The rough seas and tough weather appear to be behind us and luckily the fishing seems to have picked up right where it left off. Large stripers are patrolling the reefs of eastern Long Island Sound and western Rhode Island while fluke fishing in Long Island Sound, Rhode Island and Block Island Sound continues to be red hot. Options are pretty much endless as Scup, Black Sea Bass and Bluefish are also beginning their make their way into our local waters.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

I spoke with Chris at Saltwater’s Edge in Middletown, who reported that striped bass fishing around Narragansett Bay is still hot in the area as water temperatures have risen quickly but are still at a comfortable level. Shore-bound anglers have been doing well picking off keeper-sized bass up to and slightly over 30 lbs this past week, the area is still loaded with sand eels and those bass are not far behind. A steady supply of both adult and peanut bunker have been holding in the upper stretches of the areas’ tidal rivers giving anglers ample opportunity to score large bass both from the shore and the boat. Chris also spoke of multiple 40 lb class bass taken off the local reefs, and has been the case for most of the past month, bass up to 50 lbs have been taken off of Block Island. Many anglers have set their sights on Block Island for this upcoming weekend as an influx of cow bass are said to be moving in from the south. Chris reported that the ground game has remained strong as catches of fluke, black sea bass and scup have been strong and steady all week.

Further west at Breachway Bait and Tackle in Charlestown, Phil reported that the water is beginning to clean up in the area and that the fishing is picking up right where it left off before winds and high seas dirtied things up. Stripers have moved into the breachway and shore anglers have taken full advantage. Anglers dunking clams and sandworms have scored bass in the 20-32 inch class during the last few days. Phil did mention that it isn’t all small bass in the breachway as one of his customers landed a 40 inch, 22 lb bass from the salt pond in broad daylight this past week. At the mouth of the breachway keeper size bass have been falling victim to topwater spooks around dusk and the nighttime crew has scored larger fish on live eels after dark. Phil noted that the strong fluke bite had continued after the water settled down and while many fish are coming up just short of keeper size, most anglers have been able to catch their limit without much difficulty.

Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, also spoke of the excellent fluke bite in the area noting that it may be the best he has seen in recent years. Anglers from Westerly to Narragansett have been taking their limit of nice flatfish with minimal effort. Mike also reported that the striped bass fishing has been strong on Sugar Reef and the adjoining reefs in the area. Fresh squid has been the meal of choice for these linesiders and squid imitating artificials have fooled a number of quality bass this week. Not only is this method successful it may also be one of the most fun ways to land a cow. Surfcasters have found success in and around Weakapaug Breachway this past week with one lucky angler scoring a bass just shy of 50 lbs. Finally, Mike noted that while scup fishing has started off slow in the area, it has begun to pick up and he only anticipates it getting better as the water temperature steadily climbs.

Connecticut Fishing Report

“Q” at River’s End in Old Saybrook informed me that the river has begun to settle down however the water in and around the mouth is still a bit stained, although this seems to have only affected the striper fishing minimally. Large bass are still lingering in the area likely on the hunt for fresh bunker schools that have taken up residence in the mouth of the river. One lucky angler scored two fish around the 40 lb mark yesterday livelining bunker and he was not the only one to land great catches in the area this past week. A few larger bass seem to be holding on Long Sand Shoal and Bartlett’s Reef and “Q” mentioned that the early morning bite has been much stronger than the night bite this week.

The crew of the MIJOY 747 in Waterford reported great success on their bass and bluefish trips as well as their fluke trips. Bluefish have been plentiful and stripers up to 30 lbs have been showing themselves as well in the race and around pigeon rip. Fluke anglers aboard the Mijoy have had great success jigging up their limit of flatfish along with some quality scup and black sea bass in the mix. If you want an opportunity for some of these tasty fish book a trip soon as their bottom fishing trips end on July 29th.

Capt. Blaine Anderson of Anderson Guide Services contacted me as he was finishing up a charter this afternoon. Blaine also spoke of the dirty water from the mouth of the Connecticut River east to Niantic but noted that today was the cleanest he has seen the water in a few weeks. With the river and the sound starting to settle down the water quality should continue to improve exponentially in the coming days. Blaine was able to boat a few dozen quality bass on the Eastern Long Island Sound reefs this week. While he marked some fish in shallow water, Blaine mentioned that nearly all his action came on the deeper ends of the reefs in 40-50 feet of water. Most of his fish came on live scup, which has proven to be a bit difficult to acquire of late although more and more scup should flood into the sound as temperatures rise. Blaine also had success drifting live eels this week and it might not be a bad idea to have a few in your livewell in case the scup decide to be picky.

Capt. Mike Roy of Reel Cast Charters was able to put together a couple of successful trips this week. Sunday night Mike once again made the trek to Block Island and was rewarded with 35-40 keeper fish on the boat, some of which were well over the 30 lb mark. Topwater plugs before dark and live eels after dark fished in the shallow boulder fields around the island proved to be the ticket. Tuesday night Mike was able to get a client on 5 bass to 38 lbs casting live eels in Eastern Long Island Sound. Mike mentioned that the fishing seemed to improve as he ventured further east in LIS to the cleaner water close to Rhode Island.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Pick your poison! No matter what kind of saltwater species you fancy the options are pretty much open and the success rates are proving to be pretty high. You may even want to consider capitalizing on the favorable change in weather and have a multi-species day. Make it out early and you should be able to play with some striped bass from Long Island Sound to Block Island and just about anywhere in between. When your arms get tired and the tide begins to change consider making some drifts for fluke or black sea bass while the season is still open and the fish are still plentiful.