PUP

If I was a football player, I would be on the PUP list, Physically Unable to Perform.
I have done very little saltwater fishing in the last three weeks, and that is why there is so very little posted on the blog.  I am out of action with a bad back that shows no sign of getting better.  Yes, it sucks, but it does come at a real down time in saltwater shore fishing.  I am hoping this thing clears up soon because I know the big time surf fishing starts in September.
Meanwhile, I have been able to go freshwater carp fishing, my other passion.  I don't have to move much, and most of the time I am sitting in a chair waiting for a hit.  And, the hits have been coming at a good pace, even in this heat.  Check out some of the big fish at www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com

Big Blues Mixed with Big Bass from the Boat

From the Boat....Hot as the Weather!

Ben hoists a 45 in. striper that hit a
 Daiwa SP Swimmer.

Boat fishing for stripers here in RI continues to be very good in this hot weather, especially along the oceanfront. My son Ben and my brother Steve went out yesterday in the middle of the daytime.  Unfortunately, I didn't accompany them since I am on the DL with a bad back.  The trick at this time of year seems to be to get into some deeper water, find a pile of bait and you will find likely find stripers and bluefish feeding on them.  That's just what these guys did yesterday.
They got in a deep water (40-60 feet) location where keeper stripers and bluefish were busting here and there for sandeels. The fishfinder also showed a lot of fish at all levels of the water column. These fish were fussy, but they had the best success with just drifting and casting swimmers (Daiwa SP Minnows).  Their score for yesterday afternoon/evening was a whopping 15 keeper bass along with 2 big bluefish. They also had a number of other hits, fish on and lost, and fish follows to the boat.  The keeper bass averaged 32-36 inches, but Ben did land a 45 inch fish.  Hard to believe, but this was all happening right in the middle of the day in mid July! Wow!

From the Boat....A Day of Plenty

This is the time of year in which those who fish from a boat far outfish the shore guys.  It was proven again today as I went out with my brother in his boat and fished the south shore oceanfront.  It was a day of plenty and a day of variety as we landed 6 different species of fish.  We had scup, fluke, black sea bass, sea robins, bluefish and stripers. 
The bottom fish, namely scup, black sea bass, and fluke, were active and plentiful, though keepers were in short supply. We landed dozens of fluke, yet only one was a keeper (see photo at right).  Most of the dozen or so scup we landed were large keepers, with all going well over 12 inches on average (see photo left of largest one).  Of the dozen or so black sea bass we landed only one of those was a keeper.  Nearly all the bottom fish we caught went for squid strips fished on a fluke rig while drifting in 20-40 feet of water.  On occasion I was able to nail some fluke on bucktail jigs.  The stripers and bluefish that we caught were taken while trolling swimmers in about 15 feet of water.  One of the stripers was a keeper (see bottom photo).
So, if you are looking for action and some delicious fish to eat, the bottom fish are plentiful right now.  However, it's mainly a boater's game

.

Not Much to Report

Bluefish have been popping up here
and there along the Bay and the oceanfront.

It's not looking like a banner holiday week of fishing for stripers from shore here in RI. Nearly all the reports I've read paint a picture of slow striper fishing from shore in RI as well as in southeast MA. I have to agree since I have been out a couple of times in the last week and it has been a schoolie here and there. However, most reports point out that boat fishing has been better, even though it has often been a hit-or-miss deal that is greatly dependent on finding bait. A major problem for boaters has been rough water along the oceanfront caused by thunderstorms and a persistent south and southwest wind that has really kicked up the ocean.
So, anyone looking to fish from shore this week should fish for what is available. Yes, schoolies are around in both the bay and along the oceanfront, but they are not around in any big numbers. Keepers are scarce from shore. Best times for striper fishing should be early morning, evenings and nighttime. Another option might be bluefish. They seem to be popping up here and there whenever bait is around. And, finally, you might opt for bottom fish such as scup, black sea bass or fluke. They seem to be the fish of summer these days along the inshore waters, and they are often around in good numbers, though many are sub legal in size.

Black Sea Bass Heaven

When things aren't going well with striper fishing, I often target other species.  So, yesterday my brother and I headed for black sea bass heaven, better known as Buzzards Bay, in Steve's boat.  Boy, this place is loaded with sea bass.  What I especially like about this place is that the fish readily hit artificials along here. A 3/4 oz. flathead bucktail jig spiced with a plastic curly tail is deadly.  It's a matter of dropping the jig to the  bottom and bouncing it along as the boat drifts. 
There is always a possibility of catching some real big sea bass in this Bay.  We landed several yesterday in the 5-7 lb. range, very large fish for this species of fish.  We also had a lot of small ones that seemed to be in big schools.  At times the depth finder would light up with fish showing schools that were 5-7 feet thick at times. It seemed like we landed 3-4 fish on just about every short drift we made, and this went on for several hours!
Black sea bass were not the only types of fish we caught.  We also landed some bluefish, several large scup and schoolie stripers.  Buzzards Bay is well known for delivering multi species of fish for those fishermen who fish there. It happened that way for us yesterday.

Bay Waters Clearing BUT Only Marginal Fishing

Thank goodness the Bay waters are clearing.  That tea or coffee color brought on by the heavy rains and floods of the last two weeks is clearing and water quality seems back to normal in the upper and mid Bay locations. The lack of rain in the last few days and the exceptionally high tides have contributed to improve things.  That's the good news.

The bad news is that the fishing has only slightly improved.  I got out the last two evenings in the upper Bay and landed 4 schoolies from shore on bucktail jigs and plastics on jigheads (see photo of last night's fish).  The biggest fish might have gone 22 inches.  I have seen very few boats around so I suspect the pogies have moved out of the upper Bay as they often do in late June. I've run into a few guys fishing, and all are complaining about the lack of fish in the Bay for shore fishermen.  In recent years, the Bay fishing has taken a nosedive in late June.  At this time of the year stripers and blues exit the upper Bay waters and move toward the cooler waters in the lower Bay and along the deep water drops along the oceanfront. Unfortunately, I'm not hearing any better fishing reports from shore guys in those locations either. Ho hum, summer fishing has arrived in RI. The next two months will be tough.