Newtown Creek most polluted waterway in NY

Newtown Creek is New York City’s most polluted waterway. More than 50 years ago, a 17-million-gallon oil spill seeped below 55 acres of residential, commercial and industrial property in the area. The spill affects the communities of Maspeth, Bushwick, Greenpoint and Long Island City.
City officials first learned of the oil spill in 1950, when an underground explosion in Greenpoint shot 25 manhole covers into the air and shattered windowpanes on more than 500 buildings. It turned out that gasoline had seeped into a sewer and ignited.
It took almost 30 more years for the problem to be rediscovered. It was a Coast Guard pilot on a routine patrol who noticed the oil slick on Newtown Creek in 1978. Further investigation revealed the slick was part of a spill that originated from tanks at an Exxon facility. According to Riverkeeper, because ExxonMobil ignored the spill, it has spread. It is now six times larger than the infamous Exxon Valdez spill was in Alaska.
It was not until 1990 that ExxonMobil signed a consent order from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to clean up the mess.
But Riverkeeper has maintained that the order was inadequate since no provisions were made for cleaning the contaminated soil beneath the water’s surface and ExxonMobil was not required to pay penalties or compensate the community. An estimated 230 homes and 80 businesses are still thought to be affected by contaminated soil.
In addition to the oil spill, Empire Transit Mix, a concrete manufacturer based in Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in federal court in May to illegally dumping concrete slurry into the creek. Riverkeeper also sued Maspeth Concrete Loading for similarly dumping concrete, which changes the pH balance of water and kills fish.
Riverkeeper continues to patrol the creek either in a helicopter or by boat every few weeks, and sometimes on consecutive days. Even now, with the fate of the creek highly publicized—Robert Kennedy Jr. is the organization’s chief attorney—companies still routinely dump hazardous materials. [orb pub Queens Chronicle by Kim Brown]

NY Newsday, 9/23/05

1. Western Long Island Sound: As the tune switches from fluke to porgies, the bluefish are still keeping the beat. Snappers are huge and can sometimes be taken on every cast, according to Jack's B&T. They're mixed with harbor blues and some to 10 pounds on bunker chunks. R&G Bait and Tackle reported some bass off the points at night on chunks, but nothing huge until the water cools a little more.

2. Huntington/Northport bays: Joseph Roach won the Oyster Bay Bluefish Tournament with a 12.63-pounder and there were 12 fish weighed in at more than 10 pounds. Joe Migliore won the Huntington Yacht Club Tournament with a 10.5-pounder. Four Winds reported sustained action just outside Huntington Harbor on 7-10 pound blues on diamond jigs.
3. Smithtown Bay: Swaine's reported schoolie and keeper striped bass to 35 inches in the mouth of Stony Brook Harbor on clams and worms, and customer Tadd McLaughlin nailed a 30-pounder in Port Jeff Harbor on eels. Bluefish are in and out of the channel; Bill Higgins reported drilling fish to 8 pounds while watching another boat catch keepable bass on bucktails. Porgies are off Cranes Neck and fluke are mostly short but killies have better luck finding keepers.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: Snappers to cocktail blues are along the local beaches, according to Rocky Point Fishing Stop, and the false albacore are dashing around. The boats out of Port Jeff are hitting the porgies, then catching the bass and blues on the tides. The Capt. Bob fleet was banging the keeper stripers at Hortons Point, including Tom's 25-pounder that won the pool Sunday.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: A lot of pole-benders in the Gut and the Race as the fall fishing kicks off. Most of the bigger bass have been taken on the ebb at night, according to Wego Fishing, with dark bucktails and eels working well. During the day, it's a bluefish bonanza with some bass still around. Surfcasters are getting their share of the action, as well, working worms and chunks at night for nice fish.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: Porgies are still strong, though once in a while a klunker of a day comes along. Bluefish are packed nicely in the bay and anglers are finding a nice run of weakfish from 12-20 pounds, especially off Rose Grove and Buoy 16 by Noyak, according to Wego Fishing.

7. Montauk Point: The caravan will be heading east this weekend for the Montauk Classic surf tournament, and just in time for the first blitzes of the season at Turtle Cove and North Bar this week. Freddie's, which will be open 24 hours for the tournament, reported loads of fish in the 20-pound range from the suds. Rick had a 52.8-pound bass weighed in off the Night Stalker, so the big guys are out there. Sharking is very steady with lots of exotics alongside the blue sharks. Eddie Ammon caught a 15-pound mako while fluking a quarter mile off the town beach.

8. Shinnecock Bay: The Shinnecock Star reported a load of big sea bass Wednesday, with some porgies mixed in. Chuck Wouters nailed an 8.5-pound fluke immortalized on Willy's Wall at Molnar's Landing. Bass are starting to turn on as John Fernandez had fish to 29 pounds. Offshore, Molnar's reported the crew on Barbaric caught five yellowfin to 75 pounds and eight albies.

9. Moriches Bay: A nice body of bass is sitting in the east and west cuts and anglers using live baits are having the best success. Silly Lily's reported decent fluking with a keeper ratio of about 1-8.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: Stripers are heating up in the inlet, taking eels even during the day, according to Augie's B&T. Ken Higgins on the Laura Lee reported terrific sea bass action with some triggerfish and big porgies mixed in this week. Monday's half-day trips had more than 500 keepers each. J&J Sports reported a lot of action off the Patchogue docks with snappers, kingfish and blowfish coming up.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: The fluke are pushing out of the bay, and anglers are at the JI Buoy to ambush them, according to Scotty's Fishing Station. More and more striped bass are being caught, mostly on whole clams for bait with clam belly chum. Check out the action at the bridges or out on the West Bar.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: No Time Charters has been hitting the weakfish hard, sailing west to Raritan for limits to 5 pounds on sandworms and peanut bunker, according to Bay Park Fishing Station. The Reel Time took a 33-inch striper off Riis Park. The crew on Fish On made it out to the north tip of the Hudson Canyon and scored bluefish to 100 pounds chunking with sardines and herring.

13. New York Bight: The Angler reported loads of porgies and sea bass on the half-day trips, and customers who bring a spinning rod can usually snag the bonito that break around the boat on occasion. Surfcasters are itching to get at the stripers, but so far, it's been pretty slow. [NY Newsday, Tim Rock]

RI, 9/23/05

Rhode Island [org pub Providence Journal]

• BAY: Ed Noll took a 48-pound striper on a tube-and-worm rig this week, said Sam Toland of Sam's Bait & Tackle. Large fish have been striking the rigs in deep water from Elbow Ledge to Brenton Reef, he said. Anglers are catching as many as 100 stripers a night on the Seekonk River, according to David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Only three or four percent are long enough to keep, but the action is fast. Larger bass have been hitting umbrella rigs trolled over Ohio Ledge.
• Bluefish are biting throughout the Bay, but they're unpredictable. Larger blues have moved into the waters off Barrington Beach and Bristol, said John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle. Ed Hughes spotted a large school of 10- to 12-pound fish off Allen's Harbor yesterday at midmorning. Snapper blues are in all the coves and they're biting. Newport Harbor, the Newport Bridge and the waters father up the East Passage also hold blues, said Toland.
• An angler caught a 12-pound squeteague on a live scup near the No. 2 can off Bristol this week, Littlefield said. There have been a lot of small weakfish around, but this was one of the first reports of a keeper this season. Scup fishing has improved, but the fish are smaller than they have been. Sea bass are mixed among them in deeper water, said Toland. Bonito arrived in the waters off Newport Wednesday.
• BEACHES AND SALT PONDS:The waters from Whale Rock to Fishers Island are alive with gamefish.
• The big news is the arrival of little tunny and bonito: They're popping up everywhere. Fly fishermen and light-tackle anglers are catching 7- to 12-pounders on flashy flies and small lures such as Deadly Dicks and Swedish Pimples; a green Crippled Herring is deadly. The waters off Weekapaug have been especially hot.
• Striped bass are biting around dawn and dusk along most of the beaches. Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters said boaters are taking fish on Watch Hill, Catumb and Sugar reefs. The bite has also been active off Sandy and Napatree points, and the flats in between. Bass are biting on the reefs and inside the breachways, too, but you have to get through the bluefish, said Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle.
• The bluefish bite has been reliable all day long off the Charlestown and Quonochontaug breachways.
• Fluke fishing is getting more difficult but anglers willing to work have been catching fish in 60 to 80 feet of water off Isabella Beach on Fishers Island.
• Blackfish are beginning to bite on Old Reef and Ragged Reef. They're also biting in the waters off Latimer Light, but those are New York waters, and the Empire State season doesn't open until Oct. 1.
• Reports on scup are mixed this week; Ron Mouchon said large fish have been biting on the reefs off South Kingstown, and Don Michaud said they're also biting off Stonington.
• Fishing for sea bass is slower, although there have been fish on reefs to the west of Charlestown.
• Hard-fighting jack crevalle have arrived, said Michaud. Most of them are under 6-inches, but one angler caught a pair of 14-inchers off Weekapaug on small Kastmasters.
• OFFSHORE
• Albacore tuna, between 40 and 50 pounds apiece, are biting in the waters from Atlantis Canyon across to the Fish Tails and down to the Dip, according to Sam Toland.
• The Mud Hole holds sharks and small bluefin.
• The only concentration is yellowfin is still to the east, at Oceanographers Canyon, but Toland is confident, they'll move closer.
• BLOCK ISLAND
• Reporting by cell phone from Great Salt Pond yesterday morning, Don Rafferty of Oceans & Ponds said that either little tunny or bonito were in and boiling. Both fish have been making forays in and out of the Coast Guard Channel.
• Boaters are still catching a lot of large bass and bluefish in the waters over Southwest Ledge said Ron Mouchon. Rafferty recommended the waters on the south side of island for surf casters; Southwest Point and Black Rock have been dependable all season long.
• Fluke are biting in the waters south of Southeast Point, said Mouchon.
• FRESHWATER:
• Buddy Thayer and a pal have been catching a bass between 5 and 7.4 pounds on Stump Pond in Smithfield and Echo Lake in Burrillville, Thayer reported in an e-mail. They've been using shiners.
• BEST BITES:
  
• South Shore Bluefish, bass, bonito, little tunny
• Block Island: Bluefish, bass, fluke
• Lower Bay: Bluefish
  

On The Water, 9/23/05

1. The big story this week is the arrival of false albacore in the eastern end of Long Island Sound and along the south shore beaches of Rhode Island. It is far from a sure bet with these fast-moving fish, but apparently they are around in sufficient numbers that a scouting trip of likely spots should at least produce some sightings. The best, most consistent catches are coming from Montauk Point, with other “inside” areas the usual hit or miss.
2. Since the storm, bass and bluefish activity have improved as these fish moved inshore to chow down on the super abundance of bait that seems to be everywhere in the region.
3. Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown told us that the fishing has picked up considerably in the waters he and his customers have been fishing around Narragansett and along the south shore since the storm passed through over the weekend. There is tons of bait, mostly in the form of mullet and peanut bunker along the shore from Newport to Watch Hill.
4. False albacore showed up off the West and East walls at Pt. Judith, off the coastline along Narragansett and down the beaches to the Weekapaug Breachway. Fluke fishing is pretty well dead since the storm. Scup and blackfish are filling the void for bottom fishermen, with blackfish catches just starting to pick up as fall approaches. Waters are still a tad warm for this cold-loving species. Steve said it looks and feels like the fall runs are revving up already.
5. Rob at Saltwater Edge, Newport reported that the fishing is pretty good along the mouth of Narragansett Bay. He caught two 20-pounders on Sunday and another similar fish while casting the surf Tuesday evening. The bass are chasing mullet that are 6 or 7 inches in the surf from Sakonnet to Sachuest Point. Watch Hill was red-hot with albies, bass and bluefish over the weekend, according to a group of his buddies who headed down that way. There are some bigger bass around. Rob dropped a big fish on a foot-long Hab’s needlefish over the weekend. Iron Mike caught a 38-pounder on a plug he “borrowed” from Peter Graber who works at the shop. The albies seem to be biting best in the morning but disappearing toward the afternoon when they have been popping up off the breachways.
6. The bluefish in the Newport area have been bigger fish of eight pounds and up lately, as opposed to the small “snarbors” that were dominating the fishery for most of the summer.
7. Ronnie at Breachway Tackle said the bass and bluefish have been all over the breachway all week, and the false albies just showed up about two or three days ago.
8. Scup fishing has been pretty good for bigger scup along the beaches and local rock piles, but not many anglers are after them. There are tons of bait inside the breachway, more than Ronnie has ever seen. Offshore has slowed since the storm, while the action along the beaches has improved.
9. We missed Rob at Wildwood Outfitters in Wakefield this week, hope he was into a blitz somewhere.
10. John Swienton, owner of Twin Maples Tackle out on Block Island, told us the island has been producing lots of bonito and false albacore in the Coast Guard Channel and vicinity. Anglers are hitting them on Deadly Dicks and Fin-S lures that, as he jokingly said, have to be “activated” at Twin Maples before they will catch anything.
11. The island is still holding big bass weighing in the low 40s for local eel slingers. Overall, the striper bite is still holding up well with big fish in the usual spots such as the southwest corner and Black Rock. Bluefish are dominating the bite at Sandy Point, but elsewhere in rocky areas stripers are the primary target and catch for those who fish the surf both from boats and the rocks.
12. Fluke slowed, but sea bass and scup are still around for bottom fishermen to catch.
13. Here like everywhere else, there are tons of bait all over the place. John said that Wednesday while at Payne’s Dock he looked in the water and saw needlefish and northern sennet (northern barracuda, a small toothy fish of about a foot in length) in good numbers swimming around near the dock. Both of these species are tidbits for bass. There are also some eight- to nine-inch baby bonito swimming around, along with anchovies that are big, up to eight inches or so, attracting the bass. Surprisingly, peanut bunker is not the primary bait at Block Island like it is every place else. But they are present along with enough big bait to maintain a great bite all fall, weather permitting.
14. A few locals have been out looking for shark and bluefin, south-southeast of the light, but there’s been no word on how they did.
15. Captain Don of Captain Don’s in Charlestown, Rhode Island reported that there are fish (bass, blues and some tunoids) all over the place. Tons of mullet have moved in since the storm’s passing on Friday, and with them have come some nice bass and loads of bluefish that are strung out from Watch Hill to Point Judith. The weekend produced phenomenal fishing, according to the customers he’s talked to. Saturday you could see people tied into fish in both directions from the Quonny Breachway. It looks like these fish are holding and not on the move due to all the bait in the area.
16. Over the weekend no one was out fluke fishing. He suspects the fluke are still around because the water temperatures are high and bait is so abundant. However, the bigger fish are of primary interest to most anglers as the fall blitzes begin to shape up over the next few weeks.
17. False albacore have been showing up off the West Wall at Point Judith. Wednesday they were in both the Charlestown and Quonny breachways, although in the morning they were not sure if the fish at Quonny were albies or bonito because no one caught one. But they were definitely tunoids of some variety. [OnThe Water, Bob Sampson]
    

RI, 9/16/05

BAY

Bluefish as large as 30 inches were blitzing butterfish on the East Providence side of the Red Bridge over the Seekonk River yesterday morning, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Pods of blues have also been popping up at Green Island, Sabin Point, Barrington Beach and Colt State Park in the upper Bay, and near Halfway Rock and the Jamestown Bridge in the lower Bay. Skipjack blues are in every cove of the Bay, said Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle and John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle.

Striped bass are scarce in the upper Bay, but there have been some schoolies taking clams and Storm Wild-eye Shad at the White Church Bridge in Barrington. Trollers are catching bass in the 20-pound class on the reefs off Newport, said Sam Toland of Sam's Bait & Tackle.

Yesterday morning, a diver spotted a lot of large tautog at Hope Island, Ferrara said.

The fluke bite is still fairly strong off Shepley's Dock and Conimicut Light, said Ferrara. In the lower Bay, fluke are biting between Newport and Jamestown.

Scup fishing is fair along the rocks off Newport, but the sea-bass bite is spotty.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Large bluefish and bass up to 15 pounds have been feeding on peanut bunker in South County's breachways, according to Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle. The bass bite has also improved along the Narragansett shore, said Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Outfitters. He has been fishing Slug-Go lures, and his partner, Bill Nolan, has been using live eels to catch bass in the 20-pound class at night. Bluefish have been relatively scarce after dark, they said.

Scup are biting on the slack high tide in the breachways.

Fluke fishing is waning, according to several sources.

The salt ponds are filling with exotic fish now. Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina has seen a lot of northern barracuda around his docks this week.

OFFSHORE

Yellowfin tuna over 100 pounds apiece were biting in Hudson Canyon on Wednesday, said Al Conti. Aerie One took wahoo, mahi and bonito on the south side of the shipping channel south of Block Island, too.

Sunday, the bluefin bite has taking shape at the Mud Hole, but it died following Monday's blow, said Conti. Giants bluefins are rolling up behind draggers, he said.

There are plenty of albacore tuna from Veach Canyon to the Dip, said Sam Toland.

BLOCK ISLAND

Striper fishing has been hot and cold this week. John D'Agostino took a 50-pounder on Southwest Ledge, and Jack Linton nailed a 48-inch fish Monday, said Bob Neilson of Wildwood Outfitters, but the bite turned off on Wednesday.

Don Richards caught an 8.9-pound fluke this week, said Ron Mouchon.

FRESHWATER

The water temperature on the Wood River was 63 degrees Tuesday, according to Ed Lombardo. Trout were rising to No. 12 and No. 14 ant imitations, and there was a small emergence of Blue-Winged Olive mayflies.

In Smithfield, anglers are catching a lot of bass, some as large as 4 pounds, on Stump Pond, said David Henault. The bass and northern pike ar taking shiners.

Boston, 9/16/05

A bit of inclement weather could change the fishing trends, and most certainly will affect the number of anglers on open waterways. Generally, it is these storms and the cold rain of fall that remind the migrant game species in the Northeast that it's time to bulk up for the long trip south. That usually spells good fishing in our parts, and all the signs were there this week for a strong finish. One sign of weakness, however, is a general cooling off of the great football tuna craze, though there are still fish in Massachusetts Bay up into the Gulf of Maine.
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Area A: The rockbound Downeast coast had some excellent striper fishing this week, with catches of note around Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta, Orrs, and Bailey's Island up to Muscongus Bay. Also check out Popham Beach for stripers -- none too large, but slot size -- and down into the Piscataqua River mouth for both blues and striped bass. The ledges are still producing cod and haddock for party boats (and others), while the football action out in the gulf has quieted -- fewer fish or fewer anglers or both. North Shore fishing is generally fair with some decent catches at Plum Island, off Halibut Point, Lamprey River, and Lynn Harbor, where schools of blues and stripers are chasing bait.

Area B: Boston Harbor is decent, but with many fewer charters these days, the reports are diminished. Still, catches of stripers between Deer Island Light and Long Island Light have been reported steadily. Also, the outer islands, Lovells, Gallops, and Georges, had some schools of feeding stripers as did the southern approach -- Rainsford, Peddocks, and Grape Islands. Hingham and Hull have plenty of bait and fish feeding on it right down into the Weir River around World's End.

Area C: Blues and bass found around Hingham Harbor, with some decent bass schools outside over the rocky bottoms from Black Rock to Minots, Strawberry Point and The Glades. While the bass are still decent, as of yesterday morning, the bluefish were more in evidence along this coast, around to the North River mouth. Lots of bait in Duxbury, Plymouth, and Kingston bays have plenty of fish on the move, with medium striped bass all over this shallow inner bay that meets the estuary. Manomet rocks are OK, but not hot right now, and the east end of the Canal is only fair off the jetties.

Area D: Some bonito still biting in the west end of the Canal and anglers were having luck trolling into Buzzards Bay around Wareham and across at Pocasset, where the fluke fishing is still decent but fading. Stripers between Scraggy and Woods Hole for trollers, and there are even a few scup deep around Clevelands. In western Buzzards Bay, the stripers are decent from back of Cuttyhunk to Westport, and on the back side out toward Nomans.

Area E: The South Cape is pretty quiet just now, with only fair fishing in the early days of the annual Vineyard Derby. Nantucket bluefish are excellent in the shoal water, especially at the famous Old Man Shoal -- all that could be altered by Ophelia, of course.

Area F: Some good bass catches around Monomoy, but the water is churned up and weedy along the National Seashore beaches. Some decent bass and bluefish inside around Billingsgate, Provincetown Harbor, and Crescent Beach.

NY Newsday, 9/16/05

1. Western Long Island Sound: This should be a good weekend for full-moon fluking, and on Wednesday, anglers from Jack's B&T in City Island were already finding limits. Lots of bluefish up to 13 pounds on chunks or on the surface, and mixed in is a fall prelude of small striped bass.

2. Huntington/Northport bays: There will be plenty of bluefish hunters on the water this weekend with the Huntington Yacht Club Tournament tomorrow and the Town of Oyster Bay Bluefish Tournament on Sunday. Four Winds had reports of big bluefish off Eatons Neck and by Buoy 13, and if the wind kicks things up, there should be some bonito and albacore activity.


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3. Smithtown Bay: Not much bass action until Wednesday, when things began to open up. Rob Krogman nailed a 20-pounder using clams off the jetty leading out of Stony Brook Harbor and his father, Bob, had a 15-pounder on the same trip, according to Swaine's. Jeff Sicdi, Heather Velez and Christie Palazzo also reported 20-25 pounders on eels. Bluefish to 9 pounds are stretched along the shore and there are keepable fluke among the many shorts.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: Porgies are biting in good size and numbers at the Middle Grounds when conditions accommodate anglers. Slack tide and no drift make things difficult. Bluefish are being jigged all around in deeper Sound waters with some bass showing up more regularly. Big fluke are still around, but use large baits to slow the throwbacks.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: The Race and the Gut are teeming with blues during the day on heavy diamond jigs and bass at night on bucktails and eels. The bass haven't been stunning in size, but the action is nearly non-stop with a few larger fish in the Race, according to Wego Fishing. Sound-side surfcasters have been enjoying a nice run of bluefish and bass.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: You can't go wrong looking for porgies with Cedar Point and Buoy 17 among the hot spots lately, according to Wego Fishing. Weakfish aren't in the numbers they were two weeks ago, but there are some being taken on high-low rigs or diamond jigs off Rose Grove and Greenport.

7. Montauk Point: Offshore fishing is very good when conditions allow the trip. Gary Benker had a 210-pound mako and Mike Nolan had a 65-pound yellowfin tuna on the Viking Star's first offshore tuna trip of the season. All totaled, there were eight yellowfins, three albacore, two makos and plenty of ling and mahi. Surfcasters are finding bass on both the north and south sides, mostly through the night, according to Freddie's B&T, with a lot of false albacore and bonito mixed in off Shagwong.

8. Shinnecock Bay: Young Cassie Deneuve caught her first fluke, a 4-pounder, while fishing with Grandma Sue and Timmy on the Awesome over the weekend, according to Molnar's Landing. Capt. Robert DeMarco and Frank DeMarco both hooked into the same 7-pound, 13-ounce fluke outside the inlet. Stripers are starting to show up; John Fernandez caught a 29-pounder on Wednesday near the bridge.

9. Moriches Bay: On Wednesday, the open boat Rosie fished outside the inlet and had 45 keeper fluke, 23 of them better than 5 pounds. Of course, the day before, there were practically no bites. Bass are biting on the outer bar and on the flats. B&B Tackle customer Doug reported a 35-pounder caught on herring.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: Stripers are starting to perk up as anglers are hitting on live eels in the evenings, according to Augie's in Babylon. The action runs from the Robert Moses Bridge to the inlet, depending on conditions, and it's a nice start to the fall with loads of bait to entice the fish to the area. A few larger weakfish are coming close to the docks looking to chow on the snappers.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: With forecasts for 5-20 foot seas this weekend, there won't be a lot of boats heading for the Canyon, where the fishing has been excellent. But inshore is pretty good, too, with a burst of fluke in 70 feet, south of the inlet according to Woodcleft Fishing Station, which also reported Gary Corwin's 10-pounder taken in the bay on a live snapper. Weakfish are hitting sandworms in the creeks and bluefishing is good at Three Sisters, 17 Fathoms and the Mud Buoy.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: Bay Park Fishing Station reported the crew of Four Queens had 10 keeper-sized bass Sunday and nine Monday drifting clams behind the commercial boats. Make sure to give those guys their space! The crew on the Low Key had fluke to 6 pounds with eight keepers and nice sea bass at the Atlantic Beach Reef on Tuesday. And over the weekend, the Fish On went to the tip of the Canyon and had bluefin to 100 pounds on the chunk, including 11-year-old Justin Mole's first bluefin.

13. New York Bight: Bluefish to 15 pounds are being taken off the beaches and the striped bass are starting to snoop around the shoreline, as well. Weakfish aren't as consistent as they've been, but there are still keepers around and it's a nice pursuit after you've killed your arms bluefishing.

On The Water, 9/16/05

This week everyone is anticipating the approach of slow-moving and hopefully wet, Hurricane Ophelia, which will most likely be remnants by the time it gets here. Either way, many anglers along the shore are looking for fishing to pick up in the suds after this storm passes through. For sure it will improve the very difficult freshwater conditions that inland anglers are contending with.
Thomcat Pelletier of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown said the fishing has been pretty good for stripers along the south shore reefs for their customers who are fishing the dusk through dawn bite with live baits such as scup, hickory shad and eels. Thom himself said he was catching stripers over the weekend on live bait that were in the 20- to 30-pound range. Steve McKenna, who also works at the shop, continues to do well by slinging Slug-Gos at night off the beaches in the Narragansett area.
Bluefish are all over the place. Fish of all size classes from one pound to over 10 are chopping eels, shredding soft plastics and generally raising hell with anyone who is not targeting them. One of his buddies had a bluefish take a four-inch-wide bite out of a fluke that was being reeled up to the boat on Sunday. Bluefishing is, for all practical purposes, a “can’t miss situation” along the south shore, as well as up inside Narragansett Bay.
Fluke fishing is slowing down, but there are still fish coming in from the drifts at Pt. Judith, Newport and Sakonnet in 60 to 70 feet of water. There was a 12-pounder caught over the weekend out in front of Point Judith during what was a pretty fair bite. Anglers are also taking sea bass up to five pounds while fluke fishing off the beaches.
Bottom fishermen are killing big scup off the east wall at Point Judith Harbor in closer to the rocks. One scup fisherman caught a stray triggerfish, a migrant from the south that is commonly caught in our waters late in the summer. With water temps so high, it seems like oddball species such as angel fish, jack crevalle, cobia, wahoo and even tarpon might show up in our waters this year as they have in the past during hot long summers. However, other than some wahoo reported offshore, reports of southern migrants locally have been scarce so far. No solid reports on false albacore and bonito in the area, and no one has even mentioned Spanish mackerel yet this fall.
Rob at Saltwater Edge, Newport reported that nothing much has changed since last week’s report, other than the fact that the striped bass action is picking up, with fish weighing in the mid-twenties. These fish have been hitting well on topwater baits, such as Zara Spooks and Poe’s walk-the-dog lures, as well as on larger Slug-Gos.
Lots of big eight-pound and better blues are also hitting well and are easy to find around the Newport area.
Rob heard that the albies are starting to move down along the Long Island shore, but not much in this area so far. The fact that there’s peanut bunker everywhere and some mullet up to about seven inches swimming around to bring them in and hold them when they show up bodes well for later in the fall. He thinks something big is about to happen after the hurricane blows up the coast. This week has been the calm before the storm, so to speak.
John Swienton, owner of Twin Maples Tackle out on Block Island, told us the big waves stopped earlier in the week, so anglers could get back out to fish. One friend from Line Sider Charters caught seven big bass just south of Southwest Ledge up to 42 pounds on Tuesday by drift-fishing with live eels. Everyone else on the ledge was getting fish, as well.
John went to Black Rock with a buddy and easily limited out using eels over the weekend. There are loads of big fish around the island at the present time and plenty of bait in the form of anchovies and baby bunker to keep them around for a while. The area around Sandy Point is also producing fish to 20 pounds and better on poppers and swimming plugs.
There are bluefin tuna southwest of Sharks Ledge, running between the 90- and 120-foot line. These fish are in the 20- to 50-pound range, and most are being caught by trolling offshore lures such as Hex heads, Green Machines, etc. The false albacore are still ripping in and out of New Harbor with the tides at the Coast Guard station and vicinity.
Fluke fishing was slow this past week, due more to the lack of anglers targeting them than to lack of fluke. There are good numbers of sea bass being caught along the west side of the island incidentally by fluke anglers and by a few sharpies who are targeting sea bass around the rock piles and drop-offs that hold them in high densities.
Captain Don of Captain Don’s Tackle in Charlestown, Rhode Island, reported low angler activity levels so far this week, but the weekend saw plenty of activity and catches of bass, bluefish, porgies and fluke from Quonny Pond and vicinity.
There are some very big slammer bluefish around ranging from 12 to 15 pounds being caught off the shore from Charlestown Breachway down to East Beach and the Andrea Hotel at Misquamicut.
The Watch Hill Reef complex has been producing consistent catches of both bass and bluefish, mostly on eels and by trolling with tube and worms, although anglers tossing plugs are taking their share of smaller fish. Fred and Trish Dewolfe of Westerly caught an 18-pound bass off the Charlestown Breachway at two in the afternoon on a tube and worm. These things are so easy and effective they break all the rules. My son caught his biggest bass to date, a 33-pounder, using a tube and worm on a hot July day at around 3 p.m. at dead slack low tide, a time I wouldn’t bet on being able to catch a dam porgy. Yet over the years, we’ve consistently caught decent stripers at times when they weren’t supposed to be biting.
Fluke are still being caught along the south shore but at a greatly reduced pace over the past week or so. Bigger fish have been caught in 60 to 70 feet of water off the beaches, with smaller fish coming in from the salt ponds where they appear to be chasing peanut bunker. One customer and a friend caught fluke of 27 and 29 inches and about nine pounds while fishing out off the shore from Weekapaug Breachway over the weekend. No one has been out fluking so far this week.
Bill Jolley caught a 3-pound weakfish off Weekapaug Beach on Sunday using a Kastmaster. Another angler took a 5.25-pound sea bass in 50 feet of water off the beaches while drifting for fluke.
The Swamp Yankee Classic Tournament is underway. This is an event that runs from September 5 through November 13, with weekly prizes for both bass and bluefish in the shore and boat divisions.
There are still some good scup around the breachways, as well as off the beaches and local reefs, for anyone who wants fast fishing action and edible fillets.
As of Wednesday, the surf was kicking up, so many anglers are anticipating good action as the effects of Hurricane Ophelia are felt.
Don at King Cove Marina, Stonington told us they have been seeing tons of bluefish and some good striper catches from the waters between Watch Hill and Stonington. One kayaker caught a 46-incher, along with eight other keepers while trolling a tube-and-worm rig on Tuesday evening. Everyone who has gone out lately has been taking some nice bass and blues off the reefs, as well as from the Stonington flats.
Fluke action has died off big time throughout the eastern Long Island Sound area, with many anglers switching over to sea bass or scup for their frying material.
Kevin, who fishes out of the shop, said he spotted schools of tunoids off the reefs on Monday, but they were not on top long enough to get a hook into them. Customers and the guys at the shop are hopeful this may be a sign that this fall’s albie run is finally beginning. Maybe they will be about three to four weeks late, which puts their arrival about the middle of next week – or maybe due to the presence of tuna earlier in the summer they are not going to make a major showing this season.

RI Provo, 9/9/05

1. BAY:"Fluking is the name of the game," said Sam Toland of Sam's Bait & Tackle. "I've never seen a season like this one where it gets progressively better. Normally, it's just the opposite." Fluke have been biting at the mouth of the Sakonnet River and off most of Aquidneck Island's beaches, off Goat Island, and near the Newport Bridge, he said. Off Bailey's and the other beaches, fluke are taking squid strips on flashy rigs in 50 to 75 feet of water. In the upper Bay, the fluke bite is "pretty good" near Conimicut Light, said John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle.
2. Bluefish are also biting in the lower Bay, particularly in the East Passage. The bluefish bite is virtually guaranteed in the Sakonnet River, off Sapowet, Fogland and Sandy points, said Joe Latinville of Riverside Marine, noting that the blues frequently shoot into the Tiverton basin, too. Shore fishermen have been taking blues along Burma Road in Portsmouth, said Toland. In the upper Bay, the bluefish bite has been iffy at best.
3. Bass fishing is terribly slow throughout the Bay, although Ed Hughes said he found stripers among blues off Castle Hill. Latinville said he weighed fish as large as 37 pounds. He recommended Taylor Lane in Little Compton on the Sakonnet for shore fishermen and the waters off Lands End and Sakonnet Point for boaters. Tube-and-worm rigs and eels have been luring the big fish, he said.
4. On the reefs off Newport, Tiverton and Westport, sea bass are huge. John Dubois caught a 6.24-pounder this week. Triggerfish fish have appeared, too.
5. Scup aren't numerous, but they are large. Look for them off the Clambake Club, Sakonnet Point, north of Third Beach in the Sakonnet, and around the Dumplings off Jamestown. In the upper Bay, the White Church Bridge in Barrington has been a fairly consistent spot.
6. BEACHES AND SALT PONDS: Gil Pope, a commercial rod-and-reel fisherman, caught a 13.55-pound fluke last weekend. The fish was 31 inches long, 16 inches wide and 3 inches thick. "I caught it south of the center wall of the Harbor of Refuge about a mile out or so, on a combination of fluke and squid strip," he said. "It was in the afternoon and the current was moving pretty fast and I had to use a 12-ounce sinker to keep the bait on the bottom. It was just one of those days when the larger fish were biting. I had a 7-pounder, a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder in the same area on that same day and quite a few 3-plus-pounders as well. The next day, same spot, same baits, same tide. There were just a few smaller fish and not such a great day. Such is fishing."
7. Fishing the Narragansett surf over the weekend, Bill Nolan took a 41-pound bass on an eel. Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle has been finding small concentrations of large bass on the reefs off South County.
8. "Anglers have been treated to full coolers of jumbo scup," writes Frank Blount, skipper of the Frances Fleet out of Galilee. "There has been a nice mix of sea bass and a few fluke mixed in. The fish are bigger then we have seen at this time of the season in years. We will be sailing daily at 8 a.m. The jumbo fluke and sea bass trips continue to do well and will sail through the fall. Sea bass should take over as the fluke start moving to deeper water. Night bass fishing has turned on again. The fish are the biggest fish that we have seen for the season. On one recent trip we had several fish in the 40-pound class, and the pool fish top out in the 50s."
9. OFFSHORE: "There's a monster slug of good water in Oceanographer's [Canyon] that must hold a massive amount of fish," said Sam Toland. "It's working its way toward the Fish Tails. There's also some nice water moving into the Dump. It should hold some albacore and mahi."
10. The bite between the Dip and the Fish Tails has cooled, Toland said, but it should improve within two weeks. "Overall, the fishing is not good," he said, "but it's certain that it's going to improve."
11. FRESHWATER: Bass are striking weedless frog and mouse lures in the middle of the day on Turner Reservoir in East Providence, according to Bill Quatrucci of Bill's Bait & Tackle. The Yum Buzz frog has been especially effective, fished over the heavy weed cover.
12. On Stump Pond in Smithfield, a lot of undersized pike, and occasionally a keeper, have been taking heavy-medium shiners, according to Rudy D'Agostino of the R&Y Shop. At night, large bass are nailing surface lures near the inlet.
13. BEST BITES:Sakonnet River:Bluefish, scup
14. South County reefs:Bass, bluefish, seabass, scup
15. Stump Pond:Pike, bass

NY side of LIS, 9/9/05

1. Western Long Island Sound: A lot of blues spread around with big fish amongst them. Even the snappers are huge, to 14 inches in some cases. And since the blues are on the L.I. side of the Sound, the porgies have run to the Connecticut side. Jack's B&T in City Island reported slow fluking, but there should be one last hurrah for the species next weekend.

2. Huntington/Northport bays: Great fluke action with some 15-17 inch shorts but plenty of keepers with a few 5-pounders mixed in. They're biting on both sides of Huntington Bay, as well as Cold Spring Harbor and Oyster Bay. Four Winds B&T reported a nice mix of blues and keeper bass south of 11B in 50-60 feet of water. Porgy fishing hasn't been very consistent.

3. Smithtown Bay: Sean Barron and his dad had fluke to 25 inches using killies off West Meadow Beach and Steve from BLT Cafe in St. James had five fluke to 22 inches in the same area, according to Swaine's B&T. Bluefish from cocktails to 8 pounds are in and out and some keeper bass are in Stony Brook Harbor with a lot of schoolies. Chumming is the key to porgy fishing, but that draws bluefish.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: Jigging for bass and blues is producing good action in the Middle Grounds, with the stripers getting bigger each day. The Celtic Quest reported the sunset bite on porgies has been fantastic. Fluking took an upswing in the past week. Over the weekend, Mark caught a 10-pound fluke, then followed it with keeper sea bass and stripers on the Capt. Bob in Mattituck.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: The bass bite has gotten better and should continue to improve through next weekend's full moon. Eels and dark bucktails at night are hitting the majority of the 30-pounders. Bluefish are mixed in and can be diamond jigged in the Gut or Race. Porgy fishing is very good all the way out to Fishers, and when the tide is slack in the Gut, there are a few jumbos, according to Wego Fishing.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: Not a lot of big weakfish, but some good keepers being taken on squid and diamond jigs by Greenport and Roses Grove. Plenty of cocktail bluefish with some bigger ones at Jessups. Porgies are everywhere and still being taken in terrific size and number.

7. Montauk Point: Surfcasters caught some bass yesterday just east of Ditch Plains and on the north side at Lazy Point, according to Freddie's B&T. The north bar and false bar have also been producing in the middle of the night. Under the light has been tough with the large heave that has also slowed the traffic for offshore boats (though the ones that do get out are doing well with tuna and sharks).

8. Shinnecock Bay: Limiting out on fluke has become work, but some anglers are sorting through the shorts poised for their fall dash to the ocean. It's been a remarkably consistent year for fluking here, and there's no reason it shouldn't end with a bang this month. Ocean fluke anglers are taking some fish to 8 pounds, along with nice sea bass off the wrecks and rockpiles.

9. Moriches Bay: The fluke are moving; on Tuesday, Julius and his wife had four keepers at Buoy 14, but Wednesday, there was nothing there and they caught their keepers at Buoy 4. Silly Lily's reports squid and spearing still working the best, usually three hours before high water. Plenty of schoolie bass in the cuts, and weakfish are biting by Buoy 31.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: Fluking had been pretty good over the holiday weekend but a roll of waves the last few days has turned them off, according to Augie's in Babylon. Expect a good fall run in the next week. A lot of big bluefish are inside the bay and blowfish and kingfish are being taken on the north side of the bay. The water is still a little warm for the fall bass explosion, but with the loads of bait around, it could happen any day.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: Since the heat wave ended, the fishing has come back to respectability. Fluking is still fraught with shorts but the action is terrific and there are 3-5 pounders. Scotty's reported one boat anchored near Point Lookout Bridge taking 25 nice sea bass to 16 inches and two 3-pound triggerfish. Stripers are still small but the evening bite is starting to stir.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: Bay Park Fishing Station reported some nice ocean fluking last weekend as the gang on For Reel took 16 keepers to 7 pounds, and the Donna Rosalie had a limit at Cholera with only a few shorts. Offshore has been slowed by the ocean storms, but over the weekend, the crew of Momentum had an 80-pound bluefin and a 100-pound yellowfin from the east wall of the Hudson while the 50-50 was on the west wall hooking longfin, a hammerhead shark and a '-pound swordfish.

13. New York Bight: Bluefish are feasting on the bodies of bait, busting the surface with fierce action. Poppers will snag some to 8 pounds if you come across a blitz. Fluke action in Jamaica Bay has been good, but the by-catch of sea bass and porgies has been even better with scup to 2 pounds and in good numbers. [by tom rock]