Change in Schedule....Striper Seminar TOMORROW at NE Fishing and Outdoor Expo

My schedule has changed for tomorrow at the NE Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Boxboro, MA.  I will be doing my "Striper Trends" seminar at 11 AM tomorrow. Loads of guys attended my carp fishing seminar today as there were big numbers of people at this show.  I suspect the attendance will  be very good again tomorrow.
Hope to see you there!

New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo Opens this Friday!

The New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo opens this Friday, Jan. 26 at the Boxboro Regency in Boxboro, MA.  It is one of the best outdoor shows in New England with loads of fishing booths, free parking, easy access off Rt. 495 and one of the best seminar line-ups I have ever seen. I will be at the show on Saturday (Jan. 27) and Sunday (Jan. 28) doing carp fishing seminars at 11:00 AM each morning. I’ll also be at the show walking around and talking to people. For more information and the seminar schedule, go to this LINK.

Hope to see you there!

Take a Look at THIS

It's not fishing related but it is spectacular if you like to see interesting photos.
My son Matt, who you have seen many times fishing with me on this blog, along with his wife Kristy are in Iceland right now on a vacation.  These two travel all over the US and the world exploring interesting places. Matt wanted to get a photo of the northern lights, and get a photo he did.  Check this out....
He also got other spectacular shots of glaciers, waterfalls and other scenery. Looks like quite the place! If you would like to see other great photos, check out his Instagram at Travel the East.

First of the Big Shows....NE Fishing and Outdoor Expo

The new year starts the season of fishing shows for me. I've got a number of them booked in the next two months at both fishing clubs and big outdoor shows.  This year I will be running two new seminars. My saltwater seminar is called "Striper Trends". This show looks at the changing world of striper fishing here in southern New England. With the warming waters, the migrations have changed, the bait populations are moving and changing and the big bass haunts are changing.  This show will look at how fishermen can change with the times to be successful at this game.  My freshwater show is called "Carp Fishing Strategies for River and Lakes".  This show deals with strategies to successfully fish moving and still waters for some of the biggest freshwater fish imaginable right here in southern New England.
My first appearance at a big outdoor show will be the New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo at Boxborough, MA right off Rt. 495.  I will be there on both Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.  The times of those seminars are not set yet, so keep checking their website. This show has evolved over the years into a quality fishing show that focuses on freshwater fishing as well as saltwater fishing.  The show is loaded with loads of fishing vendors, top notch speakers, demonstrations and seminars. Attendance at this show has really increased in recent years due to its increasing popularity, quality attractions and free parking. I will be doing both my striper fishing seminar as well as the carp fishing seminar at this show. Hope to see you there!

Tis the Season....

Grading the Past Year Here in RI

Here we go again this year.  With fishing over except for limited holdover action, it's time to grade the past season. The highlights will be the tons of schoolies and the hot albie action; the disappointments will be the lack of keeper stripers here in RI and the dreadful low numbers of bluefish.

It was loaded with schoolies in 2017.

Schoolies- It was a banner year for schoolies, and that bodes well for the future.  From the get go in mid April, there were tons of schoolies around both the oceanfront and the Bay. For the year I landed 2300 stripers and the majority were under 24 inches. My first big hit along the south shore oceanfront happened on April 13 when I landed 35 schoolies.  From then on it was a glut of fish along the south shore as well as in the Bay until the action started to slow in early June. Summer fishing as always was a bit spotty but I still had good action in the Bay from shore.  Fall fishing was fantastic, especially in November where big numbers were being caught almost daily along the south shore beachfront. Grade for 2017....A

Keeper stripers were a disappointment
here in RI. The few that were around
were generally 28-34 inches. 

Keeper Stripers- These were a disappointment here in RI. My first keeper of the year came from the Bay on April 26. Fishing for keepers was better in May and June but they were few and far between, even from the boat.  We found tons of menhaden around from the boat but  there were few keepers under them. There was a good pod of keepers holed up in the Bay near the Hurricane Barrier but there were loads of shore guys and boaters after them. We scored better on keepers from the boat than from the shore, but even the boat saw far fewer than other years. I tried a lot in the fall for RI keepers and it was a few here and there with no big numbers and no big fish.  The biggest I was able to get from RI waters was a disappointing 20 lbs. Now, for those thinking the big ones are in decline, all you had to do was travel a short distance to the Cape Cod Canal where a bonanza of big fish over 20 lbs were holed up all summer.  If I were grading the Canal, I would give it an A+.  Here in RI was a different story. Grade for RI keepers....C-

It was another fantastic year for albies.

Albies- It was another record year in terms of numbers. Right on schedule, I got my first ones from shore on Sept. 14. From then until early November (yes, very late), it was lights out.  I found them in multiple locations from the mouth of the Bay down to the south shore.  There was rarely a day in which I didn't see them jumping. The beginning of the season, from mid September until mid October, was very good, though some days the fish were especially fussy. I think the increased albie action in recent years is a result of the warming ocean.  Expect this hot fishing to continue in the next few years. Grade for 2017...A

Bluefish were a major
disappointment in 2017.

Bluefish- Wow, this was the  disappointment of 2017. They were very few and far between. I landed my first one on the late date of May 28 from shore in the Bay. We had a couple of good outings with big blues (over 10 lbs.)in the Bay in late spring from the boat.  My brother Steve got the whopper of a lifetime with a 40 inch blue on May 31.  However, that action died in early summer.  Late in the fall we landed a few from the boat, but they were almost non-existent from shore.  Heck, I didn't even see any snapper blues in the Bay. All fall I landed exactly 7 bluefish and 6 of those were caught on one day.  I saw no blitzes of big blues along the south shore in November as we usually see. I think the blues are in trouble but no one seems worried about it. Grade for bluefish for 2017....D

The White Perch Option

I'm still fishing with all this ice and snow around.  With few stripers in my winter spots, I have turned my attention to white perch. 
These are a mystery fish around here, but they can suddenly appear in places in good numbers.  The most likely spots to find them are in brackish river systems that enter estuaries and bays.  Both the east side of the Bay as well as the upper Bay and even the oceanfront are loaded with places that fit that description.They often hang out in the very same places where holdover stripers are found.
Before catching any, you have to find them as they often travel in schools in early winter looking for food. Once you find them, you'll quickly discover that they will aggressively take small lures and jigs fished on or near the bottom.  I like to either use small bucktail jigs (1/4 or 1/8 oz.) or small jigheads spiced with plastic curly tails (see photo).
These fish generally run from 8 to 12 inches, although I have landed some real big ones in the past that have gone 14-15 inches.  Light tackle is ideally suited to fishing for these.White perch are just one more options for open water winter fishing here in RI.