Ryan Collins
This fishing trip began yesterday afternoon around 2:30pm. After a fairly long drive I popped out of my car, eager to check the inlet and nearby beach.
There were birds and a seal diving and feeding in the crests of waves. I saw a small splash, which I thought may have been a striper.
As I was snapping some photos of the scenery, another fisherman who had just moved to the area from Pennsylvania filled me in with this latest fishing report.
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Apparently the water was filled with fish! He had been fishing for a couple of hours and had caught schoolies on nearly every cast.
After speaking with the angler for a few more minutes, I hustled back to my car and prepared my fishing gear. Little did I know what was about to unfold...
The bass were feeding on small bait, probably peanut bunker if I had to guess, but I am not 100% sure. Hundreds of stripers were taking part in the feed.
I started with the fly rod. The only issue was my limited casting distance. Anglers all around me were hooking up, but I was having trouble reaching the fish.​
I fished the RI South Coast yesterday. I was a bit further south. I did very well. Non-stop schoolies and massive bluefish bite all afternoon long. I also caught few stripers shy of 28″. Most on small shads, SPs, white poppers and bottle necks.
RI south beaches and breachways are definitely the place to be if you don’t want to hang your gear yet.
Tight lines.
That is awesome to hear Papi! Thanks for letting us know.
I will probably give it another try this week.
“I saw a small splash which I thought may of been a striper”
This should read “may HAVE been”, not “may of been”. Also, you need a comma after “splash”. /grammar lesson. Thanks for the post 🙂
Edits made, thanks for letting me know.
Do I need to put a nickel in a jar somewhere? lol
What a great school of fish, we’re still on them this late in the season….a plus. I can’t wait to fish this school in 10 years with my kids!
That is a good point Chris!
I remember when I was 13 years old fishing with my father, and we routinely encountered massive schools of small fish, thousands upon thousands of schoolies.
Fast forward 10 years and in the same exact spots we were catching 25+ pound bass, and still are. Definitely very promising for the future.
These small fish are the result of the successful 2015 spawning season which was the 8th best in the last 30 years. We have to take care of these fish as spawns will fluctuate from one year to the next. It is very easy and tempting to catch 50 – 100 fish but some of those fish you release will not survive. We are but one of the multitude of predators and hazards these fish will face. Showing restraint now is an investment in the future of our fishing. Set a limit for yourself between 5 – 10 fish when the fish are small. In 5 years you will be glad you did.
Words of wisdom, thank you Dex.
During this trip I watched a nearby angler catch 6 fish after just 15 minutes of fishing. He then put his rod down and just watched the feed.
He had “caught his fill” and was very content just watching.
Must of just missed you. I left around 2pm.. to avoid the small schoolies i was throwing a large bottle plug.. a few would still decide to attack but that is also how i located the blues..bigger bait.
I missed you by 30 minutes Bill!
Good tip with the larger plug. I will keep trying.
Have you caught any keeper stripers recently in this general area?
I didnt.. all small.. Planning on going down there again or a bit more south Sunday or Monday. See if i can find some eels for eve and night.
also if you see a Sequoia with a MA WhiteShark Lic plate in the lot.. you know i am there.
Sounds good Bill, I will keep my eyes peeled!
There ARE still bigger bass to be found around the area you were fishing. At this time of year you can run into them during the daytime. However, similar to your Cape fishing experiences during the Summer, the best time still remains after dark. Techniques are the same as well; swimming plugs, rubber, bucktails and of course eels. Tide and location dictate which. Good luck!!!!
That is good news! Especially coming from a seasoned angler like yourself. Looks like I will be losing some sleep in order to catch something with some shoulders. I will keep in touch and I appreciate the help big time.