Labor Day Weekend Fishing Outlook in RI

 Labor Day weekend is here, and there are sure to be a lot of fishermen out and about along the oceanfront. If you are fishing from shore, the outlook is poor.  From a boat, you have a much better chance at finding something although that action is also slow.

We are coming off the worst year of striper fishing in the summer from shore in DECADES here in RI.  There have been very few fish around with a fish here and there whenever the ocean gets rough.  In calm water there tends to be nothing.  There is little bait along the oceanfront, a problem we have had all summer. I have been skunked my last two outings this week while seeing nothing- no birds, no bait, no fish. There is some bait in the Bay and in the backwaters, but there are no fish chasing it.  My son Jon was out in the kayak last night in the Bay and found loads of bait but no fish. I don't really know what's going on with the boaters along the oceanfront, but the reports (if you can believe them) paint a rosy picture of decent numbers of big fish in deeper water.

Fishing for blues from shore is no better.  In a lot of ways it's even worse than striper fishing right now. I've landed a grand total of 5 bluefish this year, and they all have been big. With little bait around, you won't find many bluefish. This has been the poorest year of bluefish fishing in a real long time.

Many fishermen have turned to chasing the pelagics.  There have been some bonito around, especially is the deeper water drops along the oceanfront.  On occasion, I have seen some breaking in my last few outings, and I've even caught a couple. These tend to be small, from 12 to 20 inches on average. Pack some epoxy jigs, small swimmers and metal spoons and hope they show up in front of you. There are no albies around yet, at least from shore. There have also been some mackerel around.

So, that's it.  The last few years brought great fishing on Labor Day weekend, traditionally the start of the fall runs.  I don't see that happening this year. I plan to spend most of my time in freshwater this weekend.  Good luck if you try saltwater.  You'll need it!

Could this be the start of a fall run?

 

Small bonito were harassing small bait 
yesterday. They have been popping up here
and there along the oceanfront where bait
shows up.

Yesterday, for the first time I saw lots of bait.  From my vantage point I could see multiple schools of bait way out being harassed by birds from the top and predators from below.  It was small bait which I suspect was rain bait.  Occasionally a school would come in close and I was able to reach it with my metal lure.  I suspected it was small bonito hitting the bait, and I was right. I managed to catch a couple and had a few more on.

Later I moved to another spot as the sun was setting.  Right before dark a school of peanut bunker moved right by me. A short time later I landed a striper and a large fluke.

This sudden influx of bait close to shore is a sure sign that fall fishing is right around the corner for shore fishermen who have been suffering through a poor summer.  Every year this seems to happen sometime in August. It's a bit late this year, but I think we are looking at improved fishing from shore in the next few days and weeks. Could this be the start of a fall run along the oceanfront?

Scoring in the Rough Water

I found good numbers of stripers yesterday evening
in some white water. This one was taken on a large
bucktail jig with a pink jig strip added.

 I feel like the fishing is perking up slightly. I've been seeing some micro bait here and there especially in the backwaters in the last week.  I even found some fish breaking a couple of nights back. 

Yesterday, I went out to fish some rough white water along the oceanfront.  The oceanfront has calmed down considerably since those hurricane waves of two days ago, and you can easily fish most spots, though there was still a small roll coming in.  The water was also very clean in the two places I fished and free of sand and weed

I landed good numbers of fish while casting into areas that had the most white water and turbulence. I got most of my fish on the float and jig, a good bet to fish in these conditions where a long cast might be needed.  I also had one fish on a big jig with a pink jig strip. I saw no birds working or bait in these places.

All the fish this evening were small, averaging 18 to 22 inches. I haven't seen many of these smaller fish around this year, so it was a bit of a surprise.

Hurricane Waves Pound the Coast

 Hurricane waves are pounding the coastline right now, making for impossible fishing in many of the east and south facing shorelines.  I went down yesterday and found massive waves just running right over the east and center walls at the Harbor of Refuge.  The water was also all roiled with sand and weed, making for impossible and dangerous conditions. I suspect it will take a few days to clear up. Fishable water can be found in the protected backwaters and in the upper reaches of the Bay.

Storminess Lights It Up Once Again

 

The bucktail jig fished off a float
was the hot lure yesterday. 

The best pattern for me all summer was to hit the shore in rough and stormy conditions.  Those days would produce some resident fish. Yesterday was no different except for one exception. I found good numbers of fish for the first time this summer.

It was really rough yesterday due to the tropical storm.  The wind was strong and there was white water everywhere.  There was also life, and lots of it.  Birds were diving and fish were breaking for bait in the location I fished. First time I have seen that all summer. And, the stripers were aggressively taking my bucktail jig that was fished off a wooden egg float.

I ended the evening with good numbers of 24 to 28 inch stripers, typical of what has been around. Maybe there was a slot two in the mix.

Hopefully, this rough water and cooler temperatures will get an early fall run started. We'll see in the coming days.

There were good numbers of 24 to 28 inch stripers around
yesterday in the spot I fished. For the first time in a long
time I saw birds diving and fish breaking.