Playing and Scoring at a Finesse Game

 

I've got several NLBN paddle tails
ready to go.  These three inch lures
are deadly when the stripers are
feeding on small bait.

There are a lot of stripers right now in Narragansett Bay.  They are being drawn into the Bay by warmer water and an unusual amount of bait for this time of year.  The bait for the most part is small, either silversides or peanut bunker. So, with the small bait around, I have been going with a finesse game the last several outings, and I am catching very good numbers of schoolies and slots.

Last evening I was fishing an area with about a dozen other fishermen.  Yes, the word it out. I was using a NLBN, three inch paddle tail along with a half ounce jighead. That bait worked wonders, and I would guess I caught as many fish as all the other fishermen combined. I was the only guy using some type of jig. Many of those other fishermen were casting big topwater plugs.  I don't get the fascination with using a big plug when the fish are feeding on small bait. They caught a few fish, but could have really scored with a more finesse-type of approach and smaller offerings.

On another evening this week, I was fishing next to a friend who was fly fishing.  This fisherman was also scoring real well with the fly which was some type of peanut bunker imitator. Fly fishing is a real finesse approach when chasing stripers that are on small bait. 

Here's a slot fish taken on a NLBN paddle
tail. This has been my hottest lure in the 
last few outings.

On the Slug

 

Here's a hefty schoolie that was
taken on the Slug recently.

I've caught good numbers of stripers in the last week. The Bay has been especially productive for me from shore.  I've seen more good fish in April than I have ever seen. Just about 50% of the fish I have caught so far have been slots. That is very unusual for the start of any striper season since the early going is usually dominated by small schoolies. Not this year!

The other unusual thing is that I am getting good numbers of my stripers on top using Slug-gos.  This is far outfishing traditional topwater plugs such as poppers and Jumpin Minnows. I love using Slug-gos because you are dealing with a single hook that is great for catch-and-release and good for the fish since it does little damage.

My Slug-go of choice has been an all white 7 1/2 inch model.  I've been using a 6/0 wide gap worm hook up front.  Sometimes I go with a swimbait hook.  I like to cast this out and twitch the rod tip on a slow retrieve of the reel making the lure dance back and forth. The Slug-go moves alluringly on the surface or just below.  Every so often I stop reeling.  Most of the hits come on the stop. 

Here's a small slot that was landed on a Slug-go today.
This has been my best surface lure in the last week.

My Slug-go of choice is a 7 1/2 inch white 
model.  This one is rigged with a wide
gap worm hook (size 6/0)

NLBN (No Live Bait Needed) Paddle Tails so Effective

The NLBN paddle tail is super
effective when stripers are 
feeding on peanut bunker.

 I am really on a lucky streak this spring, and it just continued today with a mid day blitz of fish. I walked into a spot to find birds diving, and big stripers busting after schools of peanut bunker. It looked like an October blitz, something you NEVER find in April. But, there it was right in front of me and not a fishermen anywhere.

I knew from last fall that my most effective artificial to use when stripers were feeding on peanut bunker was a NLBN paddle tail.  So, I pulled a three inch model from my bag that was threaded on a half ounce jighead.  As soon the jig hit the water, I turned a few cranks of the reel, and bang, I was onto a good fish.  I landed this one, a beautiful 30 inch slot fish.  More fish were caught, and more fish hit the jig until the bait moved away and the action subsided.

This paddle tail can be found at https://nolivebaitneeded.com/ . I especially like the 3 inch white model (think they call it butter).  It comes with its own jighead that has a screw type attachment that is very durable. What separates this paddle tail from others like a Cocahoe is its very tight wiggle on the retrieve that stripers find so enticing.  It's also softer than other paddle tails. It's also far more expensive at over a buck a tail.

With big numbers of peanut bunker already in place, this paddle tail should be a hot number this spring.

I've got my thumb in the jaw of a 30 inch slot that grabbed
my NLBN paddle tail.

Stripers Spreading Out; Hitting Variety of Lures

 

This 30 inch slot fish hit a Yo-Zuri
Hydro Pencil.  Stripers are hitting
a variety of lures right now, even
topwater plugs.

Stripers are really spreading out in the last few days.  Your chances of catching fish in the Bay or oceanfront are about equal right now, and there are decent numbers of fish in both areas.  Slot fish are also abundant right now as slots are just as plentiful as schoolies. Even the bait has been plentiful especially in the upper Bay where large numbers of peanut bunker make up the bulk of the bait. Many fishermen think these baitfish schools wintered over in the Bay.

You know things are heating up when you can catch stripers on a variety of lures.  I generally only fish jigs until May arrives. But, this year I have already taken some stripers on topwater plugs such as Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencils as well as Rebel Jumpin' Minnows.  Still, jigs, both paddle tails as well as bucktails seem to be catching more fish. Cocahoes and NLBN bodies threaded onto jigheads have been hot in both the Bay and oceanfront. White colored plastics have been best.

If you are getting out this weekend, plan to hit a number of spots in search of good numbers of fish.  While there are abundant stripers around, you still have to find them, and that can be a challenge.

First Five Fish Landed- All NEW Fish, All SLOTS

 

This is the first of multiple slots 
landed today from shore. The larger 
fish have arrived.  You just have to
find them!

It didn't take long for my crappy spring to turn very positive.  I had a great spring outing in an unlikely spot today as I landed 7 slots along with many other schoolies from shore. The season has begun for me!

Many of my old favorite places were just not working so I decided to really mix things up today and try a place I never fished before in the spring here in RI.  Not saying if this was in the Bay or oceanfront.  Irrelevant since the fish are in both areas right now. What surprised me was the size of these fish.  The first five fish I landed, all on a one ounce bucktail jig, were all slots from 28-30 inches. Yes, the bigger fish have arrived. I ended up getting a couple of more slots on a Yo-Zuri Hyro Pencil later in the day. This is unusual since I rarely have fished topwater offerings in April in the past, but this was working today with these active fish. Unheard of to see a slot fish come up and blast a surface offering on April 18. I also landed some hefty 24 inch schoolies.  ALL of these fish had sea lice on them so I know these were fresh, migrating fish.

So, the fish are here.  While I usually catch my first keepers (slot fish) around the end of April, today's biggies were certainly early. I think this is the way things are going to go in April.  I'm guessing the slots will outnumber the schoolies which is great for the present, but poor for the future. This should set the tone on how the fishing will go for the rest of the year.

Off to a Very Slow Start

 In the last week, we had the warm weather, we had the southwest winds and we had a warming ocean, BUT we did have the fish.  The migrating stripers have been few and far between so far, way off for this time of year. I know of a scant few that have been taken in various spots along the oceanfront and in the Bay. Those fish  had sea lice so I know they were fresh fish. I still have not caught a migrating fish for 2023, and I have tried a number of times in the last week.

Here is what I think is going on. First off, most of the early arrivals are schoolies.  We know the schoolie numbers are way down due to poor breeding in recent years.  I think we are seeing the results of that.  The slot fish are the biggest category of stripers right now, and I think we are still about two weeks away from seeing big numbers of those. I think they are coming in astounding numbers. Also, weed is a big, big problem as it was last year.  Many of the good early season spots along the oceanfront are loaded with weed, making fishing impossible. Finally, don't confuse the holdovers with the new, migratory fish.  The reports this week will tell of good numbers of stripers in places here in RI.  Those are mostly holdovers. Finally, this is still a bit early in the year for big numbers of fish.  Maybe it will happen this week.

SURPRISE! SURPRISE!.....First Striper with Sea Lice Landed in THE BAY!

 My son Jon went down to the oceanfront today looking for his first migrating striper. Like everyone else who has been fishing there this week, he got nothing.  On his way home he called me to discuss some spots in the Bay that just might have a fish or two.  I gave him my spot suggestion, and sure enough he did catch one fish and had another on.  The schoolie he caught did have sea lice, a sure sign this was a migrating fish.

It was no surprise to me that that first one I know of was caught far northward from the oceanfront in the Bay.  It's happened to me in many of those years that were dominated by sudden, very warm weather like we are having now.  Shallow areas of the Bay warm up very quickly in this hot weather and some places will hold water that will be five to as much as ten degrees warmer than the oceanfront. Those warmer areas will get the first arriving fish very active.

Many years ago, I remember one year in which I was catching huge numbers of schoolies way up in the Providence River before a single fish was landed along the oceanfront.  Yet, another year I was catching them in the Upper Bay a week before any fish were landed along the oceanfront. Still, another time, a friend of mine was catching big numbers of stripers in a mid Bay location before I could land a single fish along the oceanfront. In all these instances I described above, the fish were loaded with sea lice.

In my opinion, the season has started.  Still, no big numbers, but that is coming soon. Might happen along the oceanfront, but might just happen in the Bay first.

Some Time Within the Next 7 Days

 

Look closely and you can see sea lice on the
body of this spring schoolie. Lice are a good
indicator that the striper is a fresh, migrating
fish.

The wait is just about over.  I would guess that the RI south shore oceanfront will light up with migrating stripers within the next week. We've got favorable warm weather on the way, favorable winds (W, SW and NW), and a predicted good surf.  All the ingredients are in place to push the migrating stripers right to our door step. I've always said that April 15 is the starting date, give or take a few days, and we are just about there.

I already know of some fish that have already been caught in the last few days along the oceanfront.  But, what are these? They could be holdovers leaving their winter locations.  They could also be "scouts", those early fish that move ahead of the main body of fish.  A good indicator of new, migrating fish would be sea lice on their bodies. I saw a photo of one of these fish and no sea lice.  Still, there are some migrating fish that have no lice, so who knows.

In my mind, the migrations begins for me on the first day that I can catch more than one striper. That day is coming soon. I will be trying just about every day in the next week.