Above- Angler Mike Kelly’s striper selfie won a pair of Costa Sunglasses in The Striper Cup.
Most anglers are still finding keeper fluke, despite a good deal of shorts, while scup, sea bass, and striped bass are starting to become more plentiful.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Narragansett had to deal with a bit of unfavorable weather earlier this week, but the fluke and sea bass fishing was going strong leading up to that point. Saturday’s trip saw a finicky fluke bite, but luckily the sea bass were cooperating. Limits of sea bass were attained by many anglers, and a good number of them were around the 5-pound mark. The fluke were much more cooperative on Sunday’s trip, and longtime customer John from Enfield, took home hi-hook with an 8-pound beauty. Many anglers aboard that trip took home fluke for the table, with quite a few over the 4-pound mark. The fleet will continue to sail for fluke and sea bass daily on full day trips, and also two half-day trips. The next nighttime bass trip is scheduled for Saturday, and the crew is optimistic that things will pick up with the warmer weather.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the upper bay striped bass bite has slowed down a bit, but the menhaden is still thick and there are still some quality bass in the area. The bass still seem to be taking plugs more readily than bait, with large SP Minnows, Sebile Stick Shads and large Yo-Zuri darters being the top producers. Bait dunkers are having success on fresh chunks and fresh clams. Scup fishing is much improved this week, and the fish seem to be moving to shallower reefs each day. Black sea bass action is also picking up, but the best bite remains in deeper water for anglers fishing sea worms and squid. Freshwater anglers are still catching quality largemouth bass with some consistency on live shiners and Yamamoto worms.
Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that despite an uptick in fishing pressure the fluke bite remains strong off the local beaches. Big waves of sand eels have made their way to the area, and the fluke have taken notice. Mike fished the tournament last weekend and managed a number of keepers to 6.5-pounds at Misquamicut, in about 50 feet of water. The scup bite has taken off at Block Island and the deeper reefs, and should be strong inshore in a matter of days. The striped bass bite in the area is still hit or miss, but reports of a good night bite along the Watch Hill reefs have come in from anglers casting or drifting eels.
At Cardinal Bait and Tackle in Westerly, fluke has been the center of attention, with some great fishing right off the breachways and beaches, as well as at Block Island. The black sea bass bite has been strong on the deeper reefs, and they seem to be slowly ascending into slightly shallower water. The first reports of scup from the shore have come in around the breachways, and that bite is ready to blow open any day now. More and more keeper striped bass seem to be being caught each day, and the guys chucking plugs and eels after dark have had good results as well.
Connecticut Fishing Report
According to Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that customers are starting to find good numbers of porgies from the shore this week, from the usual hotspots such as Watch Hill and Harkness. Sea bass remains slow, but should be changing as the water temps are still a bit down from usual. The fluke bite has been up and down all week, with different results from each tide. Niantic Bay seems to be the best producer for eastern Connecticut, but everyone is working for them. The same can be said from numerous spots along the south side of Fishers. The Westerly beaches have been the most consistent producer all week long, but be prepared to deal with a larger fleet of boats out that way. The lower Connecticut River flats have produced some nice striped bass to 25-pounds or so this week, and murmurs of some better fish on the reefs have everyone hoping it will blow open soon.
Jon, at Hillyers in Waterford, reported that the fluke bite has improved quite a bit for most of his customers fishing local waters. It appears a slug of bigger fish have joined the large masses of shorts that have been in the area, including a 10.65-pound fish caught by Bryan Hunt. Scup action has picked up around the mouth of the bay, along Pleasure Beach and at Harkness. Sea bass action seems decent in Rhode Island and in the central sound, but remains quiet out east. The striped bass bite on the local reefs remains spotty, but The Race and Valiant Rock are still putting up good numbers of 30-40 inch fish on eels and bucktails.
Gene, at Blackhall Outfitters in Old Lyme, told me that local guys are still having success with fluke in rather shallow water on squid or bucktails tipped with Gulp Swimming Mullets. The mouth of the CT River has produced some good sized fluke, with 3-5 pound fish being common. Word is the sand shoal produced a few double digit fish this week. Striped bass have been a bit tougher to find, but local sharpies are catching after dark with eels or live bunker. The area around the mouth of the river also remains the best bet for bass, as the concentration of bunker seems to have thickened even more. Squid strips on a pink rig have produced both scup and sea bass this week, with scup on the shallow reefs and sea bass on deeper structure.
Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters, said the fishing was very good once again this week, with consistent bass action on all trips. The overall size of fish may have gone down a bit, but the numbers have gone up, and there are plenty of keepers on each trip. Bluefishing is still spotty but that should be changing more sooner than later; while the sea bassing has taken off in his neck of the woods. The sea bass are biting at all stages of the tide, and there are plenty of keepers. Fluking has also been solid; as long as you weed through some shorts, they have been rewarded with keepers to 26-inches. TJ is booked for June, but has plenty of openings in July, and the summer projects to be a strong one.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Fluking is still the number one game in town, but as anticipated, all the other species seem to be arriving. Scup action started to take off this week, along with black sea bass in most locations. The eastern sound seems to be a bit behind for sea bass and striped bass, but based on some recent reports today, it looks like both species are knocking on the door!