Photo of the Day....Keeper at Sunset

Here's a slot limit keeper that was landed at
sunset this evening.  Striper fishing has been
red hot all week with lots of slots in the mix.

 

The Birthday Blitz

One of the birthday keepers that joined
the party!

 I celebrated my 71st birthday today with a big blitz of stripers. Our fabulous early fall fishing just seems to keep going and these daily blitzes are happening daily if you can find the bait.  Find the bait and you most certainly will find stripers.  This evening's fish were real good size.  For the most part they were hefty schoolies with slots mixed in.  Of the thirty bass I landed, at least 6 were slot limit keepers up to 32 inches.  This 1 to 5 ratio of slots to schoolies has been what has happened since the summer.  So, no shortage of decent fish around. All the fish tonight were on jigs.  Before dark, it was the float and jig scoring; after dark, it was the big bucktail with a fat Cow jig strip.  The jigs made for easy catch-and-release, and did little to no damage to the fish. 

At 71 years old, I am fortunate to do what I am doing. I suppose health is everything at my age, and I am lucky to still be able to get out and fish every day. I do a lot of casting, walking in waders and climbing rocks in some tough to get at spots.  In addition, I try to ride a bike every day, and during the winter months, I ski at least five days a week. I'm convinced that all this activity is really good for me, and I have no plans to slow down!

One of many slot limit keepers landed this evening/night
on jigs.

RI Albie Fishing, 2021..... Disappointing

 

They were around in late August
but since then, their numbers have
declined big time. So far, albie
fishing overall from shore has
been poor here in RI.

The albie fishing so far in RI has been a big disappointment in 2021.  Expectations were high since they appeared much earlier than expected in late August.  However, the early arrivals were never plentiful with some schools popping up here and there.  Many fishermen thought the numbers would build as we moved into September, but remember you are dealing with an unpredictable fish.  Instead of the numbers building, they declined. A series of rough water events (tropical storm, severe rainstorms, thunderstorms) sent a lot of the bait packing, and I believe the albies went with it. With the calendar ticking away, I think it’s unlikely big numbers of albies will all of a sudden appear here in RI.

I know many fishermen who have put in big time hours to catch a few fish. At this point, a lot of the albie chasers have given up and turned to stripers which have been plentiful.  I have landed 3 albies so far this year, and my last one was caught on September 3^rd.  I’ve been out just about every day/night chasing stripers and I have not seen a school of albies pop up in weeks.  I’ve heard of exactly one fish being caught from shore in the last three weeks.  Those albie hotspots that played host to dozens of fishermen back in late August are just about empty now with only a few diehards left.

It’s not looking good for 2021.

Small Bait + Fussy Bass = Float and Fly

 

The float and fly (Pink Deceiver) is a deadly combo when the bait
is small and the stripers are fussy. It accounted
for good numbers of stripers today.

A slot keeper comes ashore with the fly in its mouth.
The float and fly will catch schoolies as well as keepers.

This hefty schoolie nailed the fly trailing off
the float. The float and fly was my best
producer today.

Thank You, Steve Medeiros

 

The RI sportfishing community has been shocked and saddened by the unexpected passing of Steve Medeiros, President and founder of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA). RISAA was the voice of sport fishermen all across this state for decades and Steve Medeiros was the guy who made everything happen.  I've known Steve for decades as my sons and I were long time members of RISAA.  I also did lots of seminars for the club.  Steve was the perfect guy to run RISAA.  He was a tireless and dedicated worker and he could get things done with political clout that would benefit sport fishermen across this state.  His accomplishments will be felt for decades to come and will be his legacy that will live on. He and RISAA were at the forefront of anything and everything that affected saltwater anglers in this state. He lobbied hard for fair regulations, worked to get an inexpensive saltwater license in place, worked to limit the seining of menhaden in the Bay, worked to gain public access across the oceanfront, ran the big RI saltwater fishing show and wrote a monthly newsletter to name just a few of his many accomplishments. RISAA was a model of efficiency.  They held monthly meetings with informative seminars, set up charities, provided scholarships, ran special and year round tournaments, set up numerous committees, and ran youth events that greatly promoted fishing for kids.

Steve was the glue that made all of this stick and run so smoothly. He will be missed by RISAA members as well as all who fish along saltwater here in RI.  They say those who pass away will be remembered by what they left behind. Steve will surely be remembered for all he contributed to saltwater fishing in RI. He was one of the great ones of sportfishing here in RI.  Thank you, Steve Medeiros, for all you have done for the fishing community over the years.

Photo of the Night....Big Fish on the Big Jig

 

I've got my hand in the jaw of a big bass that hit a large 
bucktail jig after dark. The slots and above slots have been abundant.

Photos of the Day....Hot Fishing in Southern New England

 

My son Matt was fishing in MA waters from a boat today.  It was a
bonanza of albies, Spanish Mackerel, stripers and bluefish. This
albie hit an Epoxy Jig.

At the same time, I was fishing in RI waters.  It was all stripers,
and lots of them from hefty schoolies to slot limit keepers. The
Yo Zuri Hydro Pencil continues to be the hot plug.

Photo of the Day...Big Fish on the Hydro Pencil

 

Here's a 40+ inch over the slot fish that took a Yo Zuri Hyro Pencil.
This is one of many keepers and over slots landed today!
Told ya this plug was hot!

Yo Zuri Hydro Pencil Red Hot

 

A very hot plug in recent days has been the
Yo Zuri Hydro Pencil in a bone color. I've 
landed 14 slot keepers on this plug in the
last few days.

The best plug for me in the last couple of days has been the Yo Zuri Hydro Pencil.  It has accounted for 14 slot limit keepers along with several schoolies. I've written about this plug before and it is one of my favorites to fish for stripers and bluefish when the bait is peanut bunker.  This plug looks like a Jumpin' Minnow on steroids.  It is bulkier than the Jumpin' Minnow as it weighs a bit over an ounce. The action, a walk the dog" type of back and forth movement when vigorously pulling the rod tip with a slow retrieve of the reel seems to drive fussy stripers nuts. Most days, this plug will far outfish standard poppers.  While I still use the Jumpin' Minnow a lot, I like this plug for distance casting or when a wind is in my face.

Our late summer of striper fishing continues to be fantastic here in RI. No shortage whatsoever that was predicted last winter by so called experts. There are big numbers of every category of sizes.  Loads of schoolies in places. an overabundance of slot limit fish and good numbers of over-slot fish. Add to that some big bluefish that join in the melees at times. 

On another note, the albie fishing has gone downhill.  I heard of exactly one albie caught all weekend. Too early for them....they should be back soon when the regular season begins.

Here's a 30+ inch striper that was foul
hooked on the Yo Zuri Hydro Pencil.
This plug has been my best producer lately.
The fish was released in good shape.

Preseason Albies

 

Jon Pickering holds one of two albies that he 
landed from shore one morning this week.  Yes, 
they are in but we are not seeing big numbers yet.

By now, many of you have probably heard that the albies arrived very early this year. By the last days of August they were being caught in various spots along the oceanfront.  There has only been one year (a long time ago) in which I landed an albie in  the month of August. I landed my second albie in August a few days ago on August 31. They are rare here in RI in August. In the last couple of days I have gotten two more.  All my fish so far have come on the egg float and fly. The fly is a pink Deceiver.

While the albies arrived early, there are not a lot of them.  One guy I fish with called these first arrivals "the scouts". Many fishermen I know have already put in a lot of time and effort and have yet to catch one. To give you an idea of your chances from shore, I know of one location this morning, a "hotspot", that saw about 15 guys casting from shore.  There was exactly one albie landed.  In another location, another "hotspot" there were roughly 40 guys fishing.  Exactly four fish were landed. 

Despite the low numbers, those early arrivals have touched off a frenzy of albie seekers.  Loads of fishermen trying from shore and a fleet of boats is chasing them down daily. I suspect a lot of fishermen will be out trying this holiday weekend.

I'm still sticking with my September 10th prediction (give or take a few days) for the big numbers of albies to arrive (if it happens).  That should start the regular season.