On The Water Magazine

• Best Bets for Connecticut and Rhode Island: Sounds to me like Block Island is the place to be for bonito, as this species seems to be stacked high and wide in the Coast Guard Channel for the time being. Opportunities for big stripers exist if you want to patrol the beaches after curing your case of “bonito fever.” Eastern Long Island Sound seems to be a good bet as well, with lots of good bluefishing as far west as Stratford. The Charlestown and Quonny breachways in Rhode Island seem like winners, too, with opportunities for multiple species of fish. The Thames River sounds pretty hot as well, though you may not see bonito if you venture upriver of the mouth.
• Connecticut: Over in Connecticut, Rennie at The Fish Connection in Preston reports that masses of baby bunker have come into the Thames River, drawing the bluefish in from near and far. Blues in the 2- to 3-pound range are pursuing the baby bunker, while blues in the 10- to12-pound range are after the bigger specimens. Big striped bass are lurking beneath them, just waiting for you to get below the horde of savage bluefish! Poquetanuck Cove, Norwich Harbor and Hortons Cove have been the hottest spots for them, according to reports. For those who want surprise – or want to avoid one – massive amounts of sea robins have hunkered down near Buoy-17 on the Thames. Proceed with glee or caution, because the nice-sized fluke mixed in can make the fishing either interesting or frustrating. Reports of bonito are coming in from Groton Long Point, Bluff Point, Watch Hill, the Sluiceway and Millstone Point. Bluefish have arrived en masse along the shore in the past week, proving a nuisance to anglers trying to catch anything but a bluefish. Bluff Point, Harkness Memorial and Ram Island Reef have been holding the greatest number of blues. Fluke fishing is still good in all the likely spots, so hit them while the season still is open.
• Hillyer’s Bait & Tackle in Waterford reports good fluke fishing as well, particularly for anglers who are venturing into the deeper waters. Big fish are being taken there on a consistent basis, and Peruvian smelt seems to be the winning bait for the biggest specimens. Fishing for striped bass is fairly slow by day, and your best bet is still eels at night, although those who look can generally find school bass. Bluefish are everywhere, with Black Point and the Sluiceway being the most productive areas. For those seeking hickory shad, early morning at the mouth of the Niantic River has been excellent. Reports coming into Hillyer’s testify to good numbers of bonito at Pleasure Beach, the Sluiceway and Race Rock. Final words: The crabbing is unbelievable.
• For Eastern Long Island Sound, the numbers are impressive. Captain Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Bait & Tackle in Madison reported that during the ICC tournament over this past weekend, the greatest number of bluefish and the biggest concentration of larger bluefish were taken there. Although the biggest bluefish (17-plus pounds) came from an area west of New Haven, the vast bulk of big fish were taken between the Connecticut River and New Haven. The striped bass are still around, but because the bait is spread out, the fish are, too. Captain Morgan has been hearing good reports for stripers around the breakwaters, the Thimble Islands, and Falkner and Charles Islands. Bonito have also been reported at Falkner, and there have been some nice catches of weakfish there as well. Fluke fishing is still holding up, with the fish mostly coming from 60 to 70 feet of water. Shorebound fluke anglers are doing pretty well at Hammonasset.
• There were also a number of good bluefish taken in the Stratford area, according to the weigh-ins for the tournament that's taking place at Stratford Bait & Tackle in Stratford. Chris said lots of 16-pound blues were hanging from the scale, and the smallest bluefish that came in was 13 pounds. Striper fishing, on the contrary, is a bit on the slow side, although fishing eels at night will still take some very nice fish, particularly in deeper water. Chris is awaiting the arrival of some larger bait to get the bigger fish clumped up rather than spread out, as they are at the moment. A few reports of bonito come into the shop, but these fish are not feeding anywhere on a steady basis, so it is a hit-or-miss scenario.
• Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reported good bonito action at Goose Island, and good topwater action to big bluefish feeding on bunker on the south side of Sheffield Island. Sheffield has also been producing some decent catches of bass, though most fish have been in the 20-pound range. Good catches of scup on sand worms are being reported from the same area.
• Inland just a bit, John at Valley Angler in Danbury didn’t have any great reports, mainly because everyone has been focused on bluefish, and other species are just starting up again. Candlewood Lake has been slow for anglers fishing during the day, but nighttime fishermen are doing o.k. with live bait, taking some nice bass of both the large and smallmouth variety. John has also been hearing of some decent fishing to large rainbow trout on Candlewood at night, again using live shiners as bait.
• Rhode Island: The bonito and false albacore are ruling the seas this week, claiming territory from Connecticut to Cape Cod. Along the Plymouth shoreline and up in Hull anglers are seeing the first smelt of the season. As the summer air cools down, the striper action is heating up again. Chase your big linesiders from Connecticut to Great Bay, and especially around Block Island. Bear in mind, the bluefish blitzes have been ferocious, so you have to get below them to find your cow bass. Fluke are putting in a strong last stand around Rhode Island, and offshore action has continued to be hot for tuna, with the occasional bigeye, mahi-mahi, and white marlin to boot.
• Steve at The Saltwater Edge in Newport agreed with the assessment that fishing in upper Narragansett Bay is spotty at the moment. There is a lot of bait pouring into the bay, so the action ought to pick up as we move into September, making this fall season a real winner. For the Newport area, Ocean Drive has been productive, particularly after dark with eels, and anglers are doing o.k. after dark with plugs. Steve has also heard some good reports about Narragansett Beach from anglers using eels at night.
• Bonito are keeping anglers busy along the coast in Narragansett, according to reports that Mary at Maridee Bait & Tackle in Narragansett is getting. Deadly Dicks and Rebel Fastrac lures are the current object of desire for these speedsters, so stock up before you head out. Hazard Avenue, Newton Avenue and the East Wall have all been witness to some pretty hot bonito action. There have also been reports of bonito in the mouth of the Narrow River, so it really does seems as if they are everywhere. Striped bass action is picking up a bit, with early and late being best if you can’t get out during darkness. From shore, light-colored Bombers are producing during the day, and black/purple is the color of choice for the hours of darkness. Tsunami plugs between 1 ½ and 2 ounces are producing some nice linesiders during daylight hours along the Narragansett beaches. Fluke fishing is beginning to slow just a bit, according to reports coming into the shop, but anglers targeting 70 feet of water or deeper are still doing well, especially in the area just east of the East Wall.
• Regarding the Charlestown Breachway, Phil at Breachway Bait & Tackle in Charlestown reports that 3- to 9-pound bluefish have invaded. It seems that whenever you toss something shiny into the water, your hooks come back with a bluefish attached. Striped bass are a bit scarcer, although shore-casters are having good catches of schoolies late and early in the day. Boats in slightly deeper waters are catching bigger bass early in the day. Bonito are parading up and down the beaches, but they aren’t hanging around very long, and shore-casters generally have not been able to hook them. Baby bunker are everywhere, which will keep the fish around and busy for a while. Phil agreed that the fluke action has slowed a bit, and most reports coming into the shop show that the fish are deeper and the ones being taken are smaller.
• Captain Don at Captain Don’s Bait & Tackle in Charlestown reported “tons” of bass at the mouth of the Quonny Breachway at the beginning of the week, and they’re stretching all the way over the East Beach and beyond. Most are school bass, but the occasional bigger fish has come to the hooks of anglers, too. Blue Shutters Beach has seen bass and bluefish at the surface during the first hours of light on a pretty consistent basis, and Captain Don reported “fish bumping the bottom of the boat” as he came up the Breachway just a few days ago. The bottom line is that there are lots of fish in and around Quonny Pond at the moment due to the thick schools of bait all over the place. According to Captain Don, a pink/white Versa-popper with a bent lip and no top is just killing the fish from shore during the day. If you stop at the shop, I am sure he will show you how to rig this fish-slayer up correctly. Bonito are also remaining at the mouth of the Breachway, making the occasional forays into the Breachway itself. Fluke fishing is holding up, but the fish are moving into deeper waters. Ninety feet of water out at the second ledge at the Quonny is producing some huge fluke at the moment.
• The first word out of John’s mouth when I called Twin Maples on Block Island was “bonito.” Massive schools of bonito are moving in and out of the Coast Guard Channel, and anglers are having a blast picking up these racing hounds from both shore and boat. While fly-rodders are having the most consistent luck (three to four fish per person), Yo-Zuri L-Jacks, Deadly Dicks, Swedish Pimples and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, in that order, are the best producers for spin casting anglers. Just make sure the lure has some green on it, because the more it looks like a sand eel, the better your hook-up rate will be. While bonito have stolen the headlines, striped bass and bluefish are still waging war up and down the beaches. There have been excellent catches of big stripers even during daylight hours on both eels and needlefish plugs. According to reports coming to John, another run of large stripers (think 40- to 50-pounders) is showing up along the beaches. The fluke are still a possibility, but 80 feet of water is target depth at the moment. For those getting into them, the size ratio has shifted so that fluke in the 20-inch-plus range are much more common. (Alan Desbonnet, On the Water Magazine).