Summer doldrums; dog days of summer; call it what you want, but many tackle shops spoke of a lull in the local striped bass fishing lately, with a few big exceptions of course . That being said, there is a powder keg of bait in the area waiting to go off and plenty of other options to keep us busy, including bluefish, fluke, black sea bass, porgy, and blue crabs. Last but not least, we are starting to hear and see the very beginnings of late-summer speedsters.
Rhode Island
Bluefish are the name of the game right now in Narragansett Bay, both sides of the Newport bridge, and outside Point Judith. Steve at Saltwater Edge said there has been some terrific top-water action; just look for the birds, especially on bright sunny days. This style fishing can be super fun on light spin and fly tackle, and will serve as good practice for when bonito and false albacore show up sooner than later.
Blues have also been stacked along the South Shore. Captain Ron at Breachway Bait knows this because he went through two dozen eels in two hours during a charter trip this week. They managed to land four striped bass between 36 to 40-inches in 29-feet of water off Five Cottages, even with monster blues from 12 to 15-pounds “getting in the way.”
From shore, Steve at Quaker Lane Outfitters has been catching a small striper or two per outing on black Slug-Gos after dark and admitted he would probably do better using live eels. Robin at Quonny Bait and Tackle said every afternoon there’s been small bass and blues blitzing along the beaches adjacent to the breachway, and that Quonny pond is already loaded with mullet and stripers have been taking notice.
The Watch Hill reefs are starting to heat up again according to Dave at River and Riptide. He’s been noticing a ton of bluefish there coughing up massive amounts of bay anchovies, as well as the occasional striped bass mixed in. The water temperatures in that area were 66 the last time he checked and Dave plans on scouting for bonito, and even possibly early false albacore, over the next few days. He’s not jumping the gun as Howard from Galilee Bait and Tackle told me a commercial fisherman caught six bonito in a Matunuck gill net last Thursday.
Fluke action along the mainland is fair, but your work could be cut out for you in limiting out. The biggest catch I heard about this week was reported by Elise at Snug Harbor Marina. Jerry Tremblay caught the 8.2-pound doormat using squid outside of the Point Judith’s center wall in about 70 feet of water. Captain Ron of Breachway Bait and Tackle has been hammering the other end of the depth range, stating 18 to 35 feet of water has been the ticket just west of Charlestown Breachway. He recently landed 15 fluke there, six of which were of keeper size. It was a low outgoing tide and he was using old Mario squid strips tipped with a Peruvian smelt and squid combo.
The best bite as of late has been for porgy, as most inshore rock piles are hosting hubcap sized specimens. Robin at Quonny Bait and Tackle said shore anglers can get in on the action at the end of the breachways during outgoing tides using sandworms or clams on high/low rigs. Howard at Galilee Bait and Tackle told me another hotspot for shore scup fishing has been Point Judith’s east wall. When I asked what tide has been best, he laughed and said “all day long.”
Block Island
The waters around the ‘Porkchop’ are where you want to be targeting striped bass right now for both quality and quantity. OTW contributor Captain Chris Elser just returned from his family’s annual Block pilgrimage, which produced stripers up to 55-pounds. Their best day action-wise was last Thursday when nine bass were landed between 35 and 47-pounds while drifting eels and trolling a bubblegum tube and worm along the entire south side. Another noteworthy bass was caught by Ken Zwirko on Southwest Ledge. He weighed-in 50.15-pound cow on Monday morning that was taken on a live eel. John from Twin Maples told us about another big girl weighed in early Wednesday morning from the southwest corner. Raymond Miclette caught the 48.25-pounder drifting eels by the buoys.
It’s not only striper fishing that’s worthwhile around Block Island, the ground fishing has been good too. John at Twin Maples said west of the “hooter” buoy in 40 to 55-feet of water has been the most consistent area for fluke and black sea bass, and added that a basic fluke rig tipped with a squid/spearing combo will get the job done. He also rattled off the fluke category winners from last weekend’s annual fire department fishing tourney, which Dennis Rogan won with a 6.8-pounder and Peter Vican took 2nd with a fluke weighing 6.6-pounds.
Connecticut
There are some fine fish to be had in Long Island Sound right now, but the anglers finding them are putting their time in for each one. The biggest striped bass I heard about this week was caught by Thomas Godbout, who landed a 52-inch by 30-inch cow that the IGFA formula put at 57-pounds. The fish hit in broad daylight on Sunday, somewhere in the eastern Sound, while live-lining a porgy over structure in 40-feet of water during the ebb tide. He said the bass have been all over the place lately and good electronics with side imaging has really made the difference for locating them.
Matt at Hillyers said the past seven nights saw some really good striper fishing on the eastern Sound reefs for this time of year. His shop has been weighing several 30- to 40-pound bass that are falling to anglers three-waying eels, porgy or bunker mostly between sundown and sunup. He also saw a 36-pounder brought in by an angler that was diamond jigging the Race this week. Kyle at J&B Tackle reported that Valiant Shoal and Barlett’s Reef have been coughing up some big bass for boaters trolling bunker spoons or parachute jigs too.
There’s still an impressive amount of bait in the Sound and its tributaries, which is helping fatten up stripers and bluefish. The lower Connecticut River remains loaded with bunker according to Andrew at Fishin’ Factory III and blues are taking advantage of it in the mouth of the river up to the 95 bridge. Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle told me that bunker schools are still thick from New Haven to Bridgeport, but there are not as many predators underneath as one would hope; yet that is. Chris did mention a 40-pound bass was weighed-in on Wednesday morning that was caught by an angler trolling a tube and worm near the mouth of the Housatonic River.
Jason at Bobby J’s Bait and Tackle told me snapper blues are running in many harbors in the Sound and are about 4 to 5 inches in length right now. Three easy ways they can be taken on ultra-light tackle are with a shiner under a bobber, a tube fly behind a popper, or using a small Kastmaster.
Fluking has been hit or miss in the Sound lately, forcing several Connecticut boaters to fish Rhode Island or New York waters instead. One of the better local reports came from Captain Nord of the Binary Star, who landed four keeper fluke and no shorts from the eastern Sound on Wednesday. He said the last two hours of the outgoing tide was the window in depths ranging from 35 to 75 feet of water. Nick at Fisherman’s World said anglers finding keeper fluke in the western Sound are doing a lot of moving around in the 18 to 70-foot depth range, especially off Buoy 26, but they are weeding through plenty of shorts and sea robins to get their legal-sized flatfish. Nick also mentioned that George Fisher got a nice 3-pound, 14-ounce black sea bass on a whole squid while fishing south of the Norwalk Islands this week. Matt at Hillyers mentioned that he’s hearing about more black sea bass in Connecticut waters than ever before, but anglers are keeping their spots close to the vest as expected.
As in Rhode Island, porgy fishing across the Sound is red hot. Not only do they taste delicious to us, striped bass and bluefish like them too. The smaller legal-sized porgies make perfect three-way candy for various reefs on the Sound. To find them, focus on inshore rocky areas with a high/low rig and bait such as sandworms, squid or clams.
Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle told me that blue crabbing along many of our tidal rivers is very good at the moment. A productive way to obtain a meal’s worth is by scoop-netting them on docks and pilings after dark with a flashlight and a long-handled net. You can also try trapping or hand-lining them with raw chicken or fresh-cut bunker. Cappy likes crabbing best when the tide is between half down and half up.
While it’s just beginning, keep your eyes peeled for bonito cruising around the Sound. Just two weeks ago, the pending new Connecticut state record was caught aboard Rock and Roll Charters out of Old Saybrook, while trolling for stripers no less.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Forecasters are calling for an unstable weather pattern over the next several days. For those heading out on the water, keep an eye on the sky and the radar. When a nice window presents itself, the area along the south side of Block Island remains your best option for targeting large striped bass. Whether drifting live eels or trolling a tube and worm, the section between Old Harbor Point and Southwest Corner, as well as Southwest Ledge, are worth the time and effort.
Porgy fishing is on fire across the board. They may not be everyone’s favorite species to target, but they sure can be fun with the right tackle and attitude. Fishing with sandworms on a high/low rig over rocky structure is a perfect way to get youngsters off the computer and on the water. Lastly, blue crabs are running in pretty good numbers and size right now. This is another fun way to beat the heat and get the family involved in an outdoor activity. Hit your local tidal rivers during a low tide stage for best results.
Have you guys heard anything about the Thames? I keep reading about the western half of the state and the race. Would love so info for us shore guys around groton and New London.