First Fishing Report of ’07 :
The only really exciting news this week would be if you hadn’t already heard: The Stripers are back. They hit Newport about 2 weeks ago and traditional spots further South a week or 2 prior to that. Of course, holdovers never left but it’s not the same as catching a fresh, migrant fish in the surf.
Cocahoe Minnows, Tsunami shads, and of course the bucktail are getting the job done as always. The Ray’s Fly or General Practitioner are always a safe bet on the fly rod. Consider crimping your barbs down, these early fish love to inhale these small offerings. Nothing ruins an evening in the suds like seeing a 12” bass floating dead in the water…
Anglers in Upper Narragansett Bay also found fish. These are likely a combo of fresh fish as well as holdovers coming out of the Providence, Taunton, and other Narragansett Bay Rivers, and it feels good to catch them no matter where they came from.
Spring is unfolding as it should. The numbers of schoolies are growing, and some fish that are a little larger then the micros that we started with have arrived. They aren’t much over 20 inches, but on light tackle they’re better then the 12 inch first arrivals. Squid have made their first appearances at most of the traditional spots too. The first few ink spots have landed on the pavement.
In about a week or 2 bigger fish will be pouring into the Bay to pursue what is almost always a Striper Banquet. Herring will be falling back after spawning, adult menhaden are already in the water, squid will be here soon, silversides are here and will be spawning in the eelgrass, mantis shrimp will emerge from the mud, and worm hatches as always are occurring. Stripers have a field day in the Upper Bay, and anglers should be sure to take advantage. This is a great month to catch a lot of quality fish, whether it’s on the fly or the surf rod. 30 plus pound fish are often in the bay by the second week of the month. There are many ways to fish for these fish; from live-lining bunker to fly fishing. All will work in May, a month where all anglers will enjoy good fishing for good-sized bass.
May develops rapidly. By the end of the month many surf spots that anglers think of being more productive in the summer and fall will have fish. Be sure to check them out, you might be surprised what you find.
Blues will enter the scene by mid-May, usually making their presence felt through rubber shads with their tails cut off.
If you’re not fishing yet, now is the time to get started. The fishing is good and is about to rapidly get better.
Tight Lines,
The SWE Crew