Favorite ways to catch striped bass

Dave Sweet of Narragansett used a Tony Accetta #14 chrome spoon with yellow feathers to catch this 33” striped bass off Narragansett. Dave said, “They mimic the sand eels pretty well”.


Favorite ways to catch striped bass

The reports are in… striped bass are all over Narragansett Bay and along southern coastal shores. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “A customer caught a 38” fish off Hope Island and Jamestown this week.” Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said the bass are making their presence known at Block Island’s North Rip. Good reports of school bass with keepers mixed in all along the East Passage and even a good bite in Greenwich Bay (perhaps keeping the menhaden boats out of Greenwich Bay and the upper East Passage is working).
With all this action why is it that some days, you just cannot get a bite… you scour waters trolling lures and tube & worm, cast in the shallows and around structure with soft plastics, hard plastics and surface poppers. You hit all your favorites spots, where you have caught fish and where others have caught fish… and still… no bass.
Do not lose faith. It’s a matter of persistence, mixing it up, paying attention to water movement (tide and current) and yes trying to match what the bass are eating (or would like to eat).
Thursday at 5 a.m. I said, “Today I’ll fish Greenwich Cove… catch school bass… as the fog and time I have to fish is limiting.” Captain Jim White of White Ghost Charters (noted author and Bay fishing expert) said, “You have to mix it up… present different baits to the striped bass until you find one that works.” In the past I would try to fish with one or two favorite lures with limited success. This morning I lined up seven lures all ready to go with fluorocarbon leaders. I had two surface poppers and swimming lures and three soft plastic baits. I tried all seven, found one that worked (a Yozuri Crystal Minnow) and caught six bass in 45 minutes. So mix it up to find out what works before you settle on a bait or fishing location.


Favorite Ways to Catch Striped Bass (will share more ways to catch bass next week)
1. Trolling with umbrella rigs. Technique often used to troll off Block Island and in deeper parts of Narragansett Bay, off coastal shores with a variety of squid, shad, and eel umbrella rigs. Hook two fish at the same time and you will experience a great fight.
2. Casting soft plastics, various bait types and weights to fish different depths. Many anglers love this technique and use it successfully in the spring. Make sure the plastic baits are scented if not add some scent. Who wants to eat plastic?
3. Buck tail jigs with pork rind squid strips. Have had success with this method to get under schools of blue fish and to the striped bass on the bottom.
4. Live eels. Used by shore and boat anglers, some fishing guides use this as their primary method to catch killer stripers. Hook the eel through the mouth and out one eye.
5. Live menhaden. Snag the live bait with a weighted treble hook or net them. Hook the bait through the bridge of the nose, find a pod of fish and put the live menhaden into the pod. Used when menhaden are running strong, particularly up the Providence River in early spring.

West Bay Anglers Striper Tournament
The West Bay Anglers will hold their 2011 William Beaudry Jr. Memorial Striper Tournament from June 4, 12:01 a.m. thru June 12, 1:00 p.m. First place prize for largest fish is $500 with 2nd and 3rd place cash prices too. Prizes awarded at the Warwick FOP at 1 p.m., June 12. Rules and applications online at http://www.westbayanglers.org/ or at local bait & tackle shops including Ericson’s, Johns Bait , Lucky’s, Ray’s Bait & Tackle and the Tackle Box. Entry fee is $25, open to all anglers, must register by 5 p.m., June 3rd.

Fishing tournament June 26 for visually impaired adults
The RI Lions Sight Foundation will host its 4th annual fishing tournament for Visually Impaired Persons(VIP) of Rhode Island. The half-day tournament will be held on a Francis Fleet party boat out of Galilee RI where the participants will be competing for one of several trophies and; for an opportunity to represent Rhode Island at the Lions National VIP Tourney on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in October. Applications for the tournament and on the Lions can be found at http://www.lions4sight.org/index.htm and http://www.rilions.com/ or contact Ken Barthelemy (kenbar123@aol.com) at 401-529-6173.

Where’s the bite
Striped bass fishing is great. Bass all over the Bay and off southern coastal shores. Ken Robinson caught his first bass at 32” one mile south of Popasquash Point, Bristol. Rocco Patriarca also hit his first bass with menhaden south of Colt Sate Park on Sunday… a nice 40 ½” fish was the longest of five with the heaviest fish weighing in at 24.5 lbs. Alan Stewart reports catching 20 keepers in the Westport River mostly using surface plugs. Alan said, “I also have had some luck with 3" storm shads… one side note, I've now caught two six+ pound Tautog bouncing storm shads off the rocks on the bottom in 9' of water for stripers.”
Tautog fishing in the Bay north of Hope Island in the West Passage and in Mount Hope Bay and north all the way up the East Passage to Providence has been outstanding.
Squid fishing reports have been good. Catching them in Newport and Galilee. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “Most guys have been buying small Pink, Orange and Luminescent rigs.”

Fishing for cod is fun for adults and children

John Toppa of Newport with a 20 pound cod he caught on a Francis Fleet vessel New Year’s Day. The cod was the largest fish caught on the boat that day.

Cod fishing is great for children too. Andrew Martin of Warwick went cod fishing New Year’s Day with his uncle. That’s a school vacation experience that will give him plenty of stories to tell when back in school.

Cod is an ideal species to target if fishing with children, because all they have to do is drop their line to the bottom. And, it is one of the most popular eating fish in New England. Cod are bottom fish that are basically lazy. They are not aggressively hunting, they pretty much stay on the bottom, often near structure (underwater wrecks, rock piles, holes, humps and drop offs), waiting for prey to come by. So you have to go to where the cod are to catch them. They are not likely going to come to you.

New Year’s Day I went cod fishing with twenty other anglers on a Francis Fleet party boat. A coast guard inspected vessel that takes more than six people fishing is commonly referred to as a party boat. Cod fishing for a full day (7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) generally runs about $80 depending on whether or not you use the boats gear or your own. It takes about an hour to an hour and half to get to where the captain likes to fish for cod (usually Cox’s Ledge if you leave from Point Judith, Rhode Island).

New Year’s Day was perfect, it was in the 50 degree range, seas early in the day were about four to five feet, but they laid down as the day progressed. Most every one caught cod fish on this trip. I caught four fish and two were keepers (cod must be 22” or longer to keep them). Some on board caught three, four and five fish. One angler who used jigs to fish most of the day caught eight. The largest fish of the day was caught by John Toppa of Newport, Rhode Island. His fish was 35 inches and weighted about 20 pounds.

There were some anglers in their 60’s and 70’s and a number of them in their 20’s and 30’s and my favorite angler who I fished next to all day was Andrew Martin of Warwick who was thirteen years old. His uncle took him for this special fishing trip during holiday school vacation. He will have some good stories to tell when back in school. Overall it was a great fishing day on the water and a trip that I would recommend. Visit the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association web site at www.rifishing.com for a complete list of vessels that fish for cod. Pick one with a heated cabin as it get pretty cold out on the ocean in January, February and March.

Cod rigs and bait

A hook, sinker weight that holds the bottom and sea clams are often used as bait to catch cod. Jigs of various sizes, color and weight depending on conditions are used too. Cod will generally eat anything that is in front of them, they are not picky, but you have to get their attendion and jigs usually do a good job of this. A common rig used is a diamond jig with a colored teaser buck tail tied about 12 inches above the jig. Anglers often tip the jig and buck tail with live bait (a piece of sea clam). Most anglers use a traditional boat rod and reel to catch cod. A short, sturdy 30 to 40 pound test rod of five to six feet is common with a traditional real of similar weight capacity. A fifty pound test line (both braid and monofilament) are used.

Cod fish is good for you too

The livestorng.com website says that cod, a coldwater fish, is particular good for you. The site relates that, “Cod offers a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which helps lower risks of cardiovascular disorders including atherosclerosis. Cod also provides a good source of vitamins B6, B12 and niacin which factor into a reduced osteoporosis risk...”

The cod fishery

Angler and noted fishing author Tim Coleman relates that the cod fishery is not in good shape. On his Tattoo’s Tackle web site he relates that cod is “The vanished fish”. Cod continue to diminish and appear farther and farther off shore. Tim relates, “… (with) the stocks so far down no fishing is allowed (from Rhode Island beaches), hoping to save the percentage that is left. In the process the beach fishing for cod is gone, gone, gone, some say never to return.” A sample of how cod fishing use to be off Rhode Island beaches is related by Tim in the story he tells off Del and Joe Corneau of Westerly, RI who use to fish 100 yards of the Quonny Breachway. Tim said, “Fishing from roughly 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. the pair landed 17 cod to 64 pounds! Today one would be hard pressed to catch a fish that size…”

New Kettlebottom Outfitters Productions (KBOP) Videos

Captain Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters, Jamestown, RI has announced the publication of two new videos that are teasers for their new season of KBOP productions on Cox Sports. The teasers and a host of other videos can be viewed on YouTube or on demand if you have COX cable. One of the videos is about making fluke rigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoM-dF-6Caw ) and the second one is about spear fishing for striped bass off Newport (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSppgDpIZ0 ), both are great fun to watch.

Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council Panel Meetings

A number of Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Panel meeting open to the public are scheduled for this month. Anglers are welcome and urged to attend as these meetings allow all anglers to provided input into State Fisheries policy. The meetings include a Menhaden Advisory Panel meting scheduled for Thursday, January 6, 2011, a Striped bass Advisory Panel scheduled for Wednesday, January 12 and a Scup and Black Sea Bas Advisory Panel meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 26. All meetings are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the UREI Bay Campus, Coastal Institute, Hazard Room off of South Ferry Road in Narragansett, RI. For additional information contact Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943.