A September to Remember

There have been big numbers
of schoolies in the 20 to 25
inch range in the Bay.  Some
small keepers are in the mix.

Fishing for bluefish
has been the best it
has been in decades
 in the Bay.

September was about as good as it gets in Narragansett Bay. The fantastic fishing has been fueled by massive schools of peanut bunker which have been holed up in the Bay since late August. Big schools of stripers and bluefish have been on this bait.  With this beautiful, warm weather, nothing is moving out yet.
 I landed close to 500 fish in September with just about an equal number of stripers and bluefish, something I have not done in a long time.  Add to that a half dozen albies, and it was terrific fishing. Bluefish are the big story of the year here in RI.  We haven't seen these numbers of them in decades. I saw blitz after blitz of these blues in the past month, and I still am catching them. At tiems the water was just boiling with schools of them in a frenzy. They are all small, 3 to 5 lbs. on average, but very spunky. The striper fishing has also been lights out in the Bay.  They too are mostly small, schoolies in the 20 to 25 inch range on average, but note that I also got several small keepers in the mix this month.  The striper fishing is what it is here in RI....very few, if any, big fish around but lots of schoolies.  If you are looking for just big fish from shore, you might as well stay home and watch TV. LOL!
With all these fish in the Bay, expect lights out fishing along the oceanfront once the southward migration begins. It should start to happen in the coming weeks.