basal cell carcinomas removed along with one squamous cell carcinoma. One of these was quite problematic and I had to have extensive reconstruction done.  So, I try to avoid these issues as much as I can, although I also realize much of this damage was started decades ago. 

So, when fishing or anytime out in the sun, here's some ideas to protect you from harm:

1. Sunscreen and Lip Balm- I use Banana Boat Ultra SPF65, about the most protection you can find. I put it on any exposed skin. For my lips I use Banana Boat 45 lip balm.

2. Sun shirts, Sun hats, Neck Gaiters and Gloves- I tend to always wear a UPF50 long sleeve sun shirt.  I also have some with hoods that I wear. Columbia makes a wide assortment of these. While these shirts are long sleeves, they are still quite cool and comfortable. For hats, I always wear a Glacier Glove Sun Hat that provides a lot of shade for my face and the back of my neck. For gloves, I wear Kast King sun gloves to protect my hands. They have open fingers and you can cast quite well with them. I have an assortment of neck gaiters that I also wear. A lot of times I pull the gaiter up over my face to cover my lips and cheeks.

Sun Gloves from Kast King and Banana Boat Ultra
65 Sunscreen ready to go.

3. Sunglasses- Lately I have been wearing the Rival Shield sunglasses made by Shady Rays.  These give my face and eyes maximum coverage. Mine are polarized blue mirror, and they have UV protection.  They are also very moderately priced at about 50 bucks on sale. Many fishermen have asked me about these and where I got them.

As fishermen who fish from shore, boat or kayak in the daytime, we are very prone to sunburns and other problems. Never hurts to be proactive, and you do get used to doing much of what I do above every time out.

Decked out and ready for a day of fishing in the sun
in my kayak.

Biggest Day of the Year; Sandeel Invasion Fuels Great Fishing

 

Here's a slot fish coming ashore with
my Albie Snax in its mouth.

The striper fishing has taken a dramatic turn for the better for me in June. The sandeel arrival has brought big numbers of stripers to the oceanfront.  The whole month has been productive, but the climax was a couple of days ago when I hit one of the biggest blitzes I have ever seen in June.

It was one of those cloudy, drizzly days with an east wind and a charged up surf with lots of white water. I headed down the oceanfront in late morning, and my plan was to hit a number of spots knowing that the stripers and the sandeels were moving around.  My plan was to hopefully find them. I struck out in the first two locations.  As soon as I got a glimpse of the water in my third location, Holy Smokes!  Stripers were breaking EVERYWHERE in front of me with not another fisherman in sight. Big jumps, small jumps, multiple jumps, out far, in close, bait spraying out of the water. 

It took one cast of my Albie Snax and teaser to hook up with a slot fish.  Next cast I had two good  fish on and one busted off my Albie Snax (why I don't like using a teaser). So, I switched strategies and cut the teaser off and just went with the Snax. The fish continued to feed and hit as the tide dropped, though they were fussier and fussier as the afternoon moved on. Later, I switched to a float and Red Gill, the best producer for these fussy fish that were going crazy in the white water.

This was a very effective lure combo
as the fish turned fussy later in the day.
It's my wooden egg float with a Red
Gill teaser attached off 3 feet of 
Varivas fluoro. Throw it in the white
water and reel it in slowly. Deadly 
when fussy stripers are on sandeels.

That day I fished just about a whole tide from high to low. The action continued till right before dark when everything settled down and died. 

Score for the day- 44 stripers landed, dozens more on.  Most fish were in the 24 to 26 inch range, but I had at least a dozen fish that were slots and over. One of the best June days I ever had. 

Fussy Stripers On Sandeels

 

Here's a striper that grabbed my
Red Gill Teaser, a dead ringer
when stripers are feeding on sandeels.

The sandeel invasion is here.  In the last week, big schools of them have arrived along the oceanfront with big numbers of stripers on them. In the last couple of evenings I found big numbers of hefty schoolies and small slots feeding on them.

Make no mistake about it.  Stripers can be darn fussy when they are slurping up thin sandeels the size of a toothpick. I've been experimenting with a number of finesse approaches, and I had what they wanted last evening.  I was using a leader set up with a Red Gill Teaser. These teasers are dead ringers for sandeels and they can be rigged as a teaser or fished off a float. There are many different ways to attach the teaser, but I've always had the best success knotting it to the swivel at the top of my leader. It should dangle about 6 inches off the swivel.  At the clip end last night I attached an Albie Snax, a hot lure all spring for me. Note that this set-up is not going to give you a booming cast, but it was no problem last evening as the fish were right in close in the white water.

Think small profile when sandeels are around.  Plugs such as SP Minnows, Needlefish, thin profiled jigs and skinny plastic can also produce. Where the fish are feeding and surf conditions will dictate the size of the plug you want to use to get to them.

The hot set up for me last evening
was a leader set up with a white
Albie Snax and a Red Gill Teaser.