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Barrington Beach
striped bass: Rich Henkel of East
Providence landed this 46” striped bass while trolling pearl
shad umbrellas off of Barrington beach.
Striped bass taste
good… and have good taste
If you are a striped bass fan, and like to catch or eat
them, you will be happy to know they have good taste too. They enjoy eating just about any bottom crustation
or fish that presents itself as easy prey. However, they particularly like to
eat lobster.
A couple of weeks ago I gave a presentation on striped bass to
the Jamestown Striper Club and played video clips of striped bass experts
relating tips on how to catch them. One
of the video clips was of Greg Myerson (YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnKlLz1M8fQ
), who holds the world record for striped bass… an 81.8 pound monster he caught
off the Connecticut coast when fishing among lobster pots at slack tide.
Greg said, “These big fish are
lazy. They do not want to chase bait
around in a lot of current but would rather feed on lobster at slack tide. You only have about a 30 minute window to
catch them. I fish for them with a three
way swivel with the largest eels I can find and send them down among the
lobster pots. I make noise on the bottom to try to mimic a lobster (or crab)
scratching along the bottom, this attracts the striped bass, they see my eel
and go for it.” Greg said he first developed
this technique when fishing with friends, “If four of us were fishing, each
with equally enticing eels over the side… what was going to attached the bass
to my eel.” Greg now sells a bait rig
called the Myerson RattleSinker, it mimics the sound of a lobster. You can find them at www.neucart.com/worldrecordstriper..
After recounting Greg’s interview I
came across and article in the June 2013 issue of OnTheWater magazine by photographer
Ethan Gordon (www.ethangordon.com) titled “The secret
life of stripers”. The article first published in the February 1998 issue and
was reprinted this month in a special striped bass issue. Ethan has taken some great striped bass
photos and relates his underwater encounters with striped bass..
Gordon said, “...you might be wondering
how striped bass can eat lobster. I have
seen them swallow lobster whole, tail first. I have also witnessed one or more
stripers attacking a lobster out in the open, first removing its claws, then breaking
it in half, fighting for the pieces. A live
lobster doesn’t seem to intimidate a striper either; an adult striper can swallow
a one-pound lobster whole.”
I then came across and article from
Landings magazine that first published in the MLA Newsletter in October 2011 by
Melissa Waterman that relates the link between striped bass and lobster. Erin Wilkinson, then a graduate student at
the University of New England studied this relationship examining the stomach
contents of 35 striped bass caught in the Casco Bay Maine area. Wilkinson said, “I have seen lobster in quite
a few stomachs… one (striped bass) had five juvenile lobsters in there.”
And, one might ask what lobstermen
think… they do not like striped bass, they find them in their pots, they eat
their lobsters. A dock mate of mine who
is a recreational lobsterman related, “Please, no striped bass racks in by bait
box… one year we baited the pots with striped bass and did not catch a single
lobster.” Striped bass show up and
lobsters run for cover.
So this is good enough for me… a
lobsterman… a scientist… an underwater photographer… and then the striped bass
world record holder… all say striped bass eat lobsters. So keep this is mind when fishing for big
bass… fish among the lobster pots and if you are serious about catching a
monster striped bass mimic the sounds of a lobster like Greg Myerson does.
Now I know… striped bass… have good
taste too.
Atlantic Menhaden commercial fishing closed
The Division of Fish & Wildlife
of DEM closed the commercial possession limit for Menhaden in Narragansett Bay
Menhaden Management Areas on Monday, June 10.
DEM does weekly aerial monitoring of the fishery, it closes and opens commercial
Menhaden fishing based on these weekly stock assessments.
Where’s the bite
Fresh water. Kim Bissonnette
and Dayton Martin of South County continue to find largemouth bass in local
ponds and lakes. Kim Bissonnette said,
“…it seems most fish have gotten over the post spawn funk. Smaller fish are holding under floating areas
of vegetation, and still tighter to shorelines, with bites being plentiful
using baits typically suited for this type of cover. Weedless frogs and other soft plastics
(lizards work really well for this technique) retrieved slowly over the
vegetation (with pauses around openings) has the potential to trigger abundant
strikes.
Bigger fish are holding off the
outside edges of weed lines, with a productive approach being long casts to
vegetation edges and a slow, varied retrieve back to the boat. Results have been really positive with the
boat positioned in water depths between 6 and 14 feet. Stick baits are a great choice for this approach,
and many strikes occur as the bait falls, so exercise patience and let the bait
drop towards the bottom. With this
technique, be prepared, as most strikes will occur fairly early in the
retrieve. Colors often depend on water
clarity, with natural colors working in clear water, and baits with brighter
features and color contrasts better suited for stained water.”
Striped bass fishing mixed this past week. Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor Marina, South
Kingstown said, “We had fish at the North Rip for three weeks but it shut down before
and after the storm… so we were happy when big fish started to appear at the
Southwest Ledge…customer Glen Corsetti of Wakefield caught a 40 pound striped
bass Sunday at the Ledge.” Bay fishing for bass was on and off last week. Fish taken in Providence River and off
Prudence Island under Menhaden schools and fish taken close to shore in low
water around Prudence Island using soft plastics. Lorraine Danti of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren
said, “Customers continue to find bass and extra large bluefish in the Mt. Hope
Bridge area using Menhaden chucks.”
Fluke fishing was off after the storm as water was turbid and dirty
making it difficult for fish to see baits.
I caught two fish Sunday off Warrick Light, using white squid rigs tipped
with squid and fresh water minnows (find them meatier than silversides and
their silver scales flake off nicely when in the water). Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor said, “Fluke
fishing slowed after the storm along southern coastal shores (from Pt. Judith
to Watch Hill). Fluke fishing around Block
Island was fair.” Anglers continue to
find black sea bass as they fish for fluke.
Black
sea bass season opens June 15, 13” minimum size, three
fish/person/day.
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