Change in Tactics, Location Lead to First Fish of 2012

I had blanked for four outings in a row.  It was time for a change. So, I tried a spot in the upper Bay that had not been good in the past in January.  Hey, I figured it's a crazy year and this spot just might produce.  And, tonight proved to be just another of those crazy nights. 


There were fish breaking here and there in this spot.  Some type of small bait (shrimp or small baitfish?) would start skipping on the surface and WHOSH, a bass would come up to grab it.  Fish breaking in January chasing bait....CRAZY!  These fish, however, were fussy.  I was only able to catch one schoolie on the ole reliable 3-inch Zoom fluke.  After no other hits, I switched to a tiny 1/8 oz. bucktail jig spiced with a one inch curly tail. That did the trick as I landed 6 more schoolies and had at least another 5 fish on.  Realize, though, I could only get a hit when I casted to a breaking fish. I got no hits and no fish if I didn't cast to a jump.  So, my first fish of 2012 are in the books. Let the games begin!

DISAPPOINTING

I have now blanked four times in a row in the upper Bay and the Providence River.  There was a flurry of activity around Christmas and for a few nights afterwards there were some fish around.  Then, the action died.  Fish are nowhere to be found right now in this beautiful winter weather, and fishermen are also nowhere to be found as I'm guessing many are giving up after blanking over and over again.
Just a short five or six years ago I was catching a thousand stripers a winter in this area.  Now, I am hoping to get a fish or two an outing.  I figure I will be lucky to catch 50 fish this winter. The numbers of stripers in the Bay have been way down in the last couple of years, and we are seeing the result of that in winter fishing.

Blanked on Jan.1

I hope this is not a sign of things to come in 2012.  For the first time in many, many,  years, I did not catch a striper on Jan. 1.  Oh, I tried, fishing the upper Bay in the afternoon and again at night.  The only thing I was able to catch was 2 white perch (see photo) on jigs intended for stripers.  I also saw about 10-15 other guys fishing yesterday as they, too, were hoping to catch a New Year's Day striper.  They all blanked also.  Suddenly, the winter fishing has completely died as I've caught nothing in my last three outings, and I have seen only one other fish caught.  Not good, but really a reflection of the poor numbers of stripers we had in the upper Bay in summer and fall.

News Flash....RI Bans Felt Soled Waders

Our totally inept DEM just hit a new low.  It passed a new regulation for 2012 banning felt soled waders in fresh and saltwater (listed in the new fishing regs for 2012). Here is the regulation:
1.17 It is prohibited that any person use foot gear with external felt soles in any state waters, inclusive of freshwater, tidal, or marine. This shall include any waters
shared with adjacent states in which any Rhode Island Fishing Regulations apply.
It was very quietly passed with no one knowing anything about it and no public hearing or comment. It is meant to stop the spread of invasive weeds, but in saltwater?  Get real.  There is no evidence of invasive weed being spread in saltwater. Without felt on your feet, there will certainly be a lot more injuries due to falls on rocky shorelines.  And, what about the high cost of replacing your highly priced waders that you have recently bought. How about all the ducks and geese that move this weed around.  Are we going to ban webbed feet next?  Like everything else this state does, little thought went into this one.
So, where is the uproar?  Oh, there is some chatter on the saltwater forums, but little noise is coming from the tackle shops and fishing clubs. This has to be changed.

Consistent Winter Fishing

The last week has featured consistent winter fishing in the upper Bay.  Things are not hot and heavy, but I am picking up a steady 3-5 schoolies an evening, and one night I even caught 13 fish. Most of the fish are running 15 inches up to near keeper size.  It's a vast improvement over what was going on in mid December. Credit cooler weather and dropping water temps with moving a lot of fish into their winter locations.
Some clear patterns for success have emerged. All of the action has been after dark with early nighttime producing better than later.  All of my fish have been taken on Zoom flukes mounted on 3/8 oz. jigheads.  The smaller flukes (3 inches) have outscored the bigger ones.  I've also had very good success on a new color, white ice (see photo).  That sparkly white fluke seems to score better than the ole reliable albino color. The retrieve should be slow and right along the bottom.

A Christmas Gift of Stripers

Today was a day of visiting, exchanging gifts and eating.  We were on the go most of the day.  When we got home about six o'clock, I needed to get out and get some fresh air, go for a walk or do something.  So, I decided to get my fishing gear and head to the upper Bay in one of my favorite winter spots.  I went with the idea of just getting out, making some casts and not expecting to catch much.
When  I got to the location, I immediately began seeing fish whirling all over the place in some very quiet water.  Oh no, I thought to myself, menhaden are around again.  Since the pogies were in thick for the last two weeks, I just assumed it was them whirling on top.  My first cast told a different story.  Immediately after the jig and fluke hit the water, I was onto a fish.  I figured I had snagged a menhaden.  Wrong.  It was a schoolie of about 18 inches.  I suddenly thought that maybe, just maybe, all these jumps and whirls in front of me could be schoolies.  Next cast, another schoolie confirmed my thoughts were correct.  The place was just crawling with stripers.  For the next hour and a half I had a jump to cast to every single cast.  That's how many stripers were around.  I have no idea what they were feeding on since I could see nothing in the water.  The fish were fussy. I managed to get 13 stripers ashore and lost at least another half dozen.
So, on this Christmas night, the fish were around in big numbers.  And, on this night when I would have been thrilled to catch one fish, I came away with a bundle.  Not a bad way to end this Christmas holiday.

And Now, SEALS

I knew the pogies in the upper Bay would eventually attract something big.  That big stuff I thought would be stripers.  Wrong.  It's seals.  I saw a real big one today in the Providence River feasting on menhaden.  That spells trouble for stripers.  In the past, I have noticed that when the seals move in, the stripers move out, or they are preyed upon relentlessly. Not good news for the winter fishery.