On The Water Magazine

• Best Bets for Connecticut and Rhode Island: A great way to hedge your bets this time of year is to plan a combo trip. A great example of this is off the south shore of Rhode Island, where you can drift for doormat fluke up to 8 pounds, and when the sun gets close to the horizon, switch over to trolling or baiting-up stripers up to 40 pounds. From shore, try casting plugs for bluefish by day, throwing live eels or needlefish plugs after dark. If you are heading offshore to look for bluefin tuna, be prepared to do some sharking before you head in if there’s no sign of tuna in the water or on the radio.
  
• Warming waters are slowly changing the fishing scene, but for the most part the fishing remains excellent in Rhode Island waters. According to the report from Saltwater Edge in Newport, Narragansett Bay is warming up, and that means some of those big bass that have been sticking around feeding on pogies in Upper Narragansett Bay for the past few weeks are sliding out into deeper water. This could mean a pick up in the nighttime surf fishing around Newport and Narragansett in the coming week if you’re targeting areas near deeper water, and it should mean more big bass on the reefs off Newport. Beavertail, Brenton Reef and off Sakonnet Point area already reported to be coming alive with some decent bass. Target deeper waters and concentrate your fishing between sunset and sunrise for best results.
• According to On The Water Insider Thom Pelletier at Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown, fluke fishing is good around Newport and Jamestown, but it’s excellent along the south shore. Good numbers of 4- to 6-pound fluke were reported off Matunuck and inside the center wall at Point Judith. Fluke are mainly in deeper waters, think 40 feet or deeper, and shore fishermen have been mainly taking shorts so far. Fluke rigs with squid strips are the preferred method for most. Dogfish have become an annoyance, especially for fluke fishermen working around Block Island. The Point Judith Lighthouse and the Center Wall also have lots of eating-size scup holding tight to structure.
• Thom had a few reports of good freshwater fishing. Windy afternoons on the ocean and an increase in fishing time for out-of-school anglers means that the ponds and lakes are seeing some interest from bass masters. Fishing is still good, but may get tougher with steamy daytime temperatures and summertime sun warming waters very quickly.
• Mostly schoolie bass and small bluefish at Black Point in Narragansett, said Mary at Maridee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett. Some bigger bass have been reported from the Narrow River, and using bucktails with squid or pork rind and targeting deeper water has been a successful technique to find bigger bass lately.
• In Charlestown, Capt. Don at Capt. Don’s Bait & Tackle has reports of good-sized striped bass being taken from the breachways at night by anglers fishing the top of the tide, mostly with natural bait such as live eels, bunker, or chunked bait. Bluefish, mostly small but with a few bigger ones mixed in, are also common along the beaches. Boat fishermen are catching bass by trolling tube-and-worm rigs along lobster pot lines, which typically mark rocky drop-offs. Fluke fishing remains good to excellent according to the reports Captain Don is hearing, with squid and mummichogs producing over hard bottom in 40 to 45 feet of water.
• Striper fishing out on Block Island is fantastic by all reports, with bass in the 40-pound range hitting on the beaches and taking needlefish plugs, live eels and chunked squid. John at Twin Maples Bait & Tackle reported that sand eels are abundant, and the Coast Guard Channel has been a great location for light-tackle and fly-anglers to go after bass from 26 to 40 inches using sand eel imitators. The southeast corner of the island seems to be producing the biggest bass, from Old Harbor Point to Black Rock Point. If you head out to Southwest Ledge to fish for stripers, be sure that you are within the 3-mile limit. According to Captain Don, the environmental police have been flagging boats fishing for stripers out at the Submarine Area and the western portion of Southwest Ledge. It is illegal to target striped bass in these federal waters.
• Sharking south of Block Island offers the surest offshore action right now for “blue dogs” and the occasional thresher or mako. You only need to go out as far as the Mud Hole for sharks, and there have been reports of bluefin tuna there as well. Jennie’s Horn and Ryan’s Horn have produced sharks and bluefin in the past week.
• From The Fish Connection in Preston comes word that bunker, bass and bluefish are thick around the mouth of the Thames River. Live-lining bunker or soaking chunks below the bluefish is a good bet for stripers. The Race is loaded with stripers hitting diamond jigs, but there are a lot of sub-legal fish for every plus-28-incher. Black Point has given up 30- to 34-inch stripers before sunset, Bartlett Reef has some big bass, and the Millstone discharge has bass and some big blues, which have been spotted chasing hickory shad in the early morning.
• Lou at Hillyer’s Bait & Tackle in Waterford said that fluke can be found in about 50 feet of water along the Misquamicut Beach area of Rhode Island, which is where Krista Rokicki caught a 13.4-pounder. Nice fluke, Krista! Isabella Beach on the south side of Fishers Island is red hot for fluke. Scup are thick among the rocks, and some of them are in the 15- to 18-inch range.
• Captain Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle in Madison reported more inshore action on blackfish from rock jetties. Sea worms may make better bait right now, but with all the scup around you’re better off using green crabs. Blues and stripers are around, mainly where the bunker are located. Find bunker and you could find stripers in the 40- to 50-inch range. Live bunker make the best bait, but live hickory shad will take trophies as well.
• Farther west in the Sound, sand eels are the main bait that is dominating the fishing scene. The stripers are keyed on the sand eels, providing the best action for light-tackle and fly-fishing anglers who can imitate the green-hued eels. From Fishermen’s World in Norwalk came a report of larger stripers in the 20- to 25-pound range being taken on live bunker and chunked bait outside of the Norwalk Islands. (Kevin Blinkoff, On The Water).