Striper Wars an American Fish Story Updated

Striper Wars an American Fish Story

The striped bass bite is good in Buzzard's Bay, on the Cape Cod Canal, in Narragansett Bay, off Block Island and along the southern coastal shore of Rhode Island.

"Customers are communicable keeper bass, a lot of school bass simply not super large fish, said Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in N Kingstown. "Even our commercial fishermen customers are catching fish in the 35- to 39-inch range and fewer big fish than in the past."

"Anglers are catching striped bass many dissimilar ways," he said. "Alive-lining and chunking Atlantic menhaden trolling and casting to them. Eels practice not seem to be the bait of choice with anglers still."

How to catch striped bass this weekend?

Based on conditions and what anglers take had success with this calendar week, I will apply 3 strategies to help customers catch striped bass this weekend.

Trolling with tube and worm. I have had bully success in the Bay using pb-core line weighted with ii or 3 ounces between the line and an eight-foot monofilament leader. I observe that bubblegum or carmine-colored tubes piece of work best. (The tube claw is tipped with clam worm.) The idea of added weight is to get the line down to where the fish are. Tube and worm trolling has been a successful technique for the southwest side of Block Island using 300 anxiety of wire line out in 35 to 45 feet of water; amber-colored tubes seem to work all-time there. Trolling umbrella rigs was working on the isle, besides.

Casting soft plastics, swimming lures and surface lures. Many anglers have had success with lures this week, even in the Providence River, where striped bass are feeding on Atlantic menhaden. Ofttimes times, they are feeding close to the surface, then lures are working. I love this technique of casting to the fish and in that location is nothing like seeing and feeling a striped bass of size hitting your lure. My favorite swimming casting lure is a gray Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow.

Live-lining or fresh-chunked Atlantic menhaden. Snag the alive bait with a weighted treble hook, hook the bait through the span of the nose, discover a school of fish and put the alive menhaden into the school of bait and let it swim. Used when menhaden are running strong, peculiarly upwards the Providence River in early leap. Yous tin can ballast (and chum), drift fish or fish the moving bait schools with chunks. Some anglers utilise a weight slide to become the bait downward to the striped bass.

Where's the bite?

Striped bass angling continues to be good at Cake Island, both at the Northward Rip and the Southwest Ledge, with line-fishing picking up on the Cape Cod Canal. In our Bays, there are large fish under pogies (Atlantic menhaden) all the fashion upward the Providence River to Pawtucket. "The bass season has been outstanding," angler Mike Swain of Coventry said. "We are finding that the all-time time to fish is at night. Near of the fish nosotros grab at night are larger and do not fit the slot limit [28 inches to 35 inches]. The upper Providence River all along the channel banks has been expert every bit well every bit Ohio Ledge area and the channel banks to Poppasquash Betoken. Y'all just take to put your time in and find the fish."

Dave Henault of Body of water Land Tackle in Providence said: "Angling has been good in the upper Bay, with anglers hooking up casting metal and swimming lures, live-lining and chucking with pogies. Anglers are communicable fish at India Betoken, Bold Point, Sabin and Conimicut Signal."

East Finish Eddie Doherty reported: "Some nice fish are moving into the Cape Cod Culvert at present. Bob Weir of Stoughton, Massachusetts, a certified 'Canal Rat,' caught a 28-pounder Tuesday."

Angler David Murphy reports: "My son David [11 years old] caught a 44-inch striped bass off Sakonnet Point Tuesday evening. My judge is the fish weighed somewhere around 35 pounds ... but nosotros did not counterbalance her as we wanted to get her dorsum in the water. We caught this dazzler by globe-trotting a live eel while we were bottom fishing for sea bass."

Angler Eric Travis of Riverside said: "Caught a 35-inch striped bass Northwest of Conimicut Indicate in nigh 15 anxiety of water using a mullet swim shad. The fish was released due to the new regulations."

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing is however not remarkable in the Bay. Large fish take not arrived in mass. "Anglers are catching short fluke with an occasional keeper mixed in," said Ken Landry of Ray'southward Bait & Tackle in Warwick. "Some larger fish are existence taken off Jamestown in the Westward Passage simply there are a lot of curt fish, too. We fished off the west side of Jamestown due north of the Bridge and managed only a few keepers this week and Newport Harbor yielded just short fluke. Anglers are experiencing a potent black sea bass bite at the mouth of the Sakonnet River; even so, the fluke angling has been very slow."

Angler Eric Duda reported: "Tried Sakonnet Point and Elbow Ledge Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., hoping the fluke bite would ameliorate. Nope. We only got half-dozen fluke, all shorts. A bunch of black bounding main bass around though, all keeper size pretty much and all returned to the bounding main. Fluke season is actually off to a tedious showtime for me. Still no keepers."

Henault said: "The fluke [and cod] seize with teeth has been pretty good at the East Angling Grounds off Block Isle." Line-fishing the south and southeast side of Cake Island for fluke has been mixed, adept some days and not so good other days.

"There were a few high notes and a few lows but overall a very strong week of fishing," said Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet. "When we had the drift, fluke fishing was nifty with many limit catches throughout the week. Terminal Wednesday'south migrate was strong in the morning and then at noon information technology seems someone flipped a switch and the fish shut right down."

Freshwater fishing remains very potent. The largemouth bass seize with teeth is skilful, but anglers and allurement shop owners are having difficulty getting shiners. "We ran out of shiners this weekend," Henault said, "but commonly have great inventory on all bait, gear and tackle every bit nosotros do a practiced job sourcing inventory. The freshwater bite is good, with anglers still catching trout. A customer caught a gilt trout at Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods this week."

Dave Monti holds a captain'south primary license and a charter fishing license. He is an RISAA board member, a member of the R.I. Political party & Charter Boat Clan, the American Saltwater Guides Association and the R.I. Marine Fisheries Council. Forward fishing news and photos to Helm Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net or visit noflukefishing.com and his weblog at noflukefishing.blogspot.com .

David Spud, 11, of Seekonk and his father, David, with the striped bass they defenseless at the mouth of the Sakonnet River while drifting an eel equally they fished for black ocean bass. They estimated the fish weighed about 35 pounds. [Courtesy of Dave Monti]