Bait, Bass and Blues Flushing into the Sound
With the weather heating up, the backwaters and rivers in Southern New England are warming to levels beyond the striper’s comfort range. This isn’t necessarily bad news, however. As the bass and baitfish, flush out of the backwaters, bays and rivers, they’ll bring great fishing to the waters of the ocean and Long Island Sound.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Narragansett Bay has been slow, reported Thom from Quaker Lane in Kingstown. But there are some big fish headed toward the ocean. Brenton Reef gave up a 47-pound striper on an eel this week. Beyond that, the bass fishing has been on the slow side. Thom suspects the weather early in the week and over the weekend put the bass out of sorts. As the weather settles out, and it has been since Wednesday, Thom thinks the striper fishing will pick right up. There’s no shortage of bait. Thom’s observed bunker in the Narrow River and thick schools of silversides and mummichogs all over. Once the bass decide to feed, it should be game on! Thom did catch a couple nice stripers during the day around Bass Rock by throwing a “Chicken Scratch” Bomber at dead low tide. Certainly not ideal conditions, but it goes to show – you don’t know if you don’t go!
Dave at River and Riptide said the bass have been around, but they’ve been hunkered down and not feeding much. Sugar Hill Reef has been one place anglers are finding success, and live bunker has been the key there.
Bluefish are around in big numbers, which has given some anglers headaches and other anglers reason to rejoice. For fishermen looking for fun, fast fishing with hard-fighting bluefish off RI’s beaches and breachways, the harbor blues have been a welcome arrival. For anglers trying to fish eels for stripers, the big schools of blues have been a plague of biblical proportions.
Anglers at Block Island have been able to drop eels through to blues and nab some nice stripers. Block Island Fishworks weighed a 41-pounder for a boat fisherman working the island’s south side. Southwest Corner is also producing good stripers on eels. The blues around the Block are big, around 32 inches, and their teeth have made quick work of everything put in front of them.
The boys at Breachway Bait and Tackle reported “acres” of slammer-sized (10-pound and up) bluefish around Block Island and off the Rhode Island beaches. For striper hotspots, Nebraska Shoals and the Southwest Corner of Block Island both come highly recommended from Breachway Bait and Tackle. Keeper bass are being caught at the breachways with some bigger fish in the mix as well. One notable catch was made by Caleb Green, drifting eels off the Flat Top House off Charleston. His bass weighed 32.8 pounds
Bottom fishing is looking good for the weekend. Scup are thick all over Rhode Island, especially around Conimicut. The URI Dock on the island has been one of the hot spots.
Fluke are improving. Big numbers are being caught, but most are throwbacks. Off the Pink House in Charleston, keeper fluke are hitting in 35 feet of water. Off Green Hill, the sweet spot has been 40 to 50 feet according to Breachway Bait and Tackle.
Like saltwater anglers look forward to blitzes, freshwater fly-fishermen look forward to hatches, and the Hexagenia hatch, going on right now on the Wood River, is akin to a cow bass on adult bunker blitz. These big bugs bring every trout in the river to the surface. It’s an evening into nighttime hatch, according to Dave at River and Riptide, and he expects this fishing to last into July.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Pat at River’s End said there are good schools of bunker in the Connecticut River. Long Sand Shoal is holding stripers, as is Bartletts Reef. At Bartletts, there seems to be few fish, but the fish being caught are giants, according to Pat.
Connecticut fluke fishing has been poor, but a quick drive over to Rhode Island is producing some keepers. It seems the same is true for the porgy fishing, where the action is okay in Connecticut, but much better just over the border.
With the hot weather, the best striper fishing on the flats and at the mouth of the Connecticut River has been right at first light. The bass have been quality fish in the 30-inch and above range, making for great light-tackle fishing.
The squid are slowing down off Connecticut according to a report from the Fish Connection, but the sand eels are stepping right in to take their place. The sand eels are everywhere, and have fueled some topwater bites. The Fish Connection had some more positive news on fluke fishing, as they weighed in an 11.5-pound doormat this week and said the keepers that are being caught have averaged 4 to 6 pounds.
The opener of the black sea bass season has given Connecticut anglers another bottom-fishing option. Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 has reported big sea bass being caught on rockpiles and wrecks already, but thinks things will get even better over the next couple weeks. The fluke fishing died off around Fishers Island, mostly on account of the disappearance of the squid. With no food source to concentrate the fluke, they’ve spread out with keepers being caught at Harkness and Two Tree Channel. Even shore anglers are getting keeper flatfish around the Connecticut River.
Blues and small stripers are providing good topwater action in shallow water in many areas Andrew reported. Spook-style baits and Slug-Gos rigged weightless have been best.
One bluefish hotspot is the Millstone Power Plant, where anglers are finding big numbers of them willing to hit small metals, jigs and occasionally topwaters.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Expect the striper fishing to get better as the weather gets nicer, at least that’s what I gathered from the Rhode Island tackle shops this week. Eels are the bait of choice, but bluefish could chop up your supply.
If the blues prove unavoidable, why not break out some wire leaders and at least enjoy catching them on gear they can’t destroy. Bluefish are thick off Rhode Island and Block.
For Connecticut stripers, though it may be low percentage, the chance of a “giant striper” at Bartlett’s Reef would be enough to draw me there.
The mixed reports for fluke suggest that some areas may be slow, while others are holding good fish. Two-Tree Channel in CT and 50 feet of water off Green Hill in RI both had good reports this week, and should hold fish through the weekend.
Lastly, the Hex hatch on the Wood River sounds like something that should be experienced even by budding fly-fishermen. Any local fly shop will provide you with anything you’d need for the hatch, as well as some helpful hints.
Where is URI dock?