Rhode Island Striped Bass

NEWSFLASH....RI DEM Rescinds Felt Sole Ban in Saltwater

2012-02-23T16:47:00.002-08:00

On the Water magazine is reporting that the RI DEM has rescinded the ban on felt sole waders in saltwater. It is true since I checked the latest regulations at the DEM site, and there is no reference to felt soles being banned in saltwater. However, the ban in freshwater remains (which does make sense). Here is the quote from On the Water:
Surf fishermen in the Ocean State received some good news this week. Steve Medieros from Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association reported that RI DEM has filed an official regulation change that will amend the ban on felt-soled wading boots, removing the reference to “marine waters.” Felt-soles will remain prohibited in all of Rhode Island’s freshwater waterways. It goes to show that letters, emails and phone calls to the right people can go a long way.
I applaud the efforts of RISAA (Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association) in helping to get this ban rescinded. I know they have been working hard in the background to get this corrected. This group has been in the forefront of every single issue that has affected us saltwater fishermen from menhaden regulations to the saltwater license to access issues, to poaching regulations, etc., and in all instances their efforts have greatly benefited the saltwater fishermen of this state. Hats off to RISAA once again.
I would also like to thank the DEM for changing this rule and listening to the fishermen of this state. They were big boys on this issue, realized they made a mistake and changed it. Had the rule remained in effect, it would have been a financial hardship for many to buy new waders, and it would have set up dangerous footing for many who fish on slippery rocks.

Next Stop on Seminar Trail.....Springfield Sportsmens Show

2012-02-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

My next seminars will be held on Sat., Feb. 25 at the Springfield Sportsmens Show. This will take place at the Big E Fairgrounds in Spingfield, MA. I will be doing my new carp fishing seminar, New England Carp Fishing 101, at 11:00 in seminar room B. My new striper fishing show, called Tackling the Striper Surf ,will take place at 2:00 in seminar room B. I did these shows a week ago in Worcester at the ASA Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Expo, and they were very well attended.
The Springfield Sportsmens Show is one of the biggest shows in the northeast, held in three huge buildings at the Big E. It is loaded with fishing reps and tackle dealers, hunting reps, and just about anything outdoor related you can think of. They run a full schedule of seminars about freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing and hunting. For more information about the show and directions, visit their website at http://www.osegsportsmens.com/

Fishing Dies....Once Again

2012-02-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

The winter striper fishing fishing has died, once again. This is typical of fishing this winter as the fishing has been on an up and down roller coaster ride this year. Tonight I saw at least 15 fishermen in various spots on this beautiful winter night along the Providence River. Conditions were good, the weather was perfect and the tides were favorable. I did not find one guy that had gotten a striper tonight. This fish were just not around. I suspect that when we get this warm weather a lot of fish that are in the river leave the area and head out into the Bay itself in search of food. This seems to happen when the water in the Bay warms up to nearly the same temperature as the river. Just the other day I noticed the water temps in the Bay (NOAA site) ranged from 42-48 degrees, unheard of for this time of year. I do have confidence that the good fishing will return, but who knows when that will happen. You just have to get out and try and tell yourself that winter fishing is very inconsistent. Blankings are part of the winter game. Hey, it's February!

Hot Winter Color.....White Ice

2012-02-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has read my past posts about winter striper fishing knows that I always used a Zoom fluke in an albino color to nail most of my winter fish. Well, this year, that albino fluke was not working so well so I switched over to a color they call white ice. It has been terrific, outfishing any other color this winter. White ice (catalog color #94) is a bright white color with silver flakes in the body. It is highly attractive in the water. In the past week, I have landed a good number of stripers, including several keepers, with this lure. I am using a regular Zoom fluke, which is 4 inches long, and mounting it on a 3/8 oz. jighead. If you are looking to purchase white ice Zoom flukes, Bass Pro has them. Here is the link: http://www.basspro.com/Zoom-Soft-Plastic-Baits-Fluke/product/7505/-429689

To fish these flukes, cast them out and let them sink to the bottom. Use a slow retrieve and occasionally bounce the rod tip. Keep it as close to the bottom as possible. These fork tailed flukes work terrific in the wintertime and they are about the best lures you can use in the spring in Gansett Bay.

Bite is Back

2012-02-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

It's back in business for me with winter fishing in the Upper Bay and Providence River. I landed a dozen fish in my last two outings on Zoom flukes threaded onto lightweight jigheads. At least two of those fish were keepers. So, the bite is back!

Winter Project....Replacing Treble Hooks

2012-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last month restoring many of my plugs that I used last season. I've been sanding the wooden plugs, repainting and replacing hooks. One of my big jobs has been to replace any bent or rusty trebles on swimming plugs like Bombers. I'm on a kick to replace all of the original trebles on these plugs with heavy duty VMC hooks. In the past I have had a lot of trouble with trebles that have gotten straightened out by big fish. Not this year as I landed a 46 inch striper on a Bomber with VMC's and my son Ben landed a 50 inch bass with a Bomber outfitted with VMC's. Neither fish was able to straighten even one hook on the treble. The VMC treble I am using as a replacement is a 4X 9626 PS hook, a heavy duty short shank model (size 1/0) that fits real well on a 6 inch Bomber. You can get these at www.njtackle.com I also usually replace the split rings with more heavy duty models.

Felt Sole Wader Ban Unclear in Saltwater; LL Bean Offers Wader Exchange

2012-02-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

It's been over a month since the bombshell announcement from the RI DEM that felt sole waders have been banned in RI in saltwater. And, little has changed. There has been no official clarification from the DEM. There seems to be little public outcry from RI fishing clubs and the tackle industry. Maybe they are quietly working in the background. However, the Forums are abuzz with ticked off fishermen, and the guy you meet at the shore is very fed up with this bs. Many seem to think that there will be little or no enforcement in saltwater since this regulation was listed in the freshwater abstracts. Besides, you are supposed to wash your boots off with saltwater to kill invasive weed that can cling to the felt. Who knows about enforcement? I suspect the morons from the DEM who created this rule for saltwater have painted themselves into a corner and have no way out. However, I do know this rule will probably be enforced in freshwater, and I also know that many RI fishermen fish in both fresh and saltwater.
I got a call from my father the other night who told me about a friend of his who has a pair of LL Bean felt sole waders that he bought 3 years ago. He called LL Bean to complain about this ban. LL Bean told him to bring the waders back to the store in Mansfield, and he would be given a free exchange of lug sole waders. My father, who also has a two year old pair of felt sole waders, did the same exact thing. Free exchange, no questions asked! Wow, now that's a company to deal with! If you fish in both saltwater and fresh (as I do), I see no other option at this time than to get rid of the felt and go with lug sole boots. Now, if the label on your boots says "LL Bean", no problem. My hope is that other boot manufacturers will offer the same deal to many of us.

A Must Winter Project.....Egg Floats

2012-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

One of my best artificials that was responsible for the catching of hundreds of stripers this year was not really a plug. It was an egg float. A float gives shore and boat fishermen one of the most effective means to deliver a small offering. The float is merely a casting weight. At the end of the float you want to attach about three feet of heavy mono (suggest 30 lb. test) and at the end of that comes the small and lightweight offering. You can tie on a fly, an unweighted plastic fluke (with a hook of course), a small Hogy or Slug Go, a small bucktail jig, a Storm shad, a Cocahoe on a small jighead, etc. The possibilities are endless. Using the float last year, I landed hundred of stripers, a load of bluefish and many false albacore. It is one of the deadliest combinations to use in saltwater when small bait is around.

About the most aerodynamic float you can make is actually a wooden egg. You can buy these online at http://www.craftparts.com/eggs-fruits-c-249.html or in some craft stores. I especially like the 2 1/2 inch "hen" egg with a flat bottom. You can even buy them painted (the way I do it). Once you have the egg, attachments must be put on. I like to use a through wire construction for long lasting durability. Some fishermen use stainless steel screw eyes. Here's how I do it. First drill out the egg with a 1/8 inch drill bit (top right). As you can see from the photo, I use a drill press. If you have a steady hand, you may be able to use a regular drill. Next step is to pass a pre bent wire through the hole (top left). I buy stainless steel annealed plug wire from http://www.njtackle.com/ It's fairly soft and really does the trick in plug making. Once the wire is in, I wrap the opposite end several times around a small Philip's head screwdriver to get the end loop (bottom left). Once that is done, cut the excess and tuck the wire end in neatly with pliers. A final option here is to bang a nail into the float at an angle. This will be the jig holder that will prevent a helicopter blade effect on the cast and will allow for longer casts. Once the nail or piece of wire is banged into the float, clip off so that only about a quarter inch comes out from the float (bottom right). Now, we're finished and have just made a must have artificial for next season!

A Heck of a Week

2012-01-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

It has been one of the best weeks of winter fishing that I have had in January in the last few years. This week I landed over 50 wintering over stripers with many keepers. This unseasonably warm January weather has kept the fish active in upper Gansett Bay and has led to some very good fishing. Add some rain and melting snow and ice this week along with favorable high tides at night and it has all set up terrific fishing. Zoom flukes mounted on small jigheads of less than 1/2 ounce have been the hot ticket. Flukes in a light color like albino, white ice and Arkansas shiner have been the best colors.

Zooming Along the Roller Coaster This Week

2012-01-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

Winter fishing thus far has been a roller coaster ride. It's been hot for a few days, gradually dies out, stays dead for awhile and picks up again. It has been very inconsistent, but hey, that's January fishing. This has been a good week, one of the best I have seen in awhile I have been catching them all week, with a couple of nights with 13-14 fish. It has been all schoolies with a couple of fish near keeper size. A three inch white ice Zoom fluke has taken most of the fish. I credit the warm and rainy weather and favorable tides after dark with perking up the fishing. How long this good fishing will last is anyone's guess.

Seminars At ASA Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Worcester

2012-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'll be doing a lot of seminars this winter and my first ones will take place at the ASA Eastern Fishing and Hunting Expo (http://www.sportshows.com/worcester/index.html ) at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on Feb. 10 (1 PM), Feb.11(11 AM), and Feb.12 (11 AM). I'll be presenting my latest striper fishing seminar called Tackling the Striper Surf. This is a show about the best lures and plugs to use from shore for stripers and I'll also outline how to fish these artificials. The show will also discuss equipment needs (rods and reels) as well as locations to fish in RI and MA. I'll be doing these striper shows on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11. On Sunday, Feb. 12, I'll be doing my latest carp fishing show for the freshwater crowd called New England Carp Fishing 101.
This show, one of the biggest in NE, is loaded with everything fishing, hunting and outdoors. It features a national line-up of fishing gear representatives of various companies and features the latest in gear for 2012. There are also lots of local and regional reps and companies at the show. Take a look at the link above for a complete show line-up of companies, seminars and other info. Getting to a show is a great way to shake the winter doldrums. Hope to see you there!

Change in Tactics, Location Lead to First Fish of 2012

2012-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

I had blanked for four outings in a row. It was time for a change. So, I tried a spot in the upper Bay that had not been good in the past in January. Hey, I figured it's a crazy year and this spot just might produce. And, tonight proved to be just another of those crazy nights.

There were fish breaking here and there in this spot. Some type of small bait (shrimp or small baitfish?) would start skipping on the surface and WHOSH, a bass would come up to grab it. Fish breaking in January chasing bait....CRAZY! These fish, however, were fussy. I was only able to catch one schoolie on the ole reliable 3-inch Zoom fluke. After no other hits, I switched to a tiny 1/8 oz. bucktail jig spiced with a one inch curly tail. That did the trick as I landed 6 more schoolies and had at least another 5 fish on. Realize, though, I could only get a hit when I casted to a breaking fish. I got no hits and no fish if I didn't cast to a jump. So, my first fish of 2012 are in the books. Let the games begin!

DISAPPOINTING

2012-01-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

I have now blanked four times in a row in the upper Bay and the Providence River. There was a flurry of activity around Christmas and for a few nights afterwards there were some fish around. Then, the action died. Fish are nowhere to be found right now in this beautiful winter weather, and fishermen are also nowhere to be found as I'm guessing many are giving up after blanking over and over again.
Just a short five or six years ago I was catching a thousand stripers a winter in this area. Now, I am hoping to get a fish or two an outing. I figure I will be lucky to catch 50 fish this winter. The numbers of stripers in the Bay have been way down in the last couple of years, and we are seeing the result of that in winter fishing.

Blanked on Jan.1

2012-01-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

I hope this is not a sign of things to come in 2012. For the first time in many, many, years, I did not catch a striper on Jan. 1. Oh, I tried, fishing the upper Bay in the afternoon and again at night. The only thing I was able to catch was 2 white perch (see photo) on jigs intended for stripers. I also saw about 10-15 other guys fishing yesterday as they, too, were hoping to catch a New Year's Day striper. They all blanked also. Suddenly, the winter fishing has completely died as I've caught nothing in my last three outings, and I have seen only one other fish caught. Not good, but really a reflection of the poor numbers of stripers we had in the upper Bay in summer and fall.

News Flash....RI Bans Felt Soled Waders

2011-12-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

Our totally inept DEM just hit a new low. It passed a new regulation for 2012 banning felt soled waders in fresh and saltwater (listed in the new fishing regs for 2012). Here is the regulation:
1.17 It is prohibited that any person use foot gear with external felt soles in any state waters, inclusive of freshwater, tidal, or marine. This shall include any waters
shared with adjacent states in which any Rhode Island Fishing Regulations apply.
It was very quietly passed with no one knowing anything about it and no public hearing or comment. It is meant to stop the spread of invasive weeds, but in saltwater? Get real. There is no evidence of invasive weed being spread in saltwater. Without felt on your feet, there will certainly be a lot more injuries due to falls on rocky shorelines. And, what about the high cost of replacing your highly priced waders that you have recently bought. How about all the ducks and geese that move this weed around. Are we going to ban webbed feet next? Like everything else this state does, little thought went into this one.
So, where is the uproar? Oh, there is some chatter on the saltwater forums, but little noise is coming from the tackle shops and fishing clubs. This has to be changed.

Consistent Winter Fishing

2011-12-28T06:31:00.000-08:00

The last week has featured consistent winter fishing in the upper Bay. Things are not hot and heavy, but I am picking up a steady 3-5 schoolies an evening, and one night I even caught 13 fish. Most of the fish are running 15 inches up to near keeper size. It's a vast improvement over what was going on in mid December. Credit cooler weather and dropping water temps with moving a lot of fish into their winter locations.
Some clear patterns for success have emerged. All of the action has been after dark with early nighttime producing better than later. All of my fish have been taken on Zoom flukes mounted on 3/8 oz. jigheads. The smaller flukes (3 inches) have outscored the bigger ones. I've also had very good success on a new color, white ice (see photo). That sparkly white fluke seems to score better than the ole reliable albino color. The retrieve should be slow and right along the bottom.

A Christmas Gift of Stripers

2011-12-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of visiting, exchanging gifts and eating. We were on the go most of the day. When we got home about six o'clock, I needed to get out and get some fresh air, go for a walk or do something. So, I decided to get my fishing gear and head to the upper Bay in one of my favorite winter spots. I went with the idea of just getting out, making some casts and not expecting to catch much.
When I got to the location, I immediately began seeing fish whirling all over the place in some very quiet water. Oh no, I thought to myself, menhaden are around again. Since the pogies were in thick for the last two weeks, I just assumed it was them whirling on top. My first cast told a different story. Immediately after the jig and fluke hit the water, I was onto a fish. I figured I had snagged a menhaden. Wrong. It was a schoolie of about 18 inches. I suddenly thought that maybe, just maybe, all these jumps and whirls in front of me could be schoolies. Next cast, another schoolie confirmed my thoughts were correct. The place was just crawling with stripers. For the next hour and a half I had a jump to cast to every single cast. That's how many stripers were around. I have no idea what they were feeding on since I could see nothing in the water. The fish were fussy. I managed to get 13 stripers ashore and lost at least another half dozen.
So, on this Christmas night, the fish were around in big numbers. And, on this night when I would have been thrilled to catch one fish, I came away with a bundle. Not a bad way to end this Christmas holiday.

And Now, SEALS

2011-12-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

I knew the pogies in the upper Bay would eventually attract something big. That big stuff I thought would be stripers. Wrong. It's seals. I saw a real big one today in the Providence River feasting on menhaden. That spells trouble for stripers. In the past, I have noticed that when the seals move in, the stripers move out, or they are preyed upon relentlessly. Not good news for the winter fishery.

Lots of Pogies; Very Few Stripers

2011-12-21T05:59:00.000-08:00

I was fishing some dead calm water last night in the upper Bay. Menhaden dipping on the surface looked like big raindrops on the water. They were all over the place. You'd think that would attract some big fish. Nope. I got one small schoolie that was loaded with myco skin fungus, and that was about it. I saw several other fishermen trying, but they got nothing.
So, lots of big bait, but very few fish. Winter fishing should be hopping by now, but it isn't. Realize that this has been a poor year of fishing in the upper Bay for stripers. Their numbers were way down in this area for much of 2011, so it only makes sense that winter numbers will be way down. I've been out at least 8 or 9 times so far. The bad news is that I have landed a total of 4 stripers. The good news is that 2 of them were keepers. If I didn't live so close, I would say the effort was hardly worth it. I saw on a recent striper Forum that someone was commenting that it was time to head north (upper Bay) for some hot winter striper fishing. I have to wonder what planet this guy is living on.

Menhaden Still in the Upper Bay, CRAZY

2011-12-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

In the last post I added a picture of a decent sized striped bass that I landed last night in the upper Bay. What I didn't say was that this fish was taken with a jig (4 inch Zoom fluke on jighead) fished under a school of menhaden (pogies). Yes, they are still in the Upper Bay in big numbers. Crazy, they should have left a month and a half ago. In fact, there was so many of them, it was rare for me to retrieve the jig without snagging one (see pic) on the single hook! I'm guessing they were in schools that may have been 10-15 feet THICK. With menhaden still around, I'm hoping we see good number of large stripers around. In the past I have landed wintering over fish that measured over 40 inches. This could happen this year with the abundance of big bait around. We could also see some big blues. You would be very surprised if I told you I landed a blue one year in the upper Bay on Christmas Eve, and that was in a cold winter. You never know if this winter fishing will materialize, but I am hopeful that we will at least see fair to good numbers of keepers in the coming weeks.

Winter Fishing Has Arrived...."A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

2011-12-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Still a Few at South Shore

2011-12-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

My son, Ben, who lives in Narragansett called to give me a report on the fishing. I was on the ski slopes at Wachusett Mountain when I got his call from the RI south shore. He went out fishing this afternoon and landed 2 schoolies and a hickory shad. Yes, they are still around, though few fishermen are trying. Ben ran into one other guy who reported getting one schoolie earlier in the day. Some "oldtimers" I know tell stories about people they knew way back who went for walks along the shore on Christmas. Some saw fish breaking so they went to their cars, got their fishing outfits and landed schoolies on Dec. 25. If ever there was a year in which that could happen again, it is this year. So, if you head out to take a walk on the beach on Christmas, my suggestion is to make sure you have a fishing outfit in the car. You just never know. It's been one heck of a crazy fall!

Let the Winter Games Begin

2011-12-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

I've been looking and I've finally found some fish. First cast in one of my winter spots in upper Gansett Bay produced a small keeper tonight, making this the start of my winter fishing. Half an hour later I landed a 26 inch schoolie. The last two nights were cold and the days have been seasonable, and I think that was just enough to drop the water temps and get the fish moving into winter spots. It's not hot and heavy, but those two fish represent the start of winter striper fishing for me.

Not Much to Report

2011-12-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

I have absolutely no news to report. I have tried fishing the upper Bay for wintering over stripers several times in the last week and I have not gotten a hit. I met others who have tried and they report nothing. A few fishermen have been trying along the south shore and it appears to be slim pickings with a small fish here and there, generally what you'd find at this time. Most likely, you will blank.
So, the waiting game for wintering over stripers continues. My theory is that the water is still too warm and the few fish that are around in the Bay are in deeper water.
Meanwhile, my freshwater carp fishing is still going in high gear. I landed 20 fish in the last 4 days with many going in the teens. Check out some of my December catches on http://www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com/ That is one fishery that is still hot at this time.

Shifting Gears

2011-12-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

I am now shifting gears. I have ended my striper fishing along the south shore due to lack of fish. However, realize there are still a few fish around, and for those who want to put in the effort, you may even catch some right up until Christmas. I'm figuring my best bet is to now focus closer to home in the Upper Bay and the Providence River for holdover stripers. In the past this area has been productive in December and I am hoping it's good this year.
I'm also looking forward to winter carp fishing. As many of you know, I do fish seriously for these monsters of freshwater, and last winter I did catch them all winter long in moving, ice free water. I am also planning to ice fish if the ice ever comes. In the past I have jigged extensively in many of the ponds in RI and usually catch good numbers of crappie, bass, bluegills, perch and pickerel.

Finally, what I do more than fish in the wintertime is skiing. What many of you don't know is that I am a nationally certified ski instructor, something I have been doing in the wintertime for the last 40 years (yikes, I am getting old). I ski 3-5 times a week, teach at Yawgoo Valley, and usually get up to Wachusett Mountain once a week. On many winter days I am skiing in the daytime and fishing for striped bass at night. You gotta love New England winters!
So, I am in the process of shifting gears and have already started looking for wintering stripers in the Upper Bay. I haven't found any yet, but it is only a matter of time.

Winding Down, but Still Fish

2011-12-04T16:37:00.000-08:00

The good news is that there are still stripers and bluefish along the RI south shore. The bad news is that there are a lot less of them compared to a week ago. But, hey, it's Dec. 4 and normally things are over by now.

I got out today and fished all afternoon along the south shore. I ended up landing 2 schoolies and 1 bluefish on Cocahoes (see pics). It was a strange afternoon in which there were spurts of fish along the beach, but never lots of fish. For instance, in about a half hour stretch, I saw about 10 blues landed and then no more bluefish for the rest of the day. Same deal with stripers. At one point six fish were landed in a ten minute period, then nothing. Clearly there were small pods of fish moving along, but there were no big numbers. So, our fantastic fall fishing is winding down, but there are still a few fish to be had if you want to put in the time. Hey, it's Dec. 4. I have no complaints.

Stripers, Blues and Shad in Dec.! CRAZY!

2011-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

For anyone who might think our fabulous fall season is over, think again. We had a big storm on Tuesday night, and the fishing was poor for two days afterwards, leading many to think the season just might be over.. But, today the water calmed down, and the action lit up for us once again. My son, Matt, took a vacation day from work and we headed down to the south shore for some December surf fishing on this beautiful Friday afternoon. It turned out to be our best December day ever. We landed a total of 13 stripers (all schoolies), 5 bluefish (yikes, in December) and 4 hickory shad. In fact, Matt hit the trifecta, catching all three species (see photos). The bass and blues were taken on Cocahoes and the shad were caught on small bucktail jigs. Ok, we did luck out as we caught all the blues and bass in a one and one half hour stretch in one of our prime spots. We hit a slug of fish that I think were moving by. Realize most of the few people out fishing today reported catching very little. So, things weren't crazy down there. But, for the lucky Pickerings, 22 fish on Dec. 2 was certainly a day to remember.

Last Two Days.....Not Good

2011-12-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

The nasty storm that blew through on Tuesday night was not good. In its wake, it left a big rolling surf and lots of sandy water which cancelled out any fishing for Wednesday. Today things calmed down considerably and my son and several friends gave it a shot along the south shore. They got nothing but one guy did see "a couple" of small schoolies caught but no sign of the abundant bluefish that were all over in the beginning of the week. There were also very few fishermen around at mid day, a bad sign that suggests very little around in the morning. On a positive note, there were loads of gannets hitting the water off East Beach, a sure bet that herring are still around. However, this bait and the birds never came close to shore today. No question, things are really winding down, but hey, it is December and we just had the best November fishing the RI south shore has ever seen. I'm still not ready to pack it in as I am hoping to find some more fish in the next few days.

Blues by Day; Keeper Bass After Dark

2011-11-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

Our November to remember just keeps on rolling along. Today started off as blue Tuesday with bluefish all over the place along the south shore. At my first spot I had a blue on the first cast and had a hit or a fish on every cast for at least half an hour. I ended up getting twenty bluefish from 4-8 lbs. here on poppers. My son, Ben, came down to join me and he landed a good number also (see photo). Other than a few schoolies in the early AM, no one seemed to be getting many stripers today and the ones that were caught were small. That changed for me after dark.
I switched spots and switched lures to a rainbow trout colored nine inch Slug Go fished ahead of a black Deceiver teaser. Right at dark I landed my first keeper of the night, a fish about 28 inches long on the teaser. A few casts later, a much larger fish slammed my Slug Go, and that fish measured about 32 inches (see photo). Next cast produced an even larger keeper on the Slug Go. Twenty minutes later, I landed another good sized keeper. So, on this Nov. 29, I came away with 4 keepers, the most post Thanksgiving keepers I have ever been able to catch in one outing. It's been one heck of a November!

Ultralight Gear Saves the Day, Again

2011-11-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was not a good fishing day for me. I moved around a lot along the south shore in the daytime and had little success finding anything other than bait. The old skunk was staring me in the face until the end of the day when I managed to nail three shad and a small schoolie just before and at dark. However, I had one more ace in the hole as I had my ultralight gear stowed in the back of my truck and tailor made for nights like this when I'm looking for more action. I decided to hit some of my quiet backwater spots in which the ultralight gear had proved so effective in the past. These are places with calm water in which small schoolies love to feed after dark. I suspect they are feeding on shrimp since I rarely see baitfish in these spots. My five foot trout rod with a small Okuma reel with just six pound test mono was delivering 1/8 oz. round head bucktail jigs. It worked to a charm as I caught 7 schoolies in just an hour after dark in one of these quiet spots. Had I been using a regular surf rod and bigger jigs, I guarantee I would have caught nothing. As has happened so many times in the past, the ultralight gear comes through once again.

For Most, it was BLANK FRIDAY

2011-11-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Things are thinning out. That big storm on Wednesday has sent a load of fish packing. The south shore was loaded with fishermen taday, but there were more fishermen than fish. I'm guessing most came up empty as I saw very few fish caught, and the ones I did see were small, nothing like what was around in the beginning of the week. I lucked out as I first hit one of my hotspots. I was able to catch 8 schoolies there on Cocahoes (see photo) in about half an hour. However, for the rest of the day, it was slim pickings as I added just 3 more schoolies in the next six hours while fishing multiple spots. My eleven fish was more fish than I saw the rest of the hundred or so fishermen land all day. I heard there were a few small blues taken in the early morning, but I saw no blues later in the day.

So, as is typical at this time of year, there can be a million fish around one day. You get a storm and there are few fish around a couple of days later. Accept the fact that the season is winding down. That's just the way it is in late November. We're nearing the end.

On a positive, note, though, I did see a lot of gannets hitting the water way out meaning big bait is still around. However, are the big fish (bass and blues) still around???

Striped Bass Release

2011-11-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

My son, Ben, who has caught and released countless keepers this year up to 50 inches, shows the correct way to release a tired fish. You want to ease the fish into the water. Once in the water, grab its tail and move the fish forward and back. This will get oxygen into its gills. When holding the fish, you will feel the fish start to swim on its own. At this point, the fish usually gives a mighty swish of its tail to let you know it's ready to go. Release it and enjoy the sight of your prize swimming off.

It just keeps going...and going....and going.......

2011-11-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

Our fabulous November fishing just keeps rolling along with no end in sight to the fantastic fishing. I went down to the RI south shore today, and it was similar going to yesterday with lots of fish, though smaller overall. Today featured mostly schoolies in the 20-25 inch range along with bluefish in the 4-7 lb. range. I did see about a dozen keeper bass caught, though, along with several big blues. My friend, Gene, got the biggest bass I saw today (check out the pic) on a popper. Once again, these fish were on blueback herring as many of the hooked blues would spit them up almost whole. Just like yesterday, poppers were the hottest artificials with swimmers, Kastmasters and Cocahoes on jigheads catching a lot of fish too. In all, I ended the day with 20 blues and 17 stripers (2 keepers). It was real hot fishing for this time of year. You get so used to this that you come to expect this fantastic fishing every outing, and it has generally lived up to expectations this November. I've now concluded that this is the very best November I have ever fished!

Best Big Fish Day in Years!

2011-11-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

This was one of the best big fish days we have had in years in the RI surf. At a time of year in which my kids and I would have been happy to land one more keeper bass, we landed a whopping twenty keepers today. We're talking 28-40 inch fish. We had at least a few fish that pushed the 40 inch range. In addition, we landed at least a dozen more stripers that were just below keeper size. On top of all that, we had 20 bluefish that went 5-13 lbs. It had to be one of the biggest big fish days I have ever had along the RI south shore beaches at this time of year.
I knew we were in for a spectacular day as I scanned that shoreline with binoculars and saw a pile of bait and birds working. Gannets were hitting the water within ten yards of the sand. There were gulls and cormorants also going crazy. When I went down to the shoreline, I noticed blackened water and baitfish whirling.....blueback herring. Just the big bait I was looking for.
The fish were active and most of the artificials we used were producing although poppers did the most damage. We also landed fish on needlefish plugs and swimmers. Surprisingly, my sons and I had all the fish to ourselves as we never encountered another fisherman.

LOADED

2011-11-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Loaded, no other word to describe it. The kids (Ben, Chris, Jon) and I met at the south shore for an afternoon of fishing. We were in for quite a day. At times, all of us were onto fish at the same time. This was one of the biggest hits of stripers that I have seen this fall. There were schoolies, a few keepers and some blues in the mix. It did not go without notice as a picket fence of fishermen numbering upwards of 50 surfcasters were casting for the easy pickings. The kids and I landed over 60 stripers and a lone blue. I estimate that collectively, the whole bunch of guys fishing probably landed several HUNDRED stripers with most of the fish going 14-22 inches, but there were also some keepers in the mix. Once again, the Cocahoe mounted on a jighead caught most of the fish, though I also saw a lot of fish taken on Storm lures too. This fabulous November we are experiencing just continues to produce at a record pace. Numbers wise it has to rate as one of the best Novembers I have ever seen.

Bluefish Bonanza; Stripers Mixed In

2011-11-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Today featured a bonanza of bluefish along the south shore beaches, and there were also stripers in the mix. I met my two sons, Jon and Ben along with Ben's girlfriend Allie, and we fished for the afternoon together. In all we landed 30 blues that ranged from 5-10 lbs. and 15 stripers that ranged from 18-26 inches. It was one of those wild days with everyone on the beach landing fish. The fish were not particularly fussy today. Jon and I caught most of our fish on poppers while Allie and Ben landed most of theirs on Cocahoes and teasers. The whole beach cleared out at dark, and by five o'clock I was the only one left fishing in the dark. I landed 5 more stripers and one blue using swimmers and a black Deceiver teaser while plugging after dark. It shows that the fish are still hitting after dark if you can stand the cold. From the reports that I am getting yesterday was equally as good as today with a big bunch of blues providing most of the action. Our fantastic November fishing along RI's south shore just continues to produce big time.

The Hickory Shad Option

2011-11-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

If hickory shad grew as large as stripers., no one would chase bass anymore. We'd all be pursuing shad. These fish are about the best fighting small fish you can find. They will rip drag and take wild leaps, sometimes jumping feet into the air on the fight. They generally run 1-2 lbs. and are tailor made for light tackle.
There are two ways we target them. I've always write about using teaser rigs with a Cocahoe to fish for schoolies in the fall. Well, that shrimp fly teaser on this rig is one of the most effective lures you can use to catch hickory shad. This explains why we often catch shad when targeting schoolies.
The other way to get them is with very small bucktail jigs on ultralight tackle. I'm talking a small eighth oz. bucktail jig spiced with a one inch curly tail. The outfit I use to fish these micro jigs is a freshwater four and a half foot twig of a rod with a tiny Okuma reel spooled with 4 lb. test mono. Yes, this is super light stuff. I keep this light outfit in the back of my truck just to use in quiet backwater spots that I might hit on the way home after a slow day of striper fishing. It often leads to an exciting ending to a slow day.

My kids love to catch these fish. They have always liked fishing for them as my son, Matt, is the state record holder for these fish. His record is 2.12 lbs. (21 inches) that he caught when he was just 4 years old! His record has stood for 21 years. Yikes!

Lots of Small Ones Moving Through

2011-11-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of waiting for calm water so I headed down to the south shore today in this sixty degree weather. It was very rough (as it's been for several days now) with loads of white water and rolling waves, but there were also lots of fish. My son, Jon, and I slugged it out in the rough conditions and came away with 27 schoolies, 1 blue and a couple of hickory shad while fishing Cocahoes and teasers (what else!). The fish today were quite small with most of the schoolies going 12-18 inches long with a few stretching out to maybe 20 inches. Typically we see a lot of these small ones as the season is winding down. However, I also saw a load of gannets hitting the water way out. I have to wonder if they were dive bombing for big bait with big fish under them. Make no mistake about it, warm water or not, the season is winding down with maybe a week to ten days of consistent fishing left along the south shore. I'm still hoping to hook a keeper or two in the coming week.

The Rest of the Way....Play the Calm Water

2011-11-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

For most of the year, I have advised surf fishermen to play the rough water. Now, the game changes as the season winds down. At this point, I am doing most of my striper fishing along the sandy south shore of RI rather than the rocky shores of Gansett. The south shore is a fragile place and rough water or storminess can quickly roil up the water with sand and weed, making for impossible fishing conditions. Because of that, I would much rather take my chances in calm water that is fishable rather than trying in rough water that is not. In past years, the best fishing for me has occurred in calm conditions, even with the wind at my back in mid to late November. Those calm conditions seem to bring the bait closer to shore at this time as they tend to avoid the turbulence brought on by a rough sea. If you can find bait at this time of year, you are almost certain to find schoolies. As far as late season keepers, play it the same way as the rest of the year.....at night for the most part. Keepers will also be in the big fish spots like along bars, in the breachways, off points and along structure. As the season winds down in the next two weeks, expect to find dwindling numbers of keepers. I usually end my fishing along the south shore around Thanksgiving, but I will readily admit that I have had some real big days in the past after Thanksgiving. Good fishing at this time is highly dependent on warm weather. After Thanksgiving, I usually begin targeting wintering over stripers in upper Narrragansett Bay, a better bet for me in recent years..

Move to Freshwater Results in Record Fish

2011-11-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

What many of my readers don't know is that I am also an avid freshwater fisherman. In fact, I freshwater fish just about every morning and then fish saltwater in the afternoon/evening and nighttime. In recent years, I have been fascinated with carp fishing, and I have really targeted these monsters of freshwater, and I learned the very complicated and non traditional European techniques to catch them. In today's crappy weather, I decided to put in some serious time in freshwater since I had all the right conditions to have a successful day of carp fishing.

Well, the results were astounding. I landed 10 fish with most in the high teens and twenties (we're talking pounds), but my real prize was the biggest carp ever caught in RI, a monster 36 lb. common. In fact, this fish is the largest freshwater fish ever caught in the state, surpassing a 35 lb. record pike. The carp would have certainly smashed the official state record (32 lbs., 8 oz.) if I had it officially weighed. The only way that would have worked is if I either killed the fish or brought it to an tackle shop with an official scale. It would have been near impossible to keep a fish this size alive in a cooler for a long period of time. So, I weighed the fish on my very accurate Berkeley Digital Scale, took a few pics, and proudly watched the beast swim away. Beautiful!

The fish will be recognized by the Carp Anglers Group (CAG) as the RI state record since all that group requires is a weighing, a photo and a witness, and I have all three. This is my fourth thirty pound plus carp that I have landed this year. I wish I could say that about stripers!
If you are interested in learning about carp fishing, check out my very popular carp fishing blog at http://www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com/

All Good Things Must Come to an End.......

2011-11-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

And, the hot fishing will end tomorrow. This last five days have brought one of the best runs of stripers I have ever seen in November. My sons and I have been out just about every day, and we have landed 200 stipers in just the last four days! In these days of decreased striper numbers, these are astronomical numbers.

Beware, though, things are changing, Today saw decreased numbers of fish and a building sea. There were rollers as high as 7 or 8 feet crashing onto the south shore sands. The weather forecast for tomorrow is stormy with rough water, strong winds and heavy rains. In addition, there is a tropical storm churning in the Atlantic south of us heading northward. This predicted rough water in the next two days will move many of these fish away from our shores. That's the bad news. The good news is that the weather is supposed to turn more tranquil and warm next week, hopefully setting up more good fishing. In addition, the water is warm for this time of year, suggesting an extended season if the weather and water continue to be warm. If November fishing ended tomorrow, I would have to say it was a very good month. However, I do expect to be catching many more stripers in the coming weeks.

Glut of Fish Continues...Schoolies, Keeper Bass, Bluefish and Shad!

2011-11-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

We are in the midst of one of the best November streaks in recent years and there seems to be no end in sight. Today I fished the daytime along the south shore with my son, Ben, and we caught all kinds of fish. There were schoolies, keeper bass, bluefish and hickory shad. We must have landed about 50 fish with most being taken on Cocahoes mounted on jigheads. Ben, who was fishing with teasers, had a couple of triple headers! I also landed a keeper bass, something I haven't been able to do in over a week now. Besides great fishing, it was a gorgeous day along the oceanfront with temperatures around seventy degrees and little wind. Just a great day all around.

Mother Lode has Arrived

2011-11-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for numbers of fish, this is the best it is going to get. Suddenly, there are all kinds of fish around. Today I met my two sons, Ben and Jon, at the south shore and along Gansett. We fished together for the afternoon and evening and landed over 75 fish! These included mostly stripers, but we also had about a half dozen hickory shad and a lone bluefish. There was also all kinds of activity. I saw gannets slamming down on the water for big bait, terns diving for smaller bait and even pockets of small bait spraying out of the water with occasional fish breaking. As has been the case most of the fall, a Cocahoe mounted on a jighead did most of the damage. We also got a few fish on shrimp fly teasers.

With the warm and tranquil weather along with southwest winds predicted for the next few days, I see no reason why this bonanza will not continue. If you are looking for big numbers of schoolies, it is happening right now.

Cocahoe+Teasers=Schoolies+Hickory Shad

2011-11-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today was one of my biggest schoolie hits of the year. Fishing at both Gansett plus the south shore, I landed 35 schoolies and 4 large hickory shad. The key to catching all these fish was the use of a double teaser rig (shrimp fly teasers) with a Cocahoe on a jighead at the lure end of the rig. This is about the hottest set up you can use for late season schoolies and hickory shad. Today was typical of what you find in the late season. There was nothing showing, but the fish were around and active. With the absence of baitfish, the shrimp fly teasers are deadly since a lot of time these predators are grubbing along the bottom and the teasers are just the type of thing these fish will jump on. I had three triple headers today, two double headers and the rest were single fish. I caught about half my fish on the teasers and the other half on the Cocahoe. With the southwest wind forecast for the next few days, I suspect this hot fishing for schoolies and shad should continue.

Parade of Monster Fish Continues

2011-11-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

Some huge fish continue to be caught along the RI oceanfront this fall. In the last month I know of at least a half dozen stripers from 45-50 inches that have been landed. Last night the parade of monster fish continued as a well known RI striper surfcaster fishing right next to me landed this 40 + pound fish. To his credit and his commitment to conservation, he released the fish after I took the picture.

A Move to the South Shore and Back on Track

2011-11-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

It's November and my time to abandon Narragansett and head for greener pastures along the south shore beaches. I did just that yesterday and it put me back into fish. Yesterday I hit a number of high percentage spots and came away with 9 stripers and 2 hickory shad. Most of the stripers were schoolies but I had one keeper of about 32 inches (see pic, right) on a big bucktail jig. Yes, I practice what I preach....see previous posts. Most of the schoolies (see pic, left) that I caught were taken on a Cocahoe off a float (4 fish) and teasers (4 fish). In addition, I had two other "big" fish on that I lost. November usually signals that time for me to start seriously fishing the south shore oceanfront, and it paid off yesterday. We're back in business.

Incredibly DEAD for this Time of Year

2011-10-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

I went down fishing this morning hoping to catch some action on the high tide before the arrival of the big blow and heavy rains predicted for later in the day. There was a northeast wind blasting at the eastern shoreline of Narragansett. There was very good white water and it was rough, conditions that have produced much of the fall. Unfortunately, I found no fish while casting in multiple spots. The only sign of life was a bunch of gannets divebombing out in front of Point Judith along with lots of cormorants going down for bait (see photo).

Most fishermen from Narragansett to the far south beaches of RI are complaining about the lack of stripers. It has been dead now for about 10 days since that last northeaster a week and a half ago. With the exception of a few big fish showing up in the breachways in the late night hours, the fishing has been horrible, and this should be prime time based on past years. I've blanked now three times in a row. With the decreased numbers of stripers around, the game has changed. The resident population of stripers is just not there in any numbers, and it is a matter of waiting until the next school or two of migrating fish passes our way. Who knows when or even if that will happen?

How to Fish a Bucktail JIg in a Deep Channel

2011-10-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked me exactly how to fish a large bucktail jig in a deep water channel. Well, here goes...a video explaining it. The critical key to using the jig in moving water is to get it and keep it on the bottom. After casting, you want to finger the line off the spool until you feel a slight pause. That's when the jig hits the bottom. Next, start the retrieve. You want a sharp pull of the rod tip and reel slightly, then pause. Do this again. As the jig straightens out in the current, it is rising. At that point, reel in. Check out how this is done in my You Tube video.

Add Enticers to Your Bucktail Jigs

2011-10-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

I fished the Upper Bay yesterday. It was hot for schoolies as I landed 13 fish. They were all caught on quarter oz. flathead, white, bucktail jigs spiced with plastic grub tails.
The bucktail jig is a real hot lure right now and it will continue to catch fish right up until late November. When using bucktail jigs, it is imperative that you add some type of enticer to your jig's hook. Here's the way I play it. On small bucks of 1/2 oz and under, I use a 3 inch triple ripple grub tail sold by Bass Pro in a white color. For mid sized bucktail jigs of 1/2 to 1 oz., I will use 4 inch triple ripple tails. On real big bucks over 1 oz, I generally use Uncle Josh pork rind strips of 5 1/4 inches. Adding these enticers really makes a difference in the effectiveness of your bucktail jig.

Ben Pickering Lands 50 Inch Striper

2011-10-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Pickering success in 2011 just keeps on rolling. My son, Ben, who has been having fabulous luck this fall with numbers as well as big fish has come up with the fish of a lifetime as he landed a 50 inch striper (measured) from the surf late last night. The huge bass engulfed a black Bomber swimmer. According to Ben, the fish took out a lot of line and the fight went on for at least 20 minutes before he was able to get the beast ashore. As he pulled it onto the shore, the line broke, but the fish by now was on dry ground and he was able to rush over and grab his prize. After unhooking the fish and taking a pic, the trophy fish was revived and released. He said the girth of the tail was so large, he had to use two hands to swish it back and forth in the water to revive it! Great job and true sportsmanship.
The only pic he got was from a cell phone....not great quality, but nevertheless, a remembrance of the event.

In a Major Downturn

2011-10-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

We are in a big time lull at a time when things should be hopping. Big winds have battered the oceanfront for the last week and that has driven out the bait as well as the bass and blues. It has left the Gansett shore a dead zone as far as fishing is concerned.
I went down today and the oceanfront was very fishable. Problem was that there was very little around. I managed to scratch one schoolie in front of Point Judith on a swimmer, and that was it from afternoon until well after dark. I saw no bait in close and no birds working way out. Heck, I never even saw another fisherman until after dark when I found one lone caster vacating a spot. To make matters worse, my son Ben reported that he saw several seals along the Gansett shore this morning, not good news for any stripers in that area.
Some fishermen are wondering if this is it. I say we are in for some more very good fishing especially in early November. We just have to wait for a pile of bait to lure those migrating stripers close to shore . My advice is to start looking along those south shore beaches and breachways. They become the best bet area as November arrives.

Five Top Producers for the Next Month

2011-10-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

We're heading into the home stretch. There's about one good month of striper fishing left along the oceanfront and after that, it's a crap shoot. Here's my line-up for the best artificials to use in the coming month to catch stripers here in RI.
1. Some type of small jig. I like a plastic Cocahoe minnow in white threaded onto a small (1/4 to 1/2 oz.) jighead when fish are on small bait. I also like flathead bucktail jigs with curly tails when there is a mix of bass and blues. You can use these jigs alone or off a wooden float. Great for schoolies in the daytime.
2. Needlefish plug. I've gotten away from poppers and use the needlefish much more these days, especially in rough water or with a wind in my face. Works well in daytime and at night.
3. Skinny plastic. It doesn't matter whether you use Hogys or Slug Gos. Both work well. I like a black color after dark and I like to use the new swimbait hooks. I don't weight my skinny plastic as weighting takes away from the movement. Best with a wind at your back.
4. Plastic swimmers. I like the Bombers in a six inch length. Light colors or black back models work well. Good at night in skinny water.
5. Big bucktail jigs with pork rind. This is my go to lure in deep, moving water such as you'd find in some of the breachways. The fish are on the bottom in day or night and a big buck of 1-2 oz. will get you there.
That's it. No need to stock a ton of artificials. A few others to consider include metal (Kastmasters), poppers, Storm shads and large wooden surface swimmers.

Disappointing Day in NE Wind

2011-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

I would have predicted this would have been a great day of fishing in this northeast wind and stormy weather. But, I would have been wrong! The northeast wind has led to fantastic fishing all fall along Narragansett, but it was not to be today. I slugged it out all afternoon and evening and came away with five schoolies, only fair results for the time I put in. Problem today was that there was too much of a good thing. The ocean was already churned up and sandy from a big west wind for the past several days. The vicious northeast wind just churned up the soup. Most of the afternoon the wind was very strong and the rain was coming down in horizontal sheets. You could not even face into the rain and wind as the rain was like needles stinging your face. The waves were choppy six to eight footers along Point Judith and the water was a sandy colored white. It was simply too much.

The Crappier the Weather, the Better the Fishing

2011-10-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

One pattern that has consistently emerged this fall is that real lousy weather has produced very good striper fishing. I'm talking cloudiness or raining, a rough white water surf and lots of wind. I love fishing in this type of weather and will always get down to the oceanfront and try when the weather is lousy. I've hit numerous blitzes this fall in that type of weather. Remember that striped bass are opportunistic feeders and there is no question that they are far move active and moving close to shore in lousy weather with rough conditions than in calm and tranquil conditions. In addition, few fishermen will go out and fish in bad weather so I've had many blitzes to myself numerous times this fall with not another fisherman in sight.

Big Time Hit Today...60 Stripers in Two Hours!

2011-10-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

I met up with my two sons today in Gansett for some fishing. It was discouraging at first as I could not find another fisherman anywhere within the six mile stretch from Gansett Beach to Pt. Judith. With the fishing cooling off in the last few days, there was no one even trying. Yet, the water and conditions were just right....the water was rough and clean and it was overcast and raining. I knew there were fish somewhere. After some searching I found the Mother Lode. With stripers ripping through schools of rain bait, my sons, Ben and Jon, and I started casting into the frenzy. With our float and Cocahoe rigs we landed one fish after another. These were all schoolies with a few blues mixed in. The schoolies were decent sized with the fish running 20-27 inches. In less than two hours of fishing, we landed 60 stripers and 2 bluefish. Not bad for a day in which everyone thought there was nothing around. Take a look at the video we shot of the action.

Biggest Fish in Years

2011-10-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

What started out as a slow day ended with a monster fish. Tonight I landed a huge striper of 46 inches after dark on this rainy and stormy night. This fish was probably my biggest fish in over a decade. I suspect it was in the 40+ pound range.
The day did not start off well. I had all the right conditions in Gansett with a stiff northeast wind and rough water, but very few fish. I was only able to catch one schoolie in the daylight and I tried in a lot of places. My luck changed after dark as I found a spot that had some schoolies and I quickly landed 5 fish. Then the big fish blew up on my jointed Red Fin swimmer. It proved to be quite a struggle to land this fish in rough water and the fish pulled out a lot of line from my Van Staal 150 reel. Fortunately the new VMC trebles I put on the plug recently held, and I got the brute ashore. A quick measurement with my tape and she was released to fight again. I have no pictures of the fish since I left the camera in the car figuring I wasn't going to catch anything. Boy, was I wrong!

Hot Fishing Dies Out

2011-10-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

I just knew it was too hot to last. Last week's phenomenal fishing along Narragansett has faded into a memory. It has gone from red hot to ice cold within a few days. I went down yesterday and blanked. I could not even find a fishermen who caught or saw a fish. There were no birds diving, no breaking fish and no big schools of bait. Heck, there weren't even many fishermen around, a bad sign.
My son, Ben, my scout down Gansett way, got out this evening and found nothing (very unusual for him). Other fishermen I know fished earlier in the day and came up empty. Clearly things are dead.
With the forecast calling for NE winds the next few days, who knows what will happen. It's a matter of waiting until the next pile of bait comes along and almost for sure the stripers and blues will be in hot pursuit.

Go SMALL

2011-10-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Some of the biggest blitzes in the history of RI striper fishing have been taking place at Narragansett this week. There seems to be no end to this terrific run. What is fueling these blitzes are vast schools of bay anchovies that are being driven ashore by hungry stripers, blues and false albacore.
Yet, while there appears to be a million bass in front of you at times, they are tough to catch. That's because the conditions are calm, the water is clear and the bait is small and plentiful.
I got a call from my son, Ben, today. He excitedly told me he landed over 30 stripers (6 keepers) and 10 bluefish in a couple of hours of fishing. However, none of the twenty or so fishermen around him seemed to be able to catch even one fish. How did he do it? He was using a very small freshwater plastic swimmer, casting close to shore and was reeling it in very slowly to keep it near the surface as the fish were on a rampage in only a couple of feet of water. That small swimmer measured only a few inches and closely resembled the bay anchovies (see photo at right) that the fish were feeding on. Those other guys who were blanking were probably using large pencil poppers, big wooden swimmers or large metal. Come on guys, you know the deal is to try to match the hatch.

Bay anchovies are small, anywhere from a half inch to a couple of inches. When they are around, some good imitators are small swimmers, three inch poppers, three inch Cocahoes (see photo at left), small bucktail jigs and even small Zoom flukes running off a float. While the guys tossing the big wood and big plastic may get an occasional big fish, their hook up rate is often dismal or non existent when bay anchovies are present. So, my word of advice right now is Go Small if you are looking to catch some fish.

Fish EVERYWHERE

2011-10-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

The last two days have seen some of the biggest striper blitzes in recent years along the Narragansett shoreline. Today and yesterday there was a mix of stripers, bluefish and false albacore hugging the entire shoreline from Pt. Judith all the way to the Walls around the Harbor of Refuge, a more than five mile stretch. Vast schools of bay anchovies were along this shoreline and attracting big numbers of predators. It is some of the best striper fishing I have seen along here in years. It is also attracting big numbers of fishermen that form a picket fence of casters in some shore spots. Boaters are also chasing these fish just off shore.

I got out in my brother's boat today and fished this shoreline with my brother Steve and my son Ben. I saw one school of stripers that was roughly the size of a football field, thousands of fish tearing through bay anchoies in a wild surface frenzy. In another spot, I saw a smaller school of fish, say the size of a basketball court. We could see thousands of fish right on the surface and under the boat, all around us. There was not one fish that wasn't a keeper! They were all big. In other places, very fussy false albacore were tearing through the bait. And, still other spots had big blues. In all, we must have landed over 20 stripers, at least a half dozen big blues and a false albacore in just a few hours of fishing. The hot lure was a fan tailed plastic Cocahoe mounted on a small jighead.
While we were hammering the fish from the boat, my son, Jon, was banging several keeper bass from shore. It was one heck of a wild day!

Big Bucks Banging Big Fish

2011-10-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm on another roll. In the last few days I've been getting big numbers of bass and blues by day and some big fish after dark. The daytime action mainly involves stripers and blues from 20-28 inches long that seem to be popping up all over the place where bait comes ashore. However, after dark is a different story with no fish showing. I have been targeting breachway waters after dark with a large bucktail jig spiced with a pork rind strip. I used this last night to nail my biggest blue of the year, a fish that went 13-14 lbs. It was one of the best fights I have had this year in moving water as I was convinced I had a striper of 25-30 lbs. Tonight I also scratched a big jig along a channel bottom. That yielded a good looking 35 inch striper. When fishing these breachway waters at night, I am using a 1 1/2 oz. homemade hotlips jig that is all white with red thread. I am adding an Uncle Josh 5 1/4 inch pork rind striper strip. The jig is cast and allowed to hit bottom. A slow, bouncy retrieve does the trick. Once the jig starts to straighten out, reel in. This lure has accounted for some real large stripers and bluefish in recent years.

Do You Have a Back Up Plan?

2011-10-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

These days the marine forcasts are notoriously wrong. I went down to the ocean yesterday where the forecast called for 3-5 foot waves. The water at Point Judith was coming right over the East Wall, hardly three footers. I would have put the waves heights at 5-8 feet, possibly higher in some locations. It called for an immediate change in plans.
Do you have a back up plan if things aren't right. And, there's a lot that can go wrong on a trip to the shore....too rough, too sandy, weedy, closed off access, etc. Before I head down, I always have at least three or more locations in my mind that could produce. I also try to find areas that are different in their physical make-up but close to one another to avoid burning through gas. In the above situation, if Pt. Judith is too rough to fish, how about heading into the protected waters of Pt. Judith Pond (second option). If that doesn't produce, what about a breachway like the Galilee Channel or Narrow River (third option). Finally, if nothing is working, how about hitting the mouth of the Bay (fourth option). Being flexible and having several options can make or break a day of fishing. In yesterday's case, I landed 8 bass to keeper size on a day that looked like I was going to blank. Having options saved the day.

Score for Day....Bay-5, Ocean-2

2011-10-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

I fished in the daytime today at the ocean and the Bay. I had planned to stay down the ocean all day, but some very rough conditions made fishing near impossible. I suspect that hurricane driven waves were coming ashore, and it shut down the fishing in most places producing sandy and roiled water. I did, however, manage to find two decent fish in some white water. They hit a float and Cocahoe rig (see photo). Sensing I had few options along the rough and tough oceanfront, I decided to hit the Bay on the way home.
Fishing the upper Bay, an area that consistently produced in the past, produced 5 stripers in a variety of spots. It was one fish here, one fish there with all of them taking quarter oz. bucktail jigs spiced with Pro Bass triple ripple curly tails. The fish were all about 20 inches except for one keeper that measured 32-33 inches, a terrific fish from shore in this area.
So, for today, the Bay wins. I'm not all that surprised because I have done well in the past by opting to fish the Bay when the oceanfront becomes unfishable.

Walking Into a Blitz

2011-09-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Not only was the wind and surf conditions right, but the stars must have also lined up as I walked into a wild blitz of stripers tonight along the oceanfront. I scouted around all over this afternoon and found nothing. The few fishermen I met were complaining that there were no fish around. Then, about an hour before sunset I hit a new location and right in front of me was a wild scene. The shoreline was black with bait (bay anchovies). There was so much of it I thought it was weed at first. The sky was filled with diving seagulls in a feeding frenzy and stripers were busting all along the white water shore. And, I was all alone as there was not a soul in sight! I phoned my son Ben and he joined me shortly. With the fish on bay achovies, we opted to use Cochoes or bucktail jigs on the float rig. That did the trick as we landed at least 25 stripers from 22-30 inches (see photos of two of the fish). As suddenly as the fish and bait appeared, it all abruptly ended at dark as the bait and the fish moved out. I stayed after dark thinking I could bang a fish or two, but no luck. The fish are tight to the bait these days, and when that bait departs, the stripers leave too.
I'm on a lucky roll since this type of thing has happened to me several times this month. Hey, most of this year's fishing has been fair to poor, but September is surely making up for the rough going I've had in the last two months.

Bait Disappears; Fishing Dies

2011-09-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

The last two days have not been good along the oceanfront from shore. Most of the bait that was around in the last week has disappeared or moved on, and the predators (stripers, blues and albies) have moved on with them. The fishing was also far more productive in the rough water and northeast wind that was around a week ago. Conditions have been generally calm in recent days.

Unless you fish in the breachways at night with a picket fence of other fishermen, it is very difficult to pick off loner fish. When the bait is around, big numbers of stripers and bluefish are in pursuit. But, no bait, no fish. There is not an abundant population of resident fish around.
The bait that has gotten things going has been small pods of peanut bunker along with large schools of bay anchovies. Many reports are saying that mullet are around, but I have seen none, and I have been out just about every day/night in the last two weeks. I suspect that many confused fishermen are seeing peanut bunker that is about 5 inches long, and they think they are mullet.

A Wild One

2011-09-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

I went down to the oceanfront yesterday to fish with two of my sons who attend URI. It is sort of a bonding thing we do several times a week. It turned out to be one wild fishing day. It started off slowly as Ben and I landed a few bass at Pt. Judith. Not much there so we moved on to another location. We walked to an overlook and right in front of us was one of the biggest striper blitzes I have seen in years. Along an entire shoreline stripers were breaking right on the shore. There were thousands of fish. Further out blues were boiling the water into a froth. Cast out, and you would hook a fish immediately. Between Ben, myself and his girlfriend, we landed about 20 stripers up to near keeper size and a half dozen blues. This dissipated and we moved to another location where my son Jon joined up. Same deal with fish busting here and there after bay anchovies. The fish were fussy but we managed to pick up a few more blues and a bass. Now it was dark and Jon and I moved to another location where he picked up a big blue (see pic) and I had a couple of bass, one of which was a small keeper. In short, everywhere I went yesterday there was fish and big numbers of them. It was one hell of a wild day, which seems to be almost a daily occurrence this September.

Striper Fishing Suddenly RED HOT

2011-09-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

A northeast wind has been battering east facing RI shorelines for the last several days with rough water. It has driven onto these shores a load of bait and big numbers of hungry stripers. It has set up about the best September striper fishing I have seen in a long time.

My sons and I have been steadily fishing the Gansett shoreline from Narragansett Beach to Point Judith. Schools of baitfish, bay anchovies and peanut bunker (see photo), have been popping up in various spots along this five mile stretch. If you can find the bait, you will most likely find stripers, blues and false albacore. The albacore and bluefish tend to be way out, but the stripers are holding in the white water wash wherever there is bait. The numbers of stripers have been staggering at times. For instance, my sons, Ben and Jon, got out today and landed close to 50 stripers in a few hours. Most were schoolies, but they also had several small keepers. Later in the day, my brother Steve and his friend Paul went down and they, too, landed close to 50 schoolies. There have also been some big fish being taken as a 35 pounder was landed today under an afternoon sun by a guy fishing right next to my son Ben.
The key to catching big numbers of fish is to move around looking for bait. Once that is found, use stuff that imitates peanut bunker. Some lures working well include a float and jig, bucktail jigs, Cocahoes on jigheads, Storm lures and swimmers.

Terrific Outing of Albies, Stripers and Blues

2011-09-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

I fished today from my brother Steve's boat. It was myself, Steve and my son, Ben. We had a terrific outing catching September's hat trick of stripers, albies and bluefish. In all we landed 7 false albacore, at least 15 stripers and another 15 bluefish. There was constant action from morning till late afternoon as the fish had bay anchovies and peanut bunker (yes, they are around) pinned up against a rocky shoreline that extended for about half a mile. In fact, many of these fish were so close to shore that you could have easily scored big time from the shore.
All the albies were caught on the float and fluke rig (see previous post), about the hottest ticket right now to catch these finicky feeders. The stripers and blues were mostly taken on bucktail jigs and Wild Eye shads, good imitators when there is peanut bunker around. Fishing is real hot right now if you can find the bait. It took a lot of looking today but when we found it we found big numbers of fish. It turned out to be about as hot as it gets in September!

Hot Ticket for Albies: Float and Fluke Rig

2011-09-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that plastics are red hot for false albacore. Why not, they catch everything else. Here is the scoop on how I'm fishing these plastics. I am using my old reliable homemade wooden float with about three feet of 30 lb. test mono attached to the end. At the very end of the leader I am using a Zoom fluke (albino color) that is threaded onto a barbed hook (see photo). I'm still fiddling around with the hook trying to find something that holds the fluke on as well as having some good hooking power. What I'm using seems to work fairly well since I went 2 for 2 today landing both hits that I had.
This set up will cast real far if you are looking for distance from the shore. Simply reel it in bouncing the rod tip occasionally to impart some extra action on the fluke. It is so natural looking in the water that the albies can not resist slamming the offering if it is within their sight. Very hot stuff!

CONFIRMED

2011-09-15T17:17:00.001-07:00

Float and Jig Rules White Water for Schoolies

2011-09-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

I fished yesterday evening for stripers with my son, Ben. We found a spot where birds were working along some white water. I'm guessing it was small bait and schoolies were right under them. The fish were fussy as they often are when feeding on small bait. The situation was tailor made for the float and jig.
I've written about this a lot and it is featured in my latest article in the Sept. issue of On the Water magazine. This rig is simply a homemade wooden float to which two to three feet of heavy mono is tied. At the end is a small bucktail jig (quarter oz.) onto which a plastic curly tail is added. The float is cast into a white water surf. This works real well where there are lots of rocks and snags. Simply reel it in and the white water and turbulence will impart the action. The float serves double duty as a casting weight, and the float keeps the jig above the snags.

It worked wonders last night as we landed a total of 25 stripers, all hefty schoolies. In the past I have also landed many keeper bass and large blues on this rig in a variety of locations from the RI shore to the outer Cape.

Rumors of Albies; No Confirmed Catches

2011-09-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

I went down in the daytime yesterday hitting a number of locations along RI's oceanfront looking for false albacore. I found nothing. There are rumors that they are around. Fishermen think they have seen them jumping while other say they have hooked them but lost them. Some boaters say they have caught them. However, I can't seen to find a shore guy who has landed one in RI and I know a lot are trying, some of them fishing for the last seven days straight. The strange thing about these fish is that there can be none around, and then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose and they are all over the place. Let's hope that happens soon.

Fishing Perking UP

2011-09-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

My son, Ben, who lives in Narragansett (URI student....tough life!), called me last night to tell me that he had a real good outing. He fished the Gansett area from shore yesterday evening and came away with 15 stripers in just over an hour of fishing. By today's standards, that would qualify as a terrific outing.

He said nothing was showing and no bait was evident. He used a float and jig and immediately started catching fish. They were all sizes from small ones to keeper size. So, the fish are around. It is a matter of moving around and finding them at this time of year. Ben tried several high percentage spots before finding these fish.
I am also getting reports from other fishermen around the oceanfront who report catching fish and increased activity. It seems like the good fall fishing we were all waiting for has begun.

Another Round of Rough Water Kills Fishing

2011-09-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Just as the ocean began to calm down from Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Katia moved up the Atlantic to bring a big roiled surf to RI's oceanfront. I last fished on Wed. along the oceanfront, and things weren't pretty. The waves were big, 8-10 feet. The water was very sandy and roiled and there was weed all over. It was near impossible to fish anywhere other than protected backwaters. And, I got nothing.Things have gone downhill even more since Wed. My son, Ben, who lives down in Narragansett called to say the ocean was even more churned up today.
Shore fishing is not looking good for the next few days or until the water calms down and clears up. Too bad because things were looking up in the beginning of the week.

Back in the Groove

2011-09-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

My fall season always starts the day after Labor Day. So, in yesterday's nasty weather I headed down to the ocean determined to find some fish. I found few fishermen around, but found decent numbers of big bass after dark. I landed two keeper bass of 34-40 inches (see pics on left and right). I also had good action as I had a number of hits and had at least six other big fish on. It was difficult to hold onto them in the charged up water and very rough conditions that I encountered. So, contrary to the poor fishing that I had been experiencing, this was a very good night. Let the fall games begin!

100,000 Hits!

2011-09-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

We hit a real milestone this week at RI Striped Bass. The hit counter went over 100,000. Unbelievable! When I started this blog just over two years ago, I envisioned it as a local informational site. At the time, I thought maybe a thousand hits a year. Little did I know that striper fishermen from all over the East Coast would be visiting this site looking for information on the greatest gamefish to ever swim our waters, the striped bass. I have met fishermen at the Cape, in Gansett Bay, and along RI's oceanfront who have visited the site. I also see fishermen at some of the big shows in Worcester and Springfield in the wintertime who have been to the site for information. Heck, I am sometimes walking in a mall and someone will come up to me and ask if I'm the guy who runs the RI Striped Bass website. It's crazy.
I will continue to try to bring my readers and followers the latest info on striper fishing here in RI, and hopefully, this will increase your catches as well as your enjoyment of the sport. Good luck in the upcoming fall season and thanks for making my blog a great success.
Dave Pickering

Hurricane Irene Should IMPROVE the Fishing

2011-08-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have seen hurricanes, tropical storms and northeasters lash the southern New England coast. Extreme weather events like these can often end good fishing; on the other hand it can improve poor fishing. In recent weeks we have been stuck in some of the poorest striper fishing from shore in history here in RI. I suspect that after Hurricane Irene passes and the water has a chance to clear up, the fishing for stripers and bluefish will improve.
Back in 1991 we were renting a house at the outer Cape when Hurricane Bob struck. Prior to the hurricane I did get out and fish, and the fishing was marginal for stripers and bluefish. Just two days after the hurricane passed my son, Matt, and I went fishing at Herring Cove Beach in P-Town where we had a wind at our back and calm seas. As we walked out on the shore I noticed the water had a dark tone to it. Uh, weeds, I surmised. I was wrong. There were acres and acres of bluefish right near the surface and they were so hungry they would pounce on anything that moved. We were the only souls for miles on this deserted beach as everyone went home prior to the storm. We never had so many bluefish. For the next four days of our vacation we caught countless bluefish and stripers. In this case, like in others I have seen throughout the years, big storms can move big numbers of fish from offshore to inshore.
Unfortunately, in the short term the water will be very messed up along RI's oceanfront from Irene's surge and rough water. There will be weeds, sand and debris in the water for days after this storm departs. I am guessing the sand will linger for upwards of 4-6 days along the south shore oceanfront, and it will shut down shore fishing for that time period. However, once things clear, look for fishing to improve. I suspect we will see an abundance of bluefish at first and a general improvement in the striper fishing. Fishing will get better; it has to!

Latest OTW Article...."The Versatile Bucktail"

2011-08-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

My latest feature article just came out in the Sept. issue of On The Water magazine. It is called "The Versatile Bucktail". It is the total package on how to fish bucktail jigs from shore along with some info on boat fishing. The article is particularly geared to fall fishing. Bucktail jigs are one of the most potent lures to use in the fall, and I would rate them as one of my top three choices of lures to fish for stripers and blues of all sizes. I also catch a good percentage of keeper bass on bucktail jigs. There is an art to fishing these and I cover everything you ever wanted to know about bucktail jig fishing....sizes, styles, enticers, technique, places to fish and rigging. The magazine staff did a great job with a sidebar explanation and drawing of the float and jig rig, a real killer for schoolies in rough water.

Check it out at newsstands or tackle shops or visit their website at http://www.onthewater.com/

When Will Fishing Perk Up?

2011-08-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, we are in a tough period for shore fishermen. The water is warm, there is little bait around, and there are few fish to be had. I've been out a few times in August and I am lucky to come away with a lone schoolie per outing. I am still fishing unlike so many striper diehards I know that have simply given up until the fall. In fact, it has been rare for me to run into another fisherman who is trying for stripers. I am amazed at the lack of bait around. I have seen very little of anything in the Gansett area. My brother, Steve, took his boat to Block I. the other day and saw no bait, no fish, and not one boat fisherman between the mainland and Block I's North Rip. He later zipped along the south shore and same story.....no fish and no fishermen. It's almost scary how bad things are right now.
I am confident that things will improve in Sept. Sept. is a month with lots of options. It is usually good for bluefish by day, stripers get active in the cooler nights and hopefully, we will see a run of false albacore. However, you may have to wait until mid September for all of that to get started. Until then I plan to plug along and keep hoping that things will get better.

Problems For Fishermen Along Pt. Judith/East Wall

2011-08-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

I fished along Narragansett last night and was shocked to find out that you can no longer get into Rose Nulman Park just north of the Pt. Judith lighthouse. You also can't walk into the Coast Guard property, making access along this popular point very difficult. Nulman Park was blocked off by tape and fencing with several signs that said the park was closed. You could not drive into the parking lot there which is used by surfers, sightseers and fishermen. It appears that the building there is collapsing since I saw a partially caved in roof and the sides were buckling. The Coast Guard property also had signs that said to keep out due to construction. This has been their line for over a year now, though I see no construction going on. Seems like a convenient way to keep people out. The only access to the waters around the Point right now is to park on the right side of the road leading in and to either walk through the closed off park (is that legal???) or to walk along a grown in path near the reeds which border the west side of the Point Judith Lighthouse property. Either way, it's a hassle.

The East Wall is another story. There are tons of people who have been using this "free" beach this summer. This property was originally set up for fishermen but it has now become an unsupervised free for all. The place is loaded with trash. Two weeks ago it was piled several feet high in front of the porto jons. I also saw many tents along the beach at that time where people were camping out along here (is this legal???). Swimmers, many unsupervised kids, have been in the water till well after dark. There is also a lot of drinking on the beach, another illegal activity here. It's not good and the DEM presence has been minimal at best.

If you are a fisherman, it is clear that this area is heading downhill. Access to the Point will be difficult in the fall if things remain the way they are now. This is just one more example of a disturbing trend of access problems along Narragansett and the oceanfront. The East Wall has become a summertime free for all. Let's hope it calms down in the fall.

World Record Striper Taken in CT

2011-08-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard the latest exciting news, here it is.......a new potential striped bass world record has been taken by a boat fisherman using eels in CT waters. The fish was weighed in at 81.88 lbs. The incredible details and photos are in the link listed below:
http://www.onthewater.com/fishing/exclusive-story-and-photos-potential-world-record-striper/

Keys to Recent Success

2011-07-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have had limited success in the last two weeks of fishing. Oh, I'm not setting the surf fishing world on fire catching. I'm getting one to three stripers an outing, and I have only blanked one time. The keys to my success have been the same every time. Here they are:
1. I have been fishing mostly in the evening.....at dark into the early night.
2. Small, 1 oz. poppers have taken a few fish, especially right before dark.
3. Small Hogys in a bone color have taken all my fish after dark. Surprisingly, nothing on teasers.
4. For conditions, I have been fishing mostly moving water or a white water surf. I have tried to avoid fishing calm and clear water conditions.

McKenna OTW Article Right On

2011-07-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have to comment on the excellent article by RI surf fishing expert Steve Mc Kenna that appears in the August issue of On the Water magazine. The article, titled Fake Out Summertime Stripers, outlines the best lures and plugs to use to catch summertime stripers. For example, Steve outlines using soft plastics, slender minnow swimmers, teasers, metal lipped swimmers and eel skinned plugs, a hit parade of some of the best fish catchers you can stuff into a surfbag. For beginners and veterans alike, it is a ton of valuable information about how to catch fish in the summer with lures and plugs. Steve, who is a friend of mine, draws on his years of expertise and experience to outline some of the best artificials to use at this time of year. He also outlines some of the best conditions to fish in summer which include targeting the new moon phase, fishing in stormy weather and nighttime fishing. The article is well worth the cost of the magazine if you are not a subscriber.

For more information visit http://www.onthewater.com/

Back in Business

2011-07-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks since I've posted on the site. Oh, I've been fishing. Problem was the computer. It was infected with a virus and was in the repair shop for quite a while, thus no posting. I wish they would make a computer like a fishing reel. Change the bad part and back in business. Instead, the computer is under constant threat of attack from spyware and viruses, even though you think it is protected with anti virus and Internet security software. So complicated compared to a reel!

Change in Location Leads to More Action

2011-07-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to change the location I was fishing. I was spending a lot of time in the Bay and catching little. So, I moved to the oceanfront where I found better fishing for stripers.

Realize things are not great down there either. I fished from evening into the night and landed three schoolies though I had a least a half dozen more hits. They were taking small Hogys fished off a float. I used the float because I needed to get a long cast in the place I was fishing. These fish were all clones. They measured about 20-22 inches and were very skinny. It's obvious from the way these fish looked that there is little bait around. I also found no fish breaking and no bait.

I suspect that the cooler water along the oceanfront (low 70's) means that you have fish that are more active than you find in the Bay where the water is running from the mid 70's to 80 degrees. With temperatures in the 90's for the next few days, the oceanfront is your best bet for fishing.

Not Good News

2011-07-20T11:39:00.001-07:00

With a heat wave knocking on our door and water temperatures soaring into the seventies, we are in the dog days of summer. We are also in that period of time which seems to be the slowest of the year if you are a shore striper fisherman. The reports I have gotten from all over southern New England in the last two weeks paint a picture of some poor fishing.
I have been hitting the upper Bay several times a week. The news from that area is that I am catching a striper here and there. I am also getting blanked at times. There are good numbers of small blues around at times. I know of several guys who are fishing RI's south shore and Narragansett. They are getting a schoolie or two at times, but they are also getting blanked at times. Even the reports from the Cape Cod Canal from guys I know who have been there tell a tale of marginal fishing. Line up twenty guys who know what they are doing on the right tides and a few small keepers might be caught. It seems to be inconsistent from the reports I am getting.
Let me also say that there are not many fishermen out there. This could be due to the poor fishing or the increasing gas prices or maybe a combination of both.
I am predicting that this marginal fishing will continue through August and may not perk up until mid September when stripers start feeding up for the fall migration.

Warming Waters=Bluefish

2011-07-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

The water in the mid and upper Bay was running 75-81 degrees this week according to a NOAA site that I visit often. That is warm, really warm, too warm for stripers. However, no problem for the bluefish. So, last night I hit a spot in the mid Bay and came away with the biggest bluefish hit I've experienced in two years. They were everywhere I was fishing and real active as they were chasing silversides and small sandeels. These breaking fish were aggressively hitting poppers, jigs and metal. By the end of the evening I had landed 18 of them and lost at least that many. They were on the small side for the most part, running 12-20 inches. Since there were lots of fish and a pile of bait in front of me, I figured I would stay after dark and try for stripers. I casted for close to an hour and landed just one lone schoolie, my only hit. It's shaping up to be a big bluefish summer. As long as the small bait sticks around, the bluefish action should remain good regardless of the warm water.

Dinner Plate Scup

2011-07-07T09:54:00.001-07:00

Last night I went looking for stripers or blues in the Bay. I didn't find any, but what I did find was a load of good sized scup. These were unlike any I had ever found along the oceanfront. They were large, some nearly the size of dinner plates, and they were aggressive. They would readily attack plastics and jigs mounted with plastics ripping these offerings apart like piranhas attacking raw meat. I had run into these the previous night in shallow water and I decided to give the same spot another try. I also came armed with a rig I had devised. It looked like a double teaser rig only in place of the teasers I had tied in two, small #4 hooks on which I threaded one inch plastic grub tails (see photo). On the end of the rig I had mounted a quarter ounce jighead with a three inch plastic curly tail. It did the trick, sometimes accounting for double headers. By the end of the evening I had landed over 30 scup, many as large as small schoolies. They weren't stripers, but the action was terrific. In these days of reduced numbers of stripers, I'm planning on branching out and going after what's plentiful and available. Last night it was large scup.

Small Blues, Scup Invade Bay

2011-07-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

I knew I was in for bluefish as I waded into the waters around mid Bay yesterday evening. Right in front of me an osprey dove down and came up with a foot long bluefish. That was to be the introduction to a night of pesty blues followed by more surprises.
Oh, the blues were around. I would say a skinny plastic offering might last three casts before it was cut in half. So, I put the expensive plastics away and fished with more durable small bucktail jigs. They would not take a popper. I did land about a dozen small bluefish on the bucktail jig that measured from a foot long to about 20 inches.
However, the surprise of the night was the number of scup that I landed. The place was also infested with good sized scup that continued to hit after dark. By sunset, I had no hair left on the bucktail jig and I just went with a plastic grub tail. The blues and scup would rip the tail apart until I had a little white chunk of plastic left on the hook. Guess what, the scup were whacking that. I landed about 20 scup, all legal, up to 14 inches. It was the first time I have ever run into big numbers of these way up in the Bay. After you think you've seen it all, another surprise often comes your way. Tonight it was the scup.

July and August.....Dealing with Two Tough Months

2011-07-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are entering the toughest part of the season. July and August are particularly difficult for the shore fisherman. The water is warm and there is lots of activity around like swimmers, boaters, surfers, jet skiers, etc. that will disrupt your fishing. Couple that with the usual lack of bait in the summertime and it spells difficult fishing.
For those who fish the shore during these months here are a few tips that might lead to some good fishing:
1. Fish deep water dropoffs where the water is cooler. Places like Newport and Jamestown are good locations that might produce.
2. Fish the cooler times. That means evening, nighttime and early morning. Rainy and cloudy days might also work. For those who can stay up real late, the late night hours can be the most productive.
3. Get into moving water. If you can stand the crowds at the Cape Cod Canal, this place is a good bet even in daytime in the dead of summer.
4. Lack of stripers? Think about fishing for fluke and scup. These fish are sometimes abundant along the oceanfront in the summertime.
5. Bait can produce when the fish turn finicky. I've seen bottom fishermen using clams, chunks of menhaden and mole crabs do real well in the summer when plug fishermen can't even get a sniff.
6. Lower your expectations. In places where you could catch 3 or 4 fish an outing back in May and June, you may have to settle for zero, one or two fish.

June Turns Out Better than Expected

2011-07-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

The month of June turned out to be better than expected for me. It was a month in which I landed 67 stripers and 6 bluefish from the shore. In past posts I have been comparing the present month to 2007. Well, back in 2007 I landed 86 stripers and 11 bluefish in June. If you adhere to the theory that the present day striper population is down 60 % from five years ago (and I do believe that to be true), then this June was not all that bad. In recent months, my numbers had been down 50-60 % but for this month they were down only about 20% from four years ago. In addition, a good number of my fish were small keepers, once again proving that keepers are around in decent numbers. So, I have to sum it up by saying June was better than expected. Hopefully, this trend will continue.

One explanation I have for the improved fishing is the fact that this June was one of the coolest on record, and I think that cool weather kept the fish active, especially in Narragansett Bay where I have been concentrating my efforts.

A Wild (and Frustrating) Night

2011-06-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

I went out last night in one of my favorite spots in the Bay where the water really moves on the outgoing tide. When I arrived at about 7 PM the high tide was barely trickling seaward. Suddenly, at about 7:30 the tide really started moving and that's when all hell broke loose. In the current were loads of grass shrimp skipping and hopping on the surface in the outgoing water. Stripers and blues went on a frenzy targeting every shrimp they could find. Some fish were just rod's length away in a few feet of water. Most of the time I had at least 4 to 5 jumps to cast to. This went on for over an hour. Unfortunately, the fish were not in a hitting mood since nothing I could snap on could come close to matching the hatch that the fish wanted. I tried all the usual small stuff.....small jigs (plastic and bucktail), shrimp fly teasers, Deceiver teasers, plastic on top, very small poppers, small swimmers, etc. Nothing really worked well. I did manage to catch 6 schoolies and 2 bluefish which mostly hit at and after dark after a lot of the activity had subsided. While the fish were busting all over the place, I could only lure the 2 blues to a small Zoom fluke fished on top. It all just goes to show how difficult it can be to fool finicky stripers and bluefish when they are targeting small bait.

"C" Fishing

2011-06-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

Being a former teacher I often looked at a grade of "C" as simply fair. Not that great, not that bad. From a striper fishing point of view we are into "C" fishing right now.
I have been out just about every night in the last week. There is little noteworthy fishing going on from the shore, but I am getting fish on every outing. "C" fishing. I'm catching 1-5 stripers an evening with a blue or two in the mix. Most have been hefty schoolies. I got them all on soft plastics. I have stuck close by to the Bay because the reports I am hearing from the oceanfront shore are not worth the price of gas to get down there.
Now, if you have a boat, the fishing is a different story if you believe the reports that are coming in. Block Island appears to be red hot for keeper bass, but then again, it always is that way in June. The south shore reefs seem to be hot also. And, if the striper fishing sours, this is a great time to fish for fluke from the boat along the south shore.
But, for the shore guy who fishes the Bay and the oceanfront the striper fishing just rates a "C".

Bad Economy, HIgh Gas Prices, Lack of Fish

2011-06-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Whatever is going on, there is a noticeable lack of fishermen around. Blame it on any of the three reasons in my title. I fished a popular spot in the Bay last night. It usually sees about 15-20 fishermen a night plugging as well as fishing bottom. Last evening there were exactly three of us fishing and that was it. Besides, I never saw a boat enter or leave the Bay in the three hours I was there. Not one boater on a decent fishing night. For sure, high gas prices are taking a heavy toll on the boating industry. Couple that with marginal fishing in the Bay this year and people are just not getting out in their boats. Some simply can't afford it; others say the fishing isn't worth it. I'm also seeing the same lack of fishermen along the oceanfront where most have to drive considerably farther in order to fish. For example, at $20 worth of gas for a round trip, fishermen will think twice about heading down several times a week for marginal fishing. As many of you know, I run the Carp Anglers Group here in RI. We are doing a brisk business with more new members this year than ever. What many of these new members are telling me is that they are former striper fishermen who are looking to fish closer to home. And, many of them are turning to fresh water. It may not be stripers, but it's still fishing. With an abundance of underutilized 10-20 lb. carp in RI, it can be very hot fishing for big fish.I find this all to be a disturbing trend, but I also suspect that it will get worse before it gets better.

They Still Hit Hard Plugs

2011-06-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, stripers still hit hard plugs. With all the talk and use of soft plastics, many of us (myself included) often forget that 10 years ago we were catching stripers big time on hard plugs.

A few nights ago I was out fishing the Bay. I started off with a 6 inch Hogy, a plastic stickbait that had been red hot in recent weeks. After half an hour of plugging....nothing. I did notice large silversides hopping along the surface, movement that a popper would certainly imitate. So, I snapped on a small, homemade, three inch popper, a lure that used to be deadly in the Bay before the age of plastics. The second cast produced a nice schoolie of about 24 inches. A few minutes later I got another fish about the same size. A friend of mine was next to me using a Slug-Go. I told him to try a popper. His reply, "I don't have a popper in my bag."

The lesson here is that traditional hard plugs still have their place and do work well at times, sometimes even outfishing skinny plastic. Make sure your surf bag has more than soft plastic lures in it. Yes, hard plugs still work.

Cool Weather, Big Tides Perk Up Striper Fishing

2011-06-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

I'm back in business in the upper Bay. Got out the last three nights and landed 24 stripers. Though most of them were schoolies, I did manage a couple of small keepers. I think the cooler than normal weather and water along with the large moon tides have been responsible for perking up the action. The fish are spread out as I fished three different locations, one evening fishing from my kayak (see photo) and two outings from shore. Overall, the hot lure was an albino colored Zoom fluke, either fished on a small jighead or fished on top with no weight using a swimbait hook. Interestingly, I've not run into any blues in the last three evenings. In the last couple of weeks their numbers had been increasing, but they were no where to be found in the last three outings. So, in this up and down roller coaster of a spring, things are suddenly looking up.

More Blues, Less Stripers

2011-06-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

We're in a shift right now in the upper Bay. It happens every year about this time as the hot weather warms the water. The striper population moves southward to deeper and cooler water at the middle and mouth of the Bay while the bluefish population increases.

I was out a couple of nights ago, and it was the first time in a month that I didn't catch a striper. I ended up with two blues about five pounds apiece. The bluefish are particularly fond of skinny plastic (like the fish in the photo that hit my six inch Hogy), and will usually not hit a hard plug. There are many people who think a blue will hit anything........not true. So, if you want to catch bluefish, they are around in increasing numbers in the upper Bay waters. However, I will warn you that you'll be going through a lot of expensive plastics if you intend to catch any numbers of these fish.

Teasers to Imitate Sandeels

2011-06-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first night in over a month that I did not catch a striper on plastic. When I got to the spot I was fishing, I noticed lots of small sandeels in the water. June and July are big sandeel months. So, I immediately snapped on a teaser rig that had a Deceiver fly attached along with a jointed Red Fin swimmer at the plug end. I didn't kill the fish but I did manage to get two stripers on the teaser and one on the plug.

To set up a teaser rig, make a leader out of heavy mono (suggest 30 lb.. test) that's about 2- 2 1/2 feet long with a snap at one end and a swivel at the other. The teaser (suggest a Deceiver fly- see photo) is knotted onto about 8-10 inches of mono and tied off to the bottom eye of the swivel on your leader. You can take this even further and tie double teaser rigs. Use light colored Deceivers in the daytime and black at night for the most effective rigs.

May.....a Disappointment

2011-05-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

The good news is that there were fish around. The bad news is that most were small and their numbers were down (no surprise there!). I managed to snare just over 100 stripers in the month of May. That sounds good but just four years ago I landed 200. Figuring I am fishing about the same number of days in the May that is a 50% reduction in the amount of fish. Oh well, the experts tell us the numbers are down about 60% compared to five years ago. Seems to be running true to form. Disappointing, though expected.
Another major disappointment in my assessment is the lack of large fish. I am embarrassed to say that the biggest fish I landed in May measured 32 inches. Not pounds, INCHES. In all my times out, the biggest fish I saw caught went 34 inches. I fished from shore, boat, kayak, south shore oceanfront and Gansett Bay. Big fish....a real disappointment.
The menhaden fishing has been a major bummer for boaters. There are spotty schools of bunker here and there in the Bay, but where are the big fish that were in abundance just two short years ago? A couple of years back I would see hundreds of keepers caught in day in May within sight of Providence. And, there were plenty of fish over 40 inches. Nothing even close to compare this year.
So, another month is in the books and another month of disappointing fishing. Looks like 2011 is heading in a disappointing direction. Are we surprised?

Pogies......I Found Them, Big Time

2011-05-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Rest assured it won't be a pogie-less year. I was out fishing from the shore in the upper Bay and I saw the menhaden big time. I spotted many schools in one area. At one point I saw a school that was hundreds of yards in length. There were only a couple of boats on them since the night was very foggy and there were few boats around. The pogies have arrived just in time for Memorial Day weekend, a big weekend for boaters here in the state. With the arrival of these large menhaden, I am sure there are places where large bass and huge blues can be found close to these schools of bait. Looks like it is shaping up to be a big weekend of fishing in the Bay.
And, I did get fish from shore tonight. There are good numbers of schoolies close to shore for those who want to plug with light tackle. Just one more option for the upcoming weekend.

When Skinny Plastic Fails!

2011-05-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, sometimes my favorite skinny plastic lures do not work. I had an interesting outing a couple of nights ago. I started off with my ole faithful white Hogy. Fish were around as they were whirling it and following it, but they were not interested in taking it. Under those situations I usually will change the color or change the size or do both. I made those corrections and still, no cigar. So, I made a complete change, going with a Zoom fluke fished on top. I did not opt for the float and Zoom fluke because of the calm conditions. In those conditions, the float usually has a spooking effect on finicky fish. I used no weight....just the large Zoom fluke mounted on a swimbait hook, and I proceeded to fish it like a Hogy with lots of slight twitches of the rod tip. It was immediate success as I started hooking up fish after fish. The tally for the evening was 9 stripers which included 1 keeper (see photo). Sometimes when the stripers are fussy, it's a good move to switch to something smaller that has a different profile and movement than skinny plastic. In this case, the Zoom fluke did the trick.