Large striped bass and fluke are knocking on the door to our east and west, and we should be seeing better local results any day now!
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Greg, of the Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported that the fluke light switch flipped on in a big way on Wednesday. They had a solid trip on Monday, but Wednesday’s trip bested it by 3x! They boated 180 keepers to 10-pounds, with high hook taking 19 keepers and the biggest fish at 10-pounds. The majority of anglers limited out and a at least a dozen fish came in between 6-8 pounds. Spro bucktails tipped with Gulp were the go-to, but just about everything was working. They will continue to sail daily at 7 am. The Wednesday night squid trip was also a big success, despite some wet conditions. Anglers that stuck it out through the rain were rewarded with full buckets. They will be back out there sailing for squid on Friday and Saturday night at 7 pm.
Captain Wade, of Booked Off Charters told me that the fluke fishing really kicked into gear this past weekend. They have been averaging over 20 keepers per trip, with many in the 4-6-pound range and a few over the 10-pound mark. With the bite being this good they will continue to focus on fluke!
Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly reports that the fluke fishing started to improve this past week with some bigger fish showing up at the island and a few more keepers coming from the local beaches. Fish of 8.4 pounds and 9.4 pounds were weighed in and rumors of a good amount of fish over 10 are trickling in. The local reefs are starting to hold much better numbers of striped bass, but they remain on the small side. Squid fishing has been very good for boats working the beaches at night, especially in the Weekapaug and Matunuck areas.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that there has been a good slug of large bass being caught in the area over the past few days. Rob Taylor, of Newport Sportfishing Charters, reported over a dozen bass to 48-pounds yesterday on topwater plugs. BJ Silvia, of Flipping Out Charters, reported several hefty bass in the area yesterday, and Peter Silvia weighed in a 50.3-pound cow on Thursday. In other news, many local anglers are reporting better fluke fishing around the island and in the Newport area. 10+ pound fish are starting to pop up with some regularity, and 4-6-pound catches have been common.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Rhode Island.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown had another busy weekend in the shop, with over 100 dozen sandworms sold just on Saturday! Fluking remains hit or miss locally, but anglers heading to New York or Block have been scoring some good catches. With the water temperatures finally starting to rise, we should see some improvement soon. Striped bass action has been very good for shore and boat anglers in the lower river, but the majority of fish are under 10-pounds. There are still some better fish upriver, but they have been tougher to find. There have been some rumors of a few heavier fish popping up in the sound, which is encouraging for the upcoming 2-3 weeks. Sea bass reports have been quiet, but some encouraging reports have just started coming in from the Westbrook/Clinton area.
Chris, at Black Hall Outfitters that the fluke fishing has really improved this week with excellent reports from Fisher’s Island, to Block Island, to Greenport. Our customers are hot on the JoeBaggs Nantucket Series Flukie in the 1/4 oz size tipped with Gulp! and a strip bait. Striped bass fishing continues to gain traction. Our IN-HOUSE tandem rigged slug-go’s and Jumpin’ Minnnows are top producers right now as the bass are on small to medium sized bait for the most part. Porgy fishing has remained consistent and the fish are moving closer inshore every day. Black Seabass have really turned up the heat. Fish are close to home and can be found 40-60 feet of water all over the sound. Our customers have had luck with Savage Squish Jigs as well as hi/lo setups tipped with Gulp!
Josh, at Three Belles Outfitters in Niantic claims mid 30″ stripers continue to show in the eastern sound, while the western sound holds the bigger Hudson bass for now. Keeper bass reports from Rhode Island have started to pour in too. Small bluefish are being caught around Millstone, and whispers of larger blues have come from Narragansett Bay and eastern sound. Fluke has been quiet locally, but those who have taken the trip to the Montauk area are finding them. Scup reports are starting to materialize as well. In freshwater, pike fishing continues to remain strong. Spinnerbaits and large swimmers are the way to go. Largemouth bass in most bodies of water are right in the heart of the spawn, while smallmouth have done the deed and males are on beds. Shad fishing has been great this year in the Connecticut River, with a report from one angler catching over 80 fish on fly rod.
Black Hawk Sportfishing reports that the porgy fishing remains excellent with most patrons getting their limits pretty easy. Their nighttime squid trips have also been very productive. Buckets have been filling up with relative ease, and they anticipate adding more dates to the schedule. Night striped bass trips should also be coming soon, so be sure to check with the office for scheduling updates and reservations for the bass or squid trips.
Captain TJ, of Rock N Roll Charters reports that the striped bass action remains very strong. The fish remain on the smaller side, but there are plenty of them, and there are some nice keepers to 36-inches in the mix. Fluke are showing up in local waters, with a few keepers here and there; while the scup fishing has been very good, with some true “hubcap” scup in the mix. Sea bass action seems to have blown open last week, and we should have some strong weeks ahead on the local reefs.
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, is still finding some great success fishing the rivers for striped bass. He and his clients have had good numbers of school to small keeper sized bass on light tackle and the fly. He also poked around the reefs this week and was greeted with some good of fish in that same class. The weather seems to finally be settling down and a warming trend is setting in, Mike anticipates seeing some quality bass on those reefs in a week or so!
Max, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reports that the bass bite out west is still going strong. Mojos, spoons and chunks are taking fish from 20-40 pounds. Locally, some bass have been around the Islands and schoolies can be found along the beaches. The fluke seems to be staying on the New York side, while the sea bassing has slowly improved. Scup action has also come on strong this week, with shore and boat anglers catching well on clams, squid and sandworms.
Joe, from Diorio Guide Service, told me that the striper fishing has been very consistent in the lower CT River. The bite has consisted of mostly schoolies, a few keepers and plenty of bent rods! Fluking in local waters remains dominated by shorts, but the sea bass action blew up. Joe was able to find quick limits of sea bass over the past few days.
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Best bets for the weekend
Consistent reports of large striped bass are coming in from the Newport area, as well as the western end of the sound. It shouldn’t be long for those cows to start filtering in the area in between those two points. In the meantime, there are plenty of schoolie bass and smaller keepers to be taken out front and in the tidal rivers. Fluke action remains strong in NY and at Block, so a rise of a few degrees in the coming week should bring more keepers to local waters. Scup action is picking up the slack in local waters and it seems that the sea bass switch just flipped in a big way.
Where in RI can I reach fluke with a kayak?