On an Ice Fishing Roll

 

I landed this good size largemouth 
today in one of my favorite jigging
ponds.  The fish hit a small Kastmaster
that had a meal worm attached.

It's been like the good ole times for me. In between skiing, I've been going ice fishing and catching big time.  I only jig when I ice fish.  I move around a lot from hole to hole looking for any type of fish that is willing to hit my small gold Kastmaster with a meal worm attached. I'm fishing some high percentage spots that used to produce a lot years ago when we had cold winters. This week I caught good numbers of yellow perch, bluegills, pickerel, crappie and largemouth bass.  Today I landed a real good size largemouth, one of the biggest I have caught in years. I got this on a twig of a rod, a small reel and just six pound test line. It took a bit of skill and a lot of luck just to get this biggie through the hole! This is certainly the year to get back to ice fishing, and I am really enjoying it!

Hitting the Hard Stuff

 

Yellow perch action was hot and heavy today.
I found a school of them and caught big numbers jigging.

I got out fishing today, ice fishing that is! It's something I used to do almost daily when the kids were young, and the winters were colder. We used to get home from school, put on the heavy winter clothes, head to a local pond and jig until dark. With our recent warm winters, ice fishing has been very limited in recent years.

When I say ice fishing I really mean jigging.  I spent the afternoon today in a productive pond that had between 5 and 6 inches of hard, clear ice.  As luck would have it, I think someone was there before me, and drilled about 20 holes in just the area I intended to fish. I never had to chop a single hole.

I was jigging a small gold Kastmaster spoon.  On the hook I had a meal worm.  These can be purchased in pet stores.  Meal worms are a must if you are looking for serious action.   Almost immediately, I started catching yellow perch.  Most ice fishermen know these fish run in schools, and I caught most of my perch in holes that were about 20 yards apart.  While I landed a lot of perch, I also landed some hefty bluegills and a foot long largemouth which was the surprise of the afternoon.

It was a productive day and it felt great to get back on the ice today. 

The surprise of the day turned out to be this
largemouth bass. I landed this largemouth,
some bluegills and a load of yellow perch.

First Big Show of the Year.....NE Fishing Expo, Boxboro, MA, Jan. 28-30

 The big fishing and outdoor shows are open for business again this year.  As many of you know, I have done fishing seminars at these big shows in the past and I will be at it again this year.

My first show will be my new carp fishing seminar titled "Strategies to Catch Big Carp".  I'll be doing that seminar at the New England Fishing Expo in Boxboro, MA on Sunday, January 30th at 11:00 AM.  I've done this show in the past, and it is one of the best pure fishing shows in New England. You'll find a lot of stuff on freshwater as well as saltwater fishing, and they have an all star line-up of seminar speakers.

So, if you've got cabin fever and are looking for something fishing related to do next weekend, consider attending the show.  Info and website is at https://nefishingexpo.com/  

Hope to see you there!

Favorite Bucktail Jigs

 I've been tying up a storm in the last week or so making lots of bucktail jigs for the upcoming season. I make all my own from start to finish.  I use molds from the Do-It Corporation.  I'll pour them first.  Then I put on a coat of powder paint, and lastly add the bucktail.

Last year I caught the majority of my fish on bucktail jigs spiced with plastic curly tails.  I expect the jigs top be hot catchers again this year.  Though I have about two dozen jig molds, I will admit that I three FAVORITE jigs that I use throughout the year.  You will see them in the photo at the bottom (top to bottom: Spire Point jig, H Style jig and Flathead jig).

Spire Point Jig-  I like this in a one or one and one half ounce model. It is a beefy jig and casts like a bullet. I like to use this in rough water with a wind driving into my face. It has taken a lot of big stripers for me in the past, especially in the fall. Also it is very effective at night in moving water.

H Style Jig- My favorite size is a half ounce jig.  I like using this either off a float or alone. It has a slim profile with a thin fish head and is especially effective when stripers are feeding on bay anchovies (which happened a lot this year).

Flathead jig-  My favorite is the half ounce version.  I like this jig in the spring and summer.  It has a thin, fat profile and is especially effective when stripers are feeding on peanut bunker. I mostly use this off a wooden egg float although it can also be used alone.

Looking for a Deal....Visit the Narragansett Surfcasters Used Tackle Sale and Surf Day!

 

Scene from past Surf Day and Sale.

Looking for a good deal on used fishing tackle? 

The Narragansett Surfcasters will be holding its 8^th Annual Surf Day on Saturday, January 15^th, at the Narragansett Community Center on Mumford Road from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  The event will feature approximately forty tables of used and new fishing gear for sale, including rods, reels, plugs, tackle and more.  There will also be an award-winning antique plug collection on display and a fly-tying demonstration.  The $5 contribution at the door (kids under age 15 free) will be used to support the club’s charitable events such as Kid’s Fishing Day, Disabled Veterans Fishing Outing and holiday gift cards to needy families in our area.

For additional information:  joe@narragansettsurfcasters.com

The Year in Review- Grading 2021

 

Slot limit stripers were
around in very good
numbers this years.  Shore
fishing and kayak fishing
was very productive.

This past year was another banner year for stripers here in RI.  Just like last year, they were the highlight of the 2021 season.  Regardless of all the negative press we hear from the armchair warriors and the constant barrage of doom and gloom, those who were out fishing know this was a great year for stripers of all sizes here in RI. Bluefish, on the other hand, were a disappointment again. Albies were also a disappointment. Hickory shad hit our shores in record numbers.

Stripers:

Schoolies (12 to 28 inch fish)- While I started catching holdover schoolies in March, I found the first migrating fish along the oceanfront on April 19^th, just about on schedule. From that point to early May, it was a glut of smaller fish from 10 to 20 inches with occasional 25 inch fish. If you wanted to put in the time, hundred fish days were not unusual. I found similar numbers of schoolies close to home in the Bay where I was scoring big time from my kayak. Those big numbers of schoolies would continue right through summer and into the fall, although the stripers in the summer and early fall tended to be much larger. I got nearly all my schoolies on jigs with the bucktail along with a curly tail being the best producer all year.  It also made for safe and easy catch and release. Grade for schoolies-A

Slot Limit Stripers (28 to 34 inch fish)- Here’s a startling statistic from my logbook.  Back in 2020, one striper in 200 that I landed was a slot.  This year from May until late fall, one fish in 5 was a slot.  We had massive numbers of 22 to 26 inch stripers back in 2020.  They came back this year as slots over 28 inches. The kayak put me into big numbers of these slots in the late spring/summertime in the Bay.  Along the oceanfront, that time period from mid August to late September was unexpectedly good with almost daily blitzes of slot limit stripers chasing down massive schools of peanut bunker along the oceanfront and in parts of the Bay. Grade for slots- A

From schoolies to over slot stripers, it was a 
banner year of fishing here in RI

Over slots (35 + inches)-In recent years these fish were in short supply.  Not in 2021. I found good numbers of over slot fish from late spring into late fall.  Narragansett Bay was red hot in late spring/early summer as large numbers of big stripers were chasing down big schools of large menhaden. When you see 200 boats in the upper Bay on Memorial Day, you know things are hot. Big stripers were never easy to catch even in the heydays of striper fishing.  This year, if you put in your time, you could find stripers over 40 inches from shore, boat or kayak. Grade for over slots- B+

There were big blues around
in the early going but as the
season moved on it was poor.
Fall fishing for bluefish was
especially poor.

Bluefish-  In the early going (May into June) there were lots of them along the oceanfront and in the Bay.  I had many days from the kayak with 10 to 20 big blues in the 8 to 15 lb. range.  Shore fishing was also very good.  But, once the warm weather, warm water hit, they were gone.  They never returned in any numbers and the fall was particularly disappointing. From September through November, I landed exactly 2 bluefish.  I saw almost no others caught. Grade for blues- C

Albies- There is no predicting what will go on with these fish as they randomly move into shallow water from the depths of the ocean in late summer. This year started off early as I got my first one on August 31. That first week of September produced good numbers.  But, it got very inconsistent very fast. There were spurts of limited action, but it was often nothing for days and even weeks. Big storms may have played a role in moving them out. Overall, it was a disappointing year. I also never saw a single bonito landed from shore. Grade for albies- C-

Hickory Shad- They were around in record numbers along the oceanfront.  At times, especially in the fall, there were massive numbers of these chasing down small bay anchovies and just boiling up the water in a frenzy.  While the oceanfront had them in good numbers, the backwaters, rivers and ponds along the oceanfront were the prime places to use light tackle and fly fishing gear to catch them.  On many evenings I would get a mix of stripers and shad as the shad would aggressively go after good size bucktail jigs. Grade for hickory shad- A

I ran into this so, so many times this year from August until
late November.  It was often a glut of stripers of all sizes!
2021 was a banner year of striper fishing in RI.

Off to the Slopes

The fishing has gone downhill,
but the skiing has been great!

 The last striper that I caught, a small schoolie, was landed  a week ago. I've heard about nothing since. From all indications, things seem to be pretty much over except for some holdovers if you can find them. I've put most of my fishing stuff away, and am doing winter maintenance on all my stuff. 

The last month has been a changeover period for me.  Since Thanksgiving, I have been skiing 3 or 4 times a week.  The other days I've rotated between carp fishing in freshwater and saltwater striper fishing, sometimes doing both in the same day. I had some late season surprises with the striper fishing where I ran into unexpected good action.  The carp fishing in late fall has been fair, but I banked a few good fish in the teens. But, with some cold weather on the way and almost sure icing, I think the fishing is over for me, at least temporarily.  Of course, I'll get back to it if we get a warm spell.

Years ago when I had more energy, I remember times I'd often ski in the morning/early afternoon at Wachusett Mountain. I would bring along my carp gear and stop on the way home and fish for carp before dark, and I'd usually catch a few.  Later, I'd get home, eat supper and head out to catch holdover stripers at night. Only in New England!