Slugging it Out in Some Cloudy Conditions

The fish is in one hand and
the white Slug-go is in
the other. Slug-gos were my
best lures on this day.

 I changed tactics this week as I headed north to come cooler water in the hopes of finding more fish.  I did find some in cloudy and drizzly conditions.  I knew from past years that those stormy days tend to perk up the fishing in the dead of summer.

I found some fish, but they were very fussy, a summer trait. After throwing some topwater offerings and swimmers with no success, I went with a nine inch, white Slug-go, and that did the trick.  The fish were close enough to reach with the Slug so that made things a bit easier. When all else fails, the Slug-go often shines.  The fish really like the natural alluring swimming motion of this lure, and often can't resist striking it.  The day I used it I landed several fish and had several more hits and fish on.

I like to fish my Slug-gos unweighted with one hook in the head.  I've been using BKK Titanrider swimbait hooks all season for my soft plastics.  With the 9-inch Slug-go, I use a size 6/0.

Here's how I fish them.  Cast out and slowly reel while twitching the rod tip.  Occasionally just stop it. Many of my hits come on the stop. I tend to go with white Slug-gos in the daytime and black at night, though the white sometimes works well at night too.

Loners in the Rough

 

The NLBN 5 inch paddle tail has been
a good lure for me this week and has 
caught most of my fish. This slot fish
was landed in some very rough, churned 
up water.

There was an uptick in the fishing this week.  While the numbers of stripers is still dreadfully down for shore fishermen in RI, I was able to come up with at least some fish on every outing in the past week.  I was catching one to three fish an outing. Most of them were either just over or just under the slot limit.

I'm sure this improved fishing was due to the rough water we have been seeing all week along the oceanfront.  These fish were all loners, resident fish, poking around in the white, churned up water, searching for any food that is getting tossed around. I saw no sign of any bait, a theme that has defined this summer's fishing. I've seen no peanut bunker thus far.

The hot lure for me this week has been a 5 inch NLBN paddle tail mounted on a one ounce jighead. That caught most of the fish with a few fish falling for the float and jig also.  Jigs have ruled the fishing for me for most of the summer.

Some Fish Like it HOT

I landed this 20 lb. carp this morning. The carp 
fishing has been as hot as the weather in the 
last few days.

 Well, the weather is certainly hot.  Wish I could say the same for the striper fishing. However, I do know a fish that just loves this hot weather and is hitting well right now.  Carp have always been my ace in the hole that can bend a rod and provide great action when things are not going well in the salt.

During this heat wave I have been fishing for carp just about every morning until about mid day. I'm having very good luck fishing close to home as I've gotten 16 fish in the last three days. These have ranged from small 4 lb. footballs to hogs of over 20 lbs.

I've often written about carp as being great alternatives to fish for when stripers are not around such as during the winter and early spring.  But, they can also provide great action in periods of slow striper fishing which is right now.

There's a learning curve to carp fishing, and it would take you a long time to figure it out on your own.  My carp fishing is all done Euro style with the use of hair rigs and innovative baiting which includes using boilies, artificials and real baits. The Internet has a lot of good ideas on how to Euro carp fish. If you are interested in it, you might want to check out my blog at  www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com The blog is quite popular here in the US, and I get a lot of pageviews from Europe and Asia!

Conditions: A Perfect "10"; Fishing: A Dismal "1"

 I fished the last couple of evenings along the oceanfront in some great water.  Last evening the waves were rolling in with white water as far as I could see at times. The water was clean, the wind was manageable and there was lots of current and surge.  It was ideal conditions in the spot I was fishing. If this were any other year (in recent memory), I would have had a big night.  Not last night.

I worked this place for a couple of hours before dark.  At first I used a float and jig, a killer in past years here. Nothing.  Then I went with a Super Strike stubby needlefish plug, a good lure in the past month. Nothing. I tried a big Hopkins metal lure for distance. Nothing. And, I was fishing multiple spots in this area with all these good lures. I was looking at the skunk when just before dark a fish hit my float and jig.  It was near slot of about 27 inches. But, that was it. I continued to fish at/after dark with NO success.

This is typical of how shore fishing has been going here in RI this summer. EVERY shore fisherman I know, and I know a lot of good ones, rate this the poorest year of striper fishing from shore that they have seen in a long, long time here in RI. There has been little or no bait around.  Couple that with a decline in striper numbers and you can understand why the fishing is so poor. Many fishermen are so discouraged that they have even hung up the gear until fall.

I know that the fishing can change quickly at this time of year. I am especially hopeful we will see those big schools of peanut bunker migrating northward soon. More than anything, they can change the fishing dramatically for the better.

Uptick in Fishing but Still Subpar

 

Big bucktail jigs with a Fat Cow jig strip have
been good in the last couple of evenings.

July has started off better than June with an uptick in the surf fishing for me along the oceanfront.  There has been rough water due to all these fronts, and I think that has caused resident fish to become a bit more active.  I'm still seeing no bait from shore, so that becomes the reason for our subpar fishing for the summer so far. The fishing overall remains off compared to past years.

I had a number of decent fish in the last couple of evenings with good numbers of slots and even some over slots in the mix along with some hefty schoolies.  I got all my fish on jigs.  A large bucktail with a pink Fat Cow jig strip (five inch split tail) has been hot.  A large NLBN paddle tail mounted on a one ounce head has also been very productive.

The weird thing about fishing in the last couple of days has been the fact that the fish have shut off right before dark.  I've been putting in some time after dark but have had no success at that time. 

Most of my fish have been either just under or just
over the slot.  An occasional over slot has also been
landed.

Not Good

 Many people will be on vacation in the next week, and many will want to fish for stripers. If you are planning to fish from shore, the outlook is fair to poor.  From a boat, you have a better shot at catching but even that is way off compared to other years.

Traditionally June has been a good month of shore fishing for stripers here in RI.  In the past, we've had them on two fronts in RI  in June- in the Bay and along the oceanfront. In the past, large schools of pogies (menhaden) brought good numbers of big blues and keeper bass to the Bay from both shore and boat.  In the past the oceanfront has seen big schools of sandeels and squid that would draw good numbers of striper to the supper table.  None of those things happened this year. In the last month, it's been a lack of bait and a lack of both stripers and blues.  In fact, I can't remember a poorer June  overall than I've seen this year.

The fishing in June has been poor overall, but 
there have been some quality fish around if you can 
find them. Expect a lot of blanks in the
coming weeks with an occasional good day
or night. Bait has been scarce. 

Most of June has been a skunk fest for me in many different locations.  It's been the same for a good number of sharpies that I know. But, for those who persisted, there were occasional days and nights here and there that had some decent fishing from shore in June. I think there were some small pods of fish moving around the oceanfront and occasionally I would find them especially in rough water. A little over a week ago, I had one good night where I caught a good number of fish in some really charged up water. These fish were all generally slots and over slots. There was no bait around so I can only surmise that these fish came in close in the white water turbulence to look for food. The next night was not so good in great conditions and by the third night, there was nothing.

On yet another day this week, I fished in a completely different location where the water really dropped off, a good bet because fish tend to seek that cooler, deeper water at this time of year.  I had great conditions, but could only lure one large schoolie to hit. I would have bet anything I would have killed them in this location based on past experiences.

My experiences of the past week (out every night) are examples of just what is happening.  My friends who fish all the time are doing the same thing- a good night here and there with decent size stripers but a lot of blanks in between. I think the two main factors contributing to this poor shore fishing are a lack of bait and a declining striper population. 

So, as many of you hit the vacation week fishing, I would only say keep at it and move around, because you will hit a good outing eventually.  Look for rough water conditions and work the deeper dropoffs from shore. You will fare better from the boat than shore because you have a lot of mobility to move around.

Good luck because you'll need it!

Storminess Turns 'Em On!

 

Here's a slot coming ashore in the suds.
The shore fishing lit up for me last 
night in some rough water.

I had yesterday circled on my calendar for the last week.  I knew
great conditions were on the way. A big blow from the southwest was predicted with high surf conditions. A full moon high tide would occur just after dark. And, there was a possibility of rain.  It was all the ingredients needed to turn the fish on. This was the exact pattern that produced many, many times in the past for me.

Even though I have not had a big day of fishing in almost a month, I felt this was my best shot in a long time. And, it didn't disappoint.

I found a good number of stripers in some charged up water that resembled a tropical storm. I had them eating a big bucktail jig spiced with a pink Fat Cow jig strip, a real hot combo for me last year. I landed nine good size fish.  Most of them were slots with one over slot fish. I saw no birds, no bait, and no one else fishing.  The fish were just there and you had to try to find them.

The hot lure last night was
a big bucktail jig spiced
with a pink Fat Cow jig
strip.

While the June fishing was a big disappointment overall, last night confirms that there are pockets of good fish around. You just have to be persistent and look.  My guess is that many shore fishermen have thrown in the towel till the fall since I have seen very few fishermen around in the last two weeks.