This Baitfish Changing the Game

 

Sandeels have arrived and the stripers are on them.

As I arrived at the water last evening, I looked out to see lots of turns hitting the water about two to three casts off the shore where I was standing. At the same time I glanced down in a tidal pool next to me to find several dead sandeels. Yes, they have arrived, the birds have found them, and they will bring some hot fishing for stripers in the next month wherever they come ashore.

My evening started off slowly yesterday.  But, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the fishing suddenly improved.  Bait and predators moved closer to shore with the setting sun. I was fishing an Alie Snax, a good imitator of these slender baitfish. Before darkness set in, I was able to land a couple of schoolies and a couple of slot fish in the 28 to 31 inch range.  I also lost a much bigger fish.

Albie Snax are great to use when
stripers are feeding on sandeels.
Slim profiled artificials will be your
best bet.

No question, stripers tend to be fussy when feeding on this small, slender baitfish. Sandeels are hard to imitate, but I have a set of lures specifically packed into my bag to use when this happens.  The Albie Snax is a good choice as is the 7 1/2 inch Slug-Go.  Think thin profile and movement, and both have it. I might also use a Red Gill teaser when the fish are very fussy. The drawback to the teaser is that you could hook two big fish at the same time.  In that case, you will likely lose one or both fish. Some fishermen also opt for slender plastic flukes like a Lunker City Finesse Fish on a small jighead. Even small topwater plugs like a Rebel Jumpin' Minnow could get you a striper or two when sandeels are around. Fly fishermen do well with Deceiver flies. Large plugs tend to be ineffective when this small, slender bait is around.

The sandeel invasion tends to be a June thing here in RI.  It is just starting and should continue in the weeks ahead.  I see it as the prevalent bait right now.

Lure of the Month- Lunker City Slug-go Lures

 

This huge overslot, was landed last evening on a
white Slug-go. The 9 inch white Slug has been
my most effective big fish catcher all May.

The good ole Slug-go- it's been the hottest lure for me in the past month. I've landed schoolies, slots and oh, so many over slots with this lure that it's hard to deny it's effectiveness. It's appeal has been widespread.  I've landed big fish on it along the RI oceanfront, Narragansett Bay and along the Cape Cod Canal.  I've gotten them from shore as well as from the kayak. As many of you know, this has been a record breaking year for large fish, and just about every fish over 40 inches (and there's been a lot of them) that I have landed this spring has come on the Slug-go. Yet, few fishermen use it. Many don't know how to rig it; some don't know how to work it.

My favorite this spring has been a white, 9 inch Slug-go.  I rig mine with a single hook up front.  I tend to use a 6/0 BKK Titan rider hook that has the screw type device up front. That screw is placed in the head of the Slug-go and screwed in.  Then the hook is lined up and pushed through the body.  It should be hooked in the narrow underbody and pushed up through the flat top of the lure. The lure should sit straight horizontally on your hook set-up. Note that I have had several BKK hooks straightened out or bent so the sturdiness of these hooks are questionable in my mind. 

I tend to use a BKK Titan Rider 
6/0 hook (weightless) on my Slug-gos.
The single hook in the head of
the lure will do the trick.

To work the Slug-go, simple cast and reel in slowly with twitches of the rod tip to give it a swimming action.  Stop the lure every once in a while and just let it suspend for a second or two.  Many hits will come on the pause. 

These lures are affective in the daytime as well as at night. I believe this is the MOST effective daytime catcher for big stripers in the spring.

Note that many fishermen have their own preference for rigging.  Some will rig two hooks in the front and middle (Mc Kenna style).  Others will add nail weights to the body, and some will use weighted hooks to get a slightly longer cast. I think the single weightless hook with no weights gives the lure the most natural action and is the most effective overall. But, I also know many fishermen have confidence in the way their are fishing their creations.  If it's working for you keep doing it.

Another Good Week of Fishing

It's been another good week of fishing for me
with Slug-gos and Albid Snax doing most of the
damage.

This has been another good week of fishing for me.  It wasn't all big fish, though, as I also landed good numbers of schoolies. I did have a couple of over slots up to 40 inches that I landed on Slug-gos.  I also had slots and hefty schoolies that fell for an Albie Snax.  The skinny plastic in a white color has been hot all week as it has been all season long. 

I must admit that the fish have been fussy.  One day this week my son and I could actually see large fish near us that were swimming under pods of herring. They were super fussy and would whirl, chase and sometimes take the Slug-go. Other fishermen using standard swimmers and even glide baits were catching very little or nothing.  Just goes to show the effectiveness of the Slug.

The white Albie Snax has been a hot
lure this week for me.  It caught the
slot shown above.

Memorial Day Weekend Outlook

 

I landed this one a few nights ago on an albie
snax in the Bay. There are still fish around if
you work for them.

That outstanding fishing for large stripers that we saw a couple of weeks ago has really cooled off. They are still around in small pockets but you have to really look around to find them. Just not as easy as it was. Also, for shore fishermen, the bite has really turned to nighttime fishing.  For those in a boat or kayak, it's a lot easier to find the fish since you have the easy mobility to move around. My son, Jon, and I have been been fishing every day/night for the last week in multiple locations from the oceanfront to the Bay to the Cape.  Here are some ideas for those who might want to wet a line this three day weekend.

The Bay- The Bay was really hot a few weeks ago, but fishing has cooled.  Still, I got out a couple of times this week from shore there and landed some hefty schoolies.  There was action every time out with hits and some hook-ups. Slug-gos and Albie Snax have been the hot producers as the fish have been fussy in this heat.  Jon has been hitting it hard from the yak. He had a good night last night with 5 big ones that were all slots and overs.  All his fish fell for 7 1/2 inch white Slug-gos. I have also been out in the kayak, and its been one here and there. He's at the Cape for the next few days at his brother's house as we've heard of some fish down there. There has been a noticeable lack of pogies in the Bay so far.  Normally at this time, they are all over the place but I have seen none so far this year.

I landed this fish earlier in the week from 
the kayak.  Boaters and kayakers who
can move around should have an
easier time of it this weekend.

The Oceanfront-  It's a game of slugging it out after dark.  Jon hit the oceanfront a couple of times in the last week and it was a pick of one here, one there.  Still, I have heard of some good catches if you are at the right spot at the right time. Jon got his fish on Slug-gos so that's working along the oceanfront also. There has been a noticeable lack of bluefish around.  I haven't landed one yet and haven't seen one caught.  Jon got one from the kayak last week.

The Cape-  The Canal has been an off and on deal.  My sons, Jon and Ben, fished there last weekend and Ben had one 40 inch fish.  There were some breaking, but they were fussy. They saw one other fish landed. So, I guess that, too, has been an off and on deal.

Kayak Working

I got some decent ones from the yak today!
This one slammed a 7 1/2 inch Slug-go.

 On the days in which I don't have favorable conditions from shore, I head out in my kayak to slug it out in the calm water.  I'm out further than a shore cast, but still fishing shallow water with lots of boulders. Yes, that is working as we are clicking on all cylinders right now.  Today I landed several decent ones both casting and trolling from the yak.  The hot lure was a white 7 1/2 inch Slug-go, a lure my son Jon loves at this time of year.

So, the hot fishing here in RI just keeps rolling along.  As long as the weather stays cool, it should remain good.  Still, you have to find them, and that takes a bit more effort than just clicking away on social media.

Best Week of All Time in the Spring for Large Stripers

 

It was an epic week for very large stripers. 
There was phenomenal numbers of slots 
and over slots as my son and I caught and
released over 100 stripers this week.

In the last week my son Jon and I landed over 100 stripers. The majority of those fish have been slots and over slots.  In fact, the over slots have outnumbered the slots with many of those overs going over 40 inches. In the past those real large fish were pretty non-existent in RI waters until mid to late May. This year they were as abundant as schoolies.

We got a lot of our fish from shore, but we also found good numbers from the kayak when shore conditions were not favorable. 

Most of our fish this week were caught on skinny plastic.  From shore the 9 inch Slug-go was a hot lure. A variety of colors were working. From the kayak it was more of a finesse game as the  white Albie Snax and 7 1/2 inch Slug-gos were our most effective lures.

Towards the end of this phenomenal run of big fish which brought out more and more fishermen thanks to social media, I saw a lot of fish being caught on a number of different lures.  Docs, Yo-Zuri Hydro pencils, swimmers and even standard poppers were getting them.

I sense the big push of large fish has gone downhill in the places my son and I were fishing. But, no problem, since I'm sure they are still around somewhere, and I have a few good ideas about where I will be looking this week.

52 INCHES!

 Last evening I landed the longest striper I have ever caught from shore.  The fish measured 52 inches.  So, was it 50 lbs.? No, this fish was a streaker- very skinny for its length.  It had a huge head but nothing in the belly.  Still, I'm guessing it was in the upper 30 lb. to low 40 lb. range.

We are in an unpresented time with massive numbers of large stripers in RI waters right now. I've never seen anything like it in the spring.  It reminds me of the heydays in the Cape Cod Canal about ten years ago. While there are a ton of large stripers around, there are very few schoolies.

While I had that 52 inch fish last evening, I also had about 7 or 8 more fish at or over 40 inches.  Numbers and sizes like this are unheard of in the spring from shore here in RI! I think this spring's striper bonanza is a once in a lifetime event here in RI. Jump on it while you can.

By the way, all my fish were landed on 9 inch Slug-gos.  I was using a discontinued rainbow trout color with a BKK Titan Rider, 6/0 hook up front.  My son, Jon, who was with me, was doing equally as well with a white Slug-go.