Just about everyone expected a shortage of schoolies this spring. Looks like that prediction is off since we are in one of the best spring schoolie runs in years here in RI. Yesterday I was fishing the upper Bay where I landed 10 schoolies. I met up with two other guys who had about 20 schoolies together. My son, Ben, was at the south shore oceanfront where he landed 25 schoolies. Two other friends were at a different south shore spot landing 9 schoolies. Still, another guy I know was fishing a mid Bay spot and he landed three fish, one of which was twenty pounds. Get the picture. THEY ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE! The hot lures have been Zoom flukes on jigheads up in the Bay and either Cocahoes on jigheads or bucktail jigs with curly tails at the ocean. Shrimp fly teasers are also hot at the oceanfront. That mid Bay twenty pounder hit a Slug Go right at dark. With the warm weather coming in the beginning of this week, expect the hot fishing for schoolies to continue with increasing numbers of keepers around. I'd be willing to bet the first blues will also be taken this week. Yikes, and it's still April!
