Very Effective Trick

The float and 6 inch Slug-Go is
very effective on fussy fish.

This lure combo led to big numbers
of stripers tonight up to keeper size.

Here's a neat lure trick I used tonight to catch big numbers of stripers up to keeper size in the Bay. I was fishing a spot from shore in which the fish were there as some were breaking and others occasionally hitting the jig I started off with.  But, my offerings were just not real effective on these fussy fish.
So, I snapped on a killer artificial I use when the fish get this way.  I was using a homemade wooden egg float with a small, 6 inch Slug-Go.  The skinny plastic was tied to about 2 1/2 feet of 30 lb. test mono which was tied to the float. To fish this artificial combo, reel in slowly while twitching the rod tip.  Occasionally, stop the retrieve for a few seconds.  This lure combo is deadly when fishing rough water and a wind in your face. The float allows a long cast while fishing a small and lightweight artificial (the Slug-Go) which can't be cast on its own. That 6 inch Slug-Go is a good size to use for fussy fish which I had in front of me tonight.

Pic of the Day......."Getting Bigger"

Steve Pickering holds a real good size fish that was taken from the  boat in the Bay.

Biggest Night of the Year; First KEEPER

First keeper of the year hit a white Slug-Go.

I landed several fish on
a Red Gill teaser that was
fished ahead of the Slug-Go.

Wow, the fishing is hot, about as good as it gets at this time of year.  Tonight I had my best outing of 2015 from shore as I landed over 30 fish in a short amount of time while fishing the Bay.  Most of the fish were hefty schoolies in the 20-26 inch range.  I even landed my first keeper of the new year, a fish of about 30 inches.  The white Slug-Go that I talked about in my last post was the killer tonight.  I also got a number of fish on a white Red Gill teaser fished ahead of the Slug-Go.
The fish are all over the state right now.  While I was fishing the Bay from shore tonight, my son Jon texted me that he was getting good numbers of fish along the oceanfront.  My brother Steve went out in the boat this morning and he caught good numbers of fish. All three of us were fishing completely different locations.
So far I have to say that while we had a late start to the fishing, it has become about as good as it gets in the springtime here in RI. No question, banner fishing right now!

On the Skinny Plastic

Skinny plastic like this Slug-Go was hot tonight.

For the first time this spring, I caught good numbers of schoolies tonight fishing skinny plastic from shore.  It is a sure sign that the water is warming and the fish are getting more active.
Tonight I was using a 7 1/2 inch white Slug-Go. Typically, you cast this out and twitch the rod tip on the retrieve to give this lure its action.  Tonight the stripers were fussy in some very calm water.  At first they would whirl it and follow it, but few actually hit the lure.  That changed when I adjusted the retrieve. On the retrieve, I would just stop stop reeling on occasion, letting the skinny plastic just sit there suspended for a few seconds.  This is something that really works for fussy fish. It  did tonight as nearly every fish I landed was hooked when I stopped reeling. Try it the next time you are into fussy fish while fishing skinny plastic.

From the Boat in the Bay...

Yes, the schoolies are in the
Bay also.  Zoom flukes
(right photo) threaded
onto lightweight jigheads
proved hot.
Also, the Bay was loaded with
schools of large menhaden but
there were no keepers on them.

Yes, the stripers are in the Bay also. We went out today in my brother's boat and did find some schoolies.  There were not a ton of them, but we did get some and had a good number of hits from some fussy fish.  The hot ticket to catching them was to use Zoom flukes on lightweight jigheads.  Like the oceanfront, the schoolies are generally averaging 20-22 inches, good size for early season fish..

The big surprise today in the Bay was the astounding numbers of large menhaden we found.  At times we were sitting in acres of them. And, they seemed to be all over the place. We did snag some and tried livelining this big bait, but got nothing.  There was no evidence of larger stripers under this abundant bait, but I can tell you it is only a matter of time before the large stripers find this big bait. Things are really looking up.

Spreading Out into the Bay

Here's a good size
schoolie taken from
shore in the Bay this
evening.

The fish hit a small
popper, unusual
in this early going.

Migrating schoolies are really sreading out throughout the state. For the first time this spring I fished the upper Bay, and caught stripers there too. I had been hearing reports from friends who have been catching in the lower Bay and mid Bay locations so I decided to try the Bay myself.
The crazy thing about tonight is that I caught two stripers, one a near keeper and the other about 20 inches, on small poppers. Both fish were super active and just blasted my surface offering. Usually you don't start getting them on topwater lures until things really warm up, but these fish were taking on top, a sure sign that things are heating up.  I also saw a couple of fish break for bait, another unusual activity in this early going.
So, it's happening all over right now.  With warm temperatures expected all week, look for some bigger fish and maybe even a few bluefish to arrive soon.

Really Good

Jon Pickering hoists up a triple header that
was landed on shrimp fly teasers and a Cocahoe
on a jighead.  That has been the hot lure combo.

The water is cold (40's), the air is cold, the winds have been wrong, but the fishing is hot. I have hit the oceanfront hard in the last three days and I can tell you the fishing is about as good as it gets at this time of year. I've found the fish in multiple spots along the oceanfront, and when you find them, there are a lot of them to catch.  My totals for the last three days are well over 50 fish. Those results have really exceeded my expectations.
The hot ticket to catching them has been a Cocahoe minnow fished on a jighead and fished below one or two shrimp teasers.  I've seen others scoring well with Clouser flies used as teasers.  I've had numerous double headers as well as some triple headers on this rig.  To get three schoolies to hit at the same time, there has to really be a big bunch of them.
I am also surprised at the size of the schoolies.  Last year there were lots of really tiny ones in the 10-14 inch range. However, this year's fish average about 20 inches with some being near keepers. There are really good size early season fish.