SURPRISE! SURPRISE!.....First Striper with Sea Lice Landed in THE BAY!

 My son Jon went down to the oceanfront today looking for his first migrating striper. Like everyone else who has been fishing there this week, he got nothing.  On his way home he called me to discuss some spots in the Bay that just might have a fish or two.  I gave him my spot suggestion, and sure enough he did catch one fish and had another on.  The schoolie he caught did have sea lice, a sure sign this was a migrating fish.

It was no surprise to me that that first one I know of was caught far northward from the oceanfront in the Bay.  It's happened to me in many of those years that were dominated by sudden, very warm weather like we are having now.  Shallow areas of the Bay warm up very quickly in this hot weather and some places will hold water that will be five to as much as ten degrees warmer than the oceanfront. Those warmer areas will get the first arriving fish very active.

Many years ago, I remember one year in which I was catching huge numbers of schoolies way up in the Providence River before a single fish was landed along the oceanfront.  Yet, another year I was catching them in the Upper Bay a week before any fish were landed along the oceanfront. Still, another time, a friend of mine was catching big numbers of stripers in a mid Bay location before I could land a single fish along the oceanfront. In all these instances I described above, the fish were loaded with sea lice.

In my opinion, the season has started.  Still, no big numbers, but that is coming soon. Might happen along the oceanfront, but might just happen in the Bay first.

Some Time Within the Next 7 Days

 

Look closely and you can see sea lice on the
body of this spring schoolie. Lice are a good
indicator that the striper is a fresh, migrating
fish.

The wait is just about over.  I would guess that the RI south shore oceanfront will light up with migrating stripers within the next week. We've got favorable warm weather on the way, favorable winds (W, SW and NW), and a predicted good surf.  All the ingredients are in place to push the migrating stripers right to our door step. I've always said that April 15 is the starting date, give or take a few days, and we are just about there.

I already know of some fish that have already been caught in the last few days along the oceanfront.  But, what are these? They could be holdovers leaving their winter locations.  They could also be "scouts", those early fish that move ahead of the main body of fish.  A good indicator of new, migrating fish would be sea lice on their bodies. I saw a photo of one of these fish and no sea lice.  Still, there are some migrating fish that have no lice, so who knows.

In my mind, the migrations begins for me on the first day that I can catch more than one striper. That day is coming soon. I will be trying just about every day in the next week.

Coming Attractions

 

Bucktail jigs can be hot producers
in the early going. Expect the action
to begin in about a month from now.

I'll be knee deep in snow tomorrow at the ski slopes so it's hard to get my mind on fishing.  But, I also know that things change fast around here at this time of year, and I am guessing that I will be catching migrating stripers a month from now.

Overall, this has been a warm winter, but I think it will have little effect on when the fish arrive. I have been keeping logs over the last 40 years, and it has taught me that regardless of how cold or warm the winters are or how cold or warm the water is, the fish arrive at just about the same time year after year regardless of the weather.

Start time: If I were to guess at a date in which the first good numbers of fish arrive along the RI south shore beachfront, I would guess APRIL 15 give or take a few days. Last year I landed my first migrating "bright" striper right on my target date of April 15. That evening I landed 3 schoolies on Cocahoe Minnows. In 2021, my first fish came on April 19.  In 2020, my first ones came on April 14. All of the early season stripers will likely be schoolies in the 12 to 20 inch range. Most of them will be caught on some type of jig with paddle tails and bucktail jigs being the top producers.

First Keepers (Slot fish)- Just about every year my logs reveal that I will get the first migrating keepers (slot fish0 before the close of April, roughly two weeks after I land those first ones.  Last year I landed my first 28 inch fish of the year on April 28 on a large bucktail jig. In recent years, my best early season big fish lures have been big bucks spiced with curly tails.

Onto the Bay in the kayak- the first week of May will bring good numbers of schoolies along with some slots into the Bay.  Last year my first outing in the kayak was on May 3, and I landed several fish in the Bay on weighted and unweighted flukes.  One of those fish was a 32 inch beauty.

Don't be fooled by holdover fish: Expect to read numerous reports of stripers being taken in the next few weeks "along the oceanfront".  These will most likely be holdover fish that exist in multiple locations in the backwaters along the oceanfront. Note that this has been a fair to poor year of holdover fishing.  I've landed some fish in December, January and February, but their numbers have been down compared to last winter.

Kayak Rods

 

Key to a good kayak rod.....a short handle, 7 feet
in length and some backbone to the rod to fight 
the fish.

At a recent seminar that I did in Boxboro, MA, I was asked a question about kayak rods, and what I use from my yak when fishing for stripers. I can tell you that no one makes a specific kayaking rod for saltwater.  St. Croix has one for freshwater, and I guess it could be used for light saltwater applications.

Think about this.  When fishing from a kayak, you are sitting in a seat while casting, reeling and fighting a fish while the rod's butt end rests on your stomach. The key here is that the butt of the rod can not be very long otherwise the set-up feels awkward with the reel up in your face.  In fact, I would say that distance from the butt cap to the reel seat should be from 12 to no more than 17 inches long.  The handle on most surf rods are too long and even most boat rod handles tend to be long. I also like to use a rod that is stiff that has a medium to heavy action when fishing from the kayak. These rods, ideally are from 7 to 7 1/2 feet.  For my Old Town PDL 10 1/2 foot kayak, a 7 foot rod is ideal.  Like any other type of fishing, you will need to carry different rods depending on the type of fishing you are doing. Below is my line-up of rods that I use:

Light Applications- schoolies, slots, small blues- St Croix Triumph, 7 foot, medium heavy matched with a Daiwa BG 3000 and 20 lb. test braid.  This rod is great for trolling or casting light plugs and jigs.

Light to medium applications- schoolies, slots, blues- St. Croix Triumph (older version), medium matched with Daiwa BG 4000 and 30 lb. test braid.  This is the outfit I use mainly for plugging for blues and stripers. The 30 lb. line gives me a little more beef.

Heavy- St. Croix Mojo Salt 7 foot medium matched with Daiwa BG 5000 and 50 lb. test braid. This is new this year and I plan to use this for big stripers and big blues. I can snag menhaden with this outfit and I can use big plugs. The rod has a lot of backbone to deal with big fish. 

Heavy- Homemade 7 1/2 foot fiberglass boat rod matched with Daiwa BG 5000. I used this last year for heavy applications and it worked well live lining menhaden. It also worked well for casting big plugs and jigs. I landed many over slot stripers up to 45 inches with this outfit and blues up to 15 lbs. last year.

Next Seminar Stop.....Springfield Sportsmen's Show....Feb. 25

 My next stop on my 2023 seminar tour is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show on Saturday,  Feb. 25.  As of this date, I do not know my times.  You would have to check the website right before the show at www.osegsportsmens.com 

I know I will be doing my popular striper fishing seminar that drew huge crowds last weekend at the show in Boxboro. This seminar features striper fishing from shore and kayak.  The emphasis was on catching big fish- slots and over slots.  I will also be doing my carp fishing seminar. This show deals with understanding carp fishing in southern New England with an emphasis on bait and rigging.

The Springfield Sportsmen's Show is held at the Big E in Springfield.  It features everything outdoorsy- fishing, hunting, camping, boats, guides, etc. It runs for three days from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.  It is one of the most popular outdoor shows in the northeast.

Hope to see you there.

First One for 2023!

Today, I landed my first striper
for 2023.  It hit a Cocahoe on a
jighead.

 Don't get too excited.  Yes, I did land my first striper of 2023. But, it was a holdover.  The first migrating fish are still months away from hitting our shores.

Holdover stripers do inhabit many of the coastal ponds and rivers along the RI oceanfront and in the Bay. There are some, but their numbers pale in comparison to the big populations you hear about in the big rivers in CT. It's often a case of finding a fish or two that want to hit. And, in RI, finding holdover stripers can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

I like to get out on days like this (warm and rainy) when I'm not skiing and just cast away in a number of spots hoping for a hit or a fish. If I get a fish, great; if not, it was nice to get out and cast in the middle of January. Catching any number of fish is simply a bonus.

Today's fish was a schoolie about 20 to 22 inches.  It hit a Cocahoe minnow.  It was the only hit I had.  This was my third outing for holdovers in January.  I found good numbers of holdover stripers in mid to late December, but so far, January has proven to be difficult. 

SHOWTIME!

  In a couple of weeks I begin doing my winter seminars at many of the big outdoor shows in New England.

My first show will be the New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Boxboro, MA at the Boxboro Regency.  This show runs three days on Jan. 27, 28 and 29.   This is a big fishing and outdoor show that covers freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing with a lot of exhibitors, displays, dealers and seminars. 

On Saturday, Jan. 28 at 11:00 AM, I will be running my all new saltwater seminar for 2023.  It is titled "Stripers from Shore and Kayak". This seminar will take show goers on a year long journey of catching stripers from both shore and kayak here in southern New England. It will outline some of the best lures, techniques and places to catch stripers from both shore and kayak.  The emphasis will be on catching after large stripers, slots and overslots.

I will change hats on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 11:00 AM as I do my freshwater carp fishing seminar.  My new carp fishing show for 2023 is titled "Understanding Carp- Choosing the Best Baits".  This show will feature rigging as well as baits to catch trophy size carp in southern New England.  It will be an eye opener and a wealth of information for those who are beginners as well as experienced carpers.