Never Been a Time with More good Size Stripers than NOW

Just one of many keepers landed in the last week.
Keepers are around in staggering numbers 
right now.

 In the last week, my son Jon and I have landed 100 stripers from both shore and kayak. The amazing fact is that 80 of them have been slots or over slots.  Think about that.....4 out of 5 fish were keepers and just 20 of them were good size schoolies.  The smallest fish of the week was maybe 24 inches.

I've been doing this for over 60 years and I can tell you that there has never been a period of time that had more good size fish than now. Many will say the population is top heavy with few small ones around.  Yes, that could be a future problem.  But, right now, fishermen are enjoying incredible fishing for good size fish from 28 to 35 inches.

Even over slot fish are fairly common.  In the last week, we had several fish over 40 inches.

However, there is an ugly side to this incredible, easy fishing. Abuses have been many as more and more unsavory characters have cashed in on the easy, abundant fish.  I've seen blatant abuses where fishermen will walk out of a spot with 2 or more fish.  Still others will send a runner to the car with a fish to hide in the trunk. They will continue to catch stripers, and the runner just keeps going back to the car with fish. And, others will keep those hefty 26 inch schoolies. While DEM enforcement will respond to most calls, by the time they get there, the lawbreakers are long gone in most cases. My suggestion is to not to confront these abusers. Most know they are breaking the law but they just don't care......just a reflection of what is going on in society in general.  If you see any abuses, call the RI DEM at 222-3070.

An EPIC Day from the Kayaks

 

Here's a slot that just came into the 
kayak.  Fishing for slots and over slots
was red hot today.

My son Jon and I went out in the kayaks in the Bay today. I debated whether to hit the oceanfront or try the Bay.  With the oceanfront rough and super windy, I decided on going out in the kayak in a protected location.  I normally don't do this in the fall, but I figured I'd roll the dice.

And, as it turned out we made the right decision.  We found masses of peanut bunker in the spot that we fished.  In addition, there were a big numbers of needlefish harassing the the peanuts.  I know because I caught a couple by accident on a Jumpin' Minnow, the first plug I tried. Surprisingly, it was the needlefish that the stripers were keying on.  They were also occasionally hitting the peanuts.

Both Jon and I fished Slug-gos the entire day. The Slug-go is a dead ringer for a needlefish. It was hit after hit of big fish (slots and over slots) on the Slug.  The two of us ended up landing dozens of stripers from 28 to 42 inches.  It was epic and one of the best fall days we ever had from the kayaks in the Bay.

Using the Slug-go with the single hook up front made catch-and-release a simple and harmless affair.  All the fish were released in great shape.

Right now in RI the Bay has far more bait (peanut bunker) than the oceanfront.  I heard of big numbers of stripers and peanut bunker in multiple locations in the Bay in the last week.

The majority of the fish today were hefty slots and over
slots.  All were caught on Slug-gos.

Photo of the Day- "Picture Perfect!"

The surf was charged up, a beautiful rainbow formed in front
of me and the stripers were hitting. Couldn't be better!

 

Float 'n' Fly Does it on Fussy Stripers and Albies

The float and fly also
fooled this albie today.

 

The float and fly landed
good numbers of stripers
today up to 30 inches.

Just one look at the water today, and I knew it would be tough going.  There
was a moderate northwest wind that flattened the surf so that it looked like a pond.  In addition, the water was crystal clear.  These are tough conditions to fool a fish with an artificial.  There was bait around and the albies would occasionally show on the surface while stripers were whirling in close to shore. Given the conditions, these fish were real fussy feeders.

It was a day to snap on the float and fly.  I'm talking a wooden egg float tied up with a couple of feet of monofilament along with one of my pink Deceiver flies at the terminal end.  While it wasn't lights out, that set-up landed me an albie along with good numbers of stripers up to 30 inches. I'm not sure that any other artificial would have delivered the numbers of fish that the float and fly caught today.

The float and fly combo is about the best thing you can use when fussy fish are feeding on small bait. It will give you a booming cast and it is equally effective for stripers and albies.

Finally!

 

My first albie of the year is in the books.  They
have been around in good numbers if you can
find them.

I landed my first albie of the year today from RI waters.  I know they have been around for close to 2 weeks, but I have been out of it while recovering from COVID.  Between the sickness and the after affects, it knocked the crap out of me for close to 2 weeks.  But, I have fully recovered and am back to fishing.

Today, I specifically targeted albies. I fished a location in which I saw none showing, but they were there.  On my second cast with a Colt Sniper (green) I had an albie come up and blast my offering. Several casts later, I was onto my first one for the year. I ended up getting a couple of more fish along with several more hits.  So, successful afternoon.

The albies are around in good numbers along the RI shore if you can find them. They have spread out into many locations.  My son Jon has been consistently getting good numbers in the last couple of weeks in different spots.  His best lure has been a wooden egg float and fly (pink Deceiver). My fish today all fell for metal- the Colt Sniper and a Kastmaster XL.

Big Push of Albies Hits the Oceanfront

 They are in! Like a light switch turning on, they suddenly appeared this week and in big numbers in places. Albies are tough fish to catch for the most part, and when you can get a couple, you have had a good day.  But, when guys from shore are catching 10, 15 and even 20 albies in one outing, you know the fishing has to be phenomenal. While the majority of the fish have been in one location most of this week, I saw signs today that they were spreading out as I saw albies breaking in multiple locations along the oceanfront in some very rough water. I wish I could report that I got one, but the few in front of me had lockjaw.  Earlier in the week,  my son Jon landed big numbers of them with the float and fly (pink Deceiver) scoring the best.  Unfortunately, illness kept me sick at home and I missed this hot early season albie action.

Labor Day Weekend Outlook

 Looking good, really good.  Things are hopping along the oceanfront whether you fish from shore or a boat.  We have loads and loads of stripers around with especially good numbers of slot fish in the 28 to 32 inch range. In my last few outings, the slots have been as numerous as the schoolies. 

So, here's the way it see it this weekend:

Stripers- These are your best bet.  The key is to move around and find the bait.  For the most part, the bait of choice has been peanut bunker, and where they show up, the stripers go bonkers. Realize, though, the stripers can be mighty fussy when a million peanuts are right in front of their noses.  On my last outing, the only thing that worked was the float and fly combo.  You might also get them on a float and bucktail jig, a small Cocahoe or a Jumpin Minnow.  Large plugs have not been effective.  Note that those few sharpies who are venturing out at night have also been doing well scoring bigger fish (over slots) on swimmers, Slug-gos and eels. If you are in a boat, you have the ease of mobility to get around and cover a lot of water.  Shore guys will have to do a lot of moving and looking.  Note that parking could be a problem in places this weekend.

Bluefish- They are mixing in with the abundant stripers, but I've seen no big numbers. While the stripers are not taking bigger plugs, the blues have no problem going after the big stuff.  In fact, many of the blues that I've seen caught in the last week or so have been taken on large, topwater plugs. Boaters seem to be having more success catching blues than the shore guys.

Albies- I have seen none and caught none, but I do know of a few that have been taken. There is no predicting what will happen here as these fish are highly unpredictable.  Note that in past years, there might be none around one day and the next day there are millions. All I know is that a lot of fishermen will be looking for them this weekend from shore and boat.  Catching might be a different story. Last year albie fishing was red hot on Labor Day weekend so there's hope!

Bonito- There have been a scant few taken from shore and boat, but no big numbers. Like the albies, they are unpredictable. 

With good weather and calm seas forecasted, boaters should enjoy good conditions.  Nasty and stormy weather favors the shore guys, but looks like we'll see none of that.  Regardless of the weather you should have no problem finding stripers around.  Good luck and enjoy!

Mayhem erupts in front of me as schools of stripers prey on 
massive schools of peanut bunker.  It is loaded right now with
stripers that are following the schools of bait.