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| I landed this hefty schoolie last evening. It's been a typical summer pattern with a fish here and there. Boaters are scoring much more consistently than shore fishermen right now. |
We are in a typical summer pattern. The water is warm, the bait is small and the stripers are heading for deeper and cooler water. I would describe shore fishing as fair to poor right now. There are small windows of opportunity when you can get them from shore. Daybreak and dusk might get you a fish or two. Fishing at night might also get you some. However, the fishing is way off right now compared to where we were a month ago.
I got out two times in the surf in the last three days. On evening one I landed a nice slot fish and had several more small hits on skinny plastic. On the second evening I landed one hefty schoolie and had no more hits. Both fish came right before dark. So, this is typical for me right now- a fish here and there with a good amount of effort.
I saw an Instagram report from a good fishermen that fishes the RI south shore a lot. He says he's caught NOTHING in the last eight nights he's been out. Yikes, not good. I know other fishermen who have given up or who are fishing for bottom fish like scup and fluke. Still, some of my friends who slug it out all night are getting a fish or two here and there, much like what I am doing in the evening.
Now, boat fishermen are a different story. Those guys fishing the oceanfront at the mouth of the Bay or Block Island are scoring. There are lots of squid and small sandeels around the keep the stripers feeding. All these boat fish are coming in deep water where the water is cooler and the fish are more active. But, I am told that even these boat fish are fussy and tough to fool when feeding on small sandeels.
So, still some fish around but way off for the shore guys compared to a few short weeks ago. Hey, summer is here and that's the way it goes.
