Metal to the Rescue!

 

This Hopkins metal lure delivered yesterday
in the wind and heavy surf.

I was looking at a skunk yesterday.  I was fishing great water and rough conditions, and I just knew there were fish around but I was not getting them. I was fishing mostly with my bucktail jig.  It was not working. I thought to myself, "maybe a longer cast in these rough conditions might just do it." So, I reached in my bag for a large metal Hopkins lure.  This thing casts like a bullet even into a stiff wind.  It got me an extra 15 yards over the bucktail, and it was just enough to get me to where the waves were breaking. Just a few casts into using the Hopkins and I was on. The fish ended up being a slot.  I landed several more fish with the metal including a good sized over slot.

That Hopkins lure is one of those specialty lures that I use when conditions dictate it and when a real long cast is needed. Yesterday it worked like a charm, and delivered.

Best Week of the Year

 

I've got my thumb in the jaw of
another good size slot that fell for
a bucktail jig with a pink Fat Cow
jig strip. Fishing has been read hot
in the last week for me.

For me, this has been the best week of the year for saltwater fishing. I fished hard the last 5 days in a row and caught staggering numbers of stripers of all sizes from schoolies up to over slots. My count in the logbook shows close to 100 stripers landed and released in the last five days. Roughly thirty percent of those fish were slots.  I also had tow fish of 40 inches.  Add to that a bunch of blues from little 5 pounders to gators in the low teens. 

The action has also been widespread.  I landed very good numbers in the surf along the oceanfront, but also got big numbers from the kayak in the Bay. Along the oceanfront it was all bucktail jigs scoring with the rougher the water, the better.  In the Bay, it was all topwater action with a Rebel Jumpin' Minnow catching the most fish.

Wind, rain and rough water is coming for the weekend.  I say "bring it on" since the roughness has really turned the fish on.

The best of the fall action is now here. Hopefully it stays that way!

Here's a slot taken from my kayak in the Bay
today. Action in the Bay has also been red hot.

Brute Strength

Today's biggie was a brute of a fish- big head,
big girth and strong as an ox.

 I landed a brute of a fish today. It was one of those "old fashioned" fish we used to catch 30 and 40 years ago.  It was at least 40 inches long with a  big head and a wide girth.  And it possessed some brute strength.  

The fish took a two ounce homemade bucktail jig with a pink Fat Cow strip added.  It was able to put up a drag screaming fight, and I knew I was onto a good fish within seconds after hooking her. That jig that it hit was made with a heavy duty size 7/0 Mustad hook.  I've never seen one of these bend until today.

When I got the fish ashore I was astonished to find this fish actually bent the hook in half in its vice grip jaw. I was lucky I did not lose the fish. I kept the hook and jig as a reminder of just how strong a larger striper can be. Take a look at the hook and jig below.

By the way, all was good here as the fish was released in good shape to fight and maybe bend a hook again!

The fish above was able to bend this
heavy duty 7/0 Mustad jig hook. Big,
strong stripers can possess incredible
brute strength.

Storm Fizzles; Fishing Sizzles

 

This slot fish, one of many today, took a large
bucktail jig with a Fat Cow jig strip.

It was the storm that wasn't. Today's surf was supposed to be dangerously high and super rough. It wasn't.  In fact, by evening, the ocean was flat as a pancake with a gentle northwesterly breeze. The water was clean with no sand in it along the places I fished today.

Like many other fishermen I did not plan to fish today. But, I got several calls from friends who were fishing and catching this morning so I decided to go down and try. I'm glad I did.  I hit some of the hottest fishing of the fall today in a spot I had all to myself.  Big numbers of stripers were after peanut bunker.  These bass were all charged up and were in a feeding frenzy blasting the peanut bunker right out of the water as well as any offerings that I tossed their way.  I got some fish on bucktail jig with Fat Cow pink tails.  I got other fish to take a 5 inch NLBN paddle tail on a once ounce head.  Still, other fish went for my topwater offering, a Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil in a bone color. The one common thread here was that all the fish were good size. They were mostly all slot fish in the 28 to 30 inch range. The action lasted well over three hours!

I'm guessing this rough water that we had a few days ago moved a lot of fish and bait ashore. I know it was as good as it gets today in the daytime.  I'm hoping it continues. 

Huge, Dangerous Waves Pound the Coast

 If you are even thinking about fishing anywhere along the oceanfront in the next few days, forget it.  I went down today to try and get in one more day of fishing, and it was impossible. I saw huge hurricane driven waves in the 8 to 15 foot range coming right over the East, Center and West Walls around the Harbor of Refuge in Narragansett. Keep in mind the Hurricane itself is two days away from brushing the coastline.  I can only imagine how bad it is going to become in the next few days. 

Realize, too, that many of the access points and rights-of-ways were shut down along with the parking today. Access points in Narragansett at Hazard Ave., Newton Ave. and Bass Rock Rd. were all shut down. In protected places where I could get a look at the water, it was all roiled up with sand and weed, making for poor fishing conditions.

I'm guessing very protected areas in Narragansett Bay or the coastal ponds could be fishable, but realize all that rain we got in the last five days (10 inches in some places) has really screwed up the water in the Bay.  I got out in my kayak a few days ago and saw coffee colored water all over the place.  The fishing was also poor.

These big waves will have a big effect on our fishing.  I'm guessing it will be at least mid next week before the water begins to clear along the oceanfront and some worthwhile fishing returns.

Check out the video clip below of the big waves coming right over the East Wall in Narragansett.

Blitz of the Week!

 It's been a big week of fishing here in RI with everything from stripers to albies.  Today's blitz of stripers was one of the biggest I have seen in a long time.  The stripers were after massive schools of bay anchovies.

Photo of the Day

 

They say "a picture says a thousand words", but in this
case the picture says just three words. "THEY ARE IN!"
Albie Master Tim shows how it's done.

Fishing Turns as Hot as the Weather.....Bass, Blues, ALBIES

 

I'm about to grab a schoolie that was caught from
the kayak this morning.  The fishing all over RI
was hot as the weather today!

The RI saltwater scene just took a dramatic turn for the better.  Along the oceanfront, a lot of that bait that was off the shore has moved in, possibly driven in by albies as the albie fishing has taken a big turn for the better with fish showing in a wide swath of the oceanfront today.  Also, fishing for stripers and blues have seen an uptick in the last day or two.

The Bay fishing is still as hot as the weather if you can find the bait.  I was out this morning in my kayak and found massive schools of peanut bunker in one location.  Stripers and bluefish were blitzing them on and off. In some places I could look down from the yak and see schools of baby bunker three feet thick. I scored big numbers of bass and blues using a Rebel Jumpin' Minnow.

So, I believe that fall run of fish and bait has finally started here in RI.  It took a while, but here's hoping the hot action continues.  Now, if we could get a little cooler weather that would be great!

Back to the Bay of Plenty

 

This is one of many stripers and blues
that I landed today in the Bay
from the kayak. They were 
chasing down schools of peanut
bunker.

Last evening/night I hit the oceanfront in a place where the tide and conditions were just right.  The only thing missing was bait.  I made a lot of casts and came away with one striper, a schoolie, along with a keeper fluke on a bucktail jig. It was slow, typical of what has been going on along the oceanfront.

Today I loaded the kayak into the truck and went back to the Bay of Plenty. Right off the boat launch, I encountered massive schools of peanut bunker, which led to stripers and blues breaking all around me at times. The fish were aggressive and I landed good numbers of both stripers and bluefish.  All the action came on a bone colored Rebel Jumpin' Minnow, a hot plug right now in the Bay.  Just goes to show that if you find the bait, especially peanut bunker, you will almost surely find stripers and bluefish. No bait, few or no fish!

Labor Day Weekend Outlook

I landed this gator blue from the kayak this
morning. Fishing in the Bay from boat or 
kayak has been more consistent than the 
oceanfront for stripers and blues.

A lot will depend on if the water along the oceanfront clears up or not.  Those big hurricane waves that battered the coastline for the last several days have roiled up the water with sand and debris which has shut down the fishing.  Will it clear up? Who knows?

Prior to the big waves, the fishing was entering a pre-fall stage along the oceanfront and improving.  Striped bass fishing had improved with better fishing after dark for the shore guys than in the daylight.  There were good numbers of slot fish around. The bait, though, was scarce from shore (contrary to fake news reports I was reading).  It seemed like if you could find a pile of bait, the fish were there, and it could happen anywhere. Albies were also starting to trickle in with a few being caught from shore.  Once again, contrary to the fake news reports that were blowing this up, there were a scant few from shore and your chances at scoring were slim.  In one VERY popular spot, there were 50 frenzied albie chasers casting one morning a few days ago after hearing reports that they were in.  There were half dozen fish caught.  This morning 40 guys were there casting away- none caught.  Now, does that seem like an albie run to you? It's still too early and there is not enough bait to lure in big numbers yet.

My most consistent fishing came from the Bay this week.  Earlier in the week I found good numbers of stripers and bluefish in the daytime from my kayak.  Many of the coves and bays are loaded with peanut bunker and that was setting off some big blitzes.  The big waves and dirty water from the oceanfront has had no effect on the Bay fishing.  If you are fishing from a boat, just ride around and look for birds diving on bait.  Fish will be there.  The blues are all sizes from those 4 and 5 lbers. to alligators in the teens. This has been the best early fall for bluefish I have seen in years in the Bay and I'm guessing it will continue.  The bass are running up to and over slot size, and there can be big numbers in places.  In a four day stretch in the last week, my son Jon had well over 100 stripers from the yak. Most were slots. Most fell for Rebel Jumpin' Minnows.

So, there you have the real fishing report.  The oceanfront could be good for stripers and blues if the water clears this weekend. The Bay is a much better bet particularly if you fish from a boat or kayak.  Good luck and enjoy.