I’d like to start this week’s report by saying thanks to OTW Contributor Kierran Broatch for doing an outstanding job authoring the Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Forecast for the past three years. Unfortunately new job commitments have forced Kierran to retire from writing the Fishing Forecast – but the good news is that you’ll be seeing more of Kierran’s feature writing and fantastic photography in On The Water magazine. You can also keep up with Kierran’s fishing adventures on his personal blog, The Connecticut Yankee.
More folks wanted to talk about the weather than the fishing this week – it’s been a frustrating June so far with heavy rain making the big rivers a mess and flushing bait away from inshore areas, and heavy wind keeping boaters on shore. The silver lining might just be that cool waters persist in Long Island Sound, unlike last year, when a hot spring had water temperatures sizzling and brought about an early end to spring fishing.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
There weren’t many new fishing reports in the Rhode Island area, unfortunately. the upper parts of Narragansett Bay have been one bright spot, as fishermen have been able to avoid the heavy winds in these relatively protected waters. There are still plenty of pogies in the upper bay and in the Providence River, according to reports from the Tackle Box in Warwick. As is often the case, you have to locate the schools of pogies to find the fish. The area between Prudence Island and Papasquash has been particularly hot. If you can’t find pogies to snag and fish live, try trolling a 9ers umbrella rig or tube-and-worm rig. There are some big blues chasing the pogies as well.
Fluke fishermen have been doing well drifting by the red can off Warwick Point. Off Providence Point in 40 to 60 feet of water is also producing. Conimicut Point shore fishermen are catching some pogies.
Down toward Newport, the surfcasting has been quiet lately, and with weak tides at the moment and a storm moving through Friday, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the weekend will bring.
Steve McKenna at Quaker Lane Bait in North Kingstown said that he hadn’t been out in about a week, with bad weather and big seas getting in the way of fishing lately. He did hear a report from one angler that the fishing from shore around Jamestown has been very good for bass. With so much rain and wind though, many surfcasters were making the trip up to the Cape Cod Canal, which was hot earlier in the week but cold as of late.
Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett reported slow fishing due to all the rough weather and dirty water. There are some keeper-sized bass inside the Harbor of Refuge, which could be a good option for boating anglers in these rough seas. There have been bunker in the Harbor, so you could try snagging a few and live-lining them by the center wall. Boats that have made the trip to the Block have done well, and reported a few 40-pound bass this week. Surfcasters at the Block have been doing well on the west side of the island on fish in the 20-pound range, according to a report from Twin Maples on Block Island.
The bass fishing has been slow around the breachways, reported Breachway Bait and Tackle in Charlestown, but fishermen working the waters after dark with live eels are catching some big bass to 45 pounds. The fluke fishing has been phenomenal, From Green Hill to the Charlestown Breachway. Spro jigs tipped with squid and rigged with teasers were producing plenty of keeper flatfish.
Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly got in on some great fluking in lousy weather off Weekapaug this week. The fish were in 45 feet of water and were spitting up squid – a good sign for anglers lamenting the lack of squid this season. Watch Hill Point and Napatree have both been good to surfcasters chucking plugs and soaking bait chunks.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Rain rain and more rain has made for tough conditions in much of Long Island Sound, which is so heavily influenced by outflow from the Connecticut River. All that fresh, murky water combined with sluggish tides has folks along the eastern Connecticut shore pretty down on the inshore fishing. Pat at Rivers End Tackle in Old Saybrook left the muddy Connecticut River in his rearview mirror this week and crossed over to Block Island to find some decent striper fishing.
Dirty water coming out of the Connecticut River stretches as far as Bartletts Reef on the outgoing tide, reported Andrew at Fishin Factory III in Middletown, and that has made the adjacent reefs a bit challenging to fish. Bunker in the mouth of the river have been tough to locate, but if you can find live bait then take it out to Hatchetts, Black Point or Bartletts. Reports from the Race have been mixed, and bluefish are continuing to fill in on the reefs.
Fluke fishing is off to a decent start. You can find a limit of just-decent fish on the south side of Fishers. There have been some keeper-size fluke caught in Niantic Bay, and the deep water at Black Point and Hatchetts is coughing up a few. Sea bass opens Saturday with a 3-fish limit per man.
The note was more positive out at Captain Morgan’s Bait and Tackle in Guilford. The freshwater influx is keeping bunker flushed out of the rivers and harbors, and that means that eels have been the bait of choice out at Falkner and Six Mile Reef. Porgy numbers are increasing on the inshore reefs, which should draw in more big bass and blues. Smaller tidal rivers have been fishing well for schoolies stripers, unlike the bigger rivers, which have been muddied by rain.
Captain TJ Karbowski of Rock and Roll Charters out of Clinton blamed the weak tides for fishing being slower than it should be in Long Island Sound, but noted that he’s still been able to put together decent catches of stripers from 28- to 40-inches on recent charters. Things should improve in the coming week, he predicted, especially if we catch a break after this next rain storm and have some stable weather heading into the strong tides toward the end of June.
Out at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, they’re happy that a cool spring has kept water temperatures moderate in the Western Sound. Last year at this time, water temperatures warmed so quickly that the big bass scooted by Father’s Day. This year, the biggest bass are still to the west in the Stamford/Greewich/Rye area. Most big stripers are falling to fishermen in the nighttime, while daytime angling is bringing smaller bass and bluefish – but you never know. Shore fishermen have landed some big bass over 30 pounds in recent days at Compo Beach – fresh chunk baits have been working from shore and from boat. Fluking has been good on the Connecticut side around Buoy 26 outside the Norwalk Islands and across the sound on the North Shore of Long Island.
Best Bets for the Weekend
In past seasons, Father’s Day weekend is prime time for fluke, scup, stripers, and blues, but this year, tough conditions are tempering enthusiasm. However, our June noreaster should be gone by Friday night, and conditions are forecast to settle down by Saturday. For the weekend, fluking might be your best bet. Reports have improved off the south shore of Rhode Island. Connecticut anglers will have to deal with dirty water coming out of the Connecticut River, but if you find clean water you should find good fishing. The best bite just might be in the far western Sound right now, which is good news for everybody, as those fish will likely filter east in the coming weeks.