On The Water, RI, 9/8/05

1. Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown told us the bass fishing is still pretty good and that it held up consistently throughout the month of August. Bill Nolan, one of his buddies, caught a 43-pounder from the beach at Narragansett on a live eel one day late last week. Steve himself has been doing well and catching bass on Slug-Gos and eels after dark pretty much every night. It’s been consistent action from smaller fish up to about the midteens for him and for his customers who are fishing the Narragansett area.
2. Big seas have made things unfishable since early in the week due to the storms offshore in the south. Once this situation passes, Steve expects the fishing to get back to normal.
3. Bluefish made a major appearance up inside Narragansett Bay since the rainstorms last week. Surprisingly, there has not been much reported in the way of bluefish action outside the bay. But up in the bay, Steve said the only place the blues aren’t hitting is in swimming pools.
4. Fluke fishing is on the way out this time of year. It’s slowed down pretty much all over the area, with a few scattered catches being made along the south shore beaches.
5. Scup fishing is still red hot and will be for a month or so more, but blackfish are slow for the moment. There are loads of bait around, which bodes well for the remainder of the fall.
6. Earl at Saltwater Edge, Newport reported that not too much has changed since last week’s report. Bluefish are present in the Newport area, but there aren’t many of them. The bait situation is not very good at this time, even the peanut bunker seem to have moved out of the Newport area. Speculation is that all of those bluefin tuna that were ripping around the area may have had something to do with this situation.
7. Mrs. Dangelo of Maridee Bait and Tackle, Narragansett, R.I. said anglers have been catching keeper stripers on clam bellies off the Point Judith docks in the evenings. Bass and blues are in the harbor refuge.
8. Captain Andy Dangelo caught a wahoo over Labor Day weekend on one of his offshore charters that was 24 pounds. The captain has been catching bass over 30 pounds off Block Island during his local striper charters.
9. Loads of bait in along the shore and beaches do draw and hold the predatory species. Early and later in the day, the bass are hitting eels and plugs. In the daylight hours, bluefish are the dominant catch off the jetties and breachways when the tide is running.
10. Fluke have slowed down, with a few minor catches being reported from the waters in front of the “Cottages” in 50 to 70 feet, but it’s definitely slowing down. Porgies are still thick, easy to catch and big.
11. Kevin at Breachway Tackle, Charlestown said this week was slow, in general. The fish (bass) haven’t been cooperating very well. Ron, owner of the shop, who has been slaying them all summer long, has been going out and not catching, so something is wrong. Kevin noted that Ron said the bass are hard to find and not biting when you do find them.
12. There are still plenty of bluefish and snappers up inside the salt pond and running in and out of the breachway, but the bass are a disappointment.
13. The bonito have been reported in the area, but nothing specific as to exactly where. One sighting took place off the Pt. Judith walls. As we all know, all news is old news when it comes to reports on any member of the tuna family because they move around so darn fast.
14. Fluke fishing is pretty much over. There may be a week or two left before it’s completely finished, but even now no one is doing very well.
15. Porgies are the best bet for action and filleting material when it’s needed.
16. Rob at Wildwood Outfitters, Wakefield said there was an increase in bluefish that are following the peanut bunker and silversides up into the bay and in along the beaches. There is a ton of bait in the Point Judith Salt Pond. Schoolie bass catches have picked up in Narragansett around the Avenues and in both the Pt. Judith and Charlestown Salt Ponds. The numbers of bass are up lately, but overall the average size is down. Eben Horton caught a 36-pounder along the Narragansett shore with one of his custom-made needlefish plugs in copper color, but that was the only big fish they heard of this week. Dannys and needlefish plugs are popular this time of year, as well as any of the Storm and similar swim baits.
17. The Mud Hole is holding albacore, bluefins and mahi-mahi, but no yellowfins yet. Many of their offshore fishermen are coming in for supplies, which is an indication that things are heating up. The Dip has been red hot for all the different tunas. Steve Flood, captain of the Rum Runner did an overnighter at The Dip and caught yellowfins, albies and mahi-mahi under weed patches by trolling and chunking after dark, the usual routine for a canyon run.
18. We missed John Swienton’s report from Twin Maples at Block Island this week.
19. Captain Don of Captain Don’s Tackle, Charlestown, Rhode Island said that this week there were a few small bluefins back on the south side of Fishers Island again as of Wednesday. One customer who was back there tube-and-worming, or trying to in the dirty water, said there were loads of bait with some small bluefins chasing them. But they disappeared too quickly to get a hook into any of them. There have continued to be random hookups from schoolie bluefins in The Race even since the majority of these fish moved off to the east two or three weeks ago. At his end of the beaches, the Quonny Breachway is alive with bass and bluefish that are chasing peanut bunker.
20. Don told me that there are more needlefish up inside the pond than he’s ever seen. This is good news because it will surely draw big bass up inside the pond where the guys in kayaks and small boats can have a crack at them.
21. In front of Watch Hill, a couple of his old-timers have been doing well by casting Creek Chub Darters. Daybreak and dusk have been consistently productive out front at the Quonny Breachway, where there are some decent keepers being caught on the dropping tide. Generally, the bite dies out with the tide or after the sun rises up above the trees.
22. Fluke have been moving in and out from the drifts that many anglers fish off Misquamicut in waters ranging from 45 to 80 feet and are still being caught, but not in big numbers. There are still good numbers of small fluke to be caught up inside the salt pond on small jigs baited with mummichogs. Last year they were gone by now, so anglers are lucky they are still around in catchable numbers.
23. Remember, this time of year, when all the bait moves inshore, so do the fluke, so look for them in shallow water up inside salt ponds, bays and river mouths. They are not gone yet, they are just not where they were all summer long.
24. Porgies are all over the place and are a “give me” for anyone who seeks them.
25. Hearsay midweek indicated that there were some albies out off the Quonny Breachway, but it was only secondhand news and not verified by another source. Captain Don saw bonito in the breachway a week back but has not seen any since. However, with all the bait around, he believes that it’s only a matter of time before these tunoids move in to feed – providing they come into the region.
26. Don of King Cove Marina, Stonington told us the big waves have made a mess of things along the south side of Fishers Island and around the Watch Hill Reef complex. The fish seem to have moved off the reefs and inside over the past week, since things began kicking up. The best fishing is being found between Sandy Point and Napatree Point, as well as out on the Stonington Flats where there have been good numbers of schoolies ranging on up to keepers of nearly 20 pounds. Kevin from the shop caught fish to 38 inches the other day. Sandy Point has been producing fish from both boat and surf – same thing over at Napatree Point.
27. Some false albacore have shown up off Charlestown and Quonny breachways, as well as out along the south side of Fishers Island, starting last week and right up to Wednesday.
28. Fluke fishing has slowed drastically, but sea bass and blackfish have picked up. Salted clams have been the ticket, rather than crabs, for blackfish, but remember that the season closes in Connecticut waters from September 7 until September 22, when it reopens through December. This second split in the season will be the time to mobilize and do some serious “togging.”
29. There have been weakfish caught up to nine pounds off the Quonny Breachway and up the beaches as far as Misquamicut. The odd report was made by a regular who fishes the beaches every morning. He noted that there were 5 little 10-inch weakfish that were beached, evidently chased into the shallows and washed up on the beach by bluefish early Wednesday morning.
30. Only a few blue crabs are around, and no one is really talking about them.