On The Water, 9/3/05 Cape Cod

1. The poor weather of the early part of this week and predictions of miserable weather over the weekend, combined with the end-of-summer, back-to-school lull in fishing activity, only put a temporary slowdown on what was apparently a pretty good bite over last weekend.
2. Jim at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown said the fluking was still pretty good in the Newport and Jamestown areas prior to the recent storms. Up inside the bay anglers were catching fluke, but on average they were smaller fish with many throw-backs. No doormats reported this week, but customers fishing the south shore were consistently taking fish up to five or six pounds.
3. Scup are thick in all the usual places. Ohio Ledge, Hope Island and other rock piles throughout the area are holding good numbers of these easy-to-catch fish for those looking for sure-fire fast fishing action and decent fillet material – should the fluke not cooperate.
4. Bluefish catches are improving lately up inside the bay, as well. Mostly small stuff, with those one- to three-pound “cocktail blues” dominating the fishery, but there are some 10-pounders ripping around. Jim believed that the late arrival of blues in the bay this year was due to the school bluefin tuna competing for food at the mouth of the bay, keeping them from entering on schedule a month ago.
5. Bass fishing is good if you put the time in after dark. We are in the summer doldrums and are lucky there are decent bass still around after all the miserable heat this summer. Jim feels that the bite is still a couple weeks away from breaking open for the fall. The striped bass normally leave the bay early in the fall. No big fish of any flavor to report this week, but the customers are happy with what is going on along the coast and in the bay in general.
6. Mike at Saltwater Edge, Newport told us that not much is going on other than some good fishing for bluefish up to about 10 pounds that are tearing up everyone’s expensive eels “out front” along the shore in Newport. The tuna are pretty much gone, with only one random report of a sighting on Sunday. But remember that was only a report and not a direct contact from any of the guys who work in the shop.
7. Bonito are showing up now in place of the bluefins, but no false albacore are mixed in quite yet. Normally, Mike noted, it’s the first or second week of September before they show up in catchable numbers. The bonito are ripping around from Lands End all the way down to Point Judith and east to Sakonnet Point. They (the guys who charter out of the shop) missed a few trips due to the bad weather midweek, so the information they could offer is at best three days old.
8. Captain Andy Dangelo of Maridee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, R.I., said he didn’t even fish on Wednesday because it was so rough. He’s still doing well with striped bass out around Block Island during the ebbing tide when he can get away from the crowds of boats that have been fishing in tight around the island. A regular customer caught a 30-pounder on eels off the beach Tuesday evening in all the wind, rain and turmoil that blew in as a result of Hurricane Katrina’s remnants.
9. Shark fishing has been good on his offshore outings, with many throw-back makos in the mix. He caught a 180-pounder a week back, his best in a while. The blue sharking has been good south of the gully for those interested in some fun fishing action.
10. The bluefins that were around Block Island have moved east to Chatham on the Cape as of last week. It’s odd this year because the normal places that hold schoolies such as the Mud Hole were barren a few weeks back when the fish were in along the surf break. However, the captain said the bait is coming back into these deep-water areas, and so will the bluefins. A few boats are fishing down around the 600 to 500 line and taking occasional albacore or yellowfin. But they are spotty.
11. Deep Hole at Matunuck and Five Cottages have been pretty productive for striped bass from dusk through dawn on eels. To the east, Stinky Beach and the other spots to the light are also producing nighttime fish.
12. Kevin at Breachway Tackle, Charlestown said the weather has kept people home pretty much all week, but the fish are still out there to catch. The Walls at Point Judith are O.K. during big blows, but the Charlestown Breachway has been too rough to cast from lately with the strong winds. Bass, blues, scup and fluke were coming into the shop in good numbers prior to this stormy week.
13. The fluke fishing has been slacking off as fall approaches. The best fluke in a local tournament was 11.3 caught back in July, but the best fish in the past three weeks have been under 8 pounds.
14. People are going out after tuna running offshore; the bluefin blitzes along his stretch of beach are over. Bluefish and snapper blues are abundant off the breachway and up in the salt pond as a source of bait and fun action for the kids.
15. Kevin noted a report of a big great white shark spotted not too far off Block Island late last week, for what it’s worth. As long as there isn’t a whale carcass or something like that to draw it in closer to the beaches, all should be well, but under the oddball conditions this season and the strong winds blowing onshore this week, I know I wouldn’t go swimming in the ocean for a while.
16. Bob at Wildwood Outfitters, Wakefield was not around when we called this week.
17. John Swienton, owner of Twin Maples Tackle out on Block Island, told us that live eels have been hard to find this week, so his personal fishing has been hindered along with his eel-fishing customers.
18. The bonito are still abundant up the entrance to New Harbor and Charlestown Beach. Good bluefish and bass catches are being made from the beach and boats off the north end of the island at Sandy Point. Anglers are trolling successfully off Black Rock with tube and worms in water less than 15 feet deep. Parachutes are still doing well off the Southwest Reef area, as always. There are no monsters to report this week, but the overall angler participation has been slow due to the back-to-school thing. Payne’s Dock was half-empty as of midweek, but will fill up over this holiday weekend for sure.
19. Captain Don of Captain Don’s Tackle, Charlestown, Rhode Island said the fish had lockjaw for a while during the big high-pressure system that blew into the region last week, but that came to an end on Friday. He said that that night they turned on big time, with Watch Hill and the Weekapaug overlook producing nice catches of bluefish by day and bass after dark on eels, yellow Mega Baits and Hab’s Parrot Green Needlefish.
20. Lots of nice sea bass and fluke have been coming in from the waters of the state beach, from the shallows on out to as much as 80 feet of water.
21. Tube-and-worming has been very consistent in 13 to 15 feet of water over the rocky hard bottom found to the left of Quonny Breachway, as well as up inside the pond itself. It’s been this way since June so don’t expect much to change other than for the fishing to get better as the fall progresses, if history holds true again this season.
22. Don saw bonito rolling around and pushing bait up inside the breachway earlier in the week when he checked his boat after one of the heavy rains.
23. Don at King Cove Marina, Stonington said that prior to the big blow (jibing nicely with Captain Don’s report), there were bass all over the reefs from the hill to Fishers Island. Anglers were catching them on everything prior to the winds this week.
24. Fluke fishermen are now working harder for their few keepers on what has been a slow pick for fluke, but sea bass are picking up nicely off Latimer Light and in the deeper waters off Wilderness Point. These fish are being caught mostly by accident. Look for small rock humps and ledges, and you will probably find sea bass.
25. Anglers are catching a few blackfish, as well. Some are targeting them on clam bellies, but no one is asking for crabs yet. These are some of the folks who have been catching sea bass in the process of targeting blackfish with clams for bait.
26. Porgies are a give-me everywhere, with some real giants to be caught when the tides are slowing out around those same reefs that are producing all the bass and bluefish. I caught my personal best scup years ago on a whole squid intended for stripers out near Catumb Rock. That tiderunner scup was 2.75 pounds and around 18 inches and looked like a dinner plate with a tail. We’ve caught them up to 17 inches while tubing along the south side of Fishers Island, both last summer and the one prior.

Newsday.com: Fishing Forecast

1. Western Long Island Sound: The season slowed this week with blustery conditions, packing more than 30-mph winds, but the season's peak arrives when water conditions cool through September and October.

For now, the bigger bass and bluefish can be found outside of Manhasset Bay. Use fresh bunker for the bass, and bunker or poppers for the bluefish. Fluke have been sighted as big as 12 pounds. Another good spot for bluefish, Jack's Bait and Tackle on City Island reports, is between the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges. Look off Sands Point for fluke.

Nancy LoCascio, who registered at R&G Bait and Tackle in Port Washington, won the WICC last weekend by catching a 15.67-pound bluefish right outside of the bay.

2. Huntington/Northport Bays: The fluke are still biting, particularly in the marsh field and Huntington Bay. Those who seek porgies should hang out in about 25-foot deep waters by the golf course of Smithtown Bay.

3. Smithtown Bay: John Lucas hooked a 36-inch, 20-pound bass using poppers. Chuck Bishop and Mike McCarrell teamed up to reel in an 18-pound bass off Stony Brook dock using warms. Jamie Bodie, 12, caught an 8-pound bluefish in the Nissequogue River using bunker chunks. Dave Ciotti picked up a 6 1/2-pound bluefish off Smithtown Bay's Long Beach using poppers. Bass, up to around 35 inches, can be found in the channel. The fluke are on the west side of Cranes Neck.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: The big fluke have been caught off Wading River. The bigger porgies are coming back closer to the shore, perhaps an indication that the scene is improving. The striper action is still slow. Night fishing produces best.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: Peconic Star captain Dave Brennan has battled the fierce wind, but found action in off-the-beaten-path patches. "I had to go hide," Brennan said, "but it paid off." Passenger Nick Monteleone of Commack caught porgies weighing as much as 3.1 pounds using clams.

Prime Time III captain Mike Boccio said the season remains strong for porgies, which can run up to 3 pounds and 19 1/2 inches. The limit increased to 60 - from 25 - yesterday. "It's the bad weather that makes the fishing really good," Boccio said. "It can turn it upside down for one day. It's like oil and vinegar. It makes it better when you mix it up."

Nighttime seems to be the right time for bass fishing. Novices should stick to the porgies.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: Fluke action remains hot by Gardiners. The bay is loaded with blues, but the game has been small. Snappers by the docks are still the way to go.

7. Montauk Point: The best fluke fishing can be found between 60 and 70 feet deep. Porgies, most heavier than 2 pounds, remain abundant.

8. Shinnecock Bay: The wind gusts have created rough conditions. The fish are still there, but it requires a skilled angler to land them. The fall mixed bag should arrive soon.

9. Moriches Bay: The best time to land fluke will be three hours before and after high tide - especially from buoys 14 to 29 and into Harts Cove. The big snappers are around the bay and on the east side of buoy 31. Stay in the coves for crabbing. Some schools of striped bass have been sighted in the east and west cuts. Clams provide the best chance to reel them in. Bob Armbruster caught two 5-pound fluke in Harts Cove using squids and spearing.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: The bunker have made an entrance and bass should also soon arrive. The fluke action remains hot, particularly west of Fire Island Inlet in 70-foot depths. Those looking to conserve on gasoline, especially given its rising prices, can keep busy with snappers and crabs along the docks. Joey Pellegrino, 15, caught a 20-pounder on his first striper trip last week fishing with clam bellies and bunker chum between the Robert Moses Bridge and Fire Island Lighthouse.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: Fluke, which range from 4 to 6 pounds, remains strong between the Hempstead reef and the steel rack south of Jones Inlet. Roam in waters between 55 and 70 feet deep. Some bluefish have been sighted at the middle grounds, between Cholera banks and the three sisters. Look off the dip of yellowfin and longfin tuna. Baldwin and Oceanside Bays are full of up to 6- to 8-inch snappers and blue claws around the docks. Larry Festa, aboard the Alphis, hooked a 118-pound swordfish in Hudson Canyon using squid at night.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: The deeper holes in Reynolds Channel have produced a few reports of weakfish, but they are on the small side. Up to 4-pounders can be found in the Long Beach bridge area. Reynolds Channel has also yielded a mix of bass and blues. No Time captain Nick Savene caught a mix of nine yellowfins and longfins that weighed up to 95 pounds using sardines in the canyon.

13. New York Bight: There should be plenty of action in Jamaica Bay. Flukes, blues and porgies are all there for the taking. [org pub NY Newsday, by Chris Antonacci]

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

Rhode Island, 9/2/05

1. BAY: Unusually good fishing along the Warwick shore, north of Conimicut Point. "Big bass have also made a return in recent weeks. I believe it is due to favorable water temperatures and the amount of bait in the water."
2. Large bluefish are also biting off Goddard Park in Greenwich bay, Potter's Cove on Prudence Island and Ohio Ledge. Recommended Brenton Reef and Beavertail Point for large blues. Smaller, 5- to 6-pound fish are biting near Halfway Rock, Hope Island, and Conanicut Point. On the Sakonnet River, Joe Latinville of Riverside Marine, said, "Catching bluefish on topwater plugs is almost a given at Fogland and Sandy points. The fish are up and down all day long. Tide doesn't matter."
3. Fluke as large as 9 pounds have been biting in the waters off Sakonnet Point, said Latinville.
4. BEACHES AND SALT PONDS:Fishing off South Kingstown has slowed some. Bass have been taking eels at Watch Hill, plugs at the Weekapaug overlook at night, and ube-and-worm rigs inside Quonochontaug Pond.
5. Inside the Narrow River and Ninigret and Quonochontaug Ponds, fly fishing & catching stripers and hickory shad on the flood tide. "Peanut bunker and silversides are really abundant, and this can become a big problem," he writes. "With all of that bait around, your fly gets lost. Most of the bass are schoolies, anywhere from 15 to 20 inches, but there are occasional keepers. I'm fishing a No. 1 white Deceiver on a 12-foot leader with a 6-weight floating line. Another good fly is a black-and-white Clouser Minnow. Worm patterns also work, and for larger fish, I like to use a 4- to 5-inch-long squid pattern, all white with a little pink in the body."
6. Fluke remain at the Center Wall and also around the Charlestown Breachway in 40 feet of water, according to Neilson. To the west, the fluke have moved into much deeper water, said Cameron.
7. Scup are biting on the slack tides inside Quonochontaug Breachway and Stonington Harbor at high tide.
8. Sea-bass fishing is improving off Misquamicut, Cameron said.
9. Bonito appeared in Quonochontaug Breachway yesterday morning.
10. OFFSHORE:Swells and high winds have kept most boats at the dock this week, but before the blow, offshore anglers were catching a lot of mako sharks.
11. BLOCK ISLAND:"With the small bluefin tuna gone, we have focused our efforts on stripers," "The past few days have been slow, but fish have been around. Those of us who did have success were fishing the early morning hours coinciding with a good tide. Bubblegum, rainbow, and chartreuse Slug-Gos have worked. Black Rock, Dories Cove, and North Light produced.
12. "There is plenty of bait around -- loads of it. Great sea bass action on the wrecks."
13. FRESHWATER:Twin Rivers Reservoir in North Providence is the best spot to fish for bass and hornpout, says Rudy D'Agostino of the R&Y Shop. Largemouths as large as 4.5 pounds have been taking shiners, and hornpout have been biting nightcrawlers between 6 and 10 p.m.
14. BEST BITES: South side of Block Island:Striped bass, sea bass
15. Sakonnet River:Bluefish
16. Twin Rivers Reservoir:Largemouth bass, hornpout

NJ: With summer fading, September makes for better fishing

Here we are into September after a summer that went all too fast. There are some interesting events that will take place plus the fact that the fishing during September has to be rated among the best of the year. The weather is great, with warm days and cool nights taking the place of the blistering heat of the past summer. We got off easy as Hurricane Katrina visited the United States. It only caused some days to be lost for fishermen as the brunt of Katrina's remains stayed well to the west of us.

This weekend looks great and there should be no damage done to the fishing prospects. If a major storm hits sometime when the fish are thinking about leaving, it will hasten their departure. For instance, as the weakfish school up in mid-October, prior to heading out, a major disturbance will see them get out in a hurry. At this time of year this scenario does not take place.

One upcoming event is the 2005 Kid's Fishing Contest, sponsored by the Gloucester County Parks and Recreation and the Sportsman's Outpost. The date is Saturday, Sept. 10, and the location is the Scotland Run Park/Wilson Lake. The fishing gets underway at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. This contest is for kids 18-years-of-age and younger and big trophies and prizes will be awarded to the winners. There will be two divisions, boating and non-boating, with three age categories in each division. Keep in mind that all anglers 16 and older must have a New Jersey Fishing License. According to Lou at the Outpost, previous registration is not needed, as you sign up the morning of the contest right at the lake.

As usual, the event will be of interest to all members of the sportsman's family, as all of the events of past years will be duplicated, including the fishing contest, black powder demonstrations, hunting dog demonstrations, plus a host of exhibits by sportsman's organizations and sport shops. And, all is free and will be held rain or shine, with shine preferred.

If you applied for your bonus tags in the lottery section of the New Jersey Striped Bass Trophy Program, you should have received yours by now. According to Karen Hershey, spokesperson for the DEP, the tags were mailed out last Friday and she predicts that if you have not received yours as yet, your chances of getting one are just about zero. These bonus cards are non-transferable, as each one has the persons name and number on it. These cards are good through the end of the year and what kind of a program, if any, in 2006 has not yet been determined, according to Hershey.

Talk about the luck of the draw, my wife, Rachel, and I both applied for permits in the lottery. She received hers but I lost out. That means that in order to get a bonus bass, Rachel must be on the trip.

Before Tuesday and Wednesday, when no boats were out in Delaware Bay, the croaker action was about the same as in past weeks but there was a definite upsurge on the weakfish action. Many of the marinas reported weakfish limits for small boaters and some of the charterboats did likewise.

The areas around the white stakes off Fortescue saw a lot of weakfish being hooked. In addition, the waters in the vicinity of the 6 buoy produced as did the locations near Bug Light and the Twenty-Foot-Slough.

Getting shedder crab has been a problem on occasion, so a call ahead, especially on weekends, is advisable. A fine substitute is spot. There are lots of spot throughout the bay and they can be caught by using a small (No. 8) hook with a tiny portion of bloodworms or squid. They are filleted and strips used either on a plain hook or on a floater. Many anglers report the use of a green floater not only gets more weakfish, but keeps it away from the horde of small smooth dogfish that are all over the bay.

Along the coast those visiting the Old Grounds are doing well on fluke, when the weather allows. Weaks and croakers are all along the beachfront from the surf to one mile out. Some seabass are on tap and their numbers should improve as the water cools.

Surf fishermen are still hitting lots of kingfish plus some croakers. Meanwhile, striped bass are hitting plugs and clams in the back waters. Blues are offshore as well and up north they are on tap both day and night, seven days a week for the party boat crowd. [org pub nj.com by Ralph Knisell]