Winding Down?

 

Most of the stripers lately have been schoolies
under 20 inches. Bucktail jigs and 3 inch NLBN
paddle tails have been the hot lures.

Normally I don't fish the oceanfront much after Thanksgiving, but I have had such good success lately that I am still fishing. While most of the fish of late November have been smaller schoolies (fish we have not seen most of the year), there are still some good fish around. I am also getting them in multiple spots along the oceanfront. On Thanksgiving evening/night I landed 9 bass with 3 slots and one over slot. I went back two days later and landed 7 bass, all under 20 inches. Yesterday afternoon/ evening I went out again and got skunked for the first time in weeks.  Is it winding down? I think so but there are still fish trickling through and with a little effort I think you can still find some action. I plan to give it another week or so.

From Cold to HOT- Fishing Picks up Dramatically!

 

It's been red hot fishing in the last four days for me.
The fish are all sizes from 15 inches to 40 inches!

You never know what's going to happen in this game. I had been having a fair to poor November like everyone else, and I was just about ready to give it up when suddenly my luck turned around. The last 4 days/nights have been super good for me- over 60 stripers. While most of these fish have been schoolies, I've also had some real impressive fish in the 30 to 40 inch range.  This has come with just about no other fishermen around since many have given up or they've chosen to stay home in this frigid weather. I'm catching good numbers both after dark and in the daytime and in multiple spots, so everything seems to be working right now.

What has touched this off in the places that I'm fishing is a sudden run of peanut bunker that I have not seen all month. Yesterday I saw big numbers of stripers blasting them out of the water at times as the bass were in a feeding frenzy. The lure that has worked great for me has been a 3 inch NLBN paddle tail on a half ounce jighead.  In places where I need a long cast I am fishing this off a float. Where a long cast is not needed, I fish it alone.  When the stripers are on peanut bunker, there is no better lure to use than the NLBN paddle tail.

So, while the fishing may be winding down for some, it is still going pretty well for me. How long will it continue?  Don't know, but I do plan to keep fishing while the goings good.

Photo of the Month- Beauty of the Surf

 

Some of us live it every day!

Photo of the Day- The Photo Says it All

 

You know the fishing must be poor when there is not
a single fisherman off Charlestown Breachway right
before dark!

Should Be Better

 This should be the peak of the fall fishing.  Instead, we are looking at a November lull that has brought only fair to poor striper fishing along much of the oceanfront these first seven days of November.  I've done a lot of driving around in November looking for fish, and I have seen and caught very little- way off compared to other years.  In the last three days, I have seen no birds working or fish breaking anywhere.  I have had to resort to slugging it out in some rough white water where I was able to pick up a fish here and there.  Today I fished for about four hours in multiple spots in daylight and darkness and landed only two schoolies. I saw other people fishing yet did not see another fish landed. 

As the calendar ticks away, we are staring at about two and one half to three weeks of worthwhile fishing left. The season is quickly winding down, but I do feel we will have more good fishing.  I suspect we will have one more push of fish and bait along the RI oceanfront in mid November.  

In the past, November has been blockbuster month for striper fishing in RI.  So far, it's been a dud. Hopefully, it will change.

This is one of a couple of schoolies landed today on the 
float and NLBN paddle tail.  Fishing in November has
been a disappointment so far.

Loads of Bait, Cormorants and Gulls Diving, but Where's the Stripers?

 

A big pile of mackerel at dark saved the day
which had been disappointing. The bait is around
but the stripers are in short supply as November
gets off to a slow start.

Today was a strange day.  In fact, it has been a strange week that brought big numbers of small bait to the shore along with birds diving.  But, stripers have been in short supply.  Everywhere I went today I saw cormorants and gulls working close to shore, but I only saw exactly four stripers caught by loads of fishermen who were trying. I also saw very few stripers breaking on the bait. My only saving grace was at dark when I found big schools of mackerel (bullet or Spanish (no sure)) feasting on the bait and more than willing to hit my small NLBN offering. In addition, I was able to coax one striper into hitting  my swimmer  after dark in the same area where I found the macks.

So, here we are entering November. It has not been a memorable October for shore fishermen along the oceanfront here in RI. And, things are starting off very slowly for shore fishermen in November. I'm hoping it perks up quickly because we are staring at about three to four weeks left to our season.