Youth Writing Contest Sponsored by NE Outdoor Writers

The NEOWA (New England Outdoor Writers' Association) of which I am a member is running its annual Youth Writing Contest for 2016.  This contest is open to kids from 6th to 12th grade and is divided into a junior (grades 6-8) and senior (grades 9-12) division. State winners receive $125 cash awards with the possibility of winning the best of NE award ($150 additional).
The whole idea is to come up with a story or poem about anything outdoor related.  Here in RI we had several real good fishing stories last year from kids who entered after seeing a post like this on my blog. We had a couple of very deserving winners from RI and we are hoping to get the same this year.
The rules for the contest and other details are spelled out in the this link: Youth Writing Contest.
So, if you know a kid who likes to fish or likes to do anything outdoor related, think about getting him or her to enter out contest. Every NE state is running their own contest.

Just Nothing to Report from Saltwater; Freshwater Hot

I can't get a striper this December, but fishing for carp
in freshwater has been spectacular, the best ever for
this time of year.

I have nothing to report from saltwater.  Yes, I have been numerous times looking for holdover fish in the Providence River, but I have found nothing but bait.  There are schools of large menhaden as well as peanut bunker, but I have found no stripers. I've tried in the daytime as well as at night.  Man, this area has really taken a plunge.  At one time, as recently as five years ago, I was catching hundreds of stripers a month in the wintertime in this area. But, it has gone so far downhill in the last few years that I am beginning to doubt that I will get even one fish this winter. That should tell you a lot about the state of our striped bass numbers.
On the other hand, I am still fishing, and have turned my attention to freshwater carp.  This has been a record late fall/early winter for me as the warm weather has the fish feeding as if it is September.  Some days I catch 10, 15 and even 20 fish with numerous fish between 10 and 20 lbs. So, long as this weather remains ice free, the carp will continue hitting.  If you are looking for info about carp fishing, one of the fastest growing fisheries in the entire US, check out my popular blog at RI Carp Fishing.

Alls Quiet with the Winter Fishing

The disappointing fall fishing has extended into my winter fishing. Normally at this time I am racking up some big catches in the upper Bay.  But, I have been out several times in the last couple of weeks and it has been a big fat ZERO. No fish, no one fishing, which seems to be a familiar theme this fall in RI..
I was out tonight. Just like along the oceanfront in the last few weeks there was a lot bait where I was fishing.  There were lots of large menhaden just lazily circling about. I saw peanut bucker schools also milling around the lighted areas and shadow line. There was some sort of skinny small bait (bay anchovies?). But, no striper hits and no whirls.
In the last few years, winter fishing has been on a downhill slide which has mirrored the downhill slide of the striper stocks. Ten short years ago I was catching over a thousand stripers a winter in upper Gansett Bay. The way things are going I am wondering if I will even catch one this winter.

A Disappointing November

Hickory shad were abundant
in some backwaters.

A familiar November scene....
lots of bait, little fish.

A few years ago I wrote an article for one of the magazines in which I described November as the "new best fall month" here in RI.  We had been on a roll for many years with November providing spectacular action along the RI south coast.  This was fueled by an ocean herring migration along with big schools of peanut bunker and adult bunker also moving southward. The big blues, large stripers and schoolies were plentiful, and it seemed that there was almost a daily blitz along the south shore if you could find it.
This November could be described as a dud. It turned out to be the poorest of the three fall months.  I would rate September as our best fall month this year. The strange thing about this November was that it was warm with warm water temperatures which tends to favor good fishing lasting until the end of the month.  In addition, there was a lot of bait, but few fish after it. Big numbers of fish were just not around.

I fished a lot in November and was
able to land only one decent fish
of 40 inches.

The marginal fishing took its toll on the number of fishermen out and about.  By the third week in November, it was rare for me to run into anyone. It got that bad. Most had given up by mid November. On beautiful weather days I would find no one fishing.
I got out a good number of times in November.  I was able to catch one good size keeper (40 inches), another smaller keeper (28 inches) and 25 schoolies. I never saw what I would call a blitz of fish. Those numbers are really poor compared to past years.  I caught no bluefish and never saw a bluefish caught. In addition, I got a load of hickory shad but only in the backwaters.  I got one lone shad in the high surf of the oceanfront.
Many will look at this fall and say we are seeing the downward trend and shortage of stripers in the poor November numbers. Others will say the fish just bypassed the south shore of RI. Still, others will point to severe weather that drove big numbers of fish out in October. However you want to frame it, most will agree that November, 2015, was disappointing for striper fishing. One of the poorest Novembers in the last decade.

Slim Pickings

This was one of two stripers landed today right
at dark. There's still a lot of bait but few fish.

I fished the oceanfront today.  Conditions were good with moderately rough water and a cloudy day with rain on the way. However, the south shore beaches looked like a ghost town as you really had to look to find anyone fishing.  That tells a lot about the state of our fishing.
Everywhere I went I saw bait and birds working.  I saw good numbers of gannets, cormorants and gulls working, the same activity I have seen in the last few outings. However, there seemed to be no fish working under the bait.  Another observation I can report is the presence of seals.  I saw them in every spot I fished.  It's never good when seals are on the prowl.
As far as fish, I managed to find two stripers (schoolies) and one hickory shad right at dark along an oceanfront location.  That was it....a couple of fish moved in close as darkness arrived.  I stayed later, but had no success.
In other years, this weekend before Thanksgiving has been a hot time to fish, but not this year.

Lots of Bait; Few Fish

There's bait and lots of birds hitting the water, but no stripers
are under them.

There are strange happenings this November along the south shore oceanfront.  I was out several times this week and found good amounts of bait, especially in the area from Charlestown southward.  I fished multiple spots and saw gannets hitting the water in close and gulls and cormorants going nuts almost in the wash in many places.  In one spot, I stood on a rock with my waders  and watched a continuous line of bait go by me for an hour.  Yet, in all of this I saw no fish.
In other years, lots of bait at this time meant lots of stripers and maybe bluefish.  Not this year.  The shortage of stripers is really showing itself in our late fall fishing. While there are some fish hitting the shore in short bursts, it is not consistent. In one spot where I saw a lot of bait, one guy told me the schoolies made a pass and for about 20 minutes they were there and then gone for the day. I am still hitting a fish here and there at night, but that is no sure bet either.
With the calendar moving into late November, many are abandoning the fishing as evidenced by the lack of fishermen.  Is it coming to an end?  I just don't know.

Back in the Game in a Big Way

I got back to the ocean today.  My son, Ben, had a good day along the south shore with stripers on Saturday so that gave me some encouragement to get back down there and try.  I found lots of bait in the daytime from Charlestown to Misquamicut, but I found no fish under the bait....just gulls, cormorants and gannets having a feast.  I saw more guys out and about fishing than I've seen in recent outings as the bait was attracting a lot of attention. But, I didn't see a single fish caught.
It all changed for me after dark as I was able to find some fish.  Right at dark a good size fish slammed my white Slug-go.  As the fish ripped off line and sent the drag humming, I knew I was onto a good fish.  As it turned out this fish went about 40 inches, the biggest one I have taken in a while.  I landed several more schoolies after dark with one of the fish up near keeper size. I also tried one of my backwater spots and landed a load of hickory shad.
So, things were looking up for me today.  Yes, the fish are back, though you still have to do some looking to find them.  And, as I found out today, there are some decent ones in the mix.

I landed this 40 inch keeper on a white Slug-go right at dark.  I also had several more
schoolies. Fish are around but you have to do some looking to find them.