NY Newsday, 10/7/05

1. Western Long Island Sound: It's still mostly bluefish, but a few bass have been found underneath the schools and the cooler weather projected for this weekend should make the stripers more accessible. Jack's in City Island reported big blues to 12 pounds behind Execution and keeper blackfish in the rocks off Rye.

2. Huntington / Northport bays: The bluefish action inside the harbors is still terrific with 6-10 pound fish taking chunks or plugs, and the fish are biting outside the bays as well. More and more keeper bass are being chunked in the Triangle, according to Four Winds, but striper-minded anglers are still fighting through bluefish. Porgy fishing has improved with some limits and fish to 2 pounds. They're in varying depths from north of Buoy 13 to 11B.


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3. Smithtown Bay: John Manning caught a 42-inch, 30-pound striper on eels in Nissequogue early Tuesday morning according to Swaine's B&T in St. James, which weighed in some bass during the week, including a 21-pounder from Ken Koch and a 31-inch keeper from Bill Higgins. Dave Ciotti limited on fluke on Sunday at the mouth of the river with fish to 19 on live killies, then took a 17-pound bass from the surf off Long Beach on Monday.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: Rocky Point Fishing Stop reported that most surf action is for bluefish but some keeper bass are at the Wading River creek and off Sound Beach when the wind blows from the north. The Port Jeff open boats are slamming the porgies to 3 pounds.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: Ask Joseph Kazzola if the bass are biting; he caught a 25.05-pounder on a porgy hook near the Orient lighthouse Wednesday night when the scup he was reeling up turned into bait. The fish was weighed at Wego Fishing in Southold along with the 37.5-pounder taken by Ed Plaia in the Race on the charter Relentless on Tuesday. Chris Papas had a 24.5 and a 35 pounder off Hortons using live eels during the day on Sunday. And John Kowalski had opening day blackfish to 7 pounds near Plum Island.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: The porgies are still biting hard and fast all over the region, and they should be doing so for the rest of the month. Bluefish and a few small weakfish are running throughout the bay. Not many anglers are interested, but those who put in their time can pluck some keeper fluke.

7. Montauk Point: The boats are loading up on big stripers and bluefish, mixing live baits with trolling and bailing bass to 50 pounds. The surf crowd is hoping for a nice northeast wind to push some action their way. Offshore action is still strong as the Capt. Mark charter for Rick Uidell had four blue sharks to 300 pounds, a 90-pound mako and eight bluefin from 50-90 pounds according to Jack Yee. A day earlier the Capt. Mark hooked what may have been an 800-pound giant bluefin tuna that fought for 25 minutes before dropping the hook.

8. Shinnecock Bay: Capt. John on the Shinnecock Star reports nice action on blackfish and porgies this week, though the blackfish bite may fade when the porgies become super-aggressive this month. The tog will be back, though. Most of the fluke action has faded. Stripers in the inlet are biting well.

9. Moriches Bay: B&B Tackle reported striped bass in the inlet to 41 pounds, the big one taken on an eel during a daytime outgoing tide. The artificial reef has been holding nice keeper sea bass but the blackfish aren't biting yet despite a few keepers taken along the jetties on opening day. The bay is loaded with kingfish and the snappers are still active enjoying the warm waters.

10. Great South Bay / Fire Island Inlet: Bass fishing has picked up with fish to 29 pounds being taken in the bay according to Augie's in Babylon. Live bait is the key with bunker or scup during the day and eels at night. Bass are starting to hit surfcasters as well. Sore Thumb is holding porgies, sea bass and flounder and the bay has keeper blackfish biting. Some anglers have been finding fluke in the ocean, but in deep water that can be a ride from the inlet.

11. Jones Inlet / Western Bays: Scotty's Fishing Station reported big bass in the bay with some 35-pounders being taken on live baits like porgies and sea bass. The bass outside the inlet are hungry too but not as big yet and the bridges are producing keepers on clams with bellies for bait. Kingfish, sea bass and porgies are in the bay and a few blackfish are starting to show.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: Seven-year-old Dominick Simonelli and his dad fished Reynolds Channel with baby bunker for a limit of weakfish to nearly 4 pounds this week, according to Bay Park Fishing Station. Some keeper bass taking clam bellies at the Atlantic Beach Bridge mixed with some nice schoolie action. Pat Stewart had a dozen sea bass to 4 pounds and a 3-pound porgy on fresh clams at Rockaway Reef on Wednesday.

13. New York Bight: The Angler reported weakfish action on sandworms with some customers limiting out and fish around 6 pounds. Bottom fishing is at its best now with porgies, sea bass and keeper blackfish coming up. The cooler temperatures this week should flick the switch from bluefish to bass.

RI 10/7/05

This has been one of the strangest weeks in memory. You could go to a spot one day and catch fish after fish. Go to the same spot on the same tide in the same weather conditions the next day, and you couldn't find a fish. The predicted cold front and a weekend storm may stir up an autumn bite.

This is the final Fishing Report of the season, but Outdoor Notes in Sunday's Providence Journal will continue to report on fishing and hunting opportunities. Small-game hunting season is scheduled to open Oct. 15 in Rhode Island.

BAY

The Providence and Seekonk rivers have been fairly reliable with a steady bluefish bite, according to David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Fish as large as 15 pounds have been biting there. Stripers move in and out of the rivers unpredictably. Yesterday morning, hickory shad were taking small darts in the Providence River.

Greenwich Bay holds bluefish, weakfish and stripers, said Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle, but the bite is spotty. Shore fishermen have been catching blues and squeteague on Kastmasters, he said. Stripers have been nailing Creek Chubs and tube-and worm rigs.

Early in the week the waters on the east side of Providence Point and off Pine Hill Point were hot, but the fish disappeared later in the week. The striper bite has been fairly consistent for trollers off Brenton Point, said Kevin Kendrick of Edwards Fishing Tackle.

Small squid have appeared in Newport Harbor; jigging after 9 p.m. has been the most productive.

In the lower Bay, blues were stacked up beneath the Newport Bridge, but they vanished with the high-pressure system. Look for them to return to the bridges and the waters between Quonset and Conanicut points after the weekend.

On the Sakonnet River, tautog and small bluefish have been biting in Tiverton Basin, said Joe Latinville of Riverside Marine. Blackfish were biting near the BT marker between Sabin Point and and Port Edgewood yesterday, said Henault.

Bonito and false albacore are mixed among schools of bluefish off Little Compton, said Latinville.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Striper fishing came to a virtual halt after the midweek. There are still bass in the salt ponds, said Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle, but it will take a cold front to get the fish moving and biting.

Steve McKenna and Bill Nolan have experienced very slow fishing in the Narragansett surf this week. A storm could stir up some activity, McKenna said.

OFFSHORE

The bluefin bite improved in the Mud Hole this week, said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, but the fish are finicky, requiring 30-pound fluorocarbon leaders. They're larger at the Fingers, he said.

At the Fish Tails, yellowfin and albacore tuna are biting along with mahi-mahi.

BLOCK ISLAND

Surf fishing has been a challenge, said Steve McKenna, but David Henault reported that fishing was good for Mike Neto and Bill Curran on the south side of the island Wednesday.

FRESHWATER

Most ponds are too warm and many streams are too low for the traditional Columbus Day trout stocking, said Peter Angelone, supervising biologist who oversees Rhode Island's trout program. He said his staff would probably stock the Beaver, Flat and Falls rivers this week, and the Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited is scheduled to float-stock the Wood River tomorrow.

"The Wood is fishing very well even though the water level is still very low," Ed Lombardo said in an e-mail. "In addition to the usual patterns that work so well this time of year -- Blue-Wing Olives and terrestrial patterns -- one of the most exciting phenomena that takes place every year at this time are the swarms of flying ants. Look for them to start falling on the water around 2:30 p.m. The fish will be everywhere, coming up and feeding on these flying ants very aggressively. I use both red and black imitations in sizes No. 18 and No. 14. I prefer tying these imitations with black and cinnamon colored rabbit fur for the body and brown furnace hackle in the center. The wings can be either CDC or dun hackle tips. After the first frost of the year, the warm fall afternoons brings the ants to the water. Wasps and small hoppers are still working well."

Yesterday morning, largemouth bass as large as 17 inches were taking shiners near the bridge on Stump Pond in Smithfield, said David Henault.

TOURNAMENT

Snug Harbor Marina's Bass and Bluefish Boogie is scheduled to start tomorrow at the marina in South Kingstown. Registration will begin this afternoon. Prizes include savings bonds and fishing tackle. The entry fee is $25 per rod. For more information, call (401) 783-7766.

BEST BITES

Newport:

Bass, bluefish, squid

Sakonnet River:

Bluefish, tautog

Wood River:

Trout

NY Newsday, 9/29/05

1. Western Long Island Sound: Bluefish are still biting heavily between the bridges and in the harbors, but they are starting to make room for the stripers. Yesterday, Andrew weighed a 30-pounder at Jack's in City Island, one of three 20-plus pounders he and his crew caught on bunker heads Wednesday night. Porgies aren't thick and a few anglers have found blackfish the last week or so; that season opens tomorrow.

2. Huntington/Northport bays: The James Joseph didn't sail yesterday, and it hardly needed to. The morning crew showed up and pegged bluefish 7-10 pounds right off the tied-up boat and from the Huntington Town Dock. George from Four Winds called this bluefishing "phenomenal" with action in every corner of the region. A few stripers are mixed in deeper water, 50 feet by Buoy 11B. And Four Winds weighed a 2.69-pound porgy for Nader Gerbin taken off the Brushpile at Eatons Neck.

3. Smithtown Bay: Bluefish are thick and strong to 9 pounds. Rocco had porgies to 2 pounds and a 24-inch sea bass last week before the bluefish chased everything away and he started whacking them, according to Swaine's B&T. Schoolie and keeper bass are inside the mouth of Stony Brook Harbor and there was a report of a 30-pounder taken by the big rock off Short Beach.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: Rocky Point Fishing Station reported John's 15-pound bluefish caught on a bunker at Broadway Beach. There are some big porgies in the water and nice bluefish at Middle Grounds - the Port Jeff open boats are hammering both. Surfcasters around Hortons are getting nice bass and bluefish.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: Capt. Dave Brennan of the Peconic Star said porgy fishing has hit a stride the last week with big fish looking to chew. The hungry scup are taking all baits and average 14-15 inches and crowding out the sea bass and blackfish for the time being. Surfcasters are hitting nice stripers all along the Sound.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: A few spotty weakfish are still hanging around, according to Wego Fishing, but the porgies and bluefish are dominating the local bite. Jessups and Cedar Point are good places to start looking for them. The birds will tell you where the bluefish are. Most fluke anglers have packed it up for the season, but there are still some nice fish being taken by Tobacco Lot.

7. Montauk Point: John Bruno won the Montauk Surf Classic last weekend with a 33.66-pound striper and Richie Michelsen had the top bluefish at 11.28 pounds. Matt Vega took a 41.36-pound bass to lead the Montauk Locals Tournament, according to Freddie's B&T. Miles of bluefish and albacore were lined up this week from the inlet to the point, providing the boaters and flycasters some joy. Offshore action for sharks and tuna has been steady. Wind and weather will start to keep some boats tied up as we get further into fall.

8. Shinnecock Bay: John Bourgal caught a 26-pound bass in the inlet this week, according to Molnar's Landing, a nice signal that the fall season is here. The false albacore dancing around the inlet are giving flyrodders a fight. Most fluke have moved from the bay to the ocean. Some sea bass and porgies are hanging around.

9. Moriches Bay: The inlet is filling with striped bass as Mastic B&T reported customers seeing the fish jumping all over the white water and some anglers hooking up 20 fish in a trip. Plenty of keepers too, up to about 40 inches, on eels, clams and plugs. The fluke are moving from the bay and Charlie Ladella had a 9.5-pounder on its way out last week.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: Sore Thumb is giving anglers plenty of fish to chose from, with lots of porgies, kingfish, blowfish and sea bass. There is even an occasional flounder, according to Augie's B&T in Babylon. Stripers are taking bass in the evenings and anglers can plug schoolies in the middle of the bay during the daytime. Blues are still around in nice numbers and fluke are inside the bay but mostly shorts.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: Stripers are biting clams in the bay, but hooking them in the inlet is tough because of the number of bluefish. Woodcleft Fishing Station reports nice action around the bridges on sea bass and porgies with some nice weakfish bites in the deeper holes in the bay.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: Bay Park Fishing Station reports some nice weakfish action between the railroad bridge and the Long Beach Hospital, though not many of the fish are big. They are taking sandworms and live baby bunker. Some keeper bass are at the Atlantic Beach Bridge on clams. No Time Charters limited out on bluefin tuna this week with fish from 75-100 pounds for Lloyd, John, Larry and Kevin.

13. New York Bight: Weakfish are biting well in Jamaica Bay, with sandworms accounting for most of the fish to 5 pounds. There's still a fluke bite offshore and anglers are going crazy with the bluefish at Cholera and the Mud Buoy. Sea bass and porgies are also biting at their usual structures.

RI, 10/1/05

The new moon Monday could boost the bite in the lower Bay, where baitfish abound. The uppermost reaches of the Bay are already active.

BAY

Bluefish blitz the waters at Barrington Beach and Sabin Point once or twice a day, said John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle, and Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle said that blues between 6 and 12 pounds apiece are biting in Greenwich Bay. They're also biting in the Providence River, according to David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Small squeteague are mixed among the blues in Greenwich Bay.

Immature herring are pouring out of the spawning grounds now, and stripers of all sizes are waiting for them downstream in the Seekonk River at Omega Pond and in Apponaug Cove below Gorton Pond, where fish as large as 39 inches were biting Wednesday. Yesterday morning, bass had thinned out on the Seekonk, where they were replaced by bluefish. Bass as large as 30 pounds have been nailing parachute, umbrella and tube-and-worm rigs trolled near Marker 14 off Conimicut Light and in the channel near Ohio Ledge, said Littlefield. Stripers are also taking swimming plugs near the White Church Bridge in Barrington. After free-diving around Sakonnet Point Sunday, Faye Anderson said she saw several large bass against the jetty there. Bass have been biting in deep-water drop-offs off Jamestown and Newport. John Lisi continues to catch large bass before dawn in the surf at Beavertail Point.

Tautog are beginning to bite near Hope Island, and spear fishers are shooting large blackfish off Sakonnet Point.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

"The South Shore has exploded with fish from Narragansett to Westerly," writes Rob Neilson of Wildwood Outfitters. "The waters from the Narrow River to Hazard Rock hold stripers and bluefish. The stripers are taking needlefish, poppers and eels. Four- to six-inch soft plastic shads are also working, especially those that look like bunker, mullet, and red-head shad. Walter Pike caught a nice 24-pounder at Point Judith Light, and I caught a fat 28-pounder on an eel, fishing with Sea Ferra Charters." Bill Nolan has been taking a lot of large stripers along the Narragansett shore, said Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Outfitters.

Fishing on the reefs got tough Wednesday, said charter boat skipper Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle. Bass were biting in Ninigret Pond, yesterday morning, however. A cold front should help the fishing, he said.

Among this week's top catches were a 49-pound bass taken by Bill Gavitt and a 52-pounder landed by Bob Wheeler, said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina.

McKenna said little tunny have been biting along all three walls on the Harbor of Refuge.

PARTY BOATS

"Captain Don found some nice bluefin tuna this week in the 70-pound range," reports Frank Blount, skipper of the Frances Fleet. "They are a little farther offshore then we would like, but they are out there. Captain Mike had a canyon trip at the end of last week and got into a good bunch of albacore and one nice yellowfin. Porgy fishing on the beach was very good with lots of really big humpback porgies around. Captain Rich is still finding a good number of fluke on the 7 a.m. trip. This is the longest season we have ever had for the jumbo fluke."

CUTTYHUNK ISLAND

Steve McKenna ran out-of Slug-Gos so he switched to Hab's Needlefish and caught 40 stripers between 20 and 37 pounds last weekend in the surf. On Saturday night, he caught 33 big bass.

BLOCK ISLAND

David Henault fished with Dave Sloane and Jason Seratin aboard Mike Neto's Adriana on Wednesday and caught bass as large as 30 pounds on light tackle. They marked fish off Southeast Point, but had difficulty catching them in the morning, so Neto moved to the western end of the south side and found the fish to be more cooperative in the afternoon, Henault said.

OFFSHORE

The bluefin bite at the Mud Hole is on and off. There are some giants there, but they haven't been biting, according to Al Conti. Don Venticinque and Craig Stevens steamed out to Cape Cod to catch giants aboard Venticinque's sportfisherman, "25."

Curt Behling caught yellowfin tuna and large mahi this week, chunking at the Fish Tails.

FRESHWATER

John Cote caught a 4-pound bass on Spectacle Pond in Cranston this week, said David Henault. Bass fishing should improve after a cold front moves through.

BEST BITES

Greenwich Bay:

Bluefish, possibly squeteague

Block Island:

Striped bass

Cuttyhunk Island:

Striped bass

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.