Slowly but surely more striped bass have settled onto the Long Island Sound and Rhode Island reefs; while keeper fluke and black sea bass continue to go strong.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Steve Mckenna, at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, has had much more success in July than he did through most of June when it comes to finding striped bass in the Rhode Island surf, and this week is no different. Steve made 4 night trips recently and found some bass willing to bite plugs on all of them. Most of the fish have been on the smaller side but the quality action in Narragansett and Jamestown is a positive sign following the dismal June. Surf fishing also remains very consistent at Block Island, where a number of anglers reported having no difficulty finding keeper bass to 25 pounds this week. Steve’s customers have had nothing to complain about when it comes to bottom fishing as keeper fluke, black sea bass and scup are being caught with regularity from Newport to Narragansett.
Robert Taylor, of Newport Sportfishing Charters in Newport, reports that the striped bass bite remains fierce both locally and around the island, as his stellar charter season continued this week. Loads of sand eels and butterfish have invaded local waters and kept the bass around, including a 51-pound beauty that was caught and released off of Beavertail earlier this week. Captain Rob was able to put another 15 quality keeper bass on the boat that day, all of which coming on live eels and light tackle. Fluke trips have also been very successful in the same areas and Rob recommends looking deep, as the majority of his keeper fish have been from 80-110 feet of water.
At Breachway Bait and Tackle in Charlestown the striped bass fishing took an upswing around the full moon as some better fish were reported from the breachways and salt ponds. Anglers drifting a tube and worm in the ponds reported good catches, including a few hefty keepers; while anglers fishing live eels after dark have seen bass to 30 pounds in the breachways this week. The Watch Hill Reefs are holding more and more bass each day and sizes are generally improving. The Watch Hill Reefs are also continuing to hold good numbers of keeper sea bass, along with just about all of the small rockpiles across South County. Dinner-plate sized scup are showing up for boat anglers in Watch Hill, as well as shore anglers under the lighthouse and at the breachways. Keeper fluke may be outnumbered by shorts in local waters, but a few good keepers to 6 pounds were reported off the Westerly and Charlestown beaches.
Connecticut Fishing Report
At River’s End in Old Saybrook, the consensus that overall numbers of striped bass are down this year and it is tough to find large concentrations of fish, however there are some big fish to be had across the eastern sound in smaller pods. The reefs to the west of the Connecticut River have fared the best over the past week with decent reports coming from Southwest and Six-Mile. Long Sand Shoal is still holding a few good fish but in smaller numbers than the reefs. To the east, Bartletts has seen some fish this week and it has been primarily a nighttime eel bite. Montauk continues to fish well for bass and bluefish for those willing to make the trek. Porgy reports have been solid in the sound from the larger reefs, namely Hatchets and Bartletts; while the fluke game has turned to deeper water, with the 80-100 feet around Black Point producing well.
Captain Bruce of The Otter Sportfishing believes that things are starting to settle in after an unusually slow start to the season. Some big fish came over the rails this week that all fell for his pink Admiral Otter Spoon. Fish of 42, 45, 50 and 51 inches were taken on Friday, while bass up to 45 inches were seen on Saturday and Sunday. Bruce still has plenty of openings for summer and fall, so be sure to take advantage as the bite continues to improve.
On the Mijoy 747 of Waterford, the full-day fluke and sea bass trips are continuing to produce plenty of keepers for everyone on board. The half-day bass and bluefish trips are continuing to improve, as more and more bluefish have made their way through the race this week. The thunderstorms that were forecasted just about everyday this week did not affect much of Long Island Sound, so be sure to check in with the crew before you cancel a trip due to the weather forecast.
Mike, at The Bait Box in Clinton, had customers cashing in on a shallow water striper bite on the local reefs that has lasted for the past ten days or so. Hens and Chickens Reef and Southwest have held a healthy number of large bass that have been eager to crush a livelined or chunked bunker, specifically at false dawn and the early morning hours. The local harbors remain flooded with bunker pods so locating bait has not been much of an issue. Some large sea bass have also been taken from the aforementioned reefs, and no surprise but the local fluking has been good for those fishing deep (80-100) water. Mike also mentioned that the offshore bite has continued to improve this week, and you do not have to run all the way to the canyons to find it. School bluefin, mahi and loads of makos have been reported around the horns this week, which gives a bit of relief from the brutal gas prices.
Bunker remains plentiful in the western sound and the bass bite remains consistent, according to Pat, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk. Green’s ledge produced some good bass this week to angler’s fishing chunk bait, including a 38-pound beauty for Francisco Tobias. Buoy 28C also remains a consistent producer of keeper bass and large bluefish. Large bluefish are not only prevalent in deeper waters but are also showing up tight to shore around Calf Pasture Pier and in Norwalk Harbor, on the trail of adult bunker schools in the area. Quality fluke and sea bass can both be found around buoy 26, while dinner-plate sized scup are showing up on all the western sound rockpiles.
Fishing Forecast
It is no surprise that it has been a tough season for striped bass thus far, but for the second week in a row signs of improvement are popping up all over. Some quality bass are on the reefs for the night crews and early birds, and with the bright moon receding this should be a good weekend for the surf crew. Groundfishing remains consistent across the board and for a change of pace think about targeting some summer tautog in Connecticut. This is often an overlooked and under-utilized summer fishery and that lack of pressure only makes it easier to find quality fish.