Fussy Stripers On Sandeels

 

Here's a striper that grabbed my
Red Gill Teaser, a dead ringer
when stripers are feeding on sandeels.

The sandeel invasion is here.  In the last week, big schools of them have arrived along the oceanfront with big numbers of stripers on them. In the last couple of evenings I found big numbers of hefty schoolies and small slots feeding on them.

Make no mistake about it.  Stripers can be darn fussy when they are slurping up thin sandeels the size of a toothpick. I've been experimenting with a number of finesse approaches, and I had what they wanted last evening.  I was using a leader set up with a Red Gill Teaser. These teasers are dead ringers for sandeels and they can be rigged as a teaser or fished off a float. There are many different ways to attach the teaser, but I've always had the best success knotting it to the swivel at the top of my leader. It should dangle about 6 inches off the swivel.  At the clip end last night I attached an Albie Snax, a hot lure all spring for me. Note that this set-up is not going to give you a booming cast, but it was no problem last evening as the fish were right in close in the white water.

Think small profile when sandeels are around.  Plugs such as SP Minnows, Needlefish, thin profiled jigs and skinny plastic can also produce. Where the fish are feeding and surf conditions will dictate the size of the plug you want to use to get to them.

The hot set up for me last evening
was a leader set up with a white
Albie Snax and a Red Gill Teaser.

Two Way Strategy Working

 

I've been out in the kayak about a quarter
of the days this spring.  I'm fishing the Bay
from the yak on  calm days.

I've really taken a two way approach to striper fishing this spring.  In rough and windy weather I have been fishing from the shore both at the oceanfront and in the Bay.  When it has been calm, I've opted for the kayak, staying in the Bay.  It has worked with very few blanks and some decent fish.  The numbers have not been there, but I've landed a decent number larger fish-  slots and even over slots.

The hot lures for me so far has been as follows.  In the kayak, it has been an unweighted 5.75 inch Finesse Fish that has been the hot ticket. An Albie Snax is a close second.  I've caught no fish on hard plugs from the yak this spring.  From shore I've mixed it up.  The Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil has been hot especially in rough water.  But, at times I've also gone with unweighted plastics such as the Finesse Fish, Slug-gos and Albie Snax. Wind conditions and how far I want to cast have dictated my choice. 

Shore fishing has also been good for larger fish.
About three quarter of the time I have fished the Bay
or along the oceanfront

I've spent about three quarters of my fishing days from shore this spring and about a quarter of the time in the kayak. That strategy has led to some consistent fishing with few blanks.

Biggest in YEARS!

 

I landed a monster striper from the kayak today, maybe my biggest in years.  It came as a complete surprise.  I was fishing a shallow area close to shore using a light outfit hoping to get a schoolie or a slot.  The rod was a St. Croix Avid inshore rod that measured 7 ft., 3 inches that had Daiwa BG 4000 reel with 30 lb. test braid.  I was fishing an unweighted 5.75 inch Finesse Fish that was attached to a 30 lb. fluoro leader (set up described in earlier post). The fish hit in about three feet of water and took off like a freight train for deeper water.  It was a thrilling fight with multiple runs right along the bottom while dragging the yak along.

Finally I got the beast alongside the yak. Now, I had to get the Boga grip on it.  Its lips were so large that the Boga barely opened wide enough to get it on!

Holy smokes.  I'm guessing this monster was in the 45+ inch range, maybe even 50 and weighed in the mid 40 lb. range.  It is one of the biggest stripers I have ever landed from the yak, and it's the biggest I've gotten in years.

By the way, caught at dead noontime.  So much for fishing at night for big fish!

Uptick in Activity

 

The fishing has seen an uptick in the 
last week.  Kayakers and boater have had
the advantage. I landed this one a few
days ago from the yak.

The recent very high and low tides delivered improved action for stripers here in RI. The improvement came in both the Bay and along the oceanfront. There have been better numbers of stripers, some big ones and occasional big blues in the mix.

No question that boaters have seen the biggest uptick.  The fish are scattered and the more moving around you can do the better.  The same goes for kayakers although the wind has been bad for the most part in the last week. I've had steady success in the kayak when I could get out.

The shore guys are also catching but it's a grind. It's also become a nighttime game for the most part. But slug it out and you could catch a monster fish.  I've heard of catches in the high 40 inch range this week. I've also seen some monster blues caught that weigh in the low to mid teens.

Photo of the Day- "Scoring from the Kayak"

 

I've seen a big uptick in fishing from my kayak during
this Memorial Day Weekend. This decent size striper
hit a weightless Finesse Fish twitched on top.
Weightless plastics fished on top have been hot.

Upping the Finesse Game

 

Here's a serious fish landed last evening from
the Yak using a my finesse approach.

I was back in the kayak last evening, and I decided to make some changes to my fishing approach. I made some changes that hopefully would add more effectiveness to my finesse game.  I have been dealing with fussy fish lately that woud follow and whirl but not really take my plastic offering.  I was hoping to change that.

I was using the same lure- a 5.75 inch Lunker City Finesse Fish mounted onto a BKK Titan Rider Hook. I decided to change out the leader.  I now went with a fluorocarbon leader to replace the regular mono leader.  I was using VARIVAS leader material in 30 lb. test.  One of my charter boat buddies gave me some and told me to try it out. This stuff was super thin and soft unlike other stiff fluoros I tried in the past.  I also cut down on the hardware on my leader.  I went with a smaller cross-lock snap that replaced the larger line clip.  I also went with a smaller swivel at the line end.

It all worked out well as I hooked my first 5 out of 6 hits, all decent size schoolies and slots.  And, these were solid hits- no fooling around. Can't be sure if it was the fish in an active mood or what I was using?  But, I intend to find out in the coming days as I up my finesse game.

My leader material was this 30 lb. test
Varivas Fluoro Carbon.

My hot lure was a weightless 5.75 inch
Lunker City Finesse Fish mounted 
on a BKK Titan Rider hook, size 5/0.

Mediocre Fishing Continues; Numbers Way Down

 

I landed this decent one a couple of nights ago
in a backwater location.  Overall, there are a lot
less stripers around this year, but there are some
quality fish.

As we head into Memorial Day weekend, the key word to describe the striper fishing here in RI is MEDIOCRE. Spring fishing should be peaking right now, but it isn't. It's easy to blame the weather or blame the lack of bait, but the bottom line overall has been that the numbers are way down this year. No surprise there!

I'm still catching but getting way less than in past years.  In places where I would catch a half a dozen fish a few years ago, I am lucky to get one fish. This applies to the many places I have fished in the Bay as well as along the oceanfront from shore.  The same results have happened in my kayak fishing. A lot less this year than in other years.

If there is any good news here, it's that there are some decent size stripers around. Roughly half of the stripers that I have landed this spring have been slots. But, once again, the numbers are not there.

The hottest lure for me in the last week or so has been an Albie Snax in a white color and rigged with a BKK Titan Rider Hook (size 5/0). The fish  have been fussy, and the Snax has worked better than anything else in my bad of tricks. Easy to fish- twitches of the rod tip and reel in slowly with an occasional stop.

It seems that boaters are scoring much better right now than the shore guys. Their advantage is that they can cover a lot more water looking for fish.  Those fishing the Bay and backwaters are also doing better than those fishing out front.

Good luck if you get out this holiday weekend.