Jamail Ajaj Surf Report:   05/14/11

As spring arrives here in RI so do the fish. The spring season got off to a slower than usual start with the inconsistent weather patterns and unpredictability of conditions. With the warmer weather and presence of squid and other forage such as herring, bass have made their appearance known up and down the Rhode Island coast. Of course the first fish were caught mainly on the southern shores more specifically the West Wall where small Cocahoe minnows in pearl rigged with between ¼ to 1 ounce jig heads got the job done. The Newport shoreline was soon to follow with fish showing at first and second beach. Despite the sporadic early season catches anglers who ventured out in the right conditions namely wind conditions did very well. One angler I spoke to managed 54 fish in a single outing. When the bite is on it is on. Look for a good stretch of consistent weather or a sudden change in weather pattern to get out and fish.

Since the bite has started about a week and a half behind, expect to find fish in other areas you may be fishing to follow suit. When you are fishing the bay you would be remiss if you were not carrying some type of swimming plug or surface lure. Larger bait is now moving into the bays and small rubber baits will not get you the fish you are looking to catch. Danny style swimmers, pencil poppers and spooks are some of the baits you should be carrying. Sebile jointed swimmers and stick shads are pricey but they catch fish. If you are fishing from a boat, large shad type baits that will reach fish holding deeper in rips and around structure are sure to produce a strike. Seven and even nine inch versions of Tsunami and Storm shads have proven themselves to be very effective. If you are casting towards shore some of the aforementioned plugs will work just as well from a boat.

The bass are not the only fish that move in during the spring. Squid fishing has been epic in comparison to last year as reports from many anglers are filling 5 gallon buckets. Newport and Jamestown have been the hot spots. Remember to get some lights as this will increase your chances of drawing squid in. Yozuri pink jigs have been the choice of many while conventional squid jigs will work these seem to out fish others. Another note to point out when squid fishing is that these masses of squid can and do attract bass. An un-weighted whole squid may attract a strike from a bass so bring a long another rig that is capable of fighting a line-sider.

As the water warms Tautog move in towards shallower humps and rocky shorelines to spawn. Anglers looking to hook-up on these game fish should remember to use as little weight as possible. Strikes can be subtle and you need to be mindful of your bait. Green crabs are the staple bait generally used with the standard double rig. The smaller the crabs are the better. Fish whole crabs if possible they present the most natural looking bait to the fish. If you fish from shore and you make your own rigs try fishing with a single hook setup. This will decrease you chances of snagging the bottom. When fishing from shore make sure your offering is placed around structure Tautog will not be swimming around in open structure free water. I recently landed a 10lb and an 8lb tog weightless with a single hook rig using a whole green crab.

Good luck and happy fishing.

On the Bluewater Front, things are warming up, literally! With last weeks nor-easter a warm water eddy swirled right into the canyons. Long liners fishing further south were avoiding it because it was reported to be full of small yellowfin and sharks. Unfortunately, by the time it got into range it was accompanied by 8-12ft seas, yikes! I'll be keeping a close eye on these early warm water eddys as the early spring canyon fishing can be epic when timed correctly.

Alittle closer to home, the cod are still out in good numbers, both on coxes ledge, and up on the cape's stellwagen bank. I recetly went on a field testing excursion with Shimano to test out some new gear on the helen h. I took along Neil and Frank from the shop and we ran a clinic on Cod, Haddock and Pollack fishing Shimano Butterfly and Lucanus Jigs. I was really impressed by the New Shimano Trinidad reels and Tescata Jigging rods. It totally changed my perspective on how light you can go on cod jigging gear.

After getting the Palm Beach back from its spring service at Wood Boat and Motor, I decided to take it out for a test drive on Greenwich Bay. As soon as passed warwick light I ran into about an acre of marauding striped bass feeding on large schools of rainbait. Over the top of fish were large groups of screaming terns. I was able to land fish on just about every cast between 28 and 36". This feed lasted for about 3 days in a row until yesterday, and peaked on the dropping tides. For the last few days I have still managed to limit out on nice sized bass by casting jerk baits and shimano waxwings close to shore in about 10ft of water giving them an occational pause. Thats when the strike occurs.

So even though it took forever to get going, this season the fish look fat and healthy, and when this extra cool water starts to warm, we should see large blooms of plankton, drawing hordes of bait. I'm looking forward to great season.

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