An invasion of peanuts kicks the fall into high gear in August!
It happens every year around the end of August along the Rhode Island oceanfront and up into Narragansett Bay. The fishing for stripers will go from fair to red hot in the blink of an eye. Peanut bunker, and I mean masses of them, will suddenly appear along the shore ushering out the doldrums of August and foreshadowing what’s to come in September.
This is a baitfish that the stripers crave. Right on their tails will be huge numbers of hungry stripers that seem to come out of nowhere, setting the stage for some of the wildest blitzes and hottest fishing of the year. It will transform the fishing into a fall pattern. Blitzes that we associated with October in the past now erupt almost daily in late-August and September.
Warming Waters
Times have changed along the Rhode Island beaches. Warming water temperatures are happening earlier in the year, and that has changed the timetable of fish and bait migrations along the oceanfront. Just 10 or 15 years ago the peanut bunker arrival was a September event. In the last decade that has really changed, moving earlier and earlier by the year. Now we see this happening generally in early August. During some really hot summers I’ve even seen the peanut bunker invasion happen in late-July. And, this is not only happening along the South County beaches, I’ve also seen masses of peanut bunker and stripers streaming into places like Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay and even the Cape Cod Canal in August.
Because of the warm water (generally low to mid 70s) in August here in Rhode Island and the overabundance of bait, the stripers can be very fussy. Remember, too, these early season peanuts are very small, sometimes just an inch long. They are not the same ones you find in late fall that might run 3 to 4 inches.
Finesse Surfcasting
Many fishing days in August become a finesse game where smaller offerings far outfish bigger plugs and lures. The number one lure for me in August is a small bucktail jig. I make all my own and find either the flathead jig or the H-style jigs (from Do-it Molds) to be the top producers. Sizes 3/8- or half-ounce are best. I make these all white (bucktail and paint) and use red thread when tying them. You must also use a plastic curly tail on the hook to greatly increase the effectiveness of the lure. That vibrating tail is a key attractor and makes a big difference in your catch rate. I use white, triple ripple grub tails from Bass Pro in the 3-inch length.
When talking small jigs, presentation is important and there are two ways to fish them. Either use them alone or off a wooden egg float. When using them alone, the problem with a small jig is that it is just not going to cast very far. Larger ones (1 to 2 ounces) will cast better but fail to imitate the size of the bait. Still, I might go with a bigger jig in rough water where the stripers tend to be more active and less selective. In calm and clear water where the fish can get a good view of your offering, you will need to go with the smaller jigs.
Another option where a long cast is needed might be to use a wooden egg float. I make my own floats from wooden eggs purchased in a craft store. Many tackle stores in Rhode Island also sell these floats. The jig is attached to the float by about 2-1/2 to 3 feet of monofilament line (30 or 40-pound test). One end of this leader is tied to the float and the other end is tied to the jig. This set up will give you a booming cast. It also works wonders in shallow, rocky areas as the float keeps the jig right above the snags and in the zone where the stripers are feeding. Just cast and slowly reel the offering in with sporadic pulls of the rod tip. For those who don’t use bucktails, plastics on jigheads are your next best bet. Small Cocahoes or shad bodies threaded onto half-ounce jigheads work well. Swim shads, like those made by Tsunami or Storm will also work. These can be fished alone or off a float just like a bucktail jig.
Plugging Peanuts
Topwater lures can be productive, but once again, you have to go small. The best topwater lure for me has been a Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow in a bone color. This pointy-nosed lure has a back and forth swagger on a slow retrieve that seems to drive stripers crazy. A walk the dog retrieve or a slow retrieve with quick, short pulls of the rod tip is the way to fish this plug. The Jumpin’ Minnow weighs in at just 3/4-ounce so it is not a great casting plug. In rough water or windy conditions, I might go with a similar slightly larger plug like a Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil. This plug looks like a Jumpin’ Minnow on steroids and weighs slightly more than an ounce, and it casts like a bullet. My son, Jon, likes to use small swimmers when peanut bunker are around. He catches a lot stripers on Rapala X-Rap swimmers in a 3-1/2- or 4-inch model in ‘glass ghost’ color.
One advantage if you are using jigs is that the single hook inflicts minimal damage to the fish you might be releasing. On plugs with treble hooks like the X-Rap and Jumpin’ Minnow, consider crushing the barbs. Replacement of the rear treble with a single hook is another good option.
Prepping For Invasion
Last year’s peanut bunker invasion drew in a lot of stripers of all sizes. While hefty schoolies (20 to 27 inches) dominated the numbers, there were also good numbers of slot limit keepers in the mix. Last August, according to my logs, one out of every five fish I landed was a slot limit keeper. There were even some over slots in the mix with 40-inch fish being caught here and there. Expect similar size fish this year, but because the slot limit has been tightened down to 28 to 31 inches, it will be harder to catch a keeper.
The peanut bunker fueled blitzes in recent years have been daytime events. It’s hard to believe that you can find masses of good-sized stripers busting all over the place under a broiling noontime sun in August, but that’s the way it often happened. I see no reason to believe this all won’t occur again this year. Find the schools of peanut bunker and you will surely find the stripers. The peanut bunker invasion should arrive in early August and it will set some of the best striper fishing of the year into motion. It’s a game changer!
