The saltwater fishing community has been abuzz since last Friday morning, when news of a potential world record striped bass from Long Island Sound reverberated through tackle shops and internet forums. Twelve hours after its capture, the remarkable catch weighed 81.88-pounds at Jack’s Shoreline Bait and Tackle in Westbrook, Connecticut. Since June of this year, two stripers over the 77-pound mark have been landed in our region. Not all that surprisingly, both of these fish of a lifetime fell to live eels at night.
In the grand scheme of things, striper fishing has been average for mid-August. Between bait-robbing bluefish and uncomfortable water temps, more success is being found from sundown to sunup. Other species however, are picking up the slack during the day, keeping anglers on their toes. The first few bonito catches are being reported from Block Island. Mahi mahi are swarming the waters south of the Island. Big bluefish are testing tackle just about everywhere that you do or don’t want them to be. Fluke and black sea bass action is still holding strong and scup fishing by far is the best bite going in terms of action and consistency. And in the freshwater scene, recent rains have given some of our local trout streams a needed shot in the arm.
Rhode Island
Fishing for stripers has been getting a little harder in the Newport area, according to Arden at Saltwater Edge. Other types of angling have been filling the void, including a strong mahi mahi bite due south of Block Island. Fish size hasn’t been very big, yet it’s extremely fun on light tackle. For good areas to start, Arden said to scope out charts for warm surface temps and “blue” water, referring to chlorophyll levels. Getting out to the feeding grounds early is ideal for finding aggressive mahi. Offerings like chunked mackerel or bunker, bucktail jigs tipped with squid strips, or even flies such as Clousers are all good options.
For some other options, Arden mentioned that bonito could be expected in Newport any day and good places to intercept them first include Sachuest and Sakonnet Points. Blackfish seasoned opened on August 1, but not many anglers have been targeting them, partly because they are very spread out. Arden suggested covering a lot of ground out front of Newport with green crabs on high-low rigs. Sacrificing a few crabs for chum can help. Another species worth trying for is scup. Using sandworms around structure are two key ingredients for finding success. It can be an easy and fun way to get kids hooked on fishing.
Captain Ron at Breachway Bait and Tackle has been bringing more eels on his morning trips lately along the south shore. Bluefish averaging 10 to 12 pounds and up to 15 pounds have been doing damage on tackle and eel supplies, but there are bass underneath them. The ratio of blues to bass for Ron on the reefs has been about 6 to 1, yet the stripers that are coming over the rails continue to impress, including a 32-pounder from Wednesday morning. He uses a small egg sinker above his eels to get them down to the strike zone.
For fluke, Ron suggested combing 42 to 45 feet of water just east of Point Judith Lighthouse. He and others have been finding success after the start of the ebb tide, using a 4-ounce jig on bottom with a ¼-ounce bucktail as the teaser tipped with squid and spearing. Jeremy from Quonny Bait and Tackle reported shore anglers catching a few 19 to 24-inch fluke from shore in Quonny Pond. Some nice fluke have been coming from 55 to 65 feet of water off West Beach and Misquamicut during outgoing tides on ThomCat fluke rigs with a mummy and squid combo.
The much needed rain we received over the last week has helped the trout fishing scene in the Wood River. Dave at River and Riptide Angler said there is a nice, comfortable flow with 68 degree water temperatures. A friend of Dave visited the Wood on Tuesday and hammered trout while fly fishing with terrestrial patterns like grasshoppers and inch worms.
Block Island
Big bluefish dominated my conversation with Chris at Block Island Fishworks. Gator blues up to 15 pounds have been capitalizing on halfbeaks and creating awesome light-tackle and top-water opportunities as of late. A little section of stainless-steel wire above his lures have been acting as a bite guard and saving tackle. Chris noted that nice bass can be found underneath the blues from Southeast Light to Southwest Corner with offerings that get down quickly, like diamond jigs or large soft-plastics on jigheads.
John at Twin Maples gave good news in the form of the first bonito showing up at the North Rip and between Dorie’s and Grace’s Coves. No “hardtail” action off the beach just yet, but it should happen soon in the Coast Guard Channel. For fluke and sea bass, stick to the west side as well. John reported some fish, including an 8.5-pound fluke, coming from 55 to 60 feet of water.
Connecticut
Long Island Sound has been looked at through a different lens this week from all over the Striper Coast. Last Thursday night, Greg Myerson was three-waying an eel over a reef off Westbrook when a striped bass of mammoth proportions took him for a 20-minute sleigh ride in his 18-foot Triton boat. Greg was fishing slack tide around big boulders after dark with live eels, which are excellent ingredients for finding large bass. Landing them is another story. Greg had experience and heavy-duty gear to help get the job done, netting him a potential new state and world record striper. To consistently catch mid-August linesiders, try taking a page out of the Myerson playbook and target reefs or other structure with live bait at night.
Pat Abate at River’s End told me there is a ton of baitfish around, including butterfish in the eastern Sound and peanut bunker in the Connecticut River. The bait is creating feeding frenzies in certain areas like the Race, Plum Gut and the Gulls on the surface, but more so underneath with lures such as swim shads and tins.
As I was on the phone with Pat on Wednesday, an angler walked in his shop with a 12-pound doormat fluke, taking over the lead spot in their season-long tournament. Matt at Hillyers has been hearing about a healthy amount of big fluke coming from the Sound as well. Matt reported that 11- and 12-pound flats were caught aboard one of the Sunbeam party boats on Wednesday. He also said all the classic fluke spots are holding fish right now and to try hopping around until you find a nice pick. As usual, most trips will have a lot of short fluke involved, but the action keeps it interesting.
Cappy at Captain Morgan’s Bait and Tackle talked about two August treats that reminded me of my childhood – snapper blues and blue crabs. Snappers are getting bigger – many around 6-inches – and providing fun action along docks and jetties at the mouths of most rivers and harbors. A small Kastmaster lure, a shiner fished under a bobber, or a tube fly behind a popper are all three good tactics for limiting out on snappers. It’s one of the best ways to get kids interested in saltwater fishing. Cappy also mentioned that blue crabbing has been pretty solid as of late in slightly deeper water like 15 to 20-feet. Traps are the more popular method of crabbing and a trick he told me was to soak the bait (chicken) in bunker oil.
In the western Sound, a mix of bluefish and bass are being taken on chunked bait in deeper water. Nick from Fisherman’s World suggested diamond jigging the north side of buoy 11B in up to 100 feet of water. Another recommendation was chunking the outgoing tide around 28C. Small pods of bunker were recently pinned inside Norwalk Harbor by big blues and Nick reported that low 30-inch bass have been taking top-water plugs in low-light conditions outside the harbor around the islands. Pat and Danny from Rudy’s Tackle Barn fished 75 feet of water off Stamford over the weekend and landed 6 blues and 4 bass up to 29 pounds on fresh bunker chunks
Rudy’s Tackle Barn had a great fluke report from the western Sound too. Customer Jim Kozee had a stellar day this week fishing the hump around buoy 32A. He was drifting over 35 to 40 feet of water with a fluke rig and frozen alewives – which do a great job passing for snappers – and landed 9-, 8-, and 6-pound fluke respectively.
The porgy bite however, is, bar none, the most reliable and consistent action in the Sound right now. Danny told me people are wrecking the porgies with a “new” sandworm substitute – snails. Lacking a better name, anglers call them “porgy snails,” which range from quarter to dime-sized. They stay on the hook much better than sandworms and a 2-pound bag goes for $7.50. The most important part is that porgies love them. Almost any inshore rock pile or piece of structure in the Sound most likely has porgies nearby. Again, this is another great way to introduce newcomers to the sport.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It’s hard not to encourage striper fishing when a truly epic specimen was just caught in Connecticut waters, on the relative heels of another amazing catch in Rhode Island waters. Who knows if there are more bass that big or bigger still lurking around? What I do know is that both of those monsters came at night on live bait. So if you are trophy bass hunting in August, head for structure and target the window between sundown and sunup. Bringing live eels, bunker or porgies along will greatly help your cause.
Looking for a relaxing change of pace? Take a kid porgy fishing near a rock pile, snapper fishing off a dock, or crabbing for blue-claws around a tidal river. August is a great month to get out and enjoy these types of family-friendly activities.