Rhode Island 7/18-7/24/05

Week of July 18 through July 24
It's been quite a week on the Rhode Island fishing scene. Offshore the schoolie bluefin tuna have been pleasing anglers trolling all sorts of small lures. They are hitting almost everything you care to put in the water, as long as it's in the three- to five-inch range. Fish are mostly in the 30- to 35-pound range but there have been some much bigger fish taken. Shark fishing is very good with lots of blue sharks around and a surprising amount of threshers for this time of year. Some small makos are also keeping anglers on their toes.
Inshore, the fluke fishing is really pretty good, but you have to plan your trips according to the tide charts. It seems that there are plenty of fish around, but they only really decide to feed on the incoming tide. This weekend we had great fluke fishing on the incoming tide only to see the bite die as soon as the high water mark was reached. You can pick a fish here and there on the ebbing tide, but the action is on the incoming tide.
The big news this week is the 65-pound plus striper that was caught by Ray DaPente who was fishing with Captain Mike Neto. Lots of stripers in the forties were also weighed in this week.
Captain Don's Bait and Tackle tell me that during the week Fred Voight from Philadelphia, PA caught a 44-pound bass fishing live eels with Captain Ben DeMarco. Bill Wilson came up with somewhat surprising catch fishing off of East Beach. It was a 32-inch lone weakfish. Don says that the striped bass fishing is still good off of the Quonny and Weekapaug breachways as well as on the Watch Hill reef. Bluefish are raiding the beaches at first light almost every morning and they are willing to take almost anything you throw at them. Scup are thick in the breachways and most of them are a very nice size. Most anglers are limiting out in a short period of time.
Over at Breachway Bait and Tackle they tell me that there are still plenty of stripers around. Scup fishing is great around the breachway, but fluke fishing locally isn't all that great. The good news is that its only a short run to the east to get in on the good fluking going on around there.
Weekapaug Bait and tackle says that there are plenty of striped bass and bluefish around. The striped bass fishing is really good on the local reefs, like Watch Hill Reef, as well as some of the lesser known reefs. Fluke fishing picked up this week off the south shore beaches. They weighed in several fluke in the 7 to 9-pound range. Scup fishing is very good right in the breachways.
The Frances Fleet is reporting a good week of fishing, with lots of striped bass and jumbo fluke. Both the full and half day boats are banging the fluke with a good percentage of sea bass mixed in on the all day boat. Night bass fishing has been a little spotty. Some nights they really do a job on the fish and other nights it can best be described as a slow pick. They started running bluefish trips recently and the boat, which sails on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, was doing well on bluefish to ten pounds. Last week, Captain Don ran one of the boats over to the mud hole, where they found bluefin tuna to 300 pounds.
Kenport Marina is talking about little Ben Hastad, who caught his first striped bass this week. The fish weighed in at 24 pounds. Ronnie Castelone really had quite a trip to Block Island recently. He managed to catch four fish for himself and his buddy. the fish weighed 44, 43, and two tipped the scales at 38 pounds. Quite a day of striped bass fishing.
There are some really big scup to be had over by the west wall. Lots of fish to two pounds plus are bring taken on sea worms. In addition to the scup, there are also some sea bass and tautog mixed in. The surf guys have been doing well at Deep Hole soaking menhaden chunks. They have been catching bass in the teens and bluefish to ten pounds. Jack Demers on the Sea Busy trolled around the Suffolk wreck for a pair of nice bluefins and then trolled over to the Thirty-one Fathom Hole where he picked up another pair. All fish were released. Rhone Enrich caught five bluefins in the 30-pound class by starting at the acid barge and trolling east.
Over at Snug Harbor Marina they tell me that the fluke fishing along the beaches is holding up nicely. There are some big bass around Block Island falling for live eels. On the offshore side, there are plenty of small bluefin starting at the acid barge and heading east, to the 31 Fathom Hole and all the way to the dump. The shark fishermen are doing well with lots of blue sharks around and a surprising number of threshers. They had weighed three thresher sharks this weekend when I talked to them on Sunday afternoon.
Quaker Lane Outfitters is talking about Brad's 55-pound striper caught last week. Striped bass fishing is steady in the bay. Fluke fishing is good with fish to six pounds. There are lots of really big scup around.
Archie's Bait and Tackle tells me of some really good striped bass fishing in the Providence River. The fish aren't big, but what they lack in size they make up in numbers. Last week saw a nice run of weakfish at the white church bridge, along with some stripers mixed in. Bluefish are raiding Barrington Beach on a regular basis. Most of the fish are in the 5 to 7-pound range and they aren't fussy about what they will eat. Scup fishing is really good for the guys who can get after them from a boat, but the shore fishermen are struggling. It not that there aren't plenty of fish around, but they tend to move and move quickly, often to spots the shore based guys can't reach. Fluke fishing picked up this week dramatically, Warwick Light, Coniquot Light and Oakland Beach are said to be the hot spots.
Dave, over at Ocean State Tackle weighed in a huge striped bass (pictured on the cover) that went 65.2-pounds on the scale. The angler was Ray DaPente who was fishing with Captain Mike Neto. Dave also said that there are plenty of big stripers waiting around the southwest and southeast corners of Block Island. Live eels are the ticket and you have to stay in relatively shallow water to avoid the dogfish. Scup fishing is very good with Sally Rock in Greenwich Bay being one of the spots that are really producing scup to two pounds plus. Fluke fishing is good under the Jamestown Bridge, at Austin Hollow and off of Oakland Beach.
Edward's Bait and Tackle weighed in a few good-sized stripers over the past week. Fluke fishing is picking up and the scup are everywhere, with jumbo scup hitting almost anything you use for bait. Offshore everyone is chasing those little bluefins and once in a while some not-so-little ones show up. Shark fishing is great with loads of blue sharks around ,along with some threshers.
Erickson's Bait and Tackle says that the scup are really thick around Dutch Island with a few sea bass mixed in. Fluke fishing is good from Oakland Beach to under the Jamestown Bridge. The offshore guys have been having a ball with the schoolie bluefin action. Shark fishing is also good and a lot of guys are combining the two.
Lucky Bait says that there are plenty of fluke and stripers behind Hog Island. There are scup and bluefish almost anywhere you would want to cast a line. The fluke fishing is good in Jamestown and Newport.
The Tackle Box is saying that Brenton Reef is a good bet for striped bass. The blue fishing is good in the bay, and Block Island is the place to be if you are looking for really big striped bass. Fluke fishing is good, there are not a lot of fish but what they are catching are good ones.
Peter over at the Saltwater Edge Tackle Shop is all excited about the school bluefin tuna. He says that they are about ten miles off the beach, and if you want to bait them sandeels seem to be one of the baits that is working
Sam's Bait and Tackle is reporting plenty of bluefin tuna, in the fifty to sixty pound class can be found anywhere from the Mud Hole east to Cox's Ledge and on into the dump. The shark guys have plenty of blue dogs to play with and the occasional thresher wander by, just to keep things interesting.
Some small yellowfin tuna as well as a few albacore have been caught in the shipping lanes. Peanut bunker showed up locally and the bluefish are thick chasing after them.
Scup fishing is excellent and some black sea bass are starting to show up on the deeper water reefs. The fluke fishing is holding up very well.