Going "Finesse" in Skinny Water

 

The Albie Snax mounted on a BKK
Titan Rider hook was a hot
lure last evening.

My son Jon and I went out last evening in an off the beaten path location in Narragansett Bay.  This was a quiet skinny water cove where we have had success in the past with decent sized stripers. This is one of those spots where big plugs have little to no chance of scoring. If you want to catch in places like these where stripers are generally super fussy, you need to take a finesse approach.

We immediately snapped on weightless plastics.  Jon used a 7 1/2 inch white Slug-go while I put on a white Albie Snax.  These were weightless offerings with just a BKK Titan Rider hook up front. I've written a lot about how to fish these....slow retrieve, twitches of the rod tip, stop every once in a while.  I've also written that you will get a lot of hits on the stop. That happened last evening many times.

Jon and I came away with five decent fish landed, and they were all slots.  We also had a lot of other hits and swirls, a sure sign that good numbers of stripers were around. I would bet that if we were using large plugs here, we would have gotten nothing.

A finesse approach works well in quiet, skinny
water spots. It got us many good size fish
last evening.

Inconsistent

 

Jon Pickering holds a slot fish that was taken
from shore.  These larger fish have been hanging
around places that have schools of menhaden.
The fish was released in good shape. 

By now the striper fishing should be humming here in RI.  It's not.  In a few words to sum it up, we are in the midst of a mediocre spring that has been very inconsistent. I thought it would really perk up by now since the water is warming, but it is not happening especially for shore fishermen. There is also a noticeable lack of small bait.

I've been out just about every day/evening for the last two weeks.  While I've had very few skunks, it has mostly been one fish here and there.  The oceanfront has had fair numbers of small fish at times, but no bonanza of fish. Most of them that I have caught there have been schoolies in the 12 to 18 inch range.  I haven't even seen anyone get a fish over 24 inches.

The Bay is fishing better for larger fish.  That is because there are schools of menhaden in various places that are attracting slot and over slot fish. These fish will only take the real thing. The fishing with menhaden is best done by boat or kayak. Find the bait and you tend to find some fish.  Still, I have been able to catch  a number of slots and even an over slot recently but there have been no big numbers.  In places where I get a couple of fish one evening, I'll go down the next evening (with the same conditions) and get nothing.

As for bluefish, I got that one over a week ago, and I've not gotten or seen one since. They have not been around.  They haven't even been around the schools of menhaden.  Maybe too early?

Good but not Great; First Overslot Landed!

I landed this hefty overslot last 
evening in the Bay.

Here's the scoop on the latest striper fishing.  It's been good but not great. The fish are now spread out along the oceanfront and throughout the Bay.  There are good numbers of all sizes.  Schoolies seem to dominate along the oceanfront while the Bay has some hefty slots and even over slots.  I landed my first over slot of the year yesterday evening in the Bay.  I suspect that slug of large fish that are in the Bay have followed schools of adult menhaden that I have seen in different parts of the Bay. I've seen no bait along the oceanfront.

Thus far these have been my best lures.  For schoolies along the oceanfront the NLBN in a three inch , white model has been hard to beat.  But, other paddle tails like a Cocahoe and Al Gag's have also worked. In the bay, topwater plugs rule.  My best producer there has been a Yo- Zuri Hydro Pencil in a bone color. Other topwater plugs that have scored have been standard poppers and Doc lures. White or bone color have been the best.

I have to say that we had better and more consistent fishing last year.  While this year has been super at times, it has mostly been an on and off deal though I have only had one blank in the last two weeks. I think the weather has added to the inconsistency.

First BLUEFISH of the Year

 Surprise, surprise! I landed my first bluefish of the year this evening along the oceanfront.  The fish, about 6 lbs., hit a NLBN paddle tail that was intended for a striper.  This is very early for a blue along the oceanfront.  With everyone complaining that the water is so cold, it was even more unusual for this blue to be around.  We'll find out in the days to come if this was a fluke or if a run of spring blues has started.!

First blue of the year landed this evening.

Photo of the Day- "FIRST KEEPER"

 

Got my first keeper of the year.  Yup, it's early but
they are around! This one fell for a Slug-go and hit
right at dark.  And, surprise, it was caught in the Bay!

It's a START!

I landed decent numbers of schoolies
that had lice on them tonight. The
migration has arrived.

 I landed one lone fish, a scout, about a week ago along the oceanfront.  In my mind, the season kicks off when I can land more than one fish in an outing.  Well, tonight that happened as I landed good numbers of schoolies that had lice on them, a sure sign that the migrating fish have arrived. My season has really begun.

In the spot I was fishing, I saw about 18 fish landed tonight by half a dozen fishermen.  These were all schoolies in the 14 to 22 inch range.  Most of the fish were caught on some type of paddle tail jig.  I got my fish on a white, NLBN, three inch paddle tail on a half ounce jighead. These have been my best producers in the last year when the fish are taking jigs.

So, the fish are here.  Look for these coming attractions in the next week or so.  Keepers should be here within week or so.  The fish should be moving into the Bay and the salt ponds along the oceanfront within the next few days.  And, it wouldn't surprise me if we see a bluefish caught before May 1.

It's happening!

First One Landed!

 

It's the first one from the oceanfront
for me this year. Expect good
numbers of them in the coming week.

I landed my first striper of the year from the oceanfront today, a fish I would call a "scout".  In striper fishing lingo, a scout is one of the early arrivals that makes it's way ahead of the main body of fish.  I suspect this was a scout because it was the only one that I landed.  I'm guessing within a few days, we will begin to see greater numbers of them as schools of migrating stripers arrive.

The fish was about 20 to 21 inches.  It was caught on a white, 3 inch NLBN paddle tail.  I fished several locations along the oceanfront, but this was the only hit I had from late afternoon into the evening.

On the blog I had predicted the first fish would be caught on April 15 and that's just what happened. Last year I got my first one on the 15th also. Yes, they do follow a predictable pattern. 

Here's another prediction- I'll have my first keeper within the next 10 days!