We’ve had unseasonably cold temperatures and high winds this week. To make matters worse, most of the winds have been from the north to north east most days. Tides were great this week coming off a new moon Sunday. Most of the teen sized stripers in the upper bay have been north of Conimicut Light up toward Providence. Very little concentration in any one area. Trolling at slow speeds and watching your fish finder will help locate them. Small frames with rubber shads or trolling small tubes are popular ways of finding ‘em. Some anglers are having limited success with chunk bait. Live pogies are a rare commodity. Look for groups of terns working the surface occasionally of the shipping lanes of the Providence River. There will be no surface action, but position your boat over them. Most of the bait supply is down deep water. Watch your sounder. There are a few fish around, but you really have to look for them.
Wayne Perry and friend Charlie were up early Friday morning before the crack of dawn heading to Narragansett Bay for a day of fly fishing. The morning was cold and breezy as we headed out of Greenwich Bay. Fishing was slow, but we did manage a few stripers and one quality striper at 15 lbs on a fly. Our drifts were fast, moving us back into structure. Not what you prefer. Tried to find quieter water to fly fish, but there is a trade, you lose good water sometimes.
Jeff Paul from Fairfield CT returned again this season along with two friends, Steve and Surge from New York. Jeff is an accomplished fly caster who has no problem getting it out there between wind gusts. He proved once again that a fly rod (in his hands) is a lethal weapon over the spin rods. Now if he could only get Steve and Surge to come over from the dark side. Sound like they are both giving it some thought after seeing the expressions on their faces every time Jeff said, “I’m tight.”
Joe Herbert continues to enjoy the sport of fly fishing for stripers. Joe fished the waters of New Jersey and Rhode Island recently during the holiday weekend. Believe me, no one fishes any harder or travels any further than Joe. He’s had tough luck with the weather in both places. High winds and cold temperatures don’t put a damper on his enthusiasm. Just wish I could control the seas and elevate the temperature to seem more like summer. Global warming! It’s almost June and morning temperatures were in the forties. He did manage to bring a few quality stripers over the rail.
