TheDay 8/12/05

Bluefin tuna fever is still running strong with fish popping up anywhere between The Race and the waters between Block Island and Point Judith. Most people are tossing small metal lures at the fish when they surface, chasing baitfish in the 11/2-2-inch range. With all the bait in both the eastern Sound and along the Rhode Island beaches, it looks like we'll have a good September.

Capt. Al Anderson gave us a report via cell phone from 60-80-feet of water between Block and Point Judith, saying he spent a week chasing the school bluefin. His best trip was 14 fish tagged and released but as this goes to press he felt the schools were thinning. He also said the thick fog in the mornings hurt efforts because it was difficult to see the breaking fish until too late.

Schools of bluefish are in these areas also, sometimes hitting so fast and frequently you had to leave the spot. Best success of late was casting small metal lures like the Deadly Dick not trolling. Al uses a troll valve on his 42-footer to slow his speed to cautiously approach the surfacing schools quietly then cast across the school, not running wide open into the fish, a sure way to chase them elsewhere.

Stephanie Cramer fished with Capt. Anderson once last week, getting three shots casting at the school bluefin with her fly rod but didn't connect any of the times.

Zach Harvey, editor of The Fisherman magazine, got out chasing bluefin and watched his buddy land a 60-pounder near the can outside Nebraska Shoal. He called it quite an afternoon, seeing bluefin come clear out of the water, the bathing beaches right in the background only a mile away.

Capt. Don's in Charlestown is selling the 5/8-ounce Hydro-Metal and gold, small Crystal Minnows to people hooking and landing bluefin in the 20-25-pound class. These are small boat anglers looking for fish on top then casting the lures on mostly spinning rods into the breaking fish. Plenty of kids and tourists are out on our waters, catching fluke at times in 30-40 feet off Quonnie or school bass in the pond. Scup are on most rock piles, grabbing anything put in front of them including larger baits meant for doormat fluke. They were also caught on a red tube and sandworm trolled for striped bass.

Al Golinski of Misquamicut spent the week wrestling with a balky outboard, cutting back his trips to just Sunday when they started with two stripers in the 20s on the Watch Hill reefs then a dozen sea bass to 6.8 pounds in deep water off Charlestown.

Shaffers in Mystic reported a slow weekend for fluke but better catches as this week progressed around buoys four and six and in 60 feet off the Rhode Island beaches. Bass were caught on the reefs on live eels and at Valiant, drifting chunk mackerel just like you would a bucktail. Tube and worm trollers scored on both sides of Fishers Island in the evenings and also some around Dodge Island. Residents of Lord's Point landed keeper bass in the evenings at the Eel Grass Grounds on live eels. Bonito were caught off Napatree on Saturday but none were reported since. Porgies as large as 14 inches took fluke baits drifted in the Mystic River.

The Fish Connection in Preston had word about lots of blues in The Race and fluke for those who put in their time from Seaflower to Weekapaug. Porgies are large and at a summer high, so much so some people are taking them for granted. Bluefin were sighted from the south side of Fishers to Point Judith, hitting small lures one day, ignoring everything on other days.

Capt. Brad Glas of the Hel-Cat said the day trips were good overall but some trips were better than others. On the night runs to Alligator Ledge he said fishing was OK, the numbers kept down somewhat by lots of bait that the blues chase around rather than concentrating on the hook baits down deep. The regulars though had their bags full while the newcomers had some frustrations. Big fish of the week was a 19-pound bass caught by Joe Morais of West Hartford.

Jeff Frechette of the “Snafu” sent in his regular report stating they made a run off to Block Canyon, landing an 8-foot tiger shark at night. They next morning they hooked and lost a blue marlin after a short fight then missed “several knockdowns during the day...” On the way back, they tossed squid bait around the high flyers for two medium mahi and lost others before it was time to open the throttle and head for Niantic.

Sherwood Lincoln of East Lyme got out on Wednesday off Black Point for a fluke limit to six pounds, two sea bass and all the porgies anyone could want. There were lots of two-pound blues chasing bait on top. Some of the bait balls were made up of five to six-inch mackerel that can be jigged up for fluke bait.

Matt at Hillyers said we have a bumper load of blues in The Race, making it hard to get bass during the day. Even after dark, the blues made their numbers felt, chopping up a lot eels meant for bass. One local used a diamond jig in The Race for two bluefin he released because he didn't have the federal permit needed to keep one. Fluking is pretty steady along the Rhode Island beaches but you'll have to put up with dogfish on some days. You'll catch a few sea bass in the eastern Sound but have steadier action on the west side of Block Island. Look for hickory shad at daybreak and again at dusk around the Niantic Bridges.

Pat Abate down at River's End in Old Saybrook gave the fluke catches a good rating, the first one this season. You can catch keepers and maybe a limit in the lower Connecticut River on weekdays when boat traffic is down. Striper fishing was generally slow during the day with the exception of some casting to small and medium fish tearing into bait balls about two miles off Watch Hill. It's better after dark with eels if you can keep the blues away. Porgies are very numerous and make a nice way to round out a day after chasing blues in the morning. [TheDay, Tim Coleman]