On The Water Magazine

Best Bets for Connecticut and Rhode Island: Take the ferry to Block Island and stay the weekend, fishing eels at your leisure throughout the day to jumbo bass, then heading out for a relaxing dinner and a good night’s sleep. If that isn’t possible, I might suggest picking up one or more of the interesting “local lures” Capt. Don suggests, then fishing them off the beaches of Charlestown, or perhaps in one of the breachways. Crabbing anywhere along the Connecticut coast sounds like a winner, with very tasty dividends to be paid for the effort. If fresh water is a must, your best bets sound like the Farmington or Shetucket Rivers.

• Rising water temperatures in upper Narragansett Bay, combined with bluefish scattering the schools of bunker, have resulted in the jumbo striped bass moving into the deeper, cooler waters of lower Narragansett Bay and beyond. While there are still fish to be caught in the upper bay, Dave at Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown has reports coming in saying that the fishing is much more sporadic than it has been in previous weeks. If you can find a school of bunker, you will no doubt find some fish, but this is becoming rarer and rarer. The most consistent striper fishing at the moment is around the southern tip of Jamestown and in the lower East and West Passages. From the reports that Dave is getting, fishing bait deep outside of the bay is bringing up lots and lots of dogfish. Fluke fishing is still very good, but anglers are noting that the fish are moving around a lot, meaning that catching can be sporadic if you stay in one spot.
• Fishing remains “OK” in the Newport area, according to Peter at The Saltwater Edge in Newport. There does not appear to be tons of bait concentrated in any particular spot, and so fishing from shore is very sporadic. Peter notes that a boat will help, but things are still a bit slower than would be considered normal. Early and late are the best times to try your luck in the Newport area.
• Rob at Wildwood Outfitters in Wakefield says Block Island is the place to be. Anglers are having a field day with large stripers all along the south side of the island from shore, and along the outside of the ledge by boat. Eels are the bait to be tossing, and for those anglers not keen on losing lots of sleep, the jumbo bass seem willing to eat eels at noon on a bright and sunny day. Fish close to 50 pounds are being taken throughout the day, according to reports Rob is hearing. Fluke fishing remains quite good, and the Center Wall at about 60 feet and Carpenters Village at about 45 feet are two prime areas. Striper fishing from shore is pretty inconsistent at the moment, though reports say that Jamestown’s southern shore is productive. For fresh waters, Rob has only limited information, though Worden Pond is definitely overheated – water temperatures are in the lower to mid 80s, with little relief in sight.
• The big news from Mary at Maridee Bait & Tackle in Narragansett was a 14-foot thresher shark caught on their charter boat over the past weekend. The great fish was taken just south of Block Island, took about two-and-a-half hours to get into the boat, and weighed in at 320 pounds. Around town, stripers are still prevalent at the docks in Galilee but tough to catch. One persistent angler took a 30-pounder on clam bellies, suggesting that the fish do eat. Stripers seem to have moved into their summer routine, according to reports Mary is getting, and eels fished under the cover of darkness are the most productive way to go for the time being. The Town Beach and Black Point have been great eel spots over the past week. Good-sized scup are still being taken along the East Wall, with an occasional nice bass coming to hook as a surprise package. Fluke seem to be moving into waters along the beaches, according to reports from successful shore-bound fluke fishermen. The East and Short walls are producing good fluke catches overall.
• Justin at Breachway Bait & Tackle in Charlestown has been hearing reports of excellent fishing along the shore and breachway area. There are plenty of fish, both bass and blues, and anglers are doing quite well in the pond itself, particularly early and late. Some bigger blues in the 10- to 12-pound range have moved into the area, and anglers are taking them at the mouth of the pond and in the breachway. Fluke fishing is good, with lots of keepers being taken. Justin noted that anglers fishing squid in about 40 feet of water seem to be doing the best overall.
• Reports coming into Capt. Don’s in Charlestown confirm that bluefish, bigger ones included, have indeed moved into the region. Anglers are taking bluefish from shore, on boats, in the breachway and in the ponds. Capt. Don highly recommends using Grim Reefers or Point Jude Lures, as anglers are killing blues on these specific pieces of hardware. Live-lining scup or other live bait is also excellent for taking fish along the shore or by boat, and particularly on the reefs off Watch Hill. Anglers are doing quite well in the surf along Charlestown, according to reports Capt. Don is getting from his patrons, using chunks on bass and hardware on blues early and late in the day. Fluke fishing is good at 40- to 45-foot depths using just about any bait; just be sure to be over rough bottom if you want keepers. Keep to the smooth sand if you want lots of shorts. Capt. Don’s tip of the week: toss a Tally Whacker plug at the mouth of the breachway on the outgoing tide at night. Be sure to keep a tight grip on that rod.
• The striped bass inhabiting the Thames River have moved down toward the mouth, and good numbers are being reported in Trading Cove. Bluefish have moved into the river big time, according to Rennie at the Fish Connection in Preston, and have scattered the bunker, making the bass fishing a bit more sporadic. There are plenty of blues to toss bait and hardware at, however. Fluke fishing is really good right now, according to Rennie, and Harkness Memorial and Sarah Ledge are both holding good numbers of keepers. Groton Long Point, Seaflower Reef and Intrepid Rock are also producing good numbers of fluke. Rennie also has reports of fluke in the Thames River, the most productive area being from the mouth to buoy 27. Inland, Pachaug and Long ponds are producing good catches of largemouth bass, and Amos Lake is seeing good largemouth action to live bait, particularly late in the day. Rennie also recommends grabbing a crab net and heading out for some blueshells. Gauging from reports coming in, this will be one of the best – if not the best – seasons for this species in some time.
• The best place for striped bass in far eastern Long Island Sound seems to be The Race, according to reports that Mark at Hillyer’s Tackle Shop in Waterford is hearing. Bartlett Reef is running a close second, and both are fishing the best to tube-and-worm rigs. The Spindle at Bartlett has been particularly productive, with several 30-pound-plus fish coming from there recently. Bluefish have moved in for the season at all locations, so Mark suggests bringing along lots of terminal tackle.
  
• Reports have it that fluke fishing is just okay at the moment, mainly because it has become inconsistent. Anglers going out for the day and moving around when the bite stops or fails to start are doing the best. Black Point and Two Tree Channel are two spots that Mark recommends checking out, sticking to the deeper areas of both sites. Reports show that about 60 percent are shorts at this point. Scup fishing is also good, and all of the local rock piles are producing well. Mark has heard some very good reports of scup coming from Jordan Cove. He added that the crabbing is slow at the moment, but reports say that is it great just to the west and east, so he expects it to turn around in his area as well.
• Allen at Shaffer’s Marina in Mystic was pretty busy, but was able to report that Misquamicut has been the place to go for keeper fluke over the past week or so, with the Pink House being the most productive area in about 50 feet of water. The back side of Fishers Island is also good, but not as good as Misquamicut.
• Winds made fluke fishing tough over the past weekend, but the start of the week made up for that, says Capt. Morgan at Capt. Morgan’s Bait & Tackle in Madison. A 9 ½-pounder was weighed in despite the wind, so good fish are in the area. Bluefish are providing pretty consistent topwater action in the Madison area, particularly in the evenings. The bunker have been scattered by the blues, so while the stripers are still around, the bigger ones are tougher to find. In light of the warming waters, Capt. Morgan suggests hitting local reefs and the traditional deeper, cooler sites for big stripers. In fresh waters, largemouth bass are still on the bite, especially in the evenings. Rivers are low, making the trout fishing tough, but caddis in the Shetucket River are getting fish onto the surface during the hatch.
• Chris at Stratford Bait & Tackle in Stratford says the fluke fishing is great in the area, and Middle Ground in particular is producing some very nice fish. Many in the 5- to 6-pound range are being taken, and the occasional 8-pound fish is making its way into the shop. Chris reports that shore-fishing is tough at the moment, with mostly smallish fish being taken. Chunk bunker is proving productive when fished deep, but a boat is needed. Scup fishing is a bit slow, but Middle Ground and the back side of Charles Island are doing rather well.
• Bigger stripers are moving into the Milford area, and a few in the 30-pound range are being taken. While action is picking up at buoys 11B and 28C, Chris at Westport Outfitters in Norwalk reports that fishing the rocky shallows is proving very effective for good-sized stripers. He adds that the biggest fish will still be caught deep on the reefs as they now settle in for the summer. Fluke fishing is excellent throughout, and the mouth of the Housatonic is producing some decent-sized fish. For best results, Chris suggests seeking out sandy areas for fluke, especially just outside the Norwalk Islands and in the various deeper channels. Although fishing the channels takes a bit of ingenuity and tact because of the never-ending boat traffic, Chris says it is worth the effort because big fluke lay in them, and because they are rarely fished due to the effort required. Reports from the field have it that sand eels, which have been thick throughout the area for the past few weeks, are thinning out, but silversides are moving in, and the fish will begin to key in on them.