Rhode Island Fishing Report - August 6, 2015

Massive schools of small bait have shown up everywhere across southern New England, and the result has been good bass fishing, great fluke fishing and just about every angler getting fired up for the upcoming false albacore season.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Narragansett, reports that their half-day trips are still consistently producing fish, particularly on days with good drift conditions. Catches of fluke, scup and black sea bass have been solid, with most anglers nearly reaching limits on all species. The occasional big bluefish has also been in the mix, and has made for some great battles. The private charters aboard the Jeanie B have been even more successful and have accounted for fluke to 10-pounds and sea bass to 5-pounds this week. Perhaps the most positive news of the week is that the striped bass trips have become increasingly successful over past two weekends. While there have not been many giant bass coming over the rails, there have been very consistent catches of keeper bass. The striped bass trips will continue to run on Friday and Saturday nights, by reservation. Half-day fluke, sea bass trips run 8:30-12:30 and 1-5 each day, while private charters aboard the Jeanie B can still be booked by contacting the office.

According to The Saltwater Edge in Middletown things have hit a bit of a mid-summer lull around the Newport area, but loads of small bait have moved into the area and have many anglers anxiously awaiting the first false albacore of the season. Boat fishing for striped bass has been pretty solid on some of the local reefs, but the majority of good bass are being taken around Block Island. Surfcasters saw a slow week along the local shores, but that may soon be changing with the arrival of the bait schools. Big bluefish are all over the area, and are picking up the slack for boat anglers and surfcasters. Tautog season has now opened in Rhode Island and many customers have stopped by the shop for crabs, but the reports haven’t started to trickle in just yet.

Typically the Block Island summer striped bass bite really explodes in early August, and this year appears no different, according to Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett. The bite became a bit more consistent this week, and the overall size of the bass greatly increased. Howard weighed in 3 bass over 50-pounds in the past few days. Locally, the fluke bite has been pretty good right around the harbor, which has been accelerated by all of the small bait that has recently moved into the area. The harbor has become flooded with squid over the past few days, which has also brought some big fluke right inside. Black sea bass and scup remain easy to find, as well as skipjack and tinker mackerel, which are now all over the area. Local surfcasters have reported decent numbers of schoolie to small keeper size bass along the South County beaches, and big bluefish have been all over. The offshore tuna bite has slowed down, as anglers are now awaiting the arrival of more yellowfin. The shark bite has showed no signs of slowing, with more reports of big makos in reasonably close proximity to the mainland this week.

Mike Wade, of Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reported that the rain bait that is all over the Narragansett/Newport areas is also very prevalent around Watch Hill and in eastern Long Island Sound. Some big fluke were caught on the local reefs this week, with many coming from just underneath one of the large schools of bait. The sea bass bite has remained strong on the deeper ends of the reef as well, with fish to 5-pounds being a fairly common catch this week. Scup to 2-pounds are being taken by both shore and boat anglers around the lighthouse, while the first reports of green bonito popping up around Weakapaug have come in this week as well.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Lou, at Hillyers in Waterford, reports that the local bottom fishing has been very good for all species. Over the weekend the shop ran their “Hat Trick Tournament”, with the winner being the angler that managed the largest combined weight of fluke, sea bass and scup. The winner took the title with an 8.5-pound fluke, 3.1-pound sea bass and 2.55-pound scup. Small bait has taken over eastern Connecticut in similar fashion to Rhode Island, which has greatly driven up the local fluke catches. The deep portions of Black Point had fish in the 6-8 pound range, while a few hotspots right inside the bay have seen fish in a similar class. The striped bass fishing has been described as slow on the local reefs, but some heavier catches were reported, including a 50-pounder over the weekend.

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, believes that we are nearing the peak of fluke fishing in local waters. Peanut bunker, bay anchovies and snappers have inundated the area, and the local reefs are now producing some great fluke in deep water. 10-15 pound striped bass have started to take notice of all the bait, and some great reports of dusk and dawn topwater catches have come in this week. Scup and sea bass catches have been great, but many of the more popular spots are starting to get fished out. Bunker remains very thick in the mouth of the river, and the gator bluefish are still taking notice, with local chunkers reporting many blues over 10-pounds.

Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters in Clinton, reported that the big moon tides kept the striped bass active this week. Bass into the mid 20-pound range were plentiful on most trips this week, with enough 30-pound class fish in the mix to keep things interesting. Black sea bass has gotten a tad less consistent, but most trips are still seeing limits; while scup fishing continues to improve each day.

Ian, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reported that some anglers in the western sound are cashing in on the summer tautog season, and finding decent catches in 30-40 feet of water. The deeper structure is still providing steady sea bass and fluke catches, while the shallower rockpiles are producing excellent scup catches. The western sound has also seen an influx of small bait this week, and many anglers are optimistic that a great bonito and false albacore season is right around the corner.

Best bets for the weekend

Massive schools of small bait have set the table for a great multi-species, late season run, but the immediate benefits include excellent fluking close to home, and an increase in topwater feeding bass and bluefish. Locating a large bait school should could result in bass and blues on artificials in the morning hours, and excellent fluke fishing throughout the day.