It was a very good year for Slot Stripers. These were our bright spot.  It's that time of year.  The season has ended and the teacher in me is about to grade the season. The catch word for the entire season has been inconsistent. I can't remember a season that has had so many ups and downs. The bait situation was also inconsistent with less peanut...

My season ended today.  I fished long and hard in a number of good late season locations and came up completely empty. In the last  four outings I've landed exactly one small schoolie and one hickory shad. There was a time not too long ago that I would catch good numbers of stripers even some bluefish from Thanksgiving to December 1. Not this yea...

As the sun sets on another striper season here in RI I want to wish all my loyal readers and their  families a Happy Thanksgiving. We live in a beautiful state with some great fishing!

Last week I hit some great fishing but the last two outings have been poor.  Things change fast at this time of year and what was around a week ago is often not around a few days later.  The last two days have produced exactly one schoolie and one hickory shad in a number of places fished.  There are also other signs that the fishing is nearing t...

Albie Snax rigged with BKK Titan Rider hook  I busted out of my November doldrums today in a big way.  I had good numbers of stripers along with my biggest fish of the last month.  I just knew this northeaster would produce because this type of weather was so good in the past at this time of year.  My big surprise of this rainy day was a 40+ inch...

The fishing along the RI oceanfront continues to be poor. Those abundant schoolies along with the bait we had earlier in the month have moved on. Now it's a matter of waiting to see if another bunch of fish moves through. Yesterday was the first time in a long long time that I got totally skunked.  Not a fish not a hit and saw nothing! I fished a...

Here are just a couple of Frank's books. He was a prolific big striper hunter writer and lecturer. He had a profound affect on surf  fishing for striped bass that carries on to this day. It is with sadness that I report the passing of Frank Daignault a legend and pioneer of saltwater surf fishing.   Frank was someone who many consider the “Godfa...

This was Charlestown Breachway late in the day this afternoon.  Not a  soul there not a soul along the beach. That says it all. Suddenly the striper fishing along the oceanfront has gone downhill.  The last couple of days have not been good for me or good for anyone I know. So this all begs the questions: Are we just in a a late season lull or is...

There has been a glut of schoolies along the RI oceanfront in the last couple of weeks. Here is one of many that I landed this afternoon. All year I have been writing on this blog about the lack of schoolies. The poor Young of the Year Indexes from Chesapeake Bay a barometer of spawning success has been poor in the last five years. That has fuel...

I landed this weakfish or squeteague a couple of nights ago.  It's been decades since I've caught one. I also saw others caught. Yes they are around. This one was caught on a NLBN paddle tail.

This was the hot ticket in the last two days when stripers were feeding on peanut bunker. The glut of small stripers continues unabated.  I hit a massive blitz of them today.  There seemed to be fish everywhere in front of me as big schools of stripers had peanut bunker pinned up against the shore.  Birds everywhere fish busting and frenzied bai...

I landed this hefty schoolie today on a bucktail jig. There have been big numbers of small bass in the last few days along the oceanfront. The good times are rolling at the RI oceanfront with the migration is full swing.  This week we've seen tons of small bait mostly bay anchovies that are a half to an inch long.  In places their masses have tu...

I landed this 30 inch striper last night after dark.  I have been getting some decent fish lately at night and all the action has come on the Slug-go.

Chub mackerel have been around in good numbers this week.  I've caught good numbers on a  3-inch NLBN paddle tail. Although we usually see these fish in September the chub mackerel are staging a late season show.  They have been around the oceanfront this week in good numbers. It's the first time I have seen them this year. These are easily reco...

Good size stripers were on the prowl in recent days. The float and fly was the ticket. It's been a wild couple of days for me as I have been chasing down big blitzes of fish.  Both stripers and bonito (yes they are still around!)  are feeding on huge schools of small bay anchovies that are sometimes less than an inch in size. What has been bizar...

The striper fishing has gone from red hot to ice cold in a matter of days. On Friday I hit one of the biggest blitzes of fish that I have seen in years.  At one point a school of fish in front of me was bigger than the size of a football field. It was a wild scene with fish breaking birds diving and bait flying out all over the place.  It was all...

The float and fly was super effective today because the stripers were feeding on small bay anchovies. Today was the best day of fishing for me this year! I hit a massive blitz of stripers that were feeding on small bay anchovies.  This is a slender baitfish that is super hard to imitate but I have a trick up my sleeve for when this happens. Whil...

It was a wild day at the oceanfront as stripers were on                                              big schools of small bay anchovies!

I was out in my kayak today.  It was a banner  outing for stripers on a picture perfect  weather day. I was visiting some of my grandchildren a couple of days back.  They knew my birthday was in a couple of days (today actually).  One of them asked Hey grandpa what are you going to do for your birthday? I replied I think I'll go fishing.  They a...

It was back in the kayak for me today in some protected water. The fish were around in good numbers. Unweighted Fin S fish did the trick!