Monster Fluke and One Big Bonito

The waters are getting warm in Connecticut and Rhode Island, but the stripers are still biting. Fluke are hit or miss, but there are some monsters being hauled out of deep water. Rumors are swirling about bonito, but so far only one has been checked in – and it was a biggie.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Thom at Quaker Lane Outfitters said the bunker in Narragansett Bay have drawn in some big bluefish. Scup fishing around Point Judith is good, and the black sea bass fishing from Point Judith to Sakonnet Point is great. Fluke fishing has been spotty according to Thom, who hopes things will pick up and become a bit more consistent in the coming weeks. Striper fishing is good around Block Island, Thom says.

Things are picking up from last week’s slowdown reported Ron from Breachway Bait and Tackle. Bass to 30 pounds are eating drifted eels, as are bluefish. Porgy fishing at the end of the breachway is great. Fluke fishing is a bit better off Charlestown, and keepers to 5.5 pounds were netted in the area this week. Squid and spearing were the top baits. Some stripers found their way into the surf, and surfcasters caught bass to 37 inches fishing eels off the breachway.

The guys at Gallilee Bait and Tackle summed up the fishing as slow. The bigger stripers at Block Island contracted a case of lockjaw recently. Boaters are marking fish, but getting them to eat has been another story. Small stripers off the Rhode Island mainland are providing fun light tackle action. These 26- to 28-inch schoolies have been a blast, hitting topwaters and artificial lures with vigor. More light tackle fun can be found with the hickory shad in the salt ponds and rivers.

Slow-drift conditions have made flukin’ tough over the last week, but the recent winds and stronger tides have allowed bottom fishermen to cover more ground and catch more fluke in the past couple days.

Dave at River and Riptide has been reading water temperatures of 66 degrees from Watch Hill to Point Judith, which is still right in the striper’s sweet spot. There’s plenty of fish around from big schools of bluefish around Point Judith to scores of bass off Watch Hill. The Watch Hill bass have been a bit finicky, but Dave’s managed to tempt a few with the fly rod.

Offshore, there have been blue sharks aplenty with the occasional mako showing up. Captain Thom at Quaker Lane said bluefin are being taken by trolling and casting, though most reports suggested the tuna bite has been slow. One boat managed a 40-pound bluefin by trolling on their way in from Cox’s Ledge, but other than that fish, there were no other signs of tuna. “There’s still time,” is what most Captains are saying, so hopefully the tuna will turn on before that time runs out.

While there were no confirmed reports of bonito in Rhode Island, there were rumors swirling. The Cape has good numbers of these hardtails already, and at least one has ventured into Long Island Sound, so it won’t be too long before Sarda sarda shows up in Ocean State waters.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Pat at River’s End in Saybrook hung a couple impressive specimens from his scales this week. One was a surf-caught 47-pound striper from Connecticut waters. The second was a new state record bonito of 9.25 pounds. The bonito surprised an angler who was trolling for striped bass. Pat said he’d heard no further reports of bonito, but that there should be some more showing up soon.

The striper hot spot has been the Race with Long Sand Shoal being a close second, but Pat warns anglers to temper their expectations – the bass fishing isn’t great at the moment. Surfcasters have been outdoing the boaters lately, Pat said. The mouth of the Connecticut River, particularly Saybrook Point, has been producing for the shore-bound sect, and fishing cut bait on the bottom has been the preferred method. However, it was an eel that took the 47-pounder weighed in this week.

Fluke have mostly been shorts, but bigger fish are coming from deep water. One angler fishing a bucktail down deep for fluke was surprised when a 13-pound blackfish grabbed the jig.

Mark at Hillyers said the fluke fishing had been slow until yesterday, when some doormats decided to strap on the feedbag. Hillyers weighed in a 13.5- and a 10.5-pound fluke this week. Somehow the term “doormat” seems insufficient to describe a 13.5-pound, 32-inch summer flounder. A fish that size seems closer to a throw rug. Regardless of what you want to call it, the big fluke was caught near Black Point. The 10.5-pounder was caught aboard the Mijoy party boat on a diamond jig intended for bluefish.

Black sea bass fishing has been excellent this year, and these fish have been caught mostly by anglers targeting fluke. Excellent porgy fishing at the rockpiles rounded out the bottom fishing this week.

Mark said for the best odds of hooking a striper, fish at night. Otherwise, the abundant bluefish may make it tough to get a bait in front of a bass. Mark also reported that some snapper bluefish have made an appearance already. These mini-blues are good eating and great bait, but remember the bluefish bag limit still applies to snappers.

Rick at Fisherman’s World had great news on the fluking front. He said anglers fishing around the 11B Buoy are taking limits of fluke to 5-plus-pounds while 35 feet of water around Buoy 26 is producing good numbers of keep-able flatfish as well.

Cut bunker was responsible for stripers to 25 pounds in Long Island Sound this week according to Rick, and nighttime was the right time. Anglers can find plenty of these bunker in Norwalk. On the occasions these bunker schools venture into Long Island Sound, bluefish and stripers are fast to take advantage of the situation, and are feeding voraciously on the baits.

The reefs are holding big numbers of bluefish of all sizes. Rick said blues from 1 to 15 pounds are being caught.

Some boats are venturing to the canyons as well. There was a good yellowfin bite in West Atlantis and between West Atlantis and the Fish Tails with 25- to 60-pound tuna. Rick also heard of a 150-pound bigeye tuna, which was released. Most bigeyes that get released are done so unintentionally, a long way from the boat.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you want stripers, prepare to lose some sleep. Eels or fresh bunker at night will be your best bet. Block Island, as per usual, would be the most reliable spot, but Watch Hill, the Race and Long Sand Shoal are all good options as well.

Fluke fishing sounds like it’s headed in the right direction in Connecticut and western Rhode Island. Take advantage of the good drift conditions provided by the new moon tides this weekend and send some tantalizing strip baits to the bottom. If the fluke fail to cooperate, some sea bass should be there to keep you company, and scup are a reliable Plan B at any nearshore rockpiles.

Big blues are plenty of fun, and may be the best bet at finding a good fight this weekend. Look for the bunker in Narragansett Bay or target the reefs in Long Island Sound to get your fill of bluefish.

While many anglers are eager to tangle with bonito, a single confirmed catch isn’t much to go on this weekend. I wouldn’t make them your primary target, but I’d be certain to have a rod rigged and ready in case you cross paths with them while targeting other species.