On The Water 8/4/05

1. Bluefin tuna that were ripping around off the mouth of Narragansett Bay two weeks ago were not only still around but more abundant and spread out in distribution. Now it seems anglers are seeing, reporting and even catching these fish, which are running 25 to 35 pounds on average from Newport, down along the south shore beaches and out along Fishers Island to The Race. Be aware that anglers must have National Marine Fisheries- issued permits to target and retain these fish. Severe penalties can be issued for those who do not comply. The permits are $22 and can be obtained online at www.nmfspermits.com. Be sure to read and follow all the regulations regarding these fish, including the rule that catches must be reported within 24 hours.
2. Thomcat Pelletier of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown told us that the bluefin tuna are in along the beaches from Point Judith to Watch Hill and east to Newport, based on what he is hearing. They are juvenile fish or “footballs,” as they are called, that weigh from about 25 on up to 30 or 40 pounds. The presence of large schools of sand eels is probably the reason these fish are still in the area. They are more easily put down and spooked than the albies that many anglers are waiting for, so if you are legal and plan to target these fish, approach them quietly. There is a great deal of speculation as to whether these fish will remain after another weekend of being run over and beat up by heavy boat traffic.
3. Fluke catches have been consistent from Point Judith to East Beach. No monster doormats reported this week, but four- to six-pound fish are not uncommon. Thom himself has been doing well. He has caught a bunch of keeper fluke, with many 19- to 22-inchers on his weekly fluke outings. A recent trip to Nomans Land produced fluke to 6 pounds, big sea bass and a 17-inch scup, but on the dark side, tons of dogfish. Fluke fishing was spotty for a while, but they have been caught on a more consistent basis lately.
4. Striped bass action is slowing with the summer heat, but there are enough big fish still in the area feeding on the abundant bait sources to keep things interesting. Captain Fred Bowman of Bottom Line Charters caught a 47 and two 40s off Block Island last week. Steve McKenna, the shop’s resident surf-fisherman, said the shore spots around Narragansett are slowing but are still pretty good for August. The bait is the reason for this late success. He’s heard tales of false albacore around, but there has been no verification of these reports, being that people may be confusing surface-busting bluefins with Little Tunny.
5. Peter at Saltwater Edge, Newport reported that the tuna seem to be heading east. It’s falling quiet around Newport and turning on to the east of there around Sakonnet.
   
6. The big news has been that surface poppers like a Chug Bug or pencil popper have been drawing strikes from these fish more readily than the standby Deadly Dicks and other metal lures. The metal simply has not been working as well. Peter said that the other night he and a friend caught two fish on metal while another boat that was tossing topwater lures said they caught and released at least 20 fish.
7. Bass action has been O.K. but more difficult now that the peanut bunker are in strong and have become the primary forage. They continue to feed on the tiny bunker, so use teasers or smaller baits to hook up, but it’s getting tougher when they are on the small stuff. No real monsters this week, partly because much of the striper effort has been targeted toward the bluefins that were so prevalent. The small blues are around, but they are not as thick as they have been, which is to the liking of most hard-core striper anglers.
8. Rumors of bonito continue to come into the shop, but no one he knows has caught one so far. They typically run with the bluefins, but none have been caught yet for some reason.
9. Ronnie at Breachway Tackle, Charlestown was on the water when we talked to him Wednesday. When we called, he had a youngster who was pulling in a 25-pound striper that was heading for a lobster pot. Minutes later another kid in the boat hooked up, making for some mayhem that preempted our conversation. The bluefins are running up and down the beach, but Ronnie didn’t see them on Wednesday.
10. Fluke fishing has been better for the same reason the tunas are here – bait and lots of it.
11. Bob of Wildwood Outfitters in Wakefield, the person who first told us about the tunas along the Rhody Beaches, said he’s still hearing of these fish around, with a few people getting permits and actually taking fish on flies and by trolling. Scarborough Beach is one of the hot spots. One angler caught a fish on fly tackle earlier in the week. They are ripping around and showing, but there’s not much catching, which is typical for all the tunas.
12. Bob and two people from the shop fished one day early this week with Sea Ferra Charters and caught 20 keeper fluke, with 6 in the 4- to 6-pound range. They caught most of their fish off the Center Wall at Pt. Judith. They caught 15 of their fish right off the bat in the first hour, then it slowed. Fluking has been good from the walls to Five Cottages area.
13. Bob had a great week on the water. Over the weekend he went striper fishing off Matunuck Beach and caught a 42-pound, 48-inch bass. He took his monster from the beach on a dropping tide Sunday night on a live hickory shad. He said he had three baits stolen, but the fourth bait was the charm.
14. Fishing has generally been spotty for stripers overall as water temperatures rise with the midsummer hea, but obviously there are still nice fish around to catch.
15. John Swienton, owner of Twin Maples Tackle out on Block Island, has been hearing about and seeing loads of bass this past week. The fire department put on a fishing tournament that brought many fish of all species to the scales, so he was busy over the weekend. One guy caught a 50-pounder after the event started but couldn’t sign up, to his chagrin.
16. Many bass weighed were in the upper 30s, with the first-place prize something like 38 pounds. On the beaches, poppers did well over the weekend. Most of the winners were caught on eels after dark. The first place fluke was in the 5- to 6-pound range, and a 12-pound-class blue won that division. The event drew 70 people and is expected to become an annual event, so look for it next summer.
17. The biggest stripers are being caught off Southwest Ledge, Black Rock, below the Southeast Light and along the beaches. The charter boats have been hitting bass on umbrella rigs with small, fluorescent green and pink tubes. Sandy Point has been producing mixed blues and smaller bass that measure in inches not pounds like the southwest corner.
18. The bonito showed up at the Coast Guard channel on Monday, the first of the season. Deadly Dicks tied directly to 12-pound-test are the way to go for these things.
19. The tuna are in close to the island, with both bluefin and yellowfins reportedly caught by private and charter boats. The tri-state tuna tournament is going on, which should bring in better catches for next week’s report. First day of the tournament, fish to 90 pounds were brought into the scales.
20. Captain Don of Captain Don’s Tackle, Charlestown, Rhode Island reported that there are plenty of fish around to catch. More anglers are seeing bluefins than catching them. One woman caught three in the 25- to 35-pound range. They are off Nebraska Shoal, Bartlett Reef and other areas, but they move so fast that it’s difficult to pinpoint a particular spot to catch them. They are where you find them, as the saying goes.
21. The bass bite is good but slowing with the heat. There are lots of 20-pound-class fish being caught up and down the shore around rock piles and off breachways on tube-and-worm rigs or on eels after dark. Out off the Watch Hill Reef area, fishing has remained pretty good for both bass and blues. There has been a consistent bite off the reefs on tubes, and by three-waying eels. Block Island is also holding good fish, off the southwest corner. Angela Kelly from Warren, CT, caught a bass of 20 pounds off Carpenters Beach on tube and worm. Mike Megana from Manchester, CT, caught a 37.5-pound striper from shore on eels at night off Watch Hill.
22. Bigger bluefish are showing in the area. The key is that there’s still tons of bait around to hold the predators, including hickory shad that are showing up in the salt ponds. Big scup are all over the place for those who want to load up.
23. The first rumblings of tunoids showing in the area came in over the weekend but nothing specific. There is some confusion in separating bluefins and the small tunas. With albies off Block, it won’t be long before they move in along the beaches and into the breachways.
24. Kevin of King Cove Marina in Stonington told us that fish are everywhere. They’re running along the south side of Fishers and out into The Race, and were showing as close as the east breakwater in Stonington earlier in the week. The anchovies are in, and the bass are sucking them down like crazy, along with other predators that are in the area.
25. Nothing huge in the bass department this week but lots of 15- to 20-pounders are being reported.
26. Fluke fishing has been good this week, as well. The fish are hitting best off the Rhody beaches, with White Rock and Noyes Shoal producing inside the Sound when boats can’t get out or winds are too strong on the beaches.
27. Cheryl Fee of Shaffer’s Marina, Mystic said that some sort of tuna were all over the area around Napatree Point over the weekend. Their fly-fishermen are catching the tunoids there and have been following them west from Nebraska Shoal to Napatree for a couple of weeks now.
28. Fluke fishermen have been fishing in the river due to the fog lately, but on Sunday when the fog lifted, anglers got out to Rhode Island and did very well. No monsters, but good catches of fish in the low to mid 20-inch range.
29. Stripers are being caught by anglers who fish early and late in the day, but they are reporting nothing big, but good numbers of bass all over the place. Anglers fishing poppers and soft plastics are doing well off Latimer Reef and Ram Island. Diamond-jigging in The Race and three-ways have not been primary modes for many customers this year. Rather they are staying inside and fishing light tackle around the reefs and rock piles. Smaller boats are tube-and-worming and doing well off Mason’s Island and Dodge Island. One novice has been catching keepers on tubes up close to the rocks in the shallows for a month now from a 14-foot boat. Bass fishing is down a tad, but it’s that time of year.
30. The causeway bridge was closed, so anglers have been going downtown and catching porgies and small fluke from the railroad bridge and places in Mystic.
31. Sea bass and blackfish are dribbling in with porgy catches. Overall, bottom fishing is good. Porgies are all over the place. Not many crabs showing at this point. Many people are looking, but no one is talking or doing much catching.
32. Joe Balint of The Fish Connection, Preston on the Thames has been seeing bluefish all up and down the Thames. A few porgies have been caught up as far as 27, along with some fluke, which is typical for this time of year when the baby bunker enter the river. Schoolies are small but plentiful. There are adult bunker in the river that made it to Norwich over the weekend. These fish will eventually draw bigger fish into the river, providing they stick around.
33. Porgies are thick off little Goshen, Seaflower, Horseshoe and Latimer reefs. Anglers are doing well on fluke in the Mystic River, around Intrepid Rock, Vixen Ledge, Sara Ledge and off Harkness Park, where the draggers can’t scrape them up off the bottom. Fishers Island and the beaches have been hot some days and cold on others.
34. The bass scene has slowed. Anglers are working hard with eels off Valiant to catch some keepers after dark. Joe had a 44-incher come in last week for Northeast Taxidermy, and he also saw a 51-pounder caught off Valiant Rock last week. The surface temperatures are 68 to 69 degrees out in the Sound.
35. Largemouth bass fishing has picked up in area lakes, with Pachaug and Glasgo ponds both generating chatter over the past few days.
36. A few crabs have been reported in the Thames but none elsewhere. Joe said he hasn’t even seen them on the trim tabs on the boats in Gales Ferry Marina.
37. Lew at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle, Waterford said that he weighed in a 38.5-pound striper for a guy who gave no information on his catch. Dan Logan caught a 41.25-pounder off Bartlett Reef on a Houdini Shad. Shawn Gaska took a 43-pounder off Black Point after dark on an eel. These are the best out of many 20-pound-class bass that seem to be fairly common throughout the region. Howard Beers went to The Ruins and said the boat did well in general.
38. Hillyer’s was also hearing of those bluefin tuna in The Race and off the southwest corner of Block Island. There was talk of false albacore off Quonny Pond earlier in the week. Niantic Bob has been champing at the bit to get at these fish, and plans to fish them soon.
39. The hickory shad finally showed up in good numbers in the river which makes for some fun on light tackle and fly tackle, as well as a great big bass live hook bait.
40. Porgies are all over the place.
41. One customer has been fishing with umbrella rigs on wire line and loading up on small bluefish, with bigger choppers occasionally mixing up the catch. The Millstone Point has had big bluefish in right where you can’t fish at the inflow, and the outflow is also holding fish, as it always does this time of year.
42. Pat Abate of River’s End, Saybrook reported that the fluke fishing has improved. People are finally catching their limits in the Connecticut River and out along Sound View in Lyme. The sizes are better than he’s seen all season, with a 2:1 or 3:1 short to keeper ratio reported by customers. Pat fished off Gardner Island and caught just short of a limit of fish to four pounds himself over the weekend. The fluke are fat and eating well.
43. Bluefish action is very good. There are huge numbers of harbor blues that have invaded the Sound over the past couple of weeks. They make for fast action but can interfere when trying to fish for fluke or striped bass with bait.
44. The best news is the baitfish. Pat saw adult bunker by the railroad bridge in the lower Connecticut River, with peanuts farther downriver. Bay anchovies were thick off Fishers Island and Gardner Island, and they were being chased by tinker mackerel, which probably had some bass and blues feeding on them. Pat said, “This is a great setup for the fall if the bait stays around.”
45. There is some bass action around Bartlett Reef and The Race for the moment but nothing major or sustained.
46. Pat said two anglers hooked up on five of those bluefins with flies and landed three of these fish earlier in the week out around Fishers Island and The Race.
47. Things are on the good side of normal, overall. There are a few good catches from crabbers who know their stuff and have secret spots, but most are not doing anything.
48. Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle, Madison said the bass have been stacked up and feeding on small bunker and hickory shad all over the place. Early morning and evening bites have been hot. Anglers are picking up bass in the mid-30-inch range after dark along the shore and bigger fish than that from boats. Hot spots are off Southwest Reef, Six Mile Reef and Kimberly Reef, with the larger fish being caught more to the east. Falkner Island is a good place for fish to 30 pounds or more. The captain said he saw a worm spawn that came off last week in the river, but it’s over and done already.
49. There are good numbers of fluke and porgies around. The best fluke this week weighed five to six pounds, but nothing much bigger than that has come into the shop. No one is complaining, but they are working hard for limits of fluke. Blackfish are still being caught off the reefs and rock piles, but many catches are being made accidentally while porgy fishing.
50. Bluefish are all over the place, as well. Most are small, but anglers are taking choppers while bait-fishing for big bass out around the reefs. The World’s Greatest Bluefish Contest on August 27 and 28 is now taking registrations from those who want to go for the $25,000 first-place prize. Captain Morgan’s is an official weigh station for this event.
51. Burt from Fisherman’s World, Norwalk said bluefish are all over around Sheffield Island, on top all the way to “28-C,” feeding on sand eels and baby bunker. Most are smaller harbor bluefish, but the best so far are up to 12 pounds. The blues are showing at some time every day and sometimes all day long from the Sheffield Light to the wharf. If anglers don’t run them over too much, fishing action can be very good.
52. There are big bunker in the harbor, but none of the jumbo bass are on them right now due to warming temperatures. But there are a few big choppers on the adult bunker, as would be expected.
53. Fluke fishing has been slow, but a few have been caught off Buoy 28 and outside Copps Island. Porgies are abundant out around the reefs and buoy areas, where anglers are having no problem limiting out on this species practically on demand – wind and tides permitting.
54. There are no blue crabs in this area, either.
55. Best bet this week sounds like fluke to the east and along the Rhody beaches, where bait is holding them in place for a change. Be on the lookout for busting bluefin tuna, and don’t keep one unless you have the proper permits. Also be on the lookout for an influx of small tunas, bonito and false albacore that by most accounts appear to be heading our way. [originally published "On The Water" written by Bob Sampson, Jr.