In between cookouts and firework displays, many anglers found willing fish over the 4th of July weekend. Some have been capitalizing on school bluefin tuna that are feeding on halfbeaks south of Block Island. Striped bass anglers, overall, have been faring better in Rhode Island than in Connecticut waters. However, fluke action seems to be red hot all over, with some saying, in terms of quantity, it’s the best it’s been in years. Tons of porgies have invaded inshore reefs, providing shore and boat anglers with another tasty target. In addition, large blackfish are in shallow, and black sea bass season opens in Rhode Island this Monday. And in freshwater, a pending Connecticut state record brown trout was caught, toppling an over two-decade old record by nearly two pounds!
Rhode Island
Striped bass reports are good as expected for early July. Captain Silvia from Can’t Imagine Sport Fishing Charters has been experiencing pretty consistent bass trips lately from lower Narragansett Bay and outside along Brenton Reef. Chunking fresh bunker during early morning hours in 40 to 60 feet of water has been accounting for about 15 to 25 bass each outing, ranging from 15 to 40 pounds. A 38-pounder came over the rail on Tuesday morning from under Mount Hope Bridge, as did a 35-pound bass from Brenton Reef on Wednesday. Captain Jack from Quaker Lane Tackle said that the morning and daytime striper fishing has been nothing short of awesome around the Newport bridges to Brenton Reef to the south shore around Sakonnet Point. He mentioned that tactics like drifting live eels, tossing spook-style lures like Lemire Wave Jammers or Tattoo Sea Pups, and trolling umbrella rigs in chartreuse tiger or pearl black-back have been working extremely well. Captain Ron at Breachway Bait and Tackle added to the positive bass reports. He told me that Tuesday night and Wednesday morning were especially good on the reef just off of Charlestown Breachway. To combat a light wind on Tuesday, a ¼-ounce egg sinker was used with live eels, which produced 7 keeper bass up to 40 pounds. No weight was necessary the next morning and another 5 keepers came over the rail, mostly in the 20-pound class. The last two hours of the ebb tide have been best as of late. Ron also noted that there is a school of small bluefish in the Breachway rip.
Fluke action remains outstanding along Rhode Island’s south shore beaches. Robin at Quonny Bait and Tackle said it’s the best fluke bite in terms of numbers that she’s seen in four years while owning the shop. She reported about kayaker Will Kauffman, who landed 7 keeper fluke from 22 inches and bigger off Matunuck this past weekend. He was fishing in 20 feet of water with a Smiling Bill jig tipped with a mummy/squid combination. Shore anglers are scoring a lot of shorts from the beach, but Robin said you have a better chance at a keeper fluke in Quonny pond. Boat anglers are still doing very well in 40 to 60 feet of water off Misquamicut, but be prepared to weed through a stack of shorts to find keepers. In other fluke news, angler Ray Jones weighed-in 6.1- and 5.6-pound specimens at Breachway Bait and Tackle on Wednesday. He was fishing 30 feet of water off East Beach with a bucktail and squid strip during the outgoing tide.
For another table favorite, Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters informed me that shore fishermen are capitalizing on a solid porgy bite in front of the Watch Hill Lighthouse. A simple high/low rig with a 2- or 3-ounce lead sinker and pieces of clam or sandworm should do the trick. Mike said tide doesn’t matter as long as it’s high enough to allow for sufficient water over the inshore structure.
In freshwater happenings, Dave at River and Riptide said the “Hex” mayfly hatch is in full swing on the Wood River below Rte. 165. The river flows are medium/low, water temperatures are hovering around 67 degrees, and these large mayflies are popping off the water around 9 PM. Be sure to have all three surface representations in your arsenal – emerger, dun and spinner patterns – because trout will key in on one version or another depending on the night.
Block Island
Schools of bluefin tuna, approximately in the 40- to 100-pound range, are popping up in waters south of Block Island while feeding on halfbeaks on the surface. Arden of Saltwater Edge had a stellar day targeting “Charlie” this past Saturday, going 7 for 7 on hookups with the largest tuna at 54 inches. He said on that day, most fish weren’t responding well to trolled offerings. Better results came when they were lucky enough to find tuna feeding on top, then by casting and retrieving medium-sized Ron Z soft plastics. Arden pointed out that though calm days can increase your ability to find breaking fish, they also make for spookier targets. He also relayed a bit of advice from a tuna guru, Captain Al Anderson, who said one of the biggest mistakes people make when targeting inshore bluefin is that they go too far out. Many of these tuna are being found just one to three miles offshore.
John at Twin Maples shared that his daughter caught a 43-pound striper while drifting a weightless live eel at sunset on Tuesday. He said the whole southern side of the Island is producing bass inside 26-feet deep. Outside of that, anglers are finding big bluefish. For fluke, John suggested trying from Grace’s to Southwest Corner. He added to expect a 10-to-1 short-to-keeper ratio, but you should have no problem catching 40 fluke a trip. A chartreuse jig tipped with a 6-inch long squid strip and a sand eel has been hot. In addition, some real big black sea bass in the 4- to 5-pound class are being caught and released in the same area. That season opens on Monday with a limit of 12 fish per day at minimum of 13 inches. John also noted that many nice-sized porgies are cooperating for shore anglers in the Coast Guard Channel.
Connecticut
A combination of things led to a less than stellar week of striped bass reports from Long Island Sound – not what I expected to hear during a new moon phase in early July. Jack from The Fish Connection hadn’t been skunked on a charter trip in 21 years before this week – yet he got the old ‘goose egg’ twice in recent days, using everything in his arsenal from Stonington to Plum Gut to the Race to Watch Hill and back. Jack’s even been postponing some of his charters and will resume fishing this weekend. Kyle from J&B Tackle said the big bass they’ve been experiencing the last several weeks at night in the Race went missing recently, but he thinks it’s more about subpar tides than anything.
Not all bass reports were poor, however. Captain Mike Roy from Reel Cast Charters had a nice night of striper fishing and fireworks on Monday outside of New Haven Harbor. At last light, spooks and pencil poppers took a handful of smaller bass on the surface, while live eels casted into the breakwall rocks produced bass up to 28 pounds around low slack tide. In the western Sound, there have been striped bass “tailing” and feeding on sand eels in the shallows around Westport, according to Nick at Fisherman’s World. Danny at Rudy’s Tackle Barn told me about some shallow water bass and bunker action around Captain’s Island off Port Chester Harbor. Captain Paese of Little Outlaw Charters scored three bass on Sunday up to 28 pounds and bluefish up to 13 pounds while live-lining bunker in 6 to 8 feet of water.
Fluking reports seemed to be more positive across the board this week, with action starting to pick up in deeper water. Jack at The Fish Connection relayed that the fluke bite is really turning on, especially in 30 to 60 feet of water south of Fisher’s Island off Isabella and Umbrella Beach. Closer to the mainland, he said the edge of the Thames River up to Gayle’s Ferry is coughing up some nice flatfish too and the best combo seems to be squid and smelt on pink Spro jigs. Boris at Hillyers had an angler weigh in a 6.95-pound fluke caught on a mummy chub in Niantic Bay. He suggested starting to try deeper water, like 60 to 100 feet, for keeper fluke if you’re not already.
Phil at River’s End rattled off their shop’s high-hook this week of 8.4 pounds caught by Will Lord. He recommended Six Mile Reef and Long Sand Shoal as good starting points for fluke action at the moment. Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle echoed the solid fluke action from Long Sand Shoal and added the Mud Bottom, east of Faulkner’s Island, as well as Hammonasset from shore. In addition to fluke, he’s heard of some very nice blackfish in the 12-pound range taken just outside of Guilford Harbor. Other good toggin’ spots in the central Sound include the Madison Reefs, Charles Reef and inside the Thimble Islands. He told me to keep it simple with high/low rigs with sandworms, clams, or Asian and green crabs. Cappy also reported dinner plate-sized porgies in the 14- to 16-inch class being found on any halfway decent reef in that area too, also on pieces of sandworm, clam or squid on high/low rigs.
The biggest freshwater news of the year came out of the Saugatuck Reservoir last Thursday. While visiting Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle, I got a glimpse of the beast of a brown trout that was occupying the bottom half of his freezer. Easton resident Tony Urbanowicz landed the 18.34-pound seeforellen brown trout, which measured 32.5 inches by 21 inches, on a 1-ounce spoon. When it’s all said and done, the fish will beat the old record brown trout of 16 pounds, 14 ounces, set in 1986, with ease.
Best Bets for the Weekend
For those with “tuna fever” that don’t want to make the trek to Stellwagen Bank, there is a lot of life much closer to home. If it’s a calm day, try locating tuna feeding on the surface a few miles south of Block Island. If you run into school bluefins busting bait on top, try casting and retrieving soft-plastic baits like RonZ’s – just be sure to have your HMS permit and stout enough tackle to land a 100-plus-pound fish! If striped bass are the target, head to the Newport area or Block Island with live eels. For fluke, the south shore of Rhode Island or the backside of Fisher’s Island are good options at the moment.