The Year in Review- Grading 2021

 

Slot limit stripers were
around in very good
numbers this years.  Shore
fishing and kayak fishing
was very productive.

This past year was another banner year for stripers here in RI.  Just like last year, they were the highlight of the 2021 season.  Regardless of all the negative press we hear from the armchair warriors and the constant barrage of doom and gloom, those who were out fishing know this was a great year for stripers of all sizes here in RI. Bluefish, on the other hand, were a disappointment again. Albies were also a disappointment. Hickory shad hit our shores in record numbers.

Stripers:

Schoolies (12 to 28 inch fish)- While I started catching holdover schoolies in March, I found the first migrating fish along the oceanfront on April 19^th, just about on schedule. From that point to early May, it was a glut of smaller fish from 10 to 20 inches with occasional 25 inch fish. If you wanted to put in the time, hundred fish days were not unusual. I found similar numbers of schoolies close to home in the Bay where I was scoring big time from my kayak. Those big numbers of schoolies would continue right through summer and into the fall, although the stripers in the summer and early fall tended to be much larger. I got nearly all my schoolies on jigs with the bucktail along with a curly tail being the best producer all year.  It also made for safe and easy catch and release. Grade for schoolies-A

Slot Limit Stripers (28 to 34 inch fish)- Here’s a startling statistic from my logbook.  Back in 2020, one striper in 200 that I landed was a slot.  This year from May until late fall, one fish in 5 was a slot.  We had massive numbers of 22 to 26 inch stripers back in 2020.  They came back this year as slots over 28 inches. The kayak put me into big numbers of these slots in the late spring/summertime in the Bay.  Along the oceanfront, that time period from mid August to late September was unexpectedly good with almost daily blitzes of slot limit stripers chasing down massive schools of peanut bunker along the oceanfront and in parts of the Bay. Grade for slots- A

From schoolies to over slot stripers, it was a 
banner year of fishing here in RI

Over slots (35 + inches)-In recent years these fish were in short supply.  Not in 2021. I found good numbers of over slot fish from late spring into late fall.  Narragansett Bay was red hot in late spring/early summer as large numbers of big stripers were chasing down big schools of large menhaden. When you see 200 boats in the upper Bay on Memorial Day, you know things are hot. Big stripers were never easy to catch even in the heydays of striper fishing.  This year, if you put in your time, you could find stripers over 40 inches from shore, boat or kayak. Grade for over slots- B+

There were big blues around
in the early going but as the
season moved on it was poor.
Fall fishing for bluefish was
especially poor.

Bluefish-  In the early going (May into June) there were lots of them along the oceanfront and in the Bay.  I had many days from the kayak with 10 to 20 big blues in the 8 to 15 lb. range.  Shore fishing was also very good.  But, once the warm weather, warm water hit, they were gone.  They never returned in any numbers and the fall was particularly disappointing. From September through November, I landed exactly 2 bluefish.  I saw almost no others caught. Grade for blues- C

Albies- There is no predicting what will go on with these fish as they randomly move into shallow water from the depths of the ocean in late summer. This year started off early as I got my first one on August 31. That first week of September produced good numbers.  But, it got very inconsistent very fast. There were spurts of limited action, but it was often nothing for days and even weeks. Big storms may have played a role in moving them out. Overall, it was a disappointing year. I also never saw a single bonito landed from shore. Grade for albies- C-

Hickory Shad- They were around in record numbers along the oceanfront.  At times, especially in the fall, there were massive numbers of these chasing down small bay anchovies and just boiling up the water in a frenzy.  While the oceanfront had them in good numbers, the backwaters, rivers and ponds along the oceanfront were the prime places to use light tackle and fly fishing gear to catch them.  On many evenings I would get a mix of stripers and shad as the shad would aggressively go after good size bucktail jigs. Grade for hickory shad- A

I ran into this so, so many times this year from August until
late November.  It was often a glut of stripers of all sizes!
2021 was a banner year of striper fishing in RI.

Off to the Slopes

The fishing has gone downhill,
but the skiing has been great!

 The last striper that I caught, a small schoolie, was landed  a week ago. I've heard about nothing since. From all indications, things seem to be pretty much over except for some holdovers if you can find them. I've put most of my fishing stuff away, and am doing winter maintenance on all my stuff. 

The last month has been a changeover period for me.  Since Thanksgiving, I have been skiing 3 or 4 times a week.  The other days I've rotated between carp fishing in freshwater and saltwater striper fishing, sometimes doing both in the same day. I had some late season surprises with the striper fishing where I ran into unexpected good action.  The carp fishing in late fall has been fair, but I banked a few good fish in the teens. But, with some cold weather on the way and almost sure icing, I think the fishing is over for me, at least temporarily.  Of course, I'll get back to it if we get a warm spell.

Years ago when I had more energy, I remember times I'd often ski in the morning/early afternoon at Wachusett Mountain. I would bring along my carp gear and stop on the way home and fish for carp before dark, and I'd usually catch a few.  Later, I'd get home, eat supper and head out to catch holdover stripers at night. Only in New England! 

Bottom Line- They're Still Around!

Here's another one
that was landed tonight.
Earlier in the week,
I landed two slot limit
keepers after dark. 

 

Here's a hefty schoolie that was
landed this afternoon along the 
oceanfront.

I was out fishing saltwater two days ago and today. Surprisingly, I
found good numbers of stripers and even some hickory shad.  I saw birds working along the oceanfront.  I saw small schools of peanut bunker moving along the shore and I saw stripers whirling for bait.  If you didn't know it was December, you'd think I was fishing in October. Very strange; very unusual.

In these two days/evenings of fishing, I landed exactly 13 stripers and two hickory shad.  You will be surprised to learn that two of the stripers were slot limit keepers in the 28 to 30 inch range.  The rest were schoolies that ranged from a foot long to 24 inches. All the fish were caught on various jigs...some bucktails, some plastic bodies on jigheads. I got some fish in the daylight; some fish at night. The two keepers were landed after dark.

It's certainly not hot and heavy fishing all over the place and you probably have to do a lot of looking to find some fish.  But, here's the bottom line.....they are still around!