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| It's coming as the migrating stripers should arrive about the middle of the month. |
Right now the water is a cool 40 degrees off Newport. Everyone I know who lives along the water tells me the water temperatures are below normal for this time of year. Of course, that can all change quickly in the coming weeks as surface water temperature in shallow areas can rise and fall real fast with the weather. This cooler weather and cooler water point to a later than expected start.
So, here are a few tidbits to keep in mind in the next couple of weeks as you get ready for the first of the migrating stripers:
*Expect the first ones to arrive along the RI South Shore Beachfront around April 15, give or take a week. I tend to believe in might happen a bit later this year but who knows if the weather suddenly warms up.
*The fish should appear in the Bay about a week after they hit the south shore. I usually get my first ones in the Bay around the last week in April.
*Expect a huge glut of schoolies in the early going. The population right now is overloaded with schoolies from 12-24 inches and we should see a load of them in April.
*No need to get complicated with the lures. Light tackle will rule the early going. Cocahoe minnows on jigheads will be the killer along the oceanfront. Zoom flukes on jigheads will rule the Bay. Small bucktail jigs spiced with curly tails are good second choices in the Bay and oceanfront.
*Warm days will be best. Nothing like warming weather and a southwest wind to deliver a blitz of spring schoolies. Afternoons and evenings will produce far better than cold mornings. Nothing doing at night until the water warms up.
*The first keepers will be taken around May1 or about two weeks after the schoolies arrive. Once the keepers arrive, expect the nighttime fishing to pick up.
