First BIG SHOW- New England Fishing Expo

 My winter seminar adventures start at the New England Fishing Expo on the weekend of Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.  This big show will be held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA which is right off Rt. 495.

I've been doing this popular winter show for many years now.  It is one of the best "pure fishing shows" around. It's a mix of saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing.  The show is loaded with vendors and has an all star line-up of seminars.

This year I will be running two all new seminars, one on freshwater carp fishing and one on striper fishing.  The titles of my seminars are "Seasonal Strategies for Striper Fishing" and "Seasonal Strategies for Carp Fishing".  These digital slide shows feature lots of information and have loads of photos and videos all shot in the past year.

The final seminar schedule is not out yet, so keep your eye on the website, www.nefishingexpo.com,  as it should come out prior to the show. I expect to be there on both Saturday and Sunday.  Hope to see many of my followers there.

St. Croix Avid Surf Rod

 For years I had used a St. Croix Mojo Surf rod and I have a number of different models.  The Mojo rod was always rated a good buy for the money and a real solid rod.  My 10 1/2 footer was getting old and the reel seat was moving so I decided to change rods and purchase a replacement. With the Mojo out of production, I decided to try a St. Croix Avid rod. This is a rod that has been around for awhile and has a proven track record.  It's hard to find anyone that does not like this rod, and every rating I found was very positive.

I bought the 10 footer, model # VSS100MF2.  I paired this with a Daiwa BG 4000 spinning reel and 30 lb. test Power Pro braided line. This two piece rod has a moderate fast action and is rated for 1 to 4 ounce lures.  I have used the rod for the entire season and landed hundreds of fish on it.  I have to say that I can't think of a single negative thing about this rod. It's well made, casts well, has a great feel, and performed flawlessly for all of 2024.  I especially liked the fact that it had bigger guides than my Mojo. While the Mojo produced an occasional wind knot due to its small guides, this rod did not.  It also has a light feel about it yet is quite powerful on the cast. I would agree that you can cast just about anything from lightweight 1 oz. plugs to 4 ounce "big wood". The rod is listed for $360, a moderate price for rods these days.

St. Croix Avid Surf Spinning Rods come in 7 different sizes from 7 to 12 feet long.

I would highly recommend this rod if you are in the market for a new surf rod this year.

I used this 10 foot St. Croix Avid Surf Spinning rod
all year. It proved to be a real good rod for me. 

Merry Christmas to all my Loyal Followers and Readers!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my Loyal Readers.
Enjoy the day with friends, family and loved ones!

 

Grading the 2024 Season

It was a very good year for Slot Stripers.
These were our bright spot.

 It's that time of year.  The season has ended and the teacher in me is about to grade the season.

The catch word for the entire season has been inconsistent. I can't remember a season that has had so many ups and downs. The bait situation was also inconsistent with less peanut bunker than we've seen in past years. The adult bunker were also in short supply and non-existent from late spring till the end of the season. That greatly affected our big fish populations of stripers and blues.

Stripers will be in the crosshairs of management this off season.  While the goal of regulations in the last few years has been rebuilding the stocks, it hasn't worked out that way.  I think we are in one spot just spinning our wheels. This year I landed exactly 851 stripers.  Last year I had 769. So those numbers are pretty close. Back 4 or 5 years ago, I could consistently catch over a thousand fish a year. I suspect there will be big changes to our regulations next year, though I have no idea what those changes will be. Rebuilding of the stocks is just not working.

So, here goes.

It was a poor year for bluefish.
However, there were a few real
monsters around.

Stripers:

Schoolies- This continues to be a problem because of poor spawning. I landed my first one on April 15th this year, right on time. Spring along the oceanfront and in the Bay was disappointing.  In fact, I landed more slots this spring than I did schoolies.  This poor schoolie fishing continued right into the fall. However, a surge of late fall fish brought "good old time" action with schoolies along the Gansett shore where a glut of them took up residence for almost a month. But, overall, the numbers were not good for 2024. Grade for Schoolies- C-

Slot fish- These fish continue to be the bright spot as we saw good numbers of them in the spring and throughout the fall. I landed my first slots along the oceanfront on April 22, early for this size fish. The Bay, either from shore or kayak, proved to be the best spot for me as early season slots were on the tails of migrating menhaden. Summer was inconsistent and generally poor no matter where I fished. I even hit the Canal numerous times and even that was fair at best. Rough and stormy water in RI did produce at times during the summer.  Fall was very good overall and I even found some big blitzes of fish that were all slots and above. Grade for Slots- A

Over slots- I found less big ones around from shore this year than last year.  I sense these are in decline also. I did land a half dozen big fish over 40 inches from shore and kayak.  They were caught at  different times of the year. The lack of adult menhaden in the Bay from mid spring on had a negative effect on our big fish population. It also seemed like boaters had better luck with bigger fish in the deeper water. Grade for Over Slots- B-

It was a banner year for bonito, one of the best
of all time.  There were around in good numbers
for months.  However, there were no albies.

Bluefish- With all the talk about stripers in decline, bluefish are under the radar. This was a very poor year for them here in RI.  I landed exactly 10 of them, mostly big and most came from the Bay early on. Many good fishermen that I know landed less that 5 blues for the year.  Once again, that lack of large bunker really had a negative effect on the fishing for blues. Grade for Bluefish- F

Albies- Forget it. It never happened this year.  I know of exactly 2 that were caught from shore. I never saw them in all the days I fished, even when there was a lot of bait around.  Historically, we have had years with none so it can happen.  These are pelagic fish. Sometimes they come close to shore, sometimes they don't. Grade for Albies- F

Bonito- It was a banner year for these, probably the best year I have ever seen.  From mid August on, these were along many of our deep water drops and jetties.  These were even off the beaches in late fall. I know of some shore fishermen that landed well over a hundred of them this season. On the negative side, they were mostly small, running 2 to 5 lbs. Grade for Bonito- A

One of my biggest fish of the year came in late 
fall. These monsters well over 40 inches were in short
supply for shore fishermen. Though scarce, some real large
ones even up to 50 lbs. were landed this year.

Season Ends with a THUD!

 My season ended today.  I fished long and hard in a number of good late season locations and came up completely empty. In the last  four outings I've landed exactly one small schoolie and one hickory shad. There was a time not too long ago that I would catch good numbers of stripers, even some bluefish, from Thanksgiving to December 1. Not this year.

It should come as no surprise that the season ended in disappointment. Most of the year was filled with on and off disappointment if you are a striper fisherman.  There are just not as many fish (in all categories) as there used to be. We are seeing the decline play out.

But, other things are off too, way off, compared to other years.  I saw no gannets this year anywhere this fall.  That could be due to a lack of big bait late in the season.  There were no ocean herring, no large 5 and 6 inch peanut bunker and no adult menhaden. All that big bait never skirted the RI shore on its way south.  In addition, there were few if any bluefish all fall.  What happened to those? Years ago I used to slam the big  blues down the far south locations from Weekapaug to Watch Hill.  Those days along with the abundant blues seem to be gone also.

Most of the fishermen have hung it up.  On the last two outings I could count the fishermen I've seen on one hand. Most ended the season early this year. So much for the warm fall, warm weather and an extended season. With a big extended winter chill on the way, I'm pretty confident when I say, "It's Over."

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Loyal Readers

As the sun sets on another striper season here in
RI, I want to wish all my loyal readers and their 
families a Happy Thanksgiving.
We live in a beautiful state with some great fishing!

 

Nearing the End

 Last week I hit some great fishing, but the last two outings have been poor.  Things change fast at this time of year, and what was around a week ago is often not around a few days later.  The last two days have produced exactly one schoolie and one hickory shad in a number of places fished.  There are also other signs that the fishing is nearing the end.  Today I saw good amounts of bait, but no stripers on it, a sign that most of the predators have left.  Also, I know that holdovers are entering their winter over places, another sign that the fishing is coming to an end.  Finally, there are fewer and fewer fishermen trying, another ominous sign.

In past years, the fishing has generally ended for me in the last week of November.  Some years, especially in very warm years, I can stretch it out till the first week in December.  If you look at the weather that's coming, it will be frigid around here the first week in December, so that will be out.

Veteran fishermen will tell you that stripers have been caught right into December here in RI  And, I will admit that you might find an occasional small blitz along the south shore in December or a few late migrators, but the consistency is gone. Add to that the fact that there are fewer stripers around these days.

I think we have a few more days, maybe a week left to catch those last few fish, but sadly to say, it's just about over for our migrating stripers.