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| Sandeels have arrived and the stripers are on them. |
As I arrived at the water last evening, I looked out to see lots of turns hitting the water about two to three casts off the shore where I was standing. At the same time I glanced down in a tidal pool next to me to find several dead sandeels. Yes, they have arrived, the birds have found them, and they will bring some hot fishing for stripers in the next month wherever they come ashore.
My evening started off slowly yesterday. But, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the fishing suddenly improved. Bait and predators moved closer to shore with the setting sun. I was fishing an Alie Snax, a good imitator of these slender baitfish. Before darkness set in, I was able to land a couple of schoolies and a couple of slot fish in the 28 to 31 inch range. I also lost a much bigger fish.
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| Albie Snax are great to use when stripers are feeding on sandeels. Slim profiled artificials will be your best bet. |
No question, stripers tend to be fussy when feeding on this small, slender baitfish. Sandeels are hard to imitate, but I have a set of lures specifically packed into my bag to use when this happens. The Albie Snax is a good choice as is the 7 1/2 inch Slug-Go. Think thin profile and movement, and both have it. I might also use a Red Gill teaser when the fish are very fussy. The drawback to the teaser is that you could hook two big fish at the same time. In that case, you will likely lose one or both fish. Some fishermen also opt for slender plastic flukes like a Lunker City Finesse Fish on a small jighead. Even small topwater plugs like a Rebel Jumpin' Minnow could get you a striper or two when sandeels are around. Fly fishermen do well with Deceiver flies. Large plugs tend to be ineffective when this small, slender bait is around.
The sandeel invasion tends to be a June thing here in RI. It is just starting and should continue in the weeks ahead. I see it as the prevalent bait right now.
