WILD Outing- Stripers on Top, Bonito Below

 

Good size stripers were on the prowl in recent
days. The float and fly was the ticket.

It's been a wild couple of days for me as I have been chasing down big blitzes of fish.  Both stripers and bonito (yes, they are still around!)  are feeding on huge schools of small bay anchovies that are sometimes less than an inch in size. What has been bizarre and something I have not seen in the past is that BOTH bonito and stripers are in the same mix. For the most part the stripers have been slurping on top while the bonito have been down deep and not showing but still feeding.

Yesterday I kept rotating lures.  When the stripers were slurping in front of me, I would go with the float and fly, a combo that has been deadly in the last few days.  It far out fished anything other fishermen were throwing. When no stripers were showing, I switched to a green backed Colt Sniper lure that was a killer for the bonito. I would cast out as far as I could and let the lure sink almost to the bottom.  Then, I would reel fast. I had either a hit or a fish on at least 50 % of my casts.

Bonito were feeding down deep, often under the 
stripers.  The Colt Sniper lure was a hot lure
yesterday.  A fast retrieve was best.

I ended my day with 20 stripers landed.  They were just about all slots. I also landed 5 bonito but had a ton more hits and fish on. The bonito were running 3 to 5 lbs., generally the size we've had all fall.

Blitz of the Week!

 The striper fishing has gone from red hot to ice cold in a matter of days. On Friday I hit one of the biggest blitzes of fish that I have seen in years.  At one point a school of fish in front of me was bigger than the size of a football field. It was a wild scene with fish breaking, birds diving and bait flying out all over the place.  It was all slot size fish with even some over slots in the mix.

Two days later I can't find a fish anywhere. Our up and down year continues!

Float and Fly Kills It Today

 

The float and fly was super effective
today because the stripers were feeding
on small bay anchovies.

Today was the best day of fishing for me this year! I hit a massive blitz of stripers that were feeding on small bay anchovies.  This is a slender baitfish that is super hard to imitate, but I have a trick up my sleeve for when this happens. While a number of fishermen had a very difficult time getting the fish to hit, they were readily smashing my float and fly.  These were all decent fish, mostly slots with one large overslot that I landed.

The killer was the float and fly.  The fly, a homemade pink Deceiver, is a perfect imitator of this small bait.  It has the profile, size and the movement to imitate bay anchovies.  The egg float is simply a casting weight to get the fly out.  Reel slowly with and occasional pull of the rod tip.  Even stop reeling once in a while.  Many hits will come on the stop. 

Many fishermen will knock this set up saying it only catches small fish.  Not true. This is the same crowd that mistakenly will tell you that you have to use a big plug to catch a big fish. Not when the fish are feeding on two inch baitfish. Today out of hundreds of fish landed, I had the biggest one I saw,  a fish that I estimated to be 23 lbs.

One of many, many fish that fell for the float and
fly today.  Note the pink Deceiver in the fish's mouth.

Stripers Gone Wild!

 

                                                     

                                             It was a wild day at the oceanfront as stripers were on

                                             big schools of small bay anchovies!

A Birthday to Remember

 

I was out in my kayak today.  It was a banner 
outing for stripers on a picture perfect 
weather day.

I was visiting some of my grandchildren a couple of days back.  They knew my birthday was in a couple of days (today actually).  One of them asked, "Hey grandpa, what are you going to do for your birthday?" I replied, "I think I'll go fishing".  They all knew I fished just about every day so no birthday surprise there.

But, I did get the birthday surprise today with a banner day of fishing.  This morning I hit the Bay with my kayak. It didn't take long to find fish just a short peddle away from where I put in. I found breaking stripers and birds diving for bait. I had a grand time catching one striper after another on my weightless, plastic Fin S fish worked on the surface.  While many of them were small, I did land several slot fish. The weather was picture perfect and it was a great day to be out on the water.

After I got home and ate supper, I decided to go out carp fishing for a couple of hours, something I do just about every day in between chasing stripers.  I decided to hit a picturesque spot along the Blackstone River fairly close to my house. It was a mile walk to get there but no problem.  I was there no more than 15 minutes when one of my bite alarms sounded. Soon after a good size 15 lb. common carp was on the bank. Half an hour later, the other alarm sounded, and I knew after hooking the fish, I was onto a good one. It was ripping drag all along the river. Soon, I had a 25 lb. common on the bank, a very large fish for this body of water. 

I landed this 25 lb. carp this evening to 
cap off my big fishing day!

I turned 74 today, and I thank my lucky stars I am still able to do what I do. For 8 months of the year I fish just about every day.  For the other 4 months I ski just about every day. In between that, I ride a bike just about every day. I have no health problems and my doctor tells me to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm blessed with 4 wonderful sons and 3 great daughter-in-laws.  And, I now have 6 beautiful grandchildren. 

For a 74 year old guy, life couldn't be better!

Photo of the Day- Back in the Kayak in Some Protected Water

 

It was back in the kayak for me today in
some protected water. The fish were around
in good numbers. Unweighted Fin S fish
did the trick!

Scoring on the Heavy Stubby Needlefish

Super Strike Bullet Heavy Stubby
Needlefish- 2 1/2 oz.

 In the last two days, my son Jon and I have landed good numbers of decent fish.  These have been mostly slots with even some over slots. We've been catching them on a Super Strike Bullet Heavy Stubby Needlefish.  It has been the only plug in our bags that will punch out a long distance in these vicious northeast winds.  It is that long cast that has gotten to where these fish have been feeding.

As the name suggests, this plug casts like a bullet. It is a compact length at 4 1/2 inches yet weighs 2 1/2 oz. We have been working this plug similar to a popper with short pulls of the rod tip with a slow to moderate retrieve, just keeping it at or just below the surface.  We have been scoring with the yellow/white version.

Note that this plug is also made in a lighter version. I suggest the heavy model if you want to take on the stiff winds that we are experiencing right now along the oceanfront. The fish are there, but you have to reach them.

This slot fish was landed today on the Stubby Needlefish.
We have scored many slots and overslots in the last two
days using this plug.