First Ones from Shore

First one of the year from shore.

Second fish, a bigger one!

While my son, Jon, continues to catch holdover stripers from the kayak, I also got in on the action today from shore.  I landed my first ones of the year.  Based on the place I was fishing these were holdover fish.  I landed two of them right before dark.  Both were taken on light tackle with an albino Zoom fluke fished on a half ounce round head jighead. Both were released in good shape.
Holdover stripers exist in many of coastal rivers and ponds along the oceanfront and in Narragansett Bay. It's a matter of looking and trying to find them.  Your best shot at catching a holdover at this time of year is on a warm day and fishing the warmest part of the day....late afternoon into evening, just as I did today.

First Stripers of the Year are Holdovers Caught from the Kayak

I'm predicting my son Jon will catch more stripers from the kayak this year than he will get from shore. He has become our expert kayak fisherman in the family. This started several seasons ago, and he has been fishing from the 'yak more and more. In his travels he has found some interesting spots that hold serious numbers of fish at various times of the year.
He's been poking around numerous places in the kayak in this mild winter weather, and today he found his first stripers of the year. Before anyone gets excited, these were holdovers.  He landed several schoolies on Zoom flukes and had several more hits.
Stripers are known to hold over in many of the river systems in Narragansett Bay and in many of the ponds along the south shore of RI. But, holdover striper fishing in the winter can tricky.  Sometimes they are willing to hit; sometimes they are not.  They also will bunch up in certain spots, and it is a matter of finding those places that hold fish.  Tough from shore, easier in a kayak or a boat.
I plan to start looking for holdover fish from shore in middle to late March.