Striped bass catches have steadily improved, albeit it slowly but steadily; while there are enough fluke, sea bass and scup around to keep bottom fishermen busy.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, of Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, is back and the shop and reported that the fluke bite is still pretty consistent, and seems to be a little better than the previous few summers. Misquamicut, and Weekapaug are producing in Rhode Island, with Black Point and Sarah’s Ledge starting to put up some better fish in CT. The local striped bass game remains spotty, but a decent slug of fish hit the south side of Fisher’s and started to trickle into Waterford. This is usually a good sign for the upcoming late summer/fall season. Sea bass are biting well in Rhode Island, around Fisher’s and in the central sound; while the scup fishing has been red hot all over.
Jon, at Hillyers in Waterford, told me that for the first time in a while he has been hearing a good amount of bluefish reports from the area. The Sluiceway, Plum Gut, Millstone and Black Point all had good numbers of blues at one point or another this week. The striped bass bite has been pretty consistent for the guys fishing after dark out by The Race, and it seems the Watch Hill area is starting to produce much better. Fluke fishing is slow but steady, with a ton of shorts, but enough keepers in the mix to find a limit. Locally, guys are catching the best fluke around Black Point and the New London Dumping Grounds. Sea bass reports have picked up at the Bloody Grounds, Pigeon Rip and around Bartletts; while scup fishing has been solid all over.
Gene, over at Black Hall Outfitters in Old Lyme, reports that the striped bass have been a bit more finicky this week than last, but some local guys are still catching. Gene and Nick caught some quality fish on live bunker this week, but said it was not as lock and load as last week. There are still some reports of striped bass blitzing around the sand shoal at first light, and they have been joined by much more bluefish this week. Captain Mike Smith landed a 44-inch bass during one of these blitzes; which is always a blast on topwater. The fluke and sea bass fishing has been hot or cold, with the key being locating a pod of fish and keeping a tight, precise drift. The best local catches seem to be from outer Black Point in the deep water, outer Hatchet’s and the middle ground. The snapper blues have moved in pretty good so it’s time to get the snapper popper ready. While you are out there you can try your luck with blue crabs, as 6+ inch crabs seem to be filling up the estuaries pretty well.
Stephanie Ortiz, of The Fancy Fluke Fishing Co, reported that keeper fluke have started to become rather scarce in the western sound, but scup season is definitely upon us. Large groups of scup are schooling in shallow water, and clams seem to be the best producer. Stephanie suggests hi lo rigs to maximize your opportunity for strong catches. The western sound is also producing some decent sea bass catches, but they are coming from much deeper water. The striper bite has started to move east, but bluefish are pushing around the bunker schools left and right. There is a great deal of small bait all through the area, and they anticipate another strong albie season like we had last year.
Captain TJ, of Rock n Roll Charters, had another quality week of local fishing. It wasn’t quite gangbusters, but they have been getting several keeper bass per trip, and very few shorts. Bluefish have moved in, and are in much better numbers; which has kept everyone on board happy. Fluking has been spotty, but when they have targeted them exclusively they have found some nice keepers. Scup fishing is coming alive, and August is usually primetime for that bite.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Narragansett was fresh in from a solid Wednesday night bass trip when I received their report Thursday. Wednesday night’s trip was much more successful than the previous week, with quite a few fish around the 20-pound mark coming over the rails. With the moon getting bigger, it’s shaping up to be a good striped bass weekend, and fleet will have night trips Thursday through Saturday evening at 7 PM. Owner, Christine Blount, got out with some friends and family earlier this week, and reported some very good fishing on the half-day trips. The weather and tides were working against the fleet over the weekend, but everything changed mid-week, with quality sea bass and fluke being taken on all trips. The weekend weather and drift conditions are setting up nicely and the weekend should be a success.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that the bottom fishing is strong across the state, and most anglers are finding plenty of scup and sea bass, along with some nice keeper fluke. Fluke and sea bass action remains the strongest at Block Island, but good catches are still being reported across the inshore coastline. Big scup are abundant and can be found on most of the inshore rockpiles, with clam necks and squid being the baits of choice. Striped bass fishing is still reported as very good to great at Block Island, and some better catches are being reported on the South County reefs, Brenton Reef and in the Point Judith area. Tautog opened up on August 1st, and the few anglers that are targeting them are doing pretty well with crabs in shallower water. The cape cod canal striped bass bite has slowed but is still decent; while the offshore bite seems to have picked up. Andrew Wheeler from Rigged and Ready reports there was a good bite from the Lobster Claw south of the Vineyard, where the found yellowfin, school bluefin, mahi and the occasional white marlin.
I spoke with Pete Jenkins, of Saltwater Edge in Middletown, briefly this week, who reported that guys are still catching some decent fluke inshore, but it has been spotty. The best results seem to be coming from 60+ feet of water. Block Island and Aquidneck both put up good striped bass last week to 60-pounds, including another cow taken locally by Iron Mike Everin. The biggest news of the week was that the late summer arrivals, green bonito, made their first appearance. As usual, the early August fish are sparse, but it is a good sign for the coming weeks.
According to Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, the striped bass bite from Watch Hill to Block continues to steadily improve. The best bet is drifting eels after dark or around dawn and dusk, but trolling during the day has caught as well. The vast majority of fish are in the 20-pound class, but some 30-40 pound fish are mixed in as well. Scup fishing has been great from shore at the breachways and the lighthouse; while fluking remains very strong off Weekapaug.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
While striped bass seem to be a bit spottier than years past, it seems that some quality fish can be taken in most of the usual late summer haunts. The key seems to be heading out in low light and hanging some big eels over structure. The summer doldrums for groundfish are approaching, but there is a healthy enough population of sea bass and fluke to find a good limit; while scup should be able to keep most anglers busy. In the estuaries, snapper bluefish and blue crabs are around in good numbers, and are always a great way to keep young anglers busy for the rest of the summer.