Shore Fishing Cools off after the Heat Wave

I got out a couple of days ago
and fished some great water,
but all I found was this lone 
schoolie that I caught on a 
bucktail jig. The fishing has 
cooled off.

 Before that sweltering heat wave we had this week, the shore fishing had been very good.  After the hot weather, not so good. I got out a couple of days ago and the fishing landscape seemed a whole lot different. I saw no birds working, no visible bait and I had to work my tail off to get one fish. The water was great, but there was just not much in it.

The water was also noticeably warmer after the heat wave.  I'm guessing the record heat warmed up the water at least 5 degrees along the oceanfront.  Was that enough to send the sandeels and the stripers packing for deeper and cooler water? Maybe.

Friends of mine went out in the early morning today to search for bonito and stripers along the oceanfront. There was a lot of effort, a lot of guys fishing and only a few small bonito were caught. No stripers.  The bonito were also more plentiful prior to the heat wave. Bait has a big influence on the bonito numbers and it wasn't there today.

So, for now, it seems that we are heading into a summer lull.  That sandeel invasion is usually a June/early summer thing, and I'm guessing most big schools have left the area.  The next bait wave to draw the stripers to shore would be schools bay anchovies and peanut bunker.  Those baits usually show up in late summer. So, it could be a wait until the shore fishing lights up again.

Sun Protection

 

Decked out and ready
for a day of fishing 
in the sun.

I'm very cautious when out fishing in the sun. I take a lot of precautions since I am really prone to skin cancer.  In the last ten years, I have had two basal cell carcinomas removed along with one squamous cell carcinoma. One of these was quite problematic and I had to have extensive reconstruction done.  So, I try to avoid these issues as much as I can, although I also realize much of this damage was started decades ago. 

So, when fishing or anytime out in the sun, here's some ideas to protect you from harm:

1. Sunscreen and Lip Balm- I use Banana Boat Ultra SPF65, about the most protection you can find. I put it on any exposed skin. For my lips I use Banana Boat 45 lip balm.

2. Sun shirts, Sun hats, Neck Gaiters and Gloves- I tend to always wear a UPF50 long sleeve sun shirt.  I also have some with hoods that I wear. Columbia makes a wide assortment of these. While these shirts are long sleeves, they are still quite cool and comfortable. For hats, I always wear a Glacier Glove Sun Hat that provides a lot of shade for my face and the back of my neck. For gloves, I wear Kast King sun gloves to protect my hands. They have open fingers and you can cast quite well with them. I have an assortment of neck gaiters that I also wear. A lot of times I pull the gaiter up over my face to cover my lips and cheeks.

Sun Gloves from Kast King and Banana Boat Ultra
65 Sunscreen ready to go.

3. Sunglasses- Lately I have been wearing the Rival Shield sunglasses made by Shady Rays.  These give my face and eyes maximum coverage. Mine are polarized blue mirror, and they have UV protection.  They are also very moderately priced at about 50 bucks on sale. Many fishermen have asked me about these and where I got them.

As fishermen who fish from shore, boat or kayak in the daytime, we are very prone to sunburns and other problems. Never hurts to be proactive, and you do get used to doing much of what I do above every time out.

Decked out and ready for a day of fishing in the sun
in my kayak.

Biggest Day of the Year; Sandeel Invasion Fuels Great Fishing

 

Here's a slot fish coming ashore with
my Albie Snax in its mouth.

The striper fishing has taken a dramatic turn for the better for me in June. The sandeel arrival has brought big numbers of stripers to the oceanfront.  The whole month has been productive, but the climax was a couple of days ago when I hit one of the biggest blitzes I have ever seen in June.

It was one of those cloudy, drizzly days with an east wind and a charged up surf with lots of white water. I headed down the oceanfront in late morning, and my plan was to hit a number of spots knowing that the stripers and the sandeels were moving around.  My plan was to hopefully find them. I struck out in the first two locations.  As soon as I got a glimpse of the water in my third location, Holy Smokes!  Stripers were breaking EVERYWHERE in front of me with not another fisherman in sight. Big jumps, small jumps, multiple jumps, out far, in close, bait spraying out of the water. 

It took one cast of my Albie Snax and teaser to hook up with a slot fish.  Next cast I had two good  fish on and one busted off my Albie Snax (why I don't like using a teaser). So, I switched strategies and cut the teaser off and just went with the Snax. The fish continued to feed and hit as the tide dropped, though they were fussier and fussier as the afternoon moved on. Later, I switched to a float and Red Gill, the best producer for these fussy fish that were going crazy in the white water.

This was a very effective lure combo
as the fish turned fussy later in the day.
It's my wooden egg float with a Red
Gill teaser attached off 3 feet of 
Varivas fluoro. Throw it in the white
water and reel it in slowly. Deadly 
when fussy stripers are on sandeels.

That day I fished just about a whole tide from high to low. The action continued till right before dark when everything settled down and died. 

Score for the day- 44 stripers landed, dozens more on.  Most fish were in the 24 to 26 inch range, but I had at least a dozen fish that were slots and over. One of the best June days I ever had. 

Fussy Stripers On Sandeels

 

Here's a striper that grabbed my
Red Gill Teaser, a dead ringer
when stripers are feeding on sandeels.

The sandeel invasion is here.  In the last week, big schools of them have arrived along the oceanfront with big numbers of stripers on them. In the last couple of evenings I found big numbers of hefty schoolies and small slots feeding on them.

Make no mistake about it.  Stripers can be darn fussy when they are slurping up thin sandeels the size of a toothpick. I've been experimenting with a number of finesse approaches, and I had what they wanted last evening.  I was using a leader set up with a Red Gill Teaser. These teasers are dead ringers for sandeels and they can be rigged as a teaser or fished off a float. There are many different ways to attach the teaser, but I've always had the best success knotting it to the swivel at the top of my leader. It should dangle about 6 inches off the swivel.  At the clip end last night I attached an Albie Snax, a hot lure all spring for me. Note that this set-up is not going to give you a booming cast, but it was no problem last evening as the fish were right in close in the white water.

Think small profile when sandeels are around.  Plugs such as SP Minnows, Needlefish, thin profiled jigs and skinny plastic can also produce. Where the fish are feeding and surf conditions will dictate the size of the plug you want to use to get to them.

The hot set up for me last evening
was a leader set up with a white
Albie Snax and a Red Gill Teaser.

Two Way Strategy Working

 

I've been out in the kayak about a quarter
of the days this spring.  I'm fishing the Bay
from the yak on  calm days.

I've really taken a two way approach to striper fishing this spring.  In rough and windy weather I have been fishing from the shore both at the oceanfront and in the Bay.  When it has been calm, I've opted for the kayak, staying in the Bay.  It has worked with very few blanks and some decent fish.  The numbers have not been there, but I've landed a decent number larger fish-  slots and even over slots.

The hot lures for me so far has been as follows.  In the kayak, it has been an unweighted 5.75 inch Finesse Fish that has been the hot ticket. An Albie Snax is a close second.  I've caught no fish on hard plugs from the yak this spring.  From shore I've mixed it up.  The Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil has been hot especially in rough water.  But, at times I've also gone with unweighted plastics such as the Finesse Fish, Slug-gos and Albie Snax. Wind conditions and how far I want to cast have dictated my choice. 

Shore fishing has also been good for larger fish.
About three quarter of the time I have fished the Bay
or along the oceanfront

I've spent about three quarters of my fishing days from shore this spring and about a quarter of the time in the kayak. That strategy has led to some consistent fishing with few blanks.

Biggest in YEARS!

 

I landed a monster striper from the kayak today, maybe my biggest in years.  It came as a complete surprise.  I was fishing a shallow area close to shore using a light outfit hoping to get a schoolie or a slot.  The rod was a St. Croix Avid inshore rod that measured 7 ft., 3 inches that had Daiwa BG 4000 reel with 30 lb. test braid.  I was fishing an unweighted 5.75 inch Finesse Fish that was attached to a 30 lb. fluoro leader (set up described in earlier post). The fish hit in about three feet of water and took off like a freight train for deeper water.  It was a thrilling fight with multiple runs right along the bottom while dragging the yak along.

Finally I got the beast alongside the yak. Now, I had to get the Boga grip on it.  Its lips were so large that the Boga barely opened wide enough to get it on!

Holy smokes.  I'm guessing this monster was in the 45+ inch range, maybe even 50 and weighed in the mid 40 lb. range.  It is one of the biggest stripers I have ever landed from the yak, and it's the biggest I've gotten in years.

By the way, caught at dead noontime.  So much for fishing at night for big fish!