Monday, April 11, 2011

Top 5 Lures for Spring Schoolies


The first fish should arrive shortly. For the next two to three weeks, the spring striper action will be dominated by schoolies. There are five top lures that will catch most of the fish here in RI. For fishing in Narragansett Bay, I like Zoom flukes (light colors) mounted onto jigheads. These are hot numbers in the rivers and protected spots in the Bay. Along the oceanfront, the Cocahoe or other slim shaped plastic fish bodies with fan shaped tails mounted onto jigheads are very good in places like the salt ponds and along the beachfront. I often fish this with a shrimp fly teaser tied ahead of it. Don't discount the ole bucktail jig. That seems to work well in the Bay as well as along the oceanfront. Jigheads of 1/2 ounce or less work the best. Make sure you add a plastic curly tail on the jig's hook. I especially like Bass Pro Shop Triple Ripple tails. Finally, a Kastmaster is an old proven standby and works real well when casting into the wind. It is another lure that works well in the Bay and along the oceanfront. Those are my top 5 for early season.

Most early season action will take place along the bottom. Use light tackle and fish all of these lures deep and with a slow retrieve. Most early season stripers are grubbing along the bottom and that will be the hot zone in the first two to three weeks of the season.