It just keeps going...and going....and going.......

Our fabulous November fishing just keeps rolling along with no end in sight to the fantastic fishing.  I went down to the RI south shore today, and it was similar going to yesterday with lots of fish, though smaller overall.  Today featured mostly schoolies in the 20-25 inch range along with bluefish in the 4-7 lb. range. I did see about a dozen keeper bass caught, though, along with several big blues. My friend, Gene, got the biggest bass I saw today (check out the pic) on a popper. Once again, these fish were on blueback herring as many of the hooked blues would spit them up almost whole.  Just like yesterday, poppers were the hottest artificials with swimmers, Kastmasters and Cocahoes on jigheads catching a lot of fish too.  In all, I ended the day with 20 blues and 17 stripers (2 keepers).  It was real hot fishing for this time of year.  You get so used to this that you come to expect this fantastic fishing every outing, and it has generally lived up to expectations this November. I've now concluded that this is the very best November I have ever fished!

Best Big Fish Day in Years!

This was one of the best big fish days we have had in years in the RI surf.  At a time of year in which my kids and I would have been happy to land one more keeper bass, we landed a whopping twenty keepers today.  We're talking 28-40 inch fish.  We had at least a few fish that pushed the 40 inch range.  In addition, we landed at least a dozen more stripers that were just below keeper size.  On top of all that, we had 20 bluefish that went 5-13 lbs.  It had to be one of the biggest big fish days I have ever had along the RI south shore beaches at this time of year.
I knew we were in for a spectacular day as I scanned that shoreline with binoculars and saw a pile of bait and birds working.  Gannets were hitting the water within ten yards of the sand. There were gulls and cormorants also going crazy.  When I went down to the shoreline, I noticed blackened water and baitfish whirling.....blueback herring.  Just the big bait I was looking for.
The fish were active and most of the artificials we used were producing although poppers did the most damage.  We also landed fish on needlefish plugs and swimmers. Surprisingly, my sons and I had all the fish to ourselves as we never encountered another fisherman.

LOADED

Loaded, no other word to describe it.  The kids (Ben, Chris, Jon) and I met at the south shore for an afternoon of fishing.  We were in for quite a day. At times, all of us were onto fish at the same time.  This was one of the biggest hits of stripers that I have seen this fall.  There were schoolies, a few keepers and some blues in the mix.  It did not go without notice as a picket fence of fishermen numbering upwards of 50 surfcasters were casting for the easy pickings.  The kids and I landed over 60 stripers and a lone blue.  I estimate that collectively, the whole bunch of guys fishing probably landed several HUNDRED stripers with most of the fish going 14-22 inches, but there were also some keepers in the mix.  Once again, the Cocahoe mounted on a jighead caught most of the fish, though I also saw a lot of fish taken on Storm lures too. This fabulous November we are experiencing just continues to produce at a record pace. Numbers wise it has to rate as one of the best Novembers I have ever seen.

Bluefish Bonanza; Stripers Mixed In

Today featured a bonanza of bluefish along the south shore beaches, and there were also stripers in the mix.  I met my two sons, Jon and Ben along with Ben's girlfriend Allie, and we fished for the afternoon together.  In all we landed 30 blues that ranged from 5-10 lbs. and 15 stripers that ranged from  18-26 inches.  It was one of those wild days with everyone on the beach landing fish.  The fish were not particularly fussy today. Jon and I caught most of our fish on poppers while Allie and Ben landed most of theirs on Cocahoes and teasers. The whole beach cleared out at dark, and by five o'clock I was the only one left fishing in the dark.  I landed 5 more stripers and one blue using swimmers and a black Deceiver teaser while plugging after dark.  It shows that the fish are still hitting after dark if you can stand the cold.  From the reports that I am getting yesterday was equally as good as today with a big bunch of blues providing most of the action. Our fantastic November fishing along RI's south shore just continues to produce big time. 

The Hickory Shad Option

If hickory shad grew as large as stripers., no one would chase bass anymore. We'd all be pursuing shad. These fish are about the best fighting small fish you can find.  They will rip drag and take wild leaps, sometimes jumping feet into the air on the fight.  They generally run 1-2 lbs. and are tailor made for  light tackle.
There are two ways we target them.  I've always write about using teaser rigs with a Cocahoe to fish for schoolies in the fall.  Well, that shrimp fly teaser on  this rig is one of the most effective lures you can use to catch hickory shad. This explains why we often catch shad when targeting schoolies.
The other way to get them is with very small bucktail jigs on ultralight tackle.  I'm talking a small eighth oz. bucktail jig spiced with a one inch curly tail.  The outfit I use to fish these micro jigs is a freshwater four and a half foot twig of a rod with a tiny Okuma reel spooled with 4 lb. test mono.  Yes, this is super light stuff.  I keep this light outfit in the back of my truck just to use in quiet backwater spots that I might hit on the way home after a slow day of striper fishing.  It often leads to an exciting ending to a slow day.

My kids love to catch these fish.  They have always liked fishing for them as my son, Matt, is the state record holder for these fish.  His record is 2.12 lbs. (21 inches) that he caught when he was just 4 years old!  His record has stood for 21 years. Yikes!

Lots of Small Ones Moving Through

I'm sick of waiting for calm water so I headed down to the south shore today in this sixty degree weather.  It was very rough (as it's been for several days now) with loads of white water and rolling waves, but there were also lots of fish. My son, Jon, and I slugged it out in the rough conditions and came away with 27 schoolies, 1 blue and a couple of hickory shad while fishing Cocahoes and teasers (what else!).  The fish today were quite small with most of the schoolies going 12-18 inches long with a few stretching out to maybe 20 inches.  Typically we see a lot of these small ones as the season is winding down.  However, I also saw a load of gannets hitting the water way out.  I have to wonder if they were dive bombing for big bait with big fish under them.  Make no mistake about it, warm water or not, the season is winding down with maybe a week to ten days of consistent fishing left along the south shore. I'm still  hoping to hook a keeper or two in the coming week.

The Rest of the Way....Play the Calm Water

For most of the year, I have advised surf fishermen to play the rough water.  Now, the game changes as the season winds down. At this point, I am doing most of my striper fishing along the sandy south shore of RI rather than the rocky shores of Gansett.  The south shore is a fragile place and rough water or storminess can quickly roil up the water with sand and weed, making for impossible fishing conditions.  Because of that, I would much rather take my chances in calm water that is fishable rather than trying in rough water that is not. In past years, the best fishing for me has occurred in calm conditions, even with the wind at my back in mid to late November. Those calm conditions seem to bring the bait closer to shore at this time as they tend to avoid the turbulence brought on by a rough sea. If you can find bait at this time of year, you are almost certain to find schoolies.  As far as late season keepers, play it the same way as the rest of the year.....at night for the most part.  Keepers will also be in the big fish spots like along bars, in the breachways, off points and along structure.  As the season winds down in the next two weeks, expect to find dwindling numbers of keepers.  I usually end my fishing along the south shore  around Thanksgiving, but I will readily admit that I have had some real big days in the past after Thanksgiving. Good fishing at this time is highly dependent on warm weather.  After Thanksgiving, I usually begin targeting wintering over stripers in upper Narrragansett Bay, a better bet for me in recent years..