A Birthday to Remember

 

I was out in my kayak today.  It was a banner 
outing for stripers on a picture perfect 
weather day.

I was visiting some of my grandchildren a couple of days back.  They knew my birthday was in a couple of days (today actually).  One of them asked, "Hey grandpa, what are you going to do for your birthday?" I replied, "I think I'll go fishing".  They all knew I fished just about every day so no birthday surprise there.

But, I did get the birthday surprise today with a banner day of fishing.  This morning I hit the Bay with my kayak. It didn't take long to find fish just a short peddle away from where I put in. I found breaking stripers and birds diving for bait. I had a grand time catching one striper after another on my weightless, plastic Fin S fish worked on the surface.  While many of them were small, I did land several slot fish. The weather was picture perfect and it was a great day to be out on the water.

After I got home and ate supper, I decided to go out carp fishing for a couple of hours, something I do just about every day in between chasing stripers.  I decided to hit a picturesque spot along the Blackstone River fairly close to my house. It was a mile walk to get there but no problem.  I was there no more than 15 minutes when one of my bite alarms sounded. Soon after a good size 15 lb. common carp was on the bank. Half an hour later, the other alarm sounded, and I knew after hooking the fish, I was onto a good one. It was ripping drag all along the river. Soon, I had a 25 lb. common on the bank, a very large fish for this body of water. 

I landed this 25 lb. carp this evening to 
cap off my big fishing day!

I turned 74 today, and I thank my lucky stars I am still able to do what I do. For 8 months of the year I fish just about every day.  For the other 4 months I ski just about every day. In between that, I ride a bike just about every day. I have no health problems and my doctor tells me to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm blessed with 4 wonderful sons and 3 great daughter-in-laws.  And, I now have 6 beautiful grandchildren. 

For a 74 year old guy, life couldn't be better!

Photo of the Day- Back in the Kayak in Some Protected Water

 

It was back in the kayak for me today in
some protected water. The fish were around
in good numbers. Unweighted Fin S fish
did the trick!

Scoring on the Heavy Stubby Needlefish

Super Strike Bullet Heavy Stubby
Needlefish- 2 1/2 oz.

 In the last two days, my son Jon and I have landed good numbers of decent fish.  These have been mostly slots with even some over slots. We've been catching them on a Super Strike Bullet Heavy Stubby Needlefish.  It has been the only plug in our bags that will punch out a long distance in these vicious northeast winds.  It is that long cast that has gotten to where these fish have been feeding.

As the name suggests, this plug casts like a bullet. It is a compact length at 4 1/2 inches yet weighs 2 1/2 oz. We have been working this plug similar to a popper with short pulls of the rod tip with a slow to moderate retrieve, just keeping it at or just below the surface.  We have been scoring with the yellow/white version.

Note that this plug is also made in a lighter version. I suggest the heavy model if you want to take on the stiff winds that we are experiencing right now along the oceanfront. The fish are there, but you have to reach them.

This slot fish was landed today on the Stubby Needlefish.
We have scored many slots and overslots in the last two
days using this plug.

Stripers' Preferences Can Change Depending on Bait and Location

 

The Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil has been
a hot producer in the last two evenings.

In the beginning of the week jigs ruled the places I was fishing. Big bucktail jigs, small bucks off a float, and NLBN paddle tails all were red hot. But, that place where jigs ruled suddenly went dry for me so I moved to a new location. I found fish and lots of them in my new spot, but they would not look at a jig. In my new hotspot, it was anything on top that did the trick. I caught a bunch of fish on Rebel Jumpin Minnows and Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencils.  I suspect the bait had a lot to do with the fish's preferences.  I'm guessing they were after mullet in my topwater spot since those two plugs I was using were great choices when mullet are around.  The float and jig works super when slim profiled bait such as bay anchovies and silversides are around.

Fishing for me continues to be red hot in both the daytime and at night. In the last five days, I've landed almost 100 stripers with a good percentage of those being keepers, although the majority of the fish are 24 to 28 inches. It's been the best week of the year.

I'm hoping this nasty weather with the big northeast wind continues. That's been the mover in all this and so long as it continues to blow the fishing will be hot somewhere along the RI coastline.

Egg Float and Jig Scoring Big Time Right Now

 

The float and jig has been my best lure to use 
this week. It has hooked big numbers of stripers
from slots to over slots.

The bait has arrived, the stripers are on their tails and the surf is up! What could be better? Add to that some rough, white water surf and you have the recipe for outstanding fishing.

This has been a banner week for me with big numbers of stripers from schoolies all the way up to over slots. Slot fish have been abundant. Clearly the fall run is here.

My top scorer this week has been the egg float and jig. Throw that in the turbulence, reel slowly with an occasional bounce of the rod tip and bingo, I'm on.

I make all my egg floats, and have written about that extensively on this blog.  Do search and you will find all the info on how to make them.  Off the float I run a three foot length of 50 lb. test mono.  At the end I am tying on a 1/2 to 3/4 oz. H style bucktail jig that is also homemade.  Onto the jig I thread a three inch, Bass Pro Triple Ripple curly tail.  The tail really gives the jig irresistible action in a rough surf.

This set up works well anywhere that you might need a booming cast. It also works well in shallow, rocky areas where a regular jig might hang up.

Dramatic Improvement

Striper fishing lit up yesterday. Lots of bait
has moved in and stripers of all sizes
are on them.

 Fall fishing has really taken a turn for the better.  Yesterday I found big schools of bait along the oceanfront moving about a quarter of a mile off shore.  A fall run was underway as big flocks of birds were diving and fish were breaking for bait.  Near shore the water was rough and white and stripers could be found in multiple locations right in close. 

I landed good numbers of schoolies, slots and even possibly an over slot.  I also caught them on multiple lures with big bucktail jigs, the float and jig and even Slug-gos working after dark. Compared to the doldrums of just days ago, it was terrific fishing.

I'm guessing the good fall fishing is finally here to stay. It's about time!

Uptick in Activity.....Is the Fall Run Starting?

Here's one taken from the kayak
last evening. There has been a big
uptick in activity the last few days.

 Fishing is improving.  Just maybe a fall run is underway.  We'll see if it continues. Here's what's been happening in the last few days:

*Out in the kayak in the Bay, I've landed 16 fish, a combination of stripers and blues.  I saw a lot of bait and fish feeding.

*My son, Jon, has also been out in the kayak where he landed 45 bass up to slot size in the last couple of days.  He was fishing a different area than I was fishing telling me there are fish spreading out in different spots.

* Bonito are still running along the oceanfront as I have friends that are getting them. It continues to be a hit or miss deal but they are around. They guys are putting in a big effort and it's paying off.

* One of my friends called to say he was watching a school of fish today working on top close to shore along the oceanfront.  It was the first time he has seen this this year.

* Another friend told me he was into blitz type action with stripers a couple of days ago.  He said they were on big schools of peanut bunker moving along the shore.

* Finally, my son Chris sent me a video of stripers breaking for bait all along the beach for the last two days near his beach house at the Cape.  They were on the Cape Cod Bay side one day and on the Vineyard Sound side the other day. They are moving!

Photo of the Day- "FINALLY, Hit the Jackpot"

 

I'm back in the kayak, and it was a great move.
Found the bait and found the fish.
Landed good numbers of stripers and blues.

Mediocre

 

There are some bonito around but it is a hit or miss
deal.  I landed this one yesterday from shore. 

I'm being generous when I say the shore fishing here in RI is mediocre.  Compared to other years at this time, it is way off. In the last three days/evenings of fishing for me, I've landed a grand total of three schoolies and one small bonito. 

There are a few stripers around, and you have to make a lot of casts in a lot of spots to maybe get one fish. All those bonito that the reports are raving about.... the truth is that they are around, but it is a hit or miss deal.  In one particular hotspot where up to 50 anglers a morning gather at daybreak to cast for them, the word is that there has not been a single bonito caught in 6 straight days. I know several boaters who have not seen or caught a bonito in days. And, no one I know has seen or caught an albie.  They are just not around yet.  Finally, bluefish are almost non-existent.  I've landed two since August and have not seen another one landed.

So, what the heck is going on? There is simply little to no bait along the oceanfront to draw in the predators.  There are small pods of it here and there but no big amounts that would lure bass, blues and pelagics like in  past years. In some of the backwaters where there is bait, there are no predators on it.

We are just about in the middle of September and we've seen no sign of any fall run of any fish.  Things change fast at this time of year, and who knows, maybe shore fishing will change for the better in the next few days or weeks.

Slight Improvement

 

It was one lone striper last evening along with
a bluefish.  Fishing has improved slightly though
it is still way off for this time of year.

The poor shore striper fishing from the summer continues, but there has been a slight improvement in the last couple of days.  I'm beginning to see some small schools of bait along the oceanfront, something I have not seen in weeks.  These are mostly small bay achovies although some fishermen are reporting seeing some peanut bunker.  Big schools of peanut bunker would really get the fishing going.  I've also seen a few fish breaking and birds working over these bay anchovy schools. Some of these predators are bonito which have been popping up here and there.  But, some are also stripers and blues. 

 I was out last evening and did find some bait with a few fish on them. The ocean was flat and the water was clear making it difficult to fool the few fish that were around. I managed to get a striper and a blue along with a couple of sea robins on a bucktail jig.  While this is nothing to write home about, it beats my last three outings in which I was skunked.

Hopefully these cooler nights and dropping water temperatures will get the fish moving in our direction and feeding.