Signs of Life

 

I've landed good numbers of stripers
in the last three days from schoolies
to slot size fish.  

Ever so slowly, the shore fishing is ticking upwards here in RI.  In the last three days I have caught more stripers than in the last three weeks. I've also seen turns working here and there on small bait (bay anchovies?, maybe peanut tiny peanut bunker?).  That has led to sporadic fish breaking close to shore.

I hit some good fishing on the windy and stormy evenings of the last three days catching good numbers of hefty schoolies and small slots.  Friday and last evening were carbon copies of one another.  Approaching storms brought strong winds, lots of white water and a surging sea right into the spot I was fishing. I believe that moved some stripers close to shore.  It's those kinds of conditions that will move fish that are residing in deeper water close to shore at this time of year.  Recently reports have been loaded with news of lots of fish in deeper water, and boaters are scoring much more consistently than shore fishermen right now.

High water temperatures have driven most of the stripers into the deeper and cooler water.  Bay water temperatures of upwards of 82 degrees were reported this week.  Yikes! The ocean water temperatures are hovering in the low to mid 70's. Hopefully, this will come down as the cooler weather settles in this week. I've also said many times that huge numbers of peanut bunker will be a game changer regardless of water temperatures.  That hasn't happened yet, but I believe it is coming soon. When it does, the shore fishing will explode.

Slow Going in RI

 I've posted very little recently, and that should tell you I am catching very little.  Still trying almost daily, but not having a lot of success, especially with bigger fish here in RI. This happens in the doldrums of mid summer. 

The water is warm.  Water temperatures in the Bay hit 75 degrees this week.  Along the oceanfront, it was reported to be 73 degrees.  That is really warm for striper fishing. Because of that, many shore fishermen have been heading to places north of us where the water is cooler and the fishing is better. My son, Jon, hit some hot fishing for larger fish in the Canal a week ago.  Since then, the action has slowed.

In addition, the bait here in RI is small and scattered, and it is mostly sandeels.  In the last two evenings I found good numbers of sandeels in one location and caught a mix of hickory shad and small schoolies.  The hot lure was a Red Gill teaser. Still, the stripers were fussy in the warm water.  Last week, I did catch a few schoolies in some white, rough water, which seems to be producing better than calm conditions. 

This is the time of year in which boaters have a huge advantage over shore fishermen.  The boaters can fish deeper water and dropoffs along the oceanfront where the water is cooler and the fish are more active.

I suspect the fishing will improve greatly when the massive schools of peanut bunker head our way in the next two to three weeks (according to past records).  In the past the peanuts have lit up the fishing in both the Bay and along the oceanfront for more than just stripers. They have also lured in many pelagic fish including bonito, Spanish mackerel and chub mackerel and later false albacore.