Fluke, sea bass and scup slowly continue to improve inshore, while the offshore bite is full of multi-species opportunities, including a few exotics.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Narragansett, reports that they have been seeing some very nice fluke in the 5- to 7-pound range on most their twilight trips, as well as some of the private charters. The inshore half-day trips are also seeing some decent fluke come aboard on the days that they have a solid drift. The inshore trips are also producing great numbers of black sea bass and bluefish. The nighttime striped bass trips have been on the slow side, but the fish that have come aboard have been on the heavy side. It seems to be the trend this year that quantity might be down, but quality has been good. Striped bass trips will continue to run on Friday and Saturday night by reservation, while half day inshore trips will sail at 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM. The Jeanie B is also available for private fluke charters for up to 6 people, contact the office for more details.
Over at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown the local reefs are said to be producing good well for striped bass and bluefish of varying sizes. Bunker is all over the area so a livelined or fresh chunked bait has produced best, but a few fish have also come on 3-wayed jigs and trolling plugs. The big news of the week was more bonito making their way to the area, and some are large! A kayak angler brought in an 8-pound beauty while trolling an SP Minnow this week. The striped bass bite remains strong at Block Island with 30-pound and heavier fish taking live eels at dawn and dusk. Fluke has been very up and down, but days where anglers have had a good drift and located some fish results have been very strong. Inside the bay the water has warmed up quickly and the fishing has slowed down, but there are still reports of school striped bass feeding heavily on small crab hatches.
Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, reported that things have been pretty good around the shop as we hit mid-summer. The offshore bite remains very good despite some inconsistent bluefin fishing. While the target species proved hard to come-bye this week, Howard had reports of a strong Mahi bite, plenty of sharks and the surprise of the week, a 100-pound blue marlin, all caught in the Cox’s Ledge area. The striped bass bite has been very good at Block Island, as Howard reported that a new slug of 35-45 pound fish made their way to the island this week. Off the local beaches schoolie striped bass have been common for surfcasters, along with a few decent keeper fish. Howard mentioned that finding consistent keepers from the beach has taken some serious time and effort. Again, fluke fishing has been hit or miss locally and has been very drift dependent. Better fluking has been taking place around Block Island, where good numbers of 8-10 pound fish are now residing. Black sea bass and scup have been easy to find on the local rockpiles, while bluefish numbers have also greatly increased around the harbor.
Mike Wade, of Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that the local reefs are still holding decent numbers of bass, and many of the catches this week have been in the 30-pound class. Trolling umbrella rigs by day and drifting live eels at night have produced best, but a few heavier fish also came on livelined scup. Whether you’re looking for scup for the table or for bait they are easy enough to find around the lighthouse and on all the local rockpiles. Local fluke fishing has been best around Napatree Point, while the best fishing remains around Block Island, with fish up to and over 10-pounds reported this week.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Lou, at Hillyers in Waterford, saw an uptick in quality fluke reports from the area this week. Numbers have been good for a few weeks, but the keeper to short ratio has been steadily improving. Black sea bass fishing has been great on all local rockpiles in 60-80 feet of water, and the fish are hitting both fresh clams and Gulp artificials with regularity. Scup fishing is now great around Groton and New London, and many anglers are reporting keepers up to 15-inches. Scup anglers are also finding some keeper tautog in the mix at many of the same locations. Schoolie striped bass are feeding on small bait all over the area, but larger fish have been harder to come-by. A 45-pound fish was weighed in this week, but they have been few and far between. Bluefish blitzes of mixed sizes are now popping up around Harkness and Seaside, and fish up to 17-pounds have been reported this week.
James, at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, reported that livelined bunker have produced some quality striped bass this week along the Old Lyme beaches, and also at the sand shoal. The local reefs have been a bit slower, but Fishers Island also saw an increase in bass activity this week. Anglers fishing after dark have reported some big bass in skinny water around Fishers, and pitching live eels into the rocks has been the best tactic. Block Island is still producing 10-pound class fluke, and dogfish numbers have subsided a bit. Long Sand Shoal has a few keeper fluke, but has way more shorts, and better local fishing has been found around New London and Westerly. Scup anglers are reporting good shore catches at Bluff Point and Watch Hill, while boat anglers are finding plenty at Hatchets and Black Point. The mouth of the Connecticut River is producing big bluefish for anglers soaking fresh chunks, and has also seen a good push of blue crabs this week.
Ian, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reports that the western sound continues to put up a good multi-species bite. Bunker schools remain plentiful both inside and outside the harbors and big bluefish can be found all around them. Big swimming plugs, topwater spooks and fresh chunks have accounted for some serious gators this week, all the way up to the 18-pound mark. While the bass fishing isn’t quite as consistent as bluefishing, quality keepers were found in close proximity to the bait schools this week using the same methods. Bottom fishing remains consistent for all species and 30-50 feet of water seems to be the magic number for fluke, scup and sea bass.
Fishing Forecast
Summer fishing has been just as consistent as the hot and humid summer weather that has now graced our region. Groundfishing has been steadily improving from week to week and this week is no different, with great fluke, scup and sea bass reports all around southern New England. Bluefish have arrived in full force, and while striped bass fishing may require a bit of effort, all indications are that the bass numbers are as strong as they have been all season. For the offshore crew, slow but steady tuna fishing, solid mahi fishing and one of the best shark bites in years are all going strong, and with a calm weekend ahead of us it might be a good one to make the run.
Nice Stripah from the yak!