Quite the Day

I got out today with my brothers Steve and Mike and we hit a number of locations along the RI south shore and its backwaters.  We found fish everywhere.
We are off to a phenomenal start to the striper season here in RI. I can't remember a year when I have seen this many schoolies around in April. It is practically non-stop action every single day.  Some spots have bigger fish than others, and you often have to find those larger fish spots by moving around.
Most of the schoolies we caught today were on the small size, but I did manage to land one respectable 25 inch fish.  Just about everything was on Cocahoes.  While we were catching, I saw lots of other people catching too.  I estimate that between our catches and other anglers' catches, I probably saw in excess of 200 fish landed.
I got the surprise of the early season right before dark when I was catching loads of schoolies.  Suddenly I had a different fish in front of me splashing around.  It was a huge white perch (see photo at bottom).  I haven't gotten one of these in years in saltwater.  I later landed three more as a bonus. Yup, they were running along with the stripers!

Fish Spreading Out, Getting Bigger, FIRST KEEPER Landed

There were staggering numbers of fish today with most of them
averaging over 20 inches.  The white Cocahoe minnow
continues to be a very hot lure.

Wow, things are hot right now.  I got out today and fished multiple spots along the oceanfront and found fish in every spot. The big difference between this week and last week is that the fish are getting bigger.  Most of the fish I landed today averaged around 20 inches, considerably bigger than what was around last week.
However, the big news of the day for me was my first keeper.  I got a fish that was just about 28 inches long if you stretched the tail.  It was considerably bigger than any other fish I had today. It was caught on a Cocahoe minnow.
I landed staggering numbers of fish.  In my best one hour stretch, I had thirty fish so the numbers on the day were off the chart.  I also landed fish on a variety of lures.  Cochahoes on jigheads, Zoom flukes on jigheads and shrimp fly teasers all worked in various spots.
Right now the spring schoolie fishing is as good as I have ever seen it. Hopefully, it will continue.

Keeping Things Simple in the Early Going

A Cocahoe on a jighead lured this
schoolie.

By now, it is safe to say a lot of fish, all schoolies, have been caught along the oceanfront. Certainly, the number of fishermen has increased also. I'll be hitting the Bay this week in search of fish there.
My son, Jon, made a comment the other night that holds true about early spring striper fishing.  He told me that it seems like just about anyone (beginner as well as expert) can catch them at this time of year. Yes, it is that simple.  Snap on a Cocahoe on a jighead and cast away.  If the fish are there, you are going to catch them. It will get a lot more complicated in the coming weeks as the fish get larger and more picky, but for now, everbody's an expert.

Shrimp fly teasers will get as many
fish as the jig.

My advice is to keep things simple in the early going.  Stock the surf bag with a variety of jigs and jigheads along with plastics.  Cocahoes are hot along the oceanfront; Zoom flukes are hot in the Bay. Teasers are also good along the oceanfront and will catch as many schoolies as the jig.  I like the shrimp fly teaser. I also stocked my bag with a number of small plugs. I put in small swimmers, small poppers and a few Rebel Jumpin' Minnows.  The plugs will work in late April in the Bay from shore and boat. I might even put in a few Slug-Gos that will work at the very end of April for larger fish when the water warms up into the 50's.

Off to a BIG Start

The Cocahoe minnow mounted on
a small jighead was a hot producer.

Shrimp fly teasers rigged ahead of the
jig also accounted for good
numbers of fish along with several
double headers.

Finally, the wait is over.  The first of the migrating schoolies have arrived.  I was out fishing the last two days and landed almost half a hundred fish.  Yes, that many. That southwest wind of the last couple of days along with somewhat milder temperatures moved a big slug of fish along the south shore oceanfront.
These were all small fish, typical of what you find in the early going.  The fish averaged just 10-16 inches, but they were perfect specimens. Many were bright in color and loaded with sea lice, an indication of migrating fish.
I got all my fish on a combination of shrimp fly teasers along with a white Cocahoe minnow mounted on a jighead. The best period of the day for me was that last hour before dark, although I had quite a few fish in the afternoon also.
I saw very few fishermen around and at times, there was no one.  I can only guess that many are waiting on the sidelines or looking for a positive report.
With warm temperatures coming this weekend into next week, I suspect the fishing will explode all over the state, from the oceanfront all the way up into the Bay.  And, expect to see some bigger ones in the next couple of weeks.
It's happening early this year, and I now have my sights on an April keeper!

The first striper of the year was a 15 inch schoolie taken on a Cocahoe.

Unexpected Cold Ends Chance of Early Start

How I wish this photo was taken this weekend. But,
I have heard of no fish. It's just not happening yet
and the cold will delay it longer.

I had my surf bag packed last week and I was ready to go.  I was looking for at least three warm days in a row (60's) and that might just do it.  We did get those three days but the wind was horrendous making fishing along the oceanfront impossible. So, I ended up fishing a backwater location along the south shore which had produced at this time in other years.  I got nothing. And, I don't know of a single fish that has been caught along the oceanfront yet.
As I type this the temperature outside is 25 degrees. And, we are forecast to get about 5 inches of snow tomorrow.  Add to that the water temperature at Newport is 44 degrees according to NOAA. It all puts the brakes on an early start to the striper season.
In past years, I had gotten fish along the south shore oceanfront when the water temperature reached 48 or 49 degrees. With that real warm winter behind us, everyone was hoping for the warm weather to continue and provide an early run of fish. But, hey, this is New England, and you never know what is going to happen.  Suddenly, long range weather predictions call for a much colder than normal April here in the northeast.
So, let's recalculate things and look toward a more traditional start to the fishing, say around the third week in April if we are lucky.
 But, that will only happen if the weather turns warmer.

Expect an Early Start

Expect and earlier than normal start to the spring season
due to a warm winter and warm water.

It's been a record warm winter, there is no snowmelt and water temperatures are well above normal.  That all points to an earlier than expected spring migration of stripers along our RI waters.
Traditionally, stripers arrive along the oceanfront around the second or third weeks of April. But, some years, such as last year (a record cold and snowy year) they showed at the the very end of April.  That was late by past standards.  However, I have seen very warm years in which they arrive as early as late March.
So, with this warmer than normal winter when will the first schoolies be caught?  If I were a betting man, I would go for the ending days of March into the first week of April, one of the earliest starting times we will ever see.
Time to start getting the gear ready!

It's on to the Springfield Sportsmen's Show

My next stop on my winter seminar tour is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show, a very popular outdoor show located at the Big E in Springfield, MA.  I will be there on Sat., Feb. 20.  As of this post, the exact times for my two seminars are not set yet.  Keep checking back at their website here for updated seminar information.
I will be doing two seminars at Springfield.  One of them is titled Discovering Carp Fishing and the other is a saltwater show titled The Surfcaster's Edge: Strategies for Catching Stripers, Blues and Albies.  I already did these shows at The NE Fishing and Outdoor Expo, and they were very well received.
If you are longing for the upcoming season and suffering from cabin fever, why not visit the Springfield Sportsmen's Show where hunting and fishing is featured big time.