Needlefish a Hot plug Right Now

My hottest plug of the last two weeks has been a homemade needlefish plug.  I've gotten out about 7 or 8 times in the last couple of weeks and have gotten fish every time out.  I'm not catching a ton of fish but I have gotten one to five stripers on every outing.  My best plug in this period of time has been a white, homemade needlefish plug that measures 5 inches long.

This plug has been a hot
producer in the last two weeks.
It is a homemade needlefish
plug that measure 5 in. long.

The needlefish plug is one that is not used by many fishermen.  I don't know why.  I favor this topwater plug over a popper because it has more enticing moves that cause the stripers to hit it.  Here's how I work this plug.  I tend to keep it on or near the surface with a fast retrieve.  While retrieving, I am pumping the rod tip with short pulls much like you would work a pencil popper.  This causes the needlefish to dip up and down as well as wiggle back and forth.  This movement is especially effective when fished in white, rough water.
Most tackle shops tend to stock needlefish plugs in large sizes.  You'll have to look around to find the smaller versions that I think are more effective when small bait is around.

Albies Around, but No Numbers

I can tell you with certainty that some albies, false albacore,  have been caught by shore fishermen.  Last weekend there was a short spurt of activity and some were taken by shore fishermen I know.  Since then there has been little around although I am almost sure I saw several break way out in front of me on Thursday. I could not reach them from shore.
While there are some of these sought after fish, the numbers are not there, and your chances of catching one in RI waters are quite slim right now.  In order to get a lot of them to stay in our waters, we would need a lot of bait and the bait is lacking right now.  The bait has come and gone in the last month and right now it is gone.  I fished the oceanfront and really scouted around on Thursday and Friday and could not find a stitch of bait anywhere within a five to seven mile stretch of the oceanfront.  I was looking for albies by day and found nothing.  In the evening and night my attention turned to finding stripers.  I did find a few but they were all schoolies.  Don't expect to get many stripers either if you don't have a lot of bait.
It's still early in September for big numbers of albies. Mid to late September has been the peak period in other years.  Hopefully, more fish are on the way.

Less People, More Fish

This small, homemade needlefish
plug has been a hot catcher in the
daylight.

Thank God Labor day has come and gone.  With it the weekday crowds have departed and fishermen have the oceanfront to themselves. You can now scout around, park, and even fish in your favorite spots without worrying about hooking a swimmer.
And, there has been an uptick in activity.  I got out the last two days, and I fished in  the evening into the night.  I landed a total of seven stripers with nothing (birds, fish, or bait) showing.  The needlefish was a hot ticket in the daylight and the Daiwa SP minnow was the hot number after dark. All of the fish I landed were hefty schoolies in the 20-24 inch range.  In addition, I lost a good size fish that was either a big blue (yes, they have been around) or a keeper bass.
There seems to be a lack of bait along the oceanfront in the places I fished.  Unlike my last post from the Bay, I saw no bait or diving birds in  the last two days along the oceanfront.  But, the fish I landed were fat and aggressive, so they must be eating.  I'm guessing if we get a shot of bait, all hell will break loose.  If not, there are enough fish around that you can pick away at them by spot hopping and catching a fish here and there.

Bay Loaded with Bait; No Stripers

There are lots of small blues
in the Bay.  Most are under a foot long.

I went out today in the Bay in my brother's boat.  Everywhere we went there was bait.  I saw thousands of terns diving in a wide swath of the Bay that went on for miles and miles.  In many places the water resembled dark patches that were thick with small bait on the surface. In other places the fish finder lit up the entire water column with bait.  It looked like massive schools of bay anchovies to me.

Scup were also abundant as they were
under the schools of small bait.

Yes, there were some fish around.  We caught many small bluefish under a foot long.  They were chasing and feeding on the bait.  And, in many places under the bait there were good numbers of large scup. We caught several dozen of them while vertical jigging Kastmaster XL's.  However, no stripers.
We've got the bait, but I'm guessing the warm water in the Bay is keeping the stripers away.  In most of the places where we ventured in the mid and upper Bay the surface water temperatures ran from 75 to 77 degrees, way too warm for most fish.  But, things are looking up.  We just might get a run  of stripers in the Bay this fall once the water cools.  I also think we will see fireworks along the oceanfront later in fall when all that bait in the Bay hits the oceanfront as it migrates southward.

More and More Striper Guys Turning to Freshwater Carp

There is no question that the number of shore fishermen who are targeting stripers is dwindling at a rapid pace.  The last four outings I fished I barely met another fisherman. Shore fishing is poor for stripers right now, particularly keeper bass here in RI.  Many striper guys have adapted by going after the more abundant, but smaller bottom fish like scup and black sea bass.  However, many of the fishermen who looking to catch big fish are turning to freshwater carp fishing.

This large mirror carp, just shy of 30 lbs., was landed
recently.  Many saltwater striper fishermen are turning
to freshwater  carping until the saltwater fishing improves.

Carp are one of the most interesting fish I have ever targeted. They are a great fighting fish, they hit in all types of weather and they are abundant in many places in southern New England.  The gear, rigging and techniques used to catch them are very non-traditional.  Oh, I know you can get occasional fish on a doughball wrapped around a hook, but those sharpies who consistently catch and consistently catch big ones are using Euro techniques, hair rigging and non-traditional baits. There are carp fishermen in NE who consistently catch hundreds of them a year over 20 lbs.  Thirty and even forty pounders are taken every year.
We have some world class carp fishing right here in this area.  Rivers like the CT River in MA and CT, the Merrimack River in MA and even the Blackstone River in RI are nationally known carp locations that give up some monster fish. The area is also loaded with ponds and lakes that support common and mirror carp.
While thinking about this post I got an interesting call today from Pat Abate of Rivers End Tackle in Old Saybrook, CT.  I know Pat from striper fishing, but his call focused on carp gear.  He, like other tackle dealers in NE, is stocking carp gear as the popularity of this fish is greatly increasing and fishermen are looking for tackle, rigs and bait that they can purchase locally.
For more information on carp fishing, visit my blog at www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com You might also want to check out the Forum at www.carpanglersgroup.com The Carp Anglers Group is the largest carp organization in the US and has active chapters in RI, CT and MA.

The Albie Hype

This was a day back in 2012 in which we
landed an astounding 65 albies from shore
in one afternoon of fishing. Last year there
were none.  It's a 50-50 chance they will
show up this year.

It's starting.  No, not the albie fishing.  I'm talking about the hype.  It's in just about all the reports. Hey, not much to report on stripers or blues so why not hype the albies. Most reports are telling fishermen to get ready for the start of it in September.
False Albacore (albies) are probably the most sought after fish of fall.  They are unequal in their fight, and they are a real prize for anyone who can catch one, especially from shore. Their presence lures tons of trophy hunters to the shoreline in the hopes of catching just one.
But, here's the real story about them.  They don't always come around.  Their presence is not a sure bet.  In the last forty years, they were probably in our waters only about half those years.  And, in some of those years it was a quick shot where they were around for only a week or two and then gone.  Most fishermen out there remember the great years of 2011 and 2012 when we had them for 2 months in big numbers for shore and boat fishermen. Most hope this year will be a repeat of that outstanding fishing.  But, how many remember last year, 2013, in which there were NONE.
So, will we see them?  I'm calling this a 50-50 deal.  Maybe, maybe not. And, if you don't see any by the second or third week in September, forget it. Albies are basically a September fish.  If you see none in September, they are not coming in October.
The key here is to be ready.  Without question your best lure from shore or boat will be a float with a fly trailing off a two to three foot leader.  I like a blue Deceiver for a fly. Another good option is to replace the fly with a plastic fluke threaded onto a barbed hook.  Metal like Kastmaster XLs or the Not So Deadly Dick rate a distant third in lure choices. Pack some of these albie catches into your surf bag now because their time is coming soon.....if it happens.

Not Much Doing

I went down to the oceanfront yesterday evening and night.  I fished a good number of locations and put in several hours of casting.  The result....one lone schoolie.
I had all the right conditions.  The first spot I fished had everything just right.  The northeast wind was driving in a wind driven surf that was white, rough and fairly clean.  It was the type of conditions that in the past would have yielded multiple stripers.  Not this year.  I plugged all around this place until dark and did not get a hit.
The next place I hit was calmer, more protected water.  It was another high percentage spot for this time of year.  I did manage to get one schoolie on a Red Fin swimmer and I did have a Slug-go chopped by a blue.  But, that was it after two hours of fishing.
That massive amount of bait that was around for the last couple of weeks seems to have departed in the latest round of northeast winds.  It could be hanging way out and deep, but I saw no bait and no concentrations of birds yesterday.  I also saw just about no fishermen around. I know we are still in August, a poor month in past years here in RI.  Let's hope better days are coming in September.