The upper portions of the bay, consisting of the Providence and Seekonk rivers, are the major springtime producers for striped bass in Rhode Island.
Striped bass are migratory, and will move up and down the bay chasing pogies and herring.
Stripers and blues can be caught in the upper bay as far up as the Seekonk River s Division Street Bridge in Pawtucket.
The Providence River has a year-long run of schoolies, with a few big boys mixed in, which results from a warm-water power plant discharge.
The inshore "Gansett Bay" bite begins when the water temp reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the spring and tapers off as the hot summer approaches.
Keepers caught in the rivers commonly weigh in from 10 to 30 pounds. But they can grow much larger. There has been reports of a few fifties taken at night in the Providence river channel.
Striped bass are typically found from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia.
The Chesapeake Bay is the major producer area for striped bass, with the Hudson river being a secondary producer. Spawning migration begins in March when the migratory component of the stock returns to their natal rivers to spawn.
It is believed that females migrate after age five. These fish are believed to remain in the ocean during the spawning run. Males as young as two years old have been encountered in the spawning areas of the Chesapeake bay.
In southern states such as Florida, striped bass are raised in hatcheries, stocked in freshwater lakes and considered freshwater sportfish.
The migratory range of the northern (Hudson stock) extends from the Carolinas to New York's Hudson River in the winter time and from New Jersey through Maine in summertime with the greatest concentration between Long Island, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
The migration of the northern stock to the south often begins in September from areas in Maine.
Although much of the spring fishing in the river is with live or fresh Menhaden, striped bass can be caught using a number of baits including: clams, eels, anchovies, bloodworms, nightcrawlers, chicken livers, herring, shad, and sandworms - it is estimated that 90% of their diet is fish.
Striped bass can be very choosy about the baits and presentations they take, They are considered among fishermen as being an opportunistic or "lazy" feeder. At times, the only presentation they will consider is a weighted-pogy dropped right in front them.
The Providence river mostly consists of a shipping channel with plenty of old dock pilings, sand bars, washes, holes, points, cuts, sloughs, pockets, rips, and drop offs along the edges. Stripers love three things: moving water, structure, and food. All three can be found within yards of the shoreline.
And since stripers and their food sources have tendencies to hold to certain types of structure at certain tides, it becomes important for the fisherman to learn how to work the tides and read structure.
Timing is important amongst fishermen. High tide, low tide, dawn, dusk, lunar phases, water clarity and temperature, barometric pressure, storm fronts, these are all subjects that the striper fishermen will familiarize himself with, regardless if fishing from the surf, jetty, boat, or bridge.
As I write this the 2013 Providence river striper run is winding down. It's been a good year, and I'm sad to see it go. It's been the best spring fishing ever, with many multiple keeper days. Ya...know, I can't complain, I've met some new friends and made great memories, and look forward to the seasons to come.
Have you been fishing the rivers? We would like to
ReplyDeletehear from you.
Thanks for the post, where is the summer action mainly? July/August?
ReplyDeleteThe massive schools of pogies have left the upper reaches of the bay.
ReplyDeleteThe summer time bite is mainly south coast and the lower bay, although a few are taken in the Seekonk and the channel of the Providence if you can find bait.
Hey, thanks for your comment.