Saltwater Edge Fishing Report: 5.15.2007

[Pete_G]

The Bay continues to be the place to be:

But it has been on and off at times, and unforgiving for some anglers. We figured we better get a report out early this week with proof after someone (jokingly) called us liars, and said I needed to go to confession in regards to our Narragansett Bay reports. As always, if the fishing is bad, we'll tell you. Right now though it's really good out there. The ocean is a dynamic place with a lot of factors affecting any given hour's fishing. We went from no fish and no signs of life, to no signs of life but lots of fish, lots of life and tons of fish, and then returned to no fish within 9 hours of fishing. One angler’s view of the fishing may not be the same as another.

Early in morning, Dan hooked up:


Birds haven't been much help yet out there, as is often the case in spring anglers enjoying success with the stripers are getting it done operating the old fashioned way: covering some water and scouting.

We started out not so bright and early Monday morning at 4:30am with info from 3 friends, most importantly where they were catching. The first 3 spots we visited all produced nothing. The fourth finally coughed up a small schoolie. These were spots producing just 24 hours ago, in similar conditions, and they're known spring spots. So we just kept hunting. 30 miles and 2 hours later after launching out of Newport, the fish finder lit up. The fishing didn't stop for 4 hours with double and even triple hook ups on bass from 24 to 36 inches. Only a lone bluefish slowed us down. We soon drew quite the crowd, and the flotilla followed us with little to no results. Most of the fish we marked were sitting on the bottom in 40 feet of water and the 5 ounce plus Tsunami Swim shads got us where we needed to be. Other then finding the fish we didn't do anything special out there, the weight and shape of the shads do most of the work. Small things make the difference and a little more weight and size made all the difference between catching and standing in a boat staring at fish being landed. As some of boats boldly passed within 25 feet of us and we could see their choice in lures were far too light. Go big and when they're not on the surface go deep in May and June. It's simple and it works when fishing from the boat.

JD with a striper (at 6'3" he makes any striper look small...)


Eventually we lost interest, as the "cheerio effect" was in full force and we were surrounded by boats who were not catching anything and could barely turn around. With an hour or so left of the tide we went back to where we started, the East Side of the Bay and found birds in the air from the Jamestown bridge all the way North to Warwick Neck and beyond. Slightly smaller bass eating approximately 2" bait were everywhere. As the tide slacked, the birds faded, the fishfinder went quiet, and you couldn't tell anything had happened there in the past hour. We poked around some nearby structure and then decided to call it a day as there was a long slack we needed to wait out. The total was a lot of bass, probably more then 3 dozen between 26 and 36 inches. The big ones were in the teens. We'd hoped to get above 20 pounds, but that will have to be another day. There are more then a few reports of fisherman who have gotten well North of that mark fishing in the Bay, even approaching 30 pounds.

Shore anglers are also capitalizing on the excellent May fishing. Top of the Bay or oceanside we've heard lots of good reports lately. The Newport beaches have started to quiet down a bit. Anglers have actually had better success in nearby whitewater with fish up to 20 pounds and occasional bluefish. Pencil Poppers have produced as well as a variety of soft plastics. Reports West and East of here echo what is taking place in Newport. Fly fisherman have been enjoying the early whitewater fish too.



The predominant baits out there are still squid, adult bunker, and herring as well as an unidentified smaller 2" long deep bodied baitfish. A few salty vets of Narragansett Bay have theorized this year’s heavy squid run has even changed the way the fish have entered the Bay, slowing them down from discovering the bumper crop of bunker further in the Bay. We never really saw any bait yesterday, not counting the all out blitz. I saw one bunker flicker on the surface briefly, but that was it.

Bluefish are already in the Bay


General suggestions for boat based anglers in May would be to fish on moving tides and to fish big, and don't be afraid to fish deep whether it's fly, spin, or conventional. If you're a boater it's a perfect month to put those electronics to work. We find a lot of our best fish are deep and we spot them on the fishfinder. I always like to have my bread crumb trail turned on so I can easily repeat a productive drift. Definitely don't ignore bird activity, but don't depend on it either. The fleet will be chasing birds, and it’s easy enough to find your own quieter, often better fish. If we find birds working bait and fish we often still work deep instead of the surface. If you think those 9" Tsumani shads are too big, at least give them a try. You'll be amazed how easily a small 24" bass can eat them even with the 11/0 shark hook. Take a look at the pics. I don't know of any other offering that works better out there and I'm far from the only one that feels plastics fished properly can out fish live bunker. Several commercial anglers have even gone to this bait. I think it's due to the ability to present these baits at the depth the fish are at, which is often down deep. At 5+ ounces they get there in a hurry. This bait is to some degree the soft plastic equivalent of the deadly but controversial yo-yo rig.

9 inches of Tsunami bait, all the way down


I spend a lot of time idling in May and June, poking around likely water and watching my electronics. Usually when I'm doing this I'll be steering and pushing buttons with one hand and holding a fishing rod with a big swim shad in the other. It's the ultimate scouting technique. If the sounder misses something, the shad won't and vice versa. You WILL find fish this way if they're in the area. The hit on those big shads is unmistakable, hold on tight to that fishing rod. Sometimes it takes a while but pinpointing a school or productive stretch of water will yield great results. Once I find fish I use the wind, tide, or if necessary the engine to drift over my targets.



Fly anglers may want to try big squid or bunker flys. Get out your biggest, ugliest sinking line and dredge the bottom. I like my floating line when I’m on shore, but this is kind of a different game. I like to be able to hang up on the bottom in 20+ feet of water, even in current.

Shore fishing in May can sometimes be tough. Often it seems like the fish are tightly schooled, and if you’re not in them, you’re not catching. Many anglers, for most of the month, will find their fishing is as good in the morning and evening as it will be at night. We sometimes find fish quietly searching the shoreline to ambush squid, bunker, or what ever else might be trying to hide out in the shallows. Soft plastics, Pencils, and Spooks can all produce in that scenario. I like to cover ground and fish areas known for gathering bait, whether it’s bunker, herring or squid. If I don’t get an answer within ½ an hour at a spot I usually move out.

Dan with one of the better fish:


Enjoy the great fishing! It’s a fun, easy time of year to catch fish and it won’t be long until anglers are rewarded with much larger bass.

[cchobot]

The hardest part of that report was cutting the video down. There was soooo much footage. Nice trip guys.

[_CK_]

Nice video guys.

Pete, How do you cut the back hook off? I tried cutting a small hole to snip the leader, but did't have the righ tool. I was thinking about pushing it through a little more and just lop off the exposed section

[Lateral Line]

Hey Pete

Thanks for the report. Nice pics and looks like a great time!

Did you get my email about reports on TidalFish.com? I sent it last Thursday but did not hear back.

Let me know

Thanks

Brandon

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by _CK_

Nice video guys.

Pete, How do you cut the back hook off? I tried cutting a small hole to snip the leader, but did't have the righ tool. I was thinking about pushing it through a little more and just lop off the exposed section

The bait actually comes that way. I'll have to add them to the website. They don't sell well in the store because people are a little spooked by the 11/0 shark hook. Even the little fish have no problem with it though.

Needless to say, you'll never have to worry about a straightened hook.

I used to do "surgery" on the 2 hook 9", I'd just put a slit in the side of the bait, reach in with a dentist pick to get at the wire and snip it off.

Other then costing a little more, everything is better about the shark hook version. A few of our customers are even catching giant tuna on them. No gut hooking like you get with the 2 hook version either.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by Lateral Line

Hey Pete

Thanks for the report. Nice pics and looks like a great time!

Did you get my email about reports on TidalFish.com? I sent it last Thursday but did not hear back.

Let me know

Thanks

Brandon

Check email.

[wmurphy4304]

Would the 9" shad be to big to be casting off the shore or would the smaller 5" work better. would you be able to get a good size fish with the smaller

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by wmurphy4304

Would the 9" shad be to big to be casting off the shore or would the smaller 5" work better. would you be able to get a good size fish with the smaller

As a rock hopper, I find it very hard to use the 9" in most spots from shore as it just sinks too fast. Unless it's real deep right in front of you it's going to be tough to fish. I've pushed on Tsunami to make a lighter version, but I doubt it will ever happen.

Although now that I'm thinking about it maybe the current of an outgoing tide in a breachway will keep it off the bottom. I'm not a Canal guy either but I wouldn't doubt that it could work there.

The biggest Tsunami I use from shore is the 7". Even it can be a little quick to sink in some conditions. I'm a still a bucktail guy more often then not from shore, and sometimes the boat. I just feel I can tailor my sink rate better with a trusty Andrus. The smaller ones can produce large too, but the smaller you go the scarier those thin hooks get on big fish.

With braid and a big surf rod you have to be careful with the hooks on all the Tsunami and Storm products, not counting the 11/0 shark hook model from Tsunami.

[rirockhound]

Also,
braid, spin gear and 9" shads = not good...

mental note: dont leave conventional jig stick at home!

Pete's right though you need a LOT of current to keep the 9" out of the bottom!

[bart]

Originally Posted by rirockhound

Also,
braid, spin gear and 9" shads = not good...

mental note: dont leave conventional jig stick at home!

Pete's right though you need a LOT of current to keep the 9" out of the bottom!

actually bryan the other day i was using the 9" storms with a breakaway 1209 spinner and a Daiwa Emblem pro spooled with 50lb. power pro.(borrowed it from tony) and didn't have any problems throwing them. caught some fish on them too