June 30, 2011

June came and went in a flash, though July should offer more superb fishing opportunities. Take advantage now before the water really heats up and the “dog days” set in. Between 4^th of July festivities and the new moon phase, throngs of people will be flocking to the water this weekend and some great fishing awaits them. There are stripers of all sizes and hefty bluefish terrorizing baitfish all over the place. Fluke action is red hot, even though it may take a while to catch your limit. Scup fishing is really starting to take off and tautog and black sea bass seasons open in Connecticut on Friday. Throw in some quality freshwater bass reports and we have a well-rounded list of good fishing options for the long weekend.

Rhode Island

From Newport to Block Island to the south shore, I have heard positive fishing news all week long.  Arden at Saltwater Edge said there are lots of bluefish and small bass in the Newport Area, with some real trophies mixed in.  He knows this because some boat anglers are reporting 50-pound class stripers chasing their smaller bass during fights.  Arden thinks the larger bass aren’t necessarily keyed in on any one type of bait or tide, so targeting structure and pissing off fish for reaction-strikes is a fine approach.  Big swimmers or rigged eels are good bets, though you may have to sacrifice a few riggies to bluefish.  He also said to focus on the first-light window with spooks and pencil poppers.

Dave at River and Riptide fished out of Point Judith this week and found some good-sized bluefish from Matunuck to Scarborough Beach.  He also joked about thinking his boat was leaking oil because of a giant slick near League Rock, where pods of adult menhaden were getting demolished by stripers. Dave and clients fooled some of them using large Deceiver patterns.  And during his shop’s weekly Monday night fish-in, the group visited Charlestown Breachway and hit some schoolies feeding on sand eels inside the pond during the top of the incoming tide.  Captain Ron from Breachway Bait and Tackle had stellar week of striper fishing so far on a few reefs along the south shore.  From Green Hill and Five Cottages Reef, he’s taken four bass over 40-pounds on live eels drifted in 30 feet of water with ½-ounce egg sinkers.  The end of the incoming tide has been the most productive during his trips.

Striped bass aren’t the only species going off in Rhode Island right now; fluke fishing has been pretty good too.  Captain Ron heard of some nice reports coming from the south side of the Nebraska Shoal can, as well as 30 feet of water west of the Charlestown Breachway.  He suggested trying a Thom Cat glow-rig with a squid strip on the incoming tide.  Robin at Quonny Bait and Tackle echoed the good fluke action, but added that there is a lot of weeding out going on to find keepers.  However, plenty of 22- to 23-inch fish are coming from the Misquamicut area in 30 to 35 feet of water.  Robin prefers the outgoing tide right now and suggested drifting from the Merry-Go-Round to the orange swimming boundaries. She’s also a fan of the Thom Cat rigs, specifically a white lightning tipped with a mummy/squid combo. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters agreed that a 30-foot depth off Misquamicut has been reliable for action, as well as off Weekapaug, where 8-year-old Connor Martin’s 8-pound, 8-ounce fluke came from on Saturday.  He also threw in that the south side of Fisher’s Island off Isabella Beach has been good overall and that a lot of squid are in the area so pink is a good color choice.

Block Island
The waters around Block Island remain full of life.  John at Twin Maples said some bigger sand eels have shown up and the fishing has really turned on over the last couple days.  He also shared that a handful of stripers over the 40-pound mark were weighed in during a spear-fishing tournament on Tuesday.  The spear-fishermen reported seeing some very large bass traveling in small packs of four or five fish, but they also ran into much larger groupings of smaller bass.  John told me that the whole south side of the Island is treating anglers well.  Boaters drifting eels have been experiencing less dogfish and more bass in the 18- to 25-foot depth range.  Some surfcasters have weighed-in catches from the high 20- to low 30-pound class.  It’s been the usual suspects in terms of offerings after dark, including needlefish, swimmers, and eels, both rigged and live.

Connecticut
Like they have been for the past few weeks and should be for many more to come, some very large striped bass are residing on the reefs and humps of Long Island Sound.  The largest bass I heard about during my calls this week was caught and released from the Race last Thursday night.  Kerry at J&B Tackle told me about a 54-pound moby striper that ate a live eel, which was three-wayed with 12-ounces of lead.  It was a wind-against-tide situation that went against the old adage “fish bite the least with wind from the east.”  Kerry said large bass and bluefish are being taken during the daytime too, especially by those who are three-waying bucktail jigs in the Race.

Blaine of Anderson Guide Services is still having success with big bass on live bait along humps and bumps off Niantic.  His clients are averaging about six nice fish a trip while three-waying live scup.  Blaine also added that he watched the largest striper he’s seen in years follow one of his hooked bass this week, which he estimated in the 60-pound class.

Q at River’s End was happy to share news of top-water action during mornings and evenings consisting of some keeper-sized bass mixed with the occasional alligator bluefish along Bartlett’s Reef, outer Hatchet’s Reef, and some beachfront near the Connecticut River mouth.  Pencil poppers, spook-style lures and Slug-Gos have been the ticket during the surface feeding.

In the western Sound, Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle said from the mouth of the Housatonic River to Norwalk is littered with acres of sand eels and lots of bluefish on top with stripers underneath them.  Nick at Fisherman’s World echoed the sand eel bite and added that the Old Mill area of Westport has been fishing well.  Surfcasters are scoring on poppers during early mornings and fly anglers are stalking bass with sand eel patterns on the flats.

Overall, the fluke fishing in the Sound seems to have gotten better in the past week.  Matt from Hillyers had at least eight different groups come in the shop on Saturday that weighed in fluke from 6 to 9 pounds.  Then on Sunday the reports were awful.  Fast forward to Tuesday and it was hot fluke action again, with some weighing over the 9-pound mark.  So Matt is sticking with the notion that the fluking is inconsistent, but good enough to keep at it.  Generally speaking, he suggested focusing in 30 to 60 feet of water, adding that the water temperatures aren’t quite warm enough to warrant deeper fishing just yet.

Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle has been hearing positive fluke reports from shore anglers in the Clinton, Madison and Guilford area.  The sand eels are thick inshore and during incoming tides, Cappy said there have been half-hour pushes of great fluke action, even into the early evening.  Small three-way rigs with a spinner and a skirt, tipped with sand eels, slowly reeled in have been working well.  However, fly anglers using epoxy sand eel patterns and bait fishermen using chunks of mackerel and even bunker have been picking up fluke too.

In the western Sound, Danny at Rudy’s Tackle Barn told me that 20 to 30 feet of water behind Captain’s Island off Port Chester Harbor has produced decent fluke action lately, but not surprisingly, there are a lot of shorts around.  Locally made Tidal Tale jigs tipped with spearing have been the ticket in that area, and tide hasn’t mattered much as long as it’s moving.

Porgy fishing, whether for the table or for bait, has been heating up in the Sound.  For good starter spots, Matt of Hillyers suggested combing the bottom near bell buoy #6 just outside Niantic Bay or around the Spindle on Bartlett’s Reef.  He recommended using a standard fish-finder or high/low rig with a piece of sandworm, clam or squid on it.  Plain and simple, Matt said to get your bait to the bottom and the porgies should take care of the rest.  For tautog fans, that season opens again on July 1 with a two fish limit and a 14-inch minimum.  They won’t be too deep and most of your favorite rock piles should be holding some.  Matt rattled off Seaflower Reef or Vixen’s Ledge as two reliable locations for blackfish.  A simple high/low rig and with green or Asian crabs will suffice.  Black sea bass season also opens on Friday with a creel limit of 25 fish per angler and a 13-inch minimum.

For freshwater bass anglers, Mike from Connecticut Outfitters gave me quality reports from two areas he’s been fishing.  In Candlewood Lake, flipping brown and orange jigs from ½ to 1-ounce into weeds has been doing the trick for him.  He’s landed several largemouth up to 5-pounds and smallies up to 4-pounds with this method lately.  The jigging has been good during the day when the sun is high and bass are buried in the weeds.  More impressive than size are the numbers of bass he’s finding along on weed edges near drop-offs.  Top-water lures like the Zara spook have ruled low-light conditions.  On the Connecticut River, in the Haddam area and points south, rubber worms, buzz baits, and Zoom flukes have been producing a 2-pound average for largemouth bass up inside tributaries like the Salmon River, where the water clarity is better and the water is cooler.

Best Bets for the Weekend
Being 4^th of July weekend, there will be a serious amount of boat traffic and fireworks along our shorelines.  That being said, it’s also a new moon phase during prime striper time.  If you’re hunting bass at night, it might pay off to focus on the later tides when things have quieted down some.  Many places are fishing well for bass right now, but Block Island waters may take the cake for both numbers and size.  Try needlefish plugs from the beach after dark or drifting eels in 18 to 25 feet of water from a boat.  Have a happy and safe 4^th of July!