Pictured above: A nice bass taken on a live bunker aboard Reel Cast Charters.
Big striped bass continue to feed at the island, along with fluke and sea bass. Inshore, the groundfishing continues to improve and striped bass of all sizes are filtering in all over the area.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that the striped bass fishing has improved on the lower CT River flats, with fish in the 30-35 inch range taking topwaters. Better fish can be had on the reefs and rips just outside the river as well but it is up and down, with nighttime producing better. Block Island continues to be on fire, with 40-50 pound fish getting weighed in on the regular. The fluke fishing is decent some days and the fish are still in rather shallow water. The fish seem to be moving quite a bit though and of course the key is finding bait. Rhode Island is decent and CT anglers have found some better fish at Sarah’s Ledge, Two Tree and the mouth of the Thames. Sea bass action is tremendous to the south of SW Reef and Block Island is producing some slammers as well. Scup fishing is lock and load all over the sound.
Hillyers in Waterford reported that the striper action has remained steady at The Race and all classes of fish have been represented. Fish from 15-50 pounds were reported this week for those three-waying bucktails and eels. Schoolie action has been good locally all over the area; while some better fish were seen feeding on small bait at Bartletts this week. Fluke reports are up and down; the general consensus being that they are hard to locate, but when you do find a pile they tend to be quality fish. The sea bass bite is finally starting to find its groove, the fish are out in 60 to 100 feet in the Eastern Sound and slightly shallower at Block and Montauk. Porgies can be found on just about any rock pile right now, clams or worms will get the job done. Bluefish remain scarce but some can be taken on light tackle at the outflow.
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that the better fish have started to show in the Eastern Sound and he has transitioned to fishing the reefs. 3-waying bunker during the day has been producing, but the better action has come on eels after dark. Mike has also started sea bassing and is seeing better results across the area. Small bait is all over the place and the light tackle and fly anglers are having good success with schoolies.
The crew at Black Hall Outfitters told me that not much has changed since last week, with solid striped bass catches, plenty of scup, some better sea bassing and quality but no always quantity fluking. Gene hit a couple of the local reefs with live eels this week and managed his personal best 51-inch striper. The offshore bite has also started to heat up, with good yellowfin and big eye catches at the canyons.
Joe, at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, told me that the local striped bass fishing has continued to slowly improve, as the bass have mostly left the river for the local reefs. Decent catches have come from the local shoreline, Long Sand and SW Reef. The Race, the Gulls and the Sluiceway are also producing bass of varying sizes. Bluefish have moved into The Race, so hopefully we should start seeing more close to home. Fluke has been spotty; you really have to look for bait along structure in 30-50 feet of water. Scup fishing is excellent in the central sound and they are filtering into the eastern waters; while scup have been biting all over the place.
Heather, from the Black Hawk in Niantic, reported that a good mix of sea bass, and even some fluke are filling up the coolers and putting smiles of the faces of everyone. Capt. Matt has been looking at the dates, and we hope to have some night bass trips next week. Stay tuned, and dates and times will be posted shortly. Their weekend half day trips have started, sailing at 6am and 1pm. These trips are scheduled to be for blues and bass, but the bluefish remain elusive, so they’ve been porgy fishing on these trips instead. The bluefish are starting to show in The Race, so trips targeting these fish should be kicking off soon.
Captain TJ, at Rock and Roll Charters, said scup are moving onto their summer reefs and summer patterns, and the fishing has been lights out. Sea bass action is holding strong, but the fish have started to transition to deeper water. Striped bass are spotty, but the area is loaded with squid and sand eels and it should only be a matter of time before they settle in. The schoolie numbers are tremendous, which is obviously a great sign for the future. Bluefish are just absent so far; it’s not typical for early July, but they are just not around right now. The water temperature climbed quite a bit last week, so hopefully the bluefish will be arriving soon.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Narragansett had a productive week on the fluke grounds, although it’s getting tough to get thru all the sea bass at times. Captain Rich reported a big haul of sea bass to 4 pounds on Tuesday and only managed a few dozen keeper fluke. Many of the fluke were quality fish though, including a 28” slab caught by Mr. Pak. Captain Mike saw better results on the half-day trip, with a full boat limit of sea bass and a nice pile of fluke to go along with it. Monday’s marathon was a solid one and the fleet didn’t have to travel too far to find the fish. Nearly everyone went home with 3-4 fluke and a full boat limit of sea bass was attained. The biggest fluke of the day was just over 8-pounds, while the best sea bass tipped the scale at 6-pounds! They will be heading out for another marathon trip next Monday and there are still openings.
Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Narragansett, reported a big improvement in fishing on the half-day trips this past week. Full boat limits of black sea bass have been common and despite all the sea bass there have still been several fluke limits as well. For the remainder of July they will continue running half-day trips in both the morning and afternoon Monday thru Saturday. On Sundays they will run a morning half-day trip and an extended Sunset trip from 1 PM to 8 PM. The Jeanie B is available for private charters of up to 6 people and they still have some weekend dates available.
Captain Brian, of Big Game Sportfishing in Wakefield, reported that the bass bite on the SW corner of Block started to turn around late last week and it carried into this week. Fish can be taken around the sand eel schools during the day and out on the reef after dark. Huge schools of mackerel have been balled up at the North Rip and Brian was able to load up and live line them for bass. The sea bass fishing is great out there as well with fish to 5-pounds, and it is improving inshore as well. The fluke bite remains steady when the drift is going good, with the east grounds being the most productive. The shark bite is getting going offshore, with a few decent makos and loads of blue sharks landed this week. With the amount of bait they are seeing offshore, the tuna bite should get going any week now.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the black sea bass bite has been good all over the area this week; while the fluke fishing remains steady for shore and boat anglers at Block and around Newport. The striped bass bite at Block has been getting most of the attention but the bite around Newport and Jamestown has been good this week as well.
Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly also chimed in that the striped bass bite at the island has been strong with big fish taken on the troll and while drifting live eels. The Watch Hill reefs are still putting up good numbers of smaller bass that are feeding on squid and sand eels. Black sea bass fishing was very good this past week with the fish still holding on structure out in deeper water. Reefs, wrecks and rock piles out in 55 to 70 feet of water are a great place to start searching for them. Scup have been easy to find for shore and boat fishermen; while fluke fishing has been steady off the beaches, but you have to weed through a ton of shorts.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The recent heat wave finally got our water temperatures up and the result has been some better fishing across the area. Striped bass fishing is great at Block Island and it appears some quality bass have settled into the Eastern Sound. School to small keeper bass are all over the area, which provides some great light tackle action and is a great sign for years to come. Sea bass action is tremendous in the central sound and at Block Island and we are starting to get more and more reports from the rest of our range. The scup bite is lights out and they are big; and while fluke action has been spotty the quality has been great.