Turning the Corner

I believe this is the week in which we have turned the corner on shore fishing here in RI. For the most part, we saw a poor July. The happenings of the last week point to improved fishing as bait arrives, more species of fish follow and stripers come to life.

Here are some of the indictors that things are turning around and moving into a prefall pattern that we generally see in August. 

*More bait has arrived. Big schools of small bait, mostly silversides, have arrived in big numbers this week along the south shore oceanfront.  I've seen birds diving and fish breaking in my last three outings. Some fishermen also report small peanut bunker are around.

*Rough water has perked up the striper fishing. When it's been rough, it's been good. The stripers are around and I am guessing the striper fishing will be more consistent and better as August moves on. They are on the bait also.

*Bonito are around in ever increasing numbers. There have been some big catches in the last week from shore and boat as they are blitzing on the abundant silversides. You have to find them, though, and they are not all over the place yet.

*Even reports of some bluefish have surfaced.  They, too, are on the bait.

So, suddenly the fishing is looking better and better here in RI for shore fishermen.  With stormy weather predicted for this week, it should rough up the water and light up the fishing.

Look closely and you will see birds diving and a big fish
breaking in the lower right corner. I saw this scene over
and over again this week as shore fishing has picked
up considerably.

Striper Fishing Explodes in the Rough Water

 

I landed all of yesterday's fish
on the egg float and jig. There were
massive numbers of stripers on 
the rampage in rough water.

I have written many times of how fishing in the summer can suddenly come to life in stormy and rough water. Well, I had the conditions yesterday as a stiff easterly breeze mixed with showery rain charged the water up into a sea of white. And, it brought the fishing to life. While I struggled in the last month to land a fish here and there, I was getting them on just about every cast yesterday evening.

The fish were on a July rampage as if it was an October blitz.  At one point there were birds diving everywhere in front of me, and the ocean exploded with schools of stripers the size of a football field breaking everywhere.  Further out I saw a school of fork tailed fish, bonito I'm sure, racing on the surface like small torpedoes. It was wild for a July evening.

All these fish I landed were hefty schoolies in the 20 to 26 inch range, fish we have not seen a lot of in the last few months.  I assumed they were on small bait bay anchovies or peanut bunker. I landed all my fish on a float and bucktail jig.  The bucktail was spiced up with a triple ripple Bass Pro curly tail. I got most fish  out far but I also landed several at my feet as they seemed to be everywhere the water was white.

I'm hoping we have turned the corner on this poor summer fishing here in RI. I do believe there has been an influx of small bait in the last few days along the oceanfront that have touched off bonito blitzes in various spots. Now, we are seeing some big numbers of stripers.  Let's see if it continues!

Signs of Life

 

Here is one of the fish I landed this week in some
rough turbulent water.  Striper fishing from shore
continues to be poor overall.

I got out twice in the last five days.  The first day I was chased out by thunder, lightning and torrential rain. The next evening I found some great water and actually found some fish.  What a surprise!

The few times I have found fish this past month have been in rough, clean white water.  I had that this week in multiple spots that had produced in the past under these conditions. In one spot I had perfect water.  There were no fish to be had but I did see birds working way out.  This is the first time in a long time that I saw some bird activity.  The second spot had some fish.  Of the first three casts I made with a float and jig, I landed 2 hefty schoolies.  I also saw birds diving way out in this spot. Hmm, more life. Later, I landed one more schoolie in this location. Hey, three fish in one evening is a big night these days from shore. Finally, I hit my last spot at/ after dark.  Great water, a bit weedy and no fish.

So, maybe the fishing is trickling to life.  Or maybe I hit something lucky in some rough, turbulent water.  We'll see in the next week.

Finally, let me say this has been the worst July I have ever seen for shore fishing for stripers. Yes, even worse than the days of the moratorium. There are also no bluefish or bonito around which makes fishing even worse. I'm still betting on the fishing to come back in late summer or early fall, but that might not happen till mid to late August. Watch for a big influx of massive schools of small bay anchovies.  That usually triggers a prefall feed. It also tends to bring in lots of stripers and bonito.

Shore Fishing POOR Right Now

 That little uptick I had back on July 8 (last post) in the northeaster was short lived.  Since then the fishing has pretty much been dead for me and everybody else I know who's fishing. Here's a quick summary:

*There are very few stripers around from shore right now

*There are NO bluefish

*There are no pelagics

*There is very little bait

We are in a dreadful lull right now. I've been out two times in the last week and put in a good amount of time in some good spots.  I fished the evenings into darkness.  The score- one 20 inch schoolie. Several of my friends have also been out and have caught nothing. Jon has landed one schoolie in the last week. On the days/nights I fished, I saw no activity.  I did not see a single bird diving anywhere and saw no amounts of bait.

I don't see this all turning around until we get a big influx of small bait- either bay anchovies or peanut bunker.  Usually that happens in mid to late August. It usually sets up good September fishing for stripers and pelagics (albies and bonito).  In recent years, September has been our best fall month. So, sorry to say it looks like another month of poor fishing. 

Suggestion: You might try looking for a fishing friend who has a big boat! 

Fishing Perks up in Northeast Winds and Rain

 

This schoolie, landed yesterday, was
caught on a wooden egg float and 
bucktail jig. Shore fishing improved
in the stormy weather of the last few days.

Fishing activity perked up in the winds and rains of the last few days.  I fished three straight evenings in some beautiful white water and came away with eleven stripers and a couple of hickory shad.  All the stripers were schoolies in the 15 to 25 inch range, fish we have not seen all season. It was far better action than I've seen in the last two weeks.

I knew from experience that the fishing would improve in this weather. Summer northeasters can deliver a taste of fall with rough water and stormy conditions, two things stripers love.  I fished this one spot with a lot of white water, and I saw occasional fish jumping for schools of small bait, something I haven't seen in a while. Right now we do have a good amount of bait which incudes herring fry, sandeels and squid. We just needed the rough water to get the stripers feeding.

All of my fish were landed on jigs, either NLBN paddle tails on jigheads or bucktail jigs trailing off a wooden egg float. Both these are good imitators when small bait is around.

So, in the next couple of weeks, watch for these weather events that can perk up the shore fishing for stripers.  Northeasters, southwesterly blows and rainstorms can all dramatically perk up the fishing in the doldrums of summer.

Fourth of July Weekend Outlook

 

Striper fishing from shore right
now is poor with a few fish
being caught at night.
Boaters can expect better 
action in deeper water. 

The last time I fished was three nights ago before this heat wave hit.  I fished until dark in perfect water. I was in a great spot, the tide was high and I should have been getting fish.  I got nothing, not even a hit. In a spot that was known to be a hotspot at this time of year of year, I never saw another fisherman casting for stripers.  That same night two of my friends were slugging it out way into the night in great spots elsewhere. They also got nothing. This is a clear example of where we are at right now.  For the most part, the striper fishing is poor from shore here in RI.

I see reports from people catching here and there from shore on Instagram, but its hard to sell just how old these reports are. I do believe fishermen may be stumbling into fish here and there where large amounts of bait come ashore. You just have to be lucky. Nighttime will be your best bet.

I also know that boaters are doing much better than shore guys right now.  They can get out into deeper water where the fish are holding as the water temperatures rise in this heat.  Those areas at the mouth of the Bay, the south shore reefs and Block Island are all good bets right now for boaters.  Early morning, evening and nighttime are your best times. You might even run into fish feeding on top on small sandeels which are still in abundance. Stripers on sandeels can be very fussy. Fly rodders might have the advantage with these fussy fish.

I haven't heard of any bluefish around.  No surprise there as I still have not landed one nor seen one caught this year.

A few pelagics (bonito) have shown along the oceanfront but they are so few, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Ah, there's always bottom fish to go after. News is that most of these fish like fluke, black sea bass and scup are around but undersized.  My son Jon has been trying for them from the kayak but he's caught no keepers.

When you look at the poor fishing right now and the hordes of people heading to the oceanfront, it might be your best bet to fish at night or just stay home, relax in air conditioning and watch the fireworks on TV.

Enjoy this Fourth of July and stay cool. 

A Slowdown from Shore; Boaters Have the Advantage

 

I landed this hefty schoolie last evening.
It's been a typical summer pattern with a fish
here and there. Boaters are scoring much more
consistently than shore fishermen right now.

We are in a typical summer pattern.  The water is warm, the bait is small and the stripers are heading for deeper and cooler water. I would describe shore fishing as fair to poor right now. There are small windows of opportunity when you can get them from shore. Daybreak and dusk might get you a fish or two.  Fishing at night might also get you some.  However, the fishing is way off right now compared to where we were a month ago.

I got out two times in the surf in the last three days.  On evening one I landed a nice slot fish and had several more small hits on skinny plastic.  On the second evening I landed one hefty schoolie and had no more hits.  Both fish came right before dark. So, this is typical for me right now- a fish here and there with a good amount of effort.

I saw an Instagram report from a good fishermen that fishes the RI south shore a lot. He says he's caught NOTHING in the last eight nights he's been out. Yikes, not good. I know other fishermen who have given up or who are fishing for bottom fish like scup and fluke. Still, some of my friends who slug it out all night are getting a fish or two here and there, much like what I am doing in the evening.

Now, boat fishermen are a different story.  Those guys fishing the oceanfront at the mouth of the Bay or Block Island are scoring.  There are lots of squid and small sandeels around the keep the stripers feeding. All these boat fish are coming in deep water where the water is cooler and the fish are more active. But, I am told that even these boat fish are fussy and tough to fool when feeding on small sandeels.

So, still some fish around but way off for the shore guys compared to a few short weeks ago. Hey, summer is here and that's the way it goes.