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]

Rhode Island, 8/27/05

1. BAY: Conimicut Point offers the best fluke fishing in the Bay, said Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle. The waters off Newport and Warwick Light also hold fluke, but Conimicut is the place to be, he said. The waters off Dutch Island also have fine fluke fishing, especially for anglers using live mummichogs, said John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle.
2. Surf fisherman John Lisi has been catching 30- to 35-pound bass nightly at Beavertail Point, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Lisi casts eels and plugs between 1 and 7 a.m. Small bass are biting in the waters around Patience and Prudence islands, and there should be larger fish striking tube-and-worm rigs off Annawan Cliffs, Rose Island and Goat Island, where Ferrara planned to fish yesterday afternoon. In the upper Bay, bass are taking clam worms off Crescent Park in Riverside and the White Church Bridge in Barrington, said Littlefield. Schoolies have been nailing poppers at India Point and Collier Park in Providence, said Henault.
3. He recommended Sabin Point and Wickford Town Beach for catching blues between 3 and 5 pounds. Snapper blues are biting in the Providence River. The limit is 10 fish per day.
4. BEACHES AND SALT PONDS: Fishing a mile off Newport this week, Mike Macaulay caught an 8-pound mahi on a small Kastmaster.
5. Bass fishing has improved for boaters on the reefs off Washington County, said Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle, but you have to get your bait past all the big bluefish that have moved inshore. Al Stockton fished with Mouchon on Wednesday morning and took two bass, including a 33-pounder, as well as several large blues. They were fishing the reefs off Charlestown. For fly fishermen, the bass bite is almost a guarantee early in the morning at Napatree and Sandy points in Little Narragansett Bay, said Bill McEvoy of King Cove Outfitters. He also said that bass are herding baitfish in Cemetery Cove on the Pawcatuck River.
6. Tuesday, Mark Stockton took a bonito during a bluefish blitz just outside the Charlestown Breachway. Beardy Brown has been catching bonito on Deadly Dicks and other small metal lures off South County's beaches, said Bob Neilson of Wildwood Outfitters. "The avenues in Narragansett are holding fish, especially bluefish, during the day," Neilson said.
7. Fluke fishing is consistent, but relatively slow. Neilson has been catching them on whole squid with a live minnow in 40 to 50 feet of water off the center wall of the Harbor of Refuge. The sea-bass bite there is improving. Fluke fishing is getting better off the Pink House in Misquamicut, said McEvoy.
8. Scup fishing is excellent from Narragansett to Stonington, Conn., but the fluke fishing has slowed.
9. OFFSHORE: Anglers fishing aboard Fred Bowman's charter boat, Bottom Line, caught two mako sharks Tuesday. Bowman said he started the day trolling, but caught the fish after establishing a chum slick near the 750 line. Bill Sousa, fishing aboard Big Boy II, caught a 60-pound wahoo on the south side of the Dump this week, according to Elisa Jackman of Snug Harbor Marina. She said that mahi are biting in the same area.
10. Offshore fishing has been inconsistent generally, Jackman said, although the Fish Tails and Hudson Canyon have produced some yellowfin tuna and swordfish. Anglers have been catching yellowfin in the 500 square, Jackman said. Tuesday, Craig Snow of Block Island Fishworks covered about 600 square miles of water in a small airplane and didn't see any fish. Bowman said there is plenty of bait and clean water offshore, but gamefish are scarce, and when you do find them, they're concentrated in very small pods.
11. BLOCK ISLAND:Fishing with JM Swienton and John Swienton of Twin Maples Tuesday evening, Lauren Sheehan of Lincoln caught one striper after another on poppers right off Black Rock. "They would not touch an eel," John Swienton said, "but you'd throw a popper, and as soon as it hit the water, they were all over it." His son, JM, caught one fish that measured 50 inches. They were fishing over 17 to 24 feet of water, starting at about 6:45 p.m. "It was phenomenal fishing," the elder Swienton said, "and there was not another boat out there."
12. Bass fishing is great one day, but slow the next, said Snow at Block Island Fishworks. Surf fishermen have been casting pencil poppers and walking plugs to catch fish between 30 and 40 pounds off the south side of the island. Charter boats were catching bass on Southwest Ledge yesterday, said Henault, but they had to work for the fish.
13. Fluke fishing has been pretty good off Charlestown Beach and inside the Coast Guard channel when the boat traffic subsides, and bonito are beginning to appear inside the channel.
    
14. BEST BITES:Narragansett to Stonington by boat: Bass, bluefish, bonito, fluke, scup & Block Island: Striped bass, fluke

Boston Waters, 8/25/05

Cooler days make for hotter fishing - The Boston Globe

Do Me a Favor, Protect my property value, make my stream "ecologically significant"

Of the seven streams that Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell has protected from developers by identifying them as "ecologically significant," at least four abut land owned by people with ties to the Democratic Party or to Campbell himself. In one case, Campbell's department banned developers from a stream running through the valley where former U.S. Sen. Robert G. Torricelli owns a circa-1730 Hunterdon County farm. In another case, environmental protections went up along a stream below the home and farm pond owned by Carla Katz, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034, which represents about 9,000 state workers, including 2,379 of the DEP's 3,450 employees. The DEP also granted Katz an exemption from Highlands Act restrictions to expand and upgrade the 205-year-old farmhouse.

Katz, who earns about $90,000 a year, has been in the news lately after it was disclosed that her former sweetheart, U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., forgave a $470,000 loan to pay off a mortgage on her property. Corzine is running for governor against Republican Doug Forrester and eight third-party or independent candidates, and, should the senator win, would have to negotiate salaries and benefits with his former lover, among others. A top aide to Katz is married to a DEP deputy. They live by a stream in Frenchtown that is also off-limits to developers. In a fourth case, an environmental activist who is a friend of Campbell's wife resides in Stockton. A stream at the north end of town won state protections, helping preserve the town's bucolic image.

A scientific basis. In an interview Tuesday, Campbell stressed that neither politics nor friendships figured in the decisions by his department to protect these streams. He said it was all based on science. "We don't decide whether to include or exclude based on who lives nearby," Campbell stressed. He later added, "This has been a program based very clearly on environmental criteria and science, and not any other consideration." The commissioner, appointed in 2002 by former Gov. James E. McGreevey, said it would make sense that people connected with state government would get to enjoy environmental protections on their Hunterdon County land. Campbell reasoned that the hill country north of Trenton is a DEP priority and is also favored as a place to reside by managers in state government. "Our priority has been to protect the upper reaches of the Delaware. We have protected just about every tributary. . . . And yes, because it is close to Trenton, you can always find state employees who are in that area," said Campbell, who lives in Lambertville.

Willow Pond Farm, with its long driveway and restored stone structures, sits on a forested hillside upcountry from Stockton and Lambertville, sloping down toward the Lockatong Creek, a few hundred yards from where the waterway empties into the Delaware. With the stream's DEP classification as "Category One," it means that Torricelli, who left the Senate amid ethical questions, can look out from his pastoral home there with the assurance his natural vista will be unchanged by any noisy bloom of suburbia. Torricelli did not respond to a request for an interview. Campbell said he never had a single discussion with Torricelli about the Lockatong or its status.

One of the ways a stream can win so-called C1 protections — which under state storm water rules means no new development is allowed within 300 feet of its banks — is to be a healthy habitat for trout. The state says the Lockatong is just that and stocks it with hatchery-raised fish. Mark Dettmar, who operates Delaware River Outfitters, a fly-fishing store and fishing-guide guide service in Pennington, disagrees. "At one time it was a wild trout stream. It had wild trout. It no longer does. It does get stocked. The problem with the Lockatong is it doesn't hold water any more. It dries up," said Dettmar.

Creeks rise to C1 status: Miles to the north, the meandering Harihokake Creek wanders down a leafy valley from a headwaters 100 yards or so beneath Katz's farm pond. Downstream, it flows through the center of Milford, where people feed the flock of ducks. Then, the stream enters the Delaware. "I am completely unaware of this stream. This is news," Katz said Wednesday. South of Milford in Frenchtown is Nishisakawick Creek. Jeff Scott and his wife, Jeanne Herb, have a home and barn on a sort of peninsula where the creek enters the Delaware. Scott is the political director of Katz's union. Herb is Campbell's assistant commissioner for policy, planning and science. A CWA receptionist said Wednesday that Scott is on vacation and unavailable for comment. Until McGreevey quit a year ago, Scott had been in line to become his deputy chief of staff. The Stockton stream is Wickecheoke Creek. Alison Mitchell, policy director for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, advocated for its C1 status. Campbell said that decision had nothing to do with Mitchell's friendship with Campbell's wife. They married last year. A spokesman for the Conservation Foundation refused Wednesday to pass along requests to Mitchell seeking her comment, saying he first had to know the nature of the story in which she was to be mentioned. Said Campbell of Mitchell, "People aren't disqualified on an issue on the basis of where they live." Environmentalists such as Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club and David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said they are glad to see streams protected.

But Tittel said other stretches of water are at least as worthy of safeguards. "They take care of their friends," said Tittel of DEP. "I'm more concerned with waterways where developers are going to be allowed in," said Pringle. Tittel cited stretches of the Ramapo and Musconetcong rivers. "We asked for about 300 to be protected," he said. Since taking charge at DEP, Campbell has protected stretches of 17 other streams for reasons other than ecological significance. These are because the streams are an "exceptional water supply," such as the Shark River; or because they are labeled just "water supply," such as the Manasquan and Metedeconk rivers. [org pub Asbury Park Press, by Tom Baldwiw]

Rhode Island, 8/15/05

BAY

Schools of skipjack bluefish and immature weakfish have moved into Greenwich Bay, reports Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle. To catch large blues, visit the waters around Halfway Rock and Gould Island in the lower Bay. From "Little" Gould Island to Nannaquaket Pond, there was a huge school of bluefish Wednesday. "It was the biggest school of blues that I've seen since I was a kid," said Joe Latinville of Riverside Marine. There are pods of blues off Barrington, too, but they're too far away for shore fishermen.

In the upper Bay, fluke are biting in the waters off Warwick Light and Conimicut Light where Pam and Frank Tameo are catching large fish on most mornings. John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle said the bite off Dutch Island is also good, but it's important to use live mummichogs as bait. Large fluke are also biting in the waters near Elbow Ledge and off Sakonnet Point as long as the tide and the breeze are flowing in the same direction. There have been a few reports of good fluke fishing in the mooring field off East Ferry in Jamestown, too.

Small stripers, with an occasional keeper, have been taking clamworms in the morning near the carousel in Riverside and the White Church Bridge in Barrington, said Littlefield. In the lower Bay, bass are taking tube-and-worm rigs off Rose and Goat islands, and on the reefs off Newport.

Scup fishing is good one day and poor the next throughout the Bay. Boaters have the edge over shore fishermen. Among the better spots are General Rock and Plum Point Light off North Kingstown, and Halfway Rock in the East Passage, Ferrara said.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

The big blitz of small bluefin tuna peaked on Tuesday and died Wednesday. "With the coming of the full moon, it's hard to predict what those fish will do," said Ferrara. "Some times the moon will turn them on, and other times, it will shut them off." Dean Hoxie and Steve Jordan found the fish off Scarborough Beach Tuesday, according to Don Cameron of Captain Don's Bait & Tackle.

Little tunny have arrived, according to Joe Latinville.

Surf-fishing was slow early this week, but it has been improving with the waxing moon. After fishing the Narragansett surf with Steve McKenna Wednesday night, Bill Nolan sent this report: "Steve and I had seven bass tonight and one bluefish. All the bass were 12 to 15 pounds and all were taken on eels. Things are on the upswing! There are just loads of very small peanut bunker everywhere along with silversides." Cameron said hot surf plugs are yellow Super Strike Darters and Mega Baits.

The bass are still biting for boaters fishing live bait on the reefs from Point Judith in Rhode Island to Fishers Island, N.Y. The reefs are clearly marked on nautical charts; on the water, lobster pots mark many of them.

Fluke fishing is good in the waters off the carousel in Watch Hill to the pink house in Misquamicut, said Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters. "Fishing 30 to 60 feet of water is the ticket," he said. The bite is also good inside Quonochontaug Pond, said Cameron.

Scup fishing is solid on the reefs off South County and Stonington.

The charter boat Castafly is catching bonito on Zara Spooks off South County.

OFFSHORE

Dave Fewster took a 250-pound mako shark at the south side of the Mud Hole this week, said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. There have been more sharks near the wreck of the Suffolk.

Anglers have been catching albacore and yellowfin tuna at the Fish Tails, Conti said, but there have been more yellowfin over the east side of Atlantis Canyon.

BLOCK ISLAND

The bass bite on Southwest Ledge continues to be steady, Conti said, and the action is improving in the North Rip at night. The charter boat Hula Girl is routinely catching fish between 30 and 40 pounds from Southeast Light to Southwest Light.

When the small bluefin tuna are around, they have been taking Mushmouths and Rays Angels, both big flashy flies, says Chris Willi of Block Island Fishworks.

The fishing vessel Rooster is catching fluke and sea bass on the wrecks around the island, Willi said. Yesterday morning, Susan Estabrook was catching sea bass just off Southwest Light before a dogfish broke her line.

FRESHWATER

The water is so low on the Wood River that stealthy wading is essential, said Ed Lombardo. "The good news is that the water temperature is a healthy 66 degrees," he said. He has been catching trout on imitation wasps, hoppers and beetles. Midges and Blue-Wing Olive mayflies are beginning to appear

BEST BITES

South County Reefs:

Bass, bluefish, possibly bonito and tuna

Block Island:

Bass, fluke, sea bass, possibly tuna

Lower West Passage:

Bass, bluefish, scup

THE TIDES

The moon causes tides and affects the activity of saltwater and freshwater fish as well as animals on land. Anglers generally find the best fishing two hours before and after a high tide, but fish and other animals also become active around the time of low tide. This table shows the height of tides in feet at Castle Hill near the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Recreational shellfishermen prefer to dig for clams when the tides are lowest, shown on the chart as "minus tides."

Boston Waters, 8/19/05

After all that infernal heat, the nights have cooled down, and many old salts attribute the improved fishing in the Northeast to the cooler water. But in some areas, the bait has also improved and, generally speaking, the best fishing in midsummer is still at night, and still using live eels. There's plenty of evidence that striped bass forage for eels at night, sometimes close to docks, rivermouths, and in shallows over flats. Bluefish also continue to hit and miss, often early morning near shore, heralded by wheeling terns and gulls.

Area A: Much of the previously hot striper water in Maine and New Hampshire has slowed precipitously in the last week or so. But some stripers still come up at night around Saco Bay and the rivermouth, and the offshore ledges are still producing cod and haddock. Bluefin tuna is still the fascination offshore at Stellwagen. Piscataqua River and Great Bay are slow, and live eels at night account for most of the action. Out over the Canyons, big-time sport boats are doing well with southern migrants such as yellowfin tuna and white marlin.

Area B: Salem and the Parker and Danvers rivers have some small fish, and one angler off Singing Beach (a quarter-mile offshore) took a 38-inch striper this week. Some fluke at Point of Pines with bluefish showing lately off the B-buoy. Also, better action at Faun Bar and Great Brewster. A couple of big striper catches around the outer harbor at Boston Light, down at Bumpkin. A few smelts starting to show up in Boston and Hull, and they will be pursued. Across at Stellwagen, the bluefin (football) tuna action is still on, with a few small bluefish.

Area C: Relatively slow on the previously red-hot ledgewater along the South Shore, but nighttime anglers with live eels are doing well around Minots and Grampus, the Glades, and the Scituate beaches to the North River mouth. Action in Duxbury Bay to Plymouth and Kingston has picked up, with good, steady action on fish in the mid-20s. One guy hooked a 4-foot tiger shark off the Powder Point Bridge.

Area D: The Canal has improved for medium striped bass and some small blues providing topwater action. At the Buzzards end, the scup are holding strong with fluke at Mashnee, and a mix of small blues. The Elizabeths have some of the best striper fishing -- live eels again. One sailing friend reports seeing a sea turtle the size of his 9-foot inflatable dinghy -- a reminder that many visitors from the tropics abound in our waters, including false albacore and bonito.

Area E: The south Cape beaches are not too hot, but the water just offshore in Nantucket Sound -- especially the banks -- has a mix of small to medium game fish. Decent action at Wasque and the waters to Tuckernuck Shoals. Also check out Nomans on the other side.

Area F: Some decent bluefishing off the National Seashore, from Nauset to Newcomb Hollow and Cahoon Hollow. Some small blues inside off First Encounter and Kingsbury beaches, Pamet Harbor at Truro, Long Point Light, and Wood End.

Staten Island Striper Hotspots

Here's the hotspots from the article:

1) Old Orchard Lighthouse: Open bottom area around Old Orchard Lighthouse (GPS coordinates 40.51170/74.100000) east of Great Kills Harbor. This historic lighthouse is about three miles off the beach and is visible from the shoreline of Gateway National Park, which is adjacent to Great Kills. The 50- foot conical, white steel structure was built in 1893 and still has an active beacon, according to the National Lighthouse Museum. This hotspot can only be fished by boat. The best way to get there is to launch at Great Kills Park, head out of the inlet and travel southeast. The lighthouse will be visible on the horizon.
2) Lemon Creek & Great Kills: offshore of the beach houses, areas around Lemon Creek and entrance to Great Kills harbor at Great Kills Park.
3) Prince's Bay, the small cove that Lemon Creek empties into.
4) Round Shoal: look for small dropoffs over open bottoms. Round Shoal is across Reach Channel from Prince's Bay. From Lemon Creek, bear left into Prince's Bay heading south, cross the Reach Channel (buoy marker 33) and you're on Round Shoal.
5) Prince's Bay: The area is known as the Mount Loretto Unique Area (located off Hyland Blvd. close to Verrazona Bridge).
6) Great Kills Harbor area: including the back and the mouth. Bunker gather at the moth and can be snagged for bait. The sandbar along the mouth, the narrow channel leading into the harbor. From the beach, cast plugs and cut bunker, also try, jelly worms tipped with live sandworms.
7) Ocean Breeze Fishing Pier at Midland Beach is at Father Capodanno Boulevard and Seaview Avenue. Follow Hylan Boulevard to Midland Avenue. Turn right on Midland and then turn left at Father Capodanno Boulevard, then make a quick right, which leads to a well-marked sign for the pier and parking, according to DeBenedetto. Free.
8) Pier One on the east side of the Ferry Terminal. The deep shipping channels nearby attract big stripers. Take the Staten Island Expressway to Bay Street and follow it to the Staten Island Ferry. Park at the public parking lot for the ferry, where a nominal fee is charged.

The two public boat launches:
- The free Lemon Creek ramp can be reached by taking Hylan Boulevard to Sharrots Road.
- Great Kills Park launching is free, but you have to pay for parking.

Rhode Island

BAY
Striped bass and bluefish have been biting in the waters off Conimicut Point, says David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. The action peaks between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. Otherwise, it's dead in the heat of the day. John Lisi caught stripers up to 42 inches between midnight and 4 a.m. Tuesday at Beavertail Point. He was casting eels.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS
"The big news continues to be the inshore bluefin tuna," writes Bob Neilson of Wildwood Outfitters. "Twenty- to 40-pounders are the norm with larger fish mixed in. They are chasing small fish, so metal lures -- such as Deadly Dicks, Kastmasters, Crippled Herring and l-Jacks -- are working. The fish are all over the place from Scarborough to Westerly. Just a reminder that permits are needed. The penalties for not having one are a fine up to $10,000 fine and your boat." Mike Neto caught 12 of the little bluefin about four miles off Newport, said Henault. He was using jigs and Tsunami plugs.

"Fluking has been hot right off the Center Wall of the Harbor of Refuge with fish up to 12 pounds being caught," said Neilson. "Mike McVeigh was out fluking and caught many skates which, he says, are surprisingly good table fare." Fluke fishing is also good off the Pink House in Misquamicut, says Bill McEvoy of King Cove Outfitters. Off Isabella Beach on Fishers Island, an angler caught two big fluke; one weighed 8.75 pounds and the other 9.5 pounds, McEvoy said. Wading anglers are catching fluke in the channel of Quonochontaug Pond, says Cameron. They're using small jigs with live mummichogs on the ebb tide.

Janice Lachance caught a 54-pound striped bass this week, according to Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle. Dan Lacroix caught his limit of stripers in 20 minutes Wednesday; he was fishing live bait at the one of the reefs off Charlestown with Mouchon. Keeper-size bass are biting in Quonochontaug Breachway and off the Weekapaug Fire District very early in the morning, said Don Cameron of Captain Don's Bait & Tackle. Here's an odd one: Angela Kelly caught a 20-pound striper on a tube-and-worm rig that she was casting in the surf. Tube rigs are made for trolling.

Mouchon reports that "acres and acres" of 4-pound bluefish have moved into the waters off Washington County's beaches. Scup are scarce off Point Judith, but they abound off Westerly and Stonington, Conn., according to McEvoy.

OFFSHORE
Ray Lasky and Steve Tezner had a 30-pound albacore on the line at the Fish Tales this week. The fish was almost close enough to the boat to grab the leader when a 600-pound blue marlin surfaced and inhaled the tuna. "They were still shaking the next day," said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina.

Not much is happening until you get 60 miles offshore, he said. Then the action is spotty with yellowfin, albacore and marlin on the bite.

BLOCK ISLAND
The North Rip has been producing a lot of striped bass for anglers fishing eels, said Neilson. The action on Southwest Ledge is still strong, according to Conti.

Aboard Wayward Sun, Mike Arsenault is catching mahi-mahi south of the island.

TUNA TALK
Three readers criticized last week's Fishing Report for saying that fishing for the small bluefin tuna is a catch-and-release proposition unless you have a federal permit. The readers noted that a federal regulation says it is illegal to even target bluefins without a permit. It's one of those rules created by bureaucrats who expect enforcement agents to be mind readers: If you're casting a Deadly Dick, Kastmaster or Crippled Herring, who is to say that you're targeting bluefins? At this time of year, metal lures are popular for catching bluefish, bonito, little tunny, and striped bass. If you do want a permit, it is available for $22 online at www.nmfspermits.com.

FRESHWATER
Jim Allen caught a 26-inch carp at Roger Williams Park in Providence this week, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Tom Babbitt landed a 5-pound largemouth at Canada Pond, the pond alongside Route 146 in Providence. On Stump Pond in Smithfield, bass as large as 4 pounds have been striking shiners.

BEST BITES
South County reefs:
Bass, bluefin tuna, bluefish
Block Island:
Striped bass, fluke
Providence County ponds:
Largemouth bass