June 16, 2011

The full moon in June is providing some excellent fishing opportunities for large striped bass. The waters around Newport are primed, Block is heating up, and “cows” are already grazing on the reefs in Long Island Sound.  Thanks to an influx of inshore sand eels, it’s not just boat anglers who are finding action. The small bait, along with rising water temperatures, has the fluke bite steadily improving. Rhode Island’s south shore and pockets of Long Island Sound have been coughing up their fair of shorts, keepers and doormats.  Overall, the salt picture is good right now.  Hopefully after reading this you will have a better idea of where to take Dad fishing this weekend.

Rhode Island

Captain Jack at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle said there are bass just about everywhere right now.  However, his attention and guide trips have been shifting from Narragansett Bay to the waters in front of Newport. Jack’s been finding and hearing about big bass in the 30- and 40-pound class coming from around Sakonnet Point and westward. Some pogies remain in the Bay, yet Jack explained that falling oxygen levels have the baitfish spreading thin. If you can’t find pogies, he suggested catching and live-lining scup or drifting eels.

Arden at Saltwater Edge told me that the mass amount of sand eels off Newport is pretty silly.  Almost every evening at sunset, picky 30- to 40-inch bass have been combing the surf in search of them.  Some anglers casting 9-inch rigged Slug-Gos in black or ice shad colors have been doing well. Another top producer during the sand eel feed has been Red Gill teasers fished in front of swimming plugs. Arden suggested upgrading the stock hooks just in case you come across that fish that you’re really after. The surfcasting and boat fishing for striped bass around the Block is picking up steam as well. John from Twin Maples said shore-bound anglers on the north end of the Island have been getting into bass from small keeper-size to the high 30-pound range using wooden plugs.  Drifting eels from a boat around Block is also producing nice bass; that is if the dogfish don’t get them first.

Along with stripers, the south shore of Rhode Island has an abundance of fluke, yet you may have to weed through a healthy amount of shorts for your limit of keepers.  During my phone conversation with Captain Steve from Breachway Bait and Tackle, he told me the best action has been tight to the beaches, especially around Moonstone, Green Hill, and Carpenter’s in 25 to 35 feet of water. Mornings have been better than afternoons, and Steve prefers the outgoing tide over the incoming lately. Dogfish haven’t been as much of a problem in the shallow water along the south shore and Glow Daddy fluke rigs with squid strips have been working well for him. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters said customer Bruce Vass weighed in a 9-pound fluke this week from 30 to 60-feet off Misquamicut.  The 6^th annual “Fluke Til Ya Puke” fishing tournament is this Saturday from 5 AM to 1 PM.  In-person registration is available on Friday night from 7 to 10 PM at Ocean Ridge Club House in South Kingston.  The entry fee is $35 and the largest overall fluke takes the cash grand prize.

Fresh back from the West Branch Delaware River, Dave at River and Riptide Anglers is still seeing trout sipping dry flies in his sleep.  He said the Wood River is a little high and stained after recent downpours, but assured me that it should be in great shape for the weekend.  Dave thinks that strong hatches of Mahogany Duns and Light Cahills should have trout looking up for good dry-fly action.

Connecticut

The striper season on Long Island Sound’s reefs and humps is shaping up quite nicely!  Conor from J&B Tackle was aboard a 6-pack charter on Tuesday night that started slow and ended strong with 40- and 50-pound bass from the Race! They were 3-waying dark bucktail jigs during the flood tide and used 16 to 20 ounces of lead for good drifts.

On Wednesday morning, Captain Blaine Anderson of Anderson Guide Services put clients on eight striped bass between 40 and 48 inches on structure near Niantic.  The trickiest part of his outings has lately has been obtaining enough legal-sized scup for bait, which have a 10.5-inch minimum.  Blaine said that filling a 10-scup limit should get easier as the fish slowly move into shallower water. He uses high/low rigs with pieces of sandworm for catching scup, usually in about 20 to 30 feet of water in places without much current. The real fun ensues when the hard-earned baits are live-lined over structure, which Blaine does with a 3-way rig consisting of a 5-foot fluorocarbon leader and a dropper loop for the required lead.

Q from River’s End drifted eels along Bartlett’s Reef one night this week and was treated to a 32-pound bass at the end of the flood tide.  Even though the lower Connecticut River had a very difficult time getting started this spring, Joe at The Fish Connection said there are some nice bass and bluefish being caught near the mouth. Structure along the central part of the Sound is also attracting trophy bass, according to Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle.  He said that reefs off Clinton, Madison and Guilford have recently given up some notable stripers from 35 to 52 pounds.  Several of the fish were caught on 3-wayed eels, which Cappy says is out-fishing live bunker in the evenings and early mornings.

Acres of sand eels are covering the western Sound from the mouth of the Housatonic River to Norwalk and bass and bluefish are cashing in. Captain Chris Elser of Elser Guide Services said the fishing has been on fire, but the weather has been tough at times including plenty of east wind.  He had a successful trip on Tuesday that consisted of fly fishing for 30-inch stripers first with epoxy sand eel patterns, then live-lining bunker afterwards for keepers up to 42-inches and 10-pound bluefish mixed in.  That sure beats the office!

Danny at Rudy’s Tackle Barn said there are some bunker and gator bluefish roaming the Port Chester and Rye area of the Sound.  Customer Joe Paese landed a 13-pound blue this week while trolling bunker spoons by the Weather Buoy.

Matt at Hillyers has heard an uptick in fluke action at shop this week coming from the eastern Sound, including a 10.6-pound doormat landed on Monday by Bill Lanese.  Matt said it was locally caught and fell for a squid strip on a spinner fluke rig.  When I asked him to rattle off a few fluke spots worth trying, the first three out of his mouth were Seaflower Reef, Niantic Bay and Vixen’s Ledge.  He said to try focusing on 30 to 50 feet of water preferably on an outgoing tide, but anything moving is key.

In freshwater, the West Branch Farmington River was mostly spared by the rains this week, leaving the river clear and at a great level of 500 cubic feet per second.  Grady at Upcountry Sportfishing said that Blue Wing Olives (#18-20), Vitreus (#14-16), Sulphurs (#14-18), and March Browns (#12-14) are working in the evenings on the surface.  During the day, stripping streamers or nymphing with patterns like March Browns, Olive Caddis Larva and Pupa, along with Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs and Hares Ears, is bringing many trout to the net.

Best Bets for the Weekend

With Father’s Day on Sunday, hopefully all the fisherman dads among us get to spend some time on the water this weekend!  For fluke anglers, plying shallow water along the south shore of Rhode Island should keep you away from dogfish and into flatfish.  You won’t be alone on Saturday however, as a couple hundred anglers are expected for a fluke tournament.  If that’s too crowded, try Seaflower Reef or the south side of Fisher’s Island.  On the striper front, this is a good time of year to stick a cow while 3-waying bucktail jigs or drifting live baits.  Reefs from Newport to western Long Island Sound are holding large bass.  Some good game plans include live-lining bunker around Newport, 3-waying bucktails in the Race, or drifting eels on one of the many smaller reefs in the Sound.