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The Shallow Water Striper University hosted by Capt. Jim White promises to be a great one this year. It will be held Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 18-19, at the Sheraton Airport Motor Inn in Warwick. The two-day seminar will feature top local and regional experts who will offer advice on how to become a better angler in general and how to find and catch striped bass in particular.

Topics include the use of soft plastics, surf-casting, boat fishing, live-bait tactics, fly-fishing, fly-tying, plug-building, kayak fishing and rigging. Featured speakers include Capt. Joe Pagano, Capt. Pat Rena (T-Man), Capt. Jack Springel, David Pickering, Armand Tetreault, Don Smith and Peter Vican (Rhode Island striped bass record holder), Capt. Jerry Sparks, Gene Matteson, Ronald St. Denis, Capt. Jim White and yours truly.

Register in advance for $49 for one day and $89 for both days. There will also be charter trip give-a-ways, raffles, prizes and more. Contact Debbie Wood at Wood Boat & Motor at 401/739-4040 or visit www.shallowwaterstripers.com.

Get your gear ready

You might say, “I just use this rig for school bass, the small ones, so the line is fine.” However, you can’t pick the time when a big fish hits. So make sure your gear is in good working order at the start of the season and throughout the year.

The experts suggest checking all reels, rods and line before the season starts and do regular maintenance throughout the season. Replace line, repair line guides on rods and perform reel maintenance twice a season if necessary, particularly on those rigs that get a lot of action.

So, to make sure I do not lose a big fish, I perform the following maintenance routine before the season starts. To paraphrase Vince Lombardi (who said football games are won in the summer when training is done) big fish are caught in the winter when proper maintenance is done.

Reel maintenance

“As a rule of thumb, a reel should be brought to an authorized reel center at least once a year,” said George Poveromo, host of “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing.” He added that reels that get a lot of action should perhaps be brought in twice a year.

Give your reels a good cleaning, particularly when the line is off. Grease where directed by manufacturer (often times, the reel is marked where to do this). If instructions are long gone, don’t hesitate to stop by your local bait or tackle shop to ask where to grease. Don’t grease the drag; if you do, it won’t work.

“Anglers often forget to put oil on the line guide worm gear on bait caster reels, as this is can go a long way allowing the gear to perform properly throughout its lifetime,” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle in Riverside. It costs about $10 to $15 to clean and grease your average spinning reel.

Check the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) website at www.risaa.org for member bait and tackle shops that repair reels; many of them appear on the member discount landing page.

Replace your line

Each year, replace used line. What you consider “used” is a judgment call. The braid line I spooled on two rigs at the end of the season is still OK. However, I took line off at the beginning of the reel that was showing signs of wear.

“A lot of guys cross braid line when spooling onto conventional reels to prevent the line from digging into the spool when a big fish is on,” said Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle in Warwick.

He also suggested re-spooling the lead line, putting the used portion on the reel first. “This way you use line that is new, as most anglers rarely use more than three to four colors (90 to 120 feet) of line,” he said.

Replace all the monofilament line on reels at the start of the season. Monofilament line has memory, so it tangles easily and creates bird nest tangles when it’s old or has been sitting in the cold for a while. Stretch the first 100 feet of monofilament line to relax its memory and avoid tangles. When you change any type of line, it’s important to spool tight or the line may slip on the spool.

Keep rods healthy

Examine the rods for cracks and stress marks. Closely examine the eyes for chips or cuts that could cause the line to snag, rub or break. Do not place hooks on the eyes or they’ll eventually create cracks that will cut line as it passes through. Place all baits at the base of the reel as those hooked to an eye brace will bang on the rod and may cause microscopic cracks that could lead to a broken rod.

Tackling tackle

I get tackle ready in chronological order when certain species are fished, starting with tautog, striped bass, bluefish, fluke, sea bass, etc. I then go through tautog rigs first, then the striped bass, etc.

Make sure you have enough rigs to fish the species. Hooks should be clean and sharp (no rust), and strong enough for the size fish you are going after. Often hooks that come with lures are not of good quality, so I replace them with stronger hooks.

Leaders/hooks

Use wire leaders for bluefish and monofilament or fluorocarbon for striped bass, fluke, sea bass, etc. Blues won’t bite though the wire and other species will find it harder to see the monofilament or fluorocarbon leaders.

As a rule I replace all used leaders at the beginning of the season. During the season make sure leaders have no nicks or stress marks from pulling fish; if they do, replace them.

I switched most of my hooks to circle hooks so I can safely catch and release undersized or unwanted fish (particularly striped bass). Circle hooks are designed to hook the fish at the corner of the mouth and not down in the belly. All hooks should be sharp and rust-free.

Recreational fisheries meetings

The R.I. Marine Fisheries Council Menhaden Advisory Panel meets Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. in the Coastal Institute Hazard Room at the URI Bay Campus.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m., there will be a public hearing in the Corless Auditorium at the URI Bay Campus about proposed changes to the management plans for most species.

Where’s the bite?

The unseasonably warm weather has fish performing in an odd way.

Striped bass are in the upper reaches of the Providence River more so than other years. “There were tons of pogies (Atlantic menhaden) in the Providence River on Saturday,” said angler Tommy Pelto of Tiverton. “I snagged a bunch along with three stripers as well. Definitely great to get out there and get a line wet.”

Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle in Providence said, “Brandon Hagopian and Donald Legault both caught striped bass. Another guy caught a keeper while they were there.”

School bluefin tuna have being crashing schools of herring in the lower part of the bay off Narragansett and Jamestown. No reports of anglers catching them yet, however.

Cod fishing on both the Seven B’s (800/371-FISH) and Francis Fleet (800/662-2824) vessels has been good. Anglers are taking three to five keepers home.

Capt. Dave Monti has been fishing and shellfishing on Narragansett Bay for more than 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing photos in jpeg form, stories, comments and questions are welcome. Visit Capt. Dave’s No Fluke website at www.noflukefishing.com or e-mail him at dmontifish@verizon.net.