Rhode Island Fishing Report – July 8, 2021

 Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Point Judith lost some trips over the past week due to the strong winds, and were out targeting fluke and sea bass on the days in which the weather was agreeable. The fishing has generally been dictated by the conditions, with the good drift days producing some nice keeper fluke. The slower drift days have been tough for fluke, but there are quality sea bass and scup around on nearly all trips. They are currently offering full, and half-day trips and reservations can be made on their website or over the phone.

Connor, at Tall Tailz Charters in Newport, told me that the 4^th of July fishing brought the fireworks once again! There have been loads of quality striped bass from the Providence River to Block Island, along withs some nice pockets of big bluefish. Block Island has been red hot, but the local rocky coast is also holding plenty of bass from slot size to 40-pounds. The sea bass bite has been strong on all the local structure, with the best luck coming from 30-50 feet of water. There seems to be more keeper fluke showing up in the same areas, and the weakfish are still mixed in throughout the state. The offshore fishing has remained consistently stellar, with the 30-fathom line holding tons of small bluefin. The bite at the canyons is also taking shape, with yellowfin and bigeyes showing up around the edge.
 
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that things remain steady for anglers across the Ocean State. Scup and sea bass fishing has been very strong, while fluking has been difficult for most. A few seasoned fluke anglers are reporting some better catches, but they are putting their time in. Striped bass fishing remains strong across inshore waters and out at the island, and there are plenty of bluefish in the mix. The top talk of the town remains the local tuna bite, which has been the best in decades. Anglers are finding a steady pick of tuna in mixed sizes trolling green machines and running spreader bars. Everyone’s hoping the tropical storm doesn’t hurt the bite, and brings some more fish in.

Captain Ben, at Watch Hill Charters reports some steady striped bass and bluefish action on the reefs around Watch Hill and Fishers Island. A new slug of fish has moved into the area, providing action during most tides. They have been able to do most of their damage on topwater plugs, along with soft plastics and swimmers when they get fussy. Captain Ben still has a few openings left, both morning and evening trips for those who may be interested.

Jay, at Pamela May Charters in Narragansett, said that the topwater action is still going strong around Point Judith light to Beavertail light, and around Brenton Reef. Quality bluefish and stripers are willingly taking Ron-Z’s, topwater plugs and large flies. Some larger stripers should be leaving the bay soon after this latest heatwave, so the inshore Newport reefs should start fishing well. As always, the Block Island bass bite is the best bet, with fish to 50-pounds taking eels around SW ledge last weekend. The fluke action has picked up locally, but you still need to weed through tons of 15-inch fish to land a keeper. The sea bass opener has helped to fill the coolers, along with an abundance of big scup. The bluefin bite has been lights out close to home, with double-digit numbers on the troll and jigging over the past week.

Dustin, at RI Kayak Fishing Adventures, reports that Narragansett Bay is still producing a steady big striped bass bite. Large soft plastics, pogies, tubes, eels and bucktails have all been producing quality fish. The bottom fishing has been up and down, but most anglers are reporting great scup action, solid sea bass action, and decent (but inconsistent) fluke action. Largemouth anglers are finding a solid summer bite throughout Rhode Island and Cape Cod. Large swimbaits, senkos, frogs, chatterbaits and jigs have all been consistent producers. July is mostly filled, but they still have some openings for August, and plenty for the fall run. Be sure to book before it’s too late!

Nick at Big Bear Hunting and Fishing told me that saltwater anglers are reporting a tougher go on the fluke grounds this week, with your best bet being to short drift as soon as you locate a keeper or two. The best action has been in 50-70 feet of water on drifts of under 100 yards generally. Trout anglers are still finding a strong Hex hatch on the Wood River, and some fish hitting dry flies at Tarklin Pond during the evening hours. Largemouth action remains strong in the northern lakes, with Watermans, Bowdish and Wilson’s producing some big bass on shiners during the morning hours and on topwaters around dusk.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Heather, from Blackhawk Sportfishing reports that the weather had made things tough early in the week, but the fishing is improving by the day! The porgy fishing has been as steady as ever, and while shorts dominated the sea bass catch last week, the last few days has seen a huge increase in keepers. Even when the weather got tough over the holiday weekend, they were able to move around and put some nice scup and sea bass on the deck. They had their first night bass trip of the season last week and it was certainly a success. Several big bass and short fish were released, and they had a few within the slot limit to fill the coolers. They will have more of these trips soon and they fill up quickly, so be sure to check the schedule. Their trips continue to be by reservation only, so be sure to check the website for scheduling and reservations!

Evan, at Black Hall Outfitters, reported that the weekend cold front helped to turn the fishing on once again. Quality striped bass are still being taken in the rivers, but the local reefs have caught fire for anglers fishing live bunker, fresh chunks, eels, and jigs. Anglers fishing the race have also reported some nice stripers on 3-wayed Striper Snax. The race is also holding some big bluefish, along with Fishers Island, while smaller blues can be found just about anywhere. The sea bass bite has slowed in CT, but limits are still being caught in 70-80 feet of water on squid, clams, and jigs. Fluke fishing has been spotty, but bucktails and Gulp are still accounting for most of the catches. Freshwater anglers reported some good largemouth action over the weekend on topwater offerings and flipping jigs along grass banks.

Mike Roy of Reel Cast Charters told me that the striped bass and bluefishing remains steady. Action has been good in and around the river on topwater plugs, soft plastics and live bunker. A good push of cow bass has moved into the area, but those bigger fish require a little more effort to locate. The water temperatures are starting to rise quickly, so the fish should be spreading to the nearby reefs and anglers should have more areas to choose from when they try to locate a few of those cows.

Joe, at Diorios Guide Service told me he is still finding some nice local bass from 30-38-inches, with most coming on topwater offerings or live bunker. There have been some nice blitzes popping up around the bunker schools, and Joe’s been able to take some fish around the blitzes on The Doc and the JoeBaggs Patriot Fish. When the weather has cooperated, he has made the trip to the island and has found fish up to and over the 50-pound mark. After Elsa blows out of town, things should pick right back up.

Over at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk the guy’s report that the solid inshore striper bite has continued. The bass and bluefish have pushed some of the bunker schools closer to the shore, and have made life good for local anglers. The bass have been mixed in size, while the bluefish range from 5-10-pounds and will take just about any offering. The fluking has been going strong, with the western sound-producing better fish than the waters to the east on most days. There have been fish to 8-pounds weighed in this week, along with good numbers of smaller keepers. The scup fishing remains red-hot and is showing no signs of slowing, while the sea bass action continues to improve on squid, clams, and jigs.

Rhode Island Forecast

Tropical Storm Elsa is going to put a brief hamper on our local fishing, but luckily it appears to be very brief. Friday will be a washout, but the rest of the weekend should see cooperative weather across the region. Striped bass fishing has been as consistent as ever at Block Island, while the usual inshore reefs and rips are starting to see a good push of quality fish. Some better fluke seem to be showing in the summer haunts as well, but there is still a bit of inconsistency from tide to tide. If you’re struggling with fluke, you should be able to find plenty of keeper sea bass and/or scup across both CT and RI. The local tuna action has been the talk of southern New England for the past few weeks, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. The impending storm could temporarily hurt that bite, but could also do the opposite, and send more fish our way. The blue crab action continued to pick up in all the local tidal estuaries for those looking for a fun activity without traveling too far.