By Alan Desbonnet

     According to Capt. Thom Pelletier at Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown, healthy numbers of striped bass to 20 pounds are still being landed in upper Narragansett Bay. Greater numbers of keeper-sized stripers are being caught around Wickford Harbor and the Newport/Jamestown area, however, indicating that these game fish are definitely moving down toward cooler waters. Block Island is holding court with some of the biggest bass in the region, as well as some bluefin tuna just south of the island.

Mike Burridge of Mashpee caught this beauty off Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay. With the waters warming, look for bigger bass hanging in deeper water in the lower bay, around Newport and Jamestown.

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     For some great fluke action, the entire south shore from Narragansett to Charlestown is prime territory. These flatfish are also moving into the bay, and keepers are being plucked off Jamestown and around the bridges. July 1 marked the opening of blackfish season, but there aren’t any reports just yet. Capt. Pelletier anticipates a good season nonetheless, based on earlier conditions and catches. Freshwater fishing has slowed a bit due to the heat, but anglers are still culling nice largemouth bass with surface lures, mainly during the cooler hours of evening and dusk.
Steve at River and Rip Tide Angler in Coventry agreed that the striped bass fishing in upper Narragansett Bay is slowing down, but only a bit. There are still plenty of stripers to be had throughout the upper bay, but it might be time to start focusing your efforts south toward the Jamestown area – that’s where the fish are heading to escape the warming bay waters. The Narrow River has been slow, but if you go, take along a few shrimp patterns, which produced fish most consistently over the past week. In fresh waters, the Hexagenia flies are hatching along the Wood River, and fly rodders tend to put everything else on hold when that happens!
Some nice striped bass are holding at the Short Wall at Point Judith, according to Mary at Maridee Bait & Tackle in Narragansett, while the East Wall has been producing a mixed bag of stripers, bluefish, scup and even a few fluke. Black Point and Hazard Avenue have been holding concentrations of bass, and Scarborough Beach has been turning on at dusk. Black and silver Bombers are the weapon of choice at the moment, so be sure to have a few on hand when you head out. Not surprisingly, eels at night are a best bet along the shore or rock piles. Fluke fishing remains slow from shore along Narragansett, but charters are doing well off Block Island in about 60 feet of water.
Phil at Breachway Bait & Tackle in Charlestown reported excellent fishing all along the south shore of Rhode Island. Keeper striped bass catches are still a regular event along the beaches, though the evening and night are going to start producing better action than daylight hours. Eels, chunk bait and whole shad are your best bets. Some bluefish are patrolling off the beaches, but you’ll find the heavier numbers of bass and blues in the ponds. Fluke fishing is excellent all along the south shore, but the fish are starting to move offshore to deeper water, so you might want to do the same.
Striped bass fishing is excellent on Block Island, according to John at Twin Maples Bait & Tackle. Not surprisingly, eels fished at night from a boat just off the beach are the ticket to linesiders, but shore anglers are reporting good striper catches, too. Bombers, various poppers and needlefish plugs are at the top of the list for most shore anglers. There have been lots of very big bluefish up to 15 pounds moving around the island, with Sandy Point and Black Rock being particularly productive. Bruiser blues this large have not been seen at the island for years, so anglers are having some fun with them. Fluke fishing is fair to good, but very sporadic; a 15:1 short-to-keeper ratio is not uncommon. Better news is that the horde of dogfish that was plaguing the island over the past few weeks has moved offshore a fair distance. Hopefully they will stay there!
Archie at Mike’s Bait & Tackle in Voluntown reported that walleye fishing is quite good in Beach Pond, but the action is at night, when these fish tend to feed. Some 20-plus-inch walleye have been the reward for anglers fishing medium-sized shiners deep with some weight and a submerged bobber to keep the bait out of the weeds. Pachaug, Hopeville and Ashland ponds have been offering good catches of pike, and largemouth bass are providing some good action late in the day in the shore-side weed beds. Trout fishing has slowed considerably with the heat, and will no doubt stay slow for some time to come.
Norwich Harbor is holding some decent striped bass, according to Rennie at The Fish Connection in Preston. School bunker are hanging in the upper river, and they’re keeping the bass interested, along with a few bluefish. You’ll find school bass and smaller blues all throughout the river from Norwich Harbor to the mouth. The squid run at Watch Hill is still on, resulting in good action to striped bass there as well. Fluke fishing, on the other hand, has been slowing considerably along the Misquamicut Beach area. You’d be better off seeking these flatfish in the Charlestown area, off the south side of Fishers Island and around Gardners Island. Rennie reported that action at The Race has been on and off over the past week, with successful anglers culling fish with three-way bucktails and Diamond jigs.
On the freshwater scene, there’s some good bass fishing to be had at Glasgo and Pachaug ponds, mainly in the evening hours. Pachaug Pond is hosting a decent pike bite as well, with some shorebound anglers having luck at the base of the dam. Trout fishing has slowed, but smallmouth bass angling in the Shetucket River is reported to be pretty good right now.
According to Mark at Hillyer’s Bait & Tackle in Waterford, striped bass fishing is improving at Bartlett Reef and in the Niantic River, and fishing at night will improve your chances even more. Black Point and The Race are good bets, particularly when fishing eels at dawn or dusk during the middle of either tide. Tube-and-worm rigs are another reliable method in both places. Schools of bluefish have moved in along the beaches, with the beach at Harkness Memorial and Millstone Point being especially hot for shore anglers. Fluke fishing is improving, and more and more keepers are being reported – many of them big. Recent hot spots for these sizeable flatfish are the south side of Fishers Island, the east rip at Black Point, Goshen Point and South Plum Island. In other news, some surprisingly large scup have been taken lately, and good catches of sea bass are being reported from Bartlett Reef and Valiant Rock.
      Captain Morgan at Capt. Morgan’s Bait & Tackle in Madison reported good-to-excellent striped bass fishing on area reefs, as well as some decent weakfish action south of Falkner Island in about 40 feet of water. Bluefish are certainly not lacking, and quite a few anglers have been heading out for blackfish. None of these bottom fishermen have reported back yet, but Capt. Morgan anticipates a good season nonetheless. Fluke fishing in the area has been very good but very frustrating; the fish are immensely fat but just shy of legal length. These hefty fluke are beginning to show up at the river mouths and along the shore, giving shorebound anglers a shot at a flatfish dinner. For a different brand of fishing, the run of blue crabs is off to a good start, and fans of this ill-tempered delicacy hope we’ll have a repeat of last year. In fresh waters, the song remains the same: slowdown in trout action, but good pickerel and largemouth bass fishing.
       Chris at Stratford Bait & Tackle in Stratford reported that fluke fishing in the area is really good; fish in the 4- to 7-pound range are not uncommon, and with a ratio of about four shorts to every keeper, anglers are bringing some good-tasting fish to the table! The fluke are hanging in 15 to 20 feet of water, and are within reach of shore anglers at local beaches and at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Squid, sand eels, mummichogs and silversides are all taking good fluke consistently.
     According to Cody at Westport Outfitters in Norwalk, striped bass fishing continues to be good due to the prevalence of bait, mostly sand eels. Aim to be on the water by early morning, because that is when the fish are most actively feeding. Penfield Reef has been quite productive, and anglers have been reaping success there with chunk bait, soft-plastic lures and surface poppers early in the morning. The fluke fishing is also really good, with many keepers taken lately. Anglers are reporting a short-to-keeper ratio of about 4:1. Not surprisingly, trout fishing in fresh waters has fallen off considerably due to falling water levels and rising temperatures.

Best Bets for the Weekend

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By Jimmy Fee

     From the sound of the reports, this Independence Day weekend is certain to be full of stars and stripers.  From the Elizabeth Islands up to Race Point, our favorite saltwater game fish made an impressive showing over the past week with no slowdown in sight.  Also worth a mention are the impressive numbers of keeper scup carpeting the bottom of Vineyard Sound.  Fluke remain slow, but bluefish and tuna are going strong, and according to Steve at Larry’s Bait and Tackle on Martha’s Vineyard, the table is set for a strong, early run of a very popular striped speedster.

Fish the bottom in Vineyard Sound and you might get lucky enough to land a trifecta of good eats, like Kim Daigneault of Mashpee did, when she caught this fluke, sea bass and tautog last weekend.

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      Ray from Dockside Bait and Tackle in New Bedford started us off with reports of big bass still hanging around the Elizabeth Islands.  Casting eels towards the rocky shores or drifting the snakes through the rips have accounted for most of the cow bass; live or chunked menhaden and tube-and-worm rigs have taken quite a few as well. Lucas Shoal remains the best shot at fluke, and Ray suggested fishing a teaser, along with the squid strip or jig, to entice more strikes.
      Fish have been breaking on the surface in the Canal just after sunrise, said Paul from Red Top. Topwaters and jigs are taking a few keeper-sized bass. Boat fishermen trolling tube-and-worm rigs and bunker spoons in Cape Cod Bay are catching plenty of bass up to 35 pounds. Billingsgate Shoal and The Fingers have been safe bets for connecting with stripers.
      Mike at M and D’s in Wareham said anglers looking to tangle with 4-pound bluefish should target the edges of the Canal. In Cape Cod Bay, trolling umbrella rigs rigged with tubes, not shads, have been the best way to connect with the toothy blues. Mike didn’t have many positive reports on the flukin’ front, but he said scup and sea bass have been giving the bottom-fishing crowd enough action (and delicious fillets) to keep them occupied.
      Falmouth Bait and Tackle had some impressive weigh-ins this past week, including a surf-caught 47-pounder. While Tom could only speculate as to the method and location where this fine cow was beached, he suggested grabbing a few eels and fishing them along the south-facing beaches after dark. Tom also suggested that anglers looking for fluke and sea bass in Vineyard Sound give the new Shimano Lucanus method a try.  Although, not enough fluke have been around to conduct a thorough field test on the baits, sea bass can’t seem to get enough of the unique lures.
      John from Eastman’s Sporting Goods in Falmouth told me that the bass have moved out toward Wasque and Tom Shoal. Jigs have been the top choice for most anglers, but tube-and-worm rigs are catching fish as well. When asked where to try for a fluke to spice up my Fourth of July barbeque, John said most keepers are being taken in 60 to 90 feet of water in locations like Lucas Shoal and Robinsons Hole. John echoed every other fluke report in saying that fishing for this tasty flatfish has been slow, but there are a few doormats around – it just may take some work to find them. John also said I may want to shift my sights to scup in order to have a seafood accompaniment to my grilled burgers and dogs this weekend. From just outside Falmouth Harbor all the way to Martha’s Vineyard, keeper scup have not been difficult to find with sea worms or strips of squid sent to the bottom on small hooks.
      “Lit up” must be my favorite two words to hear in conjunction with a surf-fishing report – and those are the exact words used by Matt at Dick’s Bait and Tackle on the Vineyard when he described the surfcasting for bass and blues this past week. The swarms of sand eels in Martha’s Vineyard waters have spurred a strong daytime topwater bite all over the island. Matt said that beach fishermen have been watching pods of bass and blues corralling the sand eels through the afternoon hours and all around the island, although the North Shore has been slightly more productive. The bass have ranged from schoolie size to the 20-pound range. Boat fishermen have found larger stripers drifting eels off Gay Head, with fish up to 30 pounds. For fluke, Matt mentioned the waters off Cedar Tree Neck and around Hedge Fence as places to try, and said the fishing is picking up.
      Steve from Larry’s Bait and Tackle reported that dogfish have been making striper fishing tough on Vineyard boat fishermen trolling the east side. When the fish aren’t trying to eat the trolled lures, they are so abundant that the dogs are getting snagged and tangled in the gear. Bass are still biting though, but Steve said the schools seem to be moving around quite a bit and are stacking up just outside more popular fishing areas. Therefore, a little exploration may be in order to find a wide open bass bite this weekend. Steve’s charters caught fluke up to 11 pounds this week using bluefish bellies and fresh squid. Steve couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of fresh bait to make the most of your time on the water, and said fished side by side, the there was no comparison between the fresh and frozen squid. Steve took me by surprise when told me to be on the lookout for bonito during the next week.  He said water temperatures at Tom Shoal were as high as 68 degrees, and with the abundance of sand eels in Vineyard waters, he is looking for the first bones to make their appearance very soon. Looking back over his log, Steve said there were plenty of years where he caught bonito around Independence Day, and the conditions look just right for these speedsters to show up early.
      Rough water and wind slowed tuna fishermen this week, but apparently not the tuna, said Dickie at The Hook Up in Orleans. Dickie reported that Captain Eric Stewart took two bluefin yesterday before building seas made fishing too difficult east of Chatham.
      It seems that Cape Cod Bay has picked back up after last week’s slowdown. Garrett from Goose Hummock in Orleans said the bay is loaded with bass from Brewster Flats all the way out to the Race. A variety of methods have been taking keepers, from trolling bunker spoons to dropping sea clams behind draggers. Tuna have been giving anglers a few opportunities to cast topwaters, mostly between the Race and the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, but black squid spreader bars and ballyhoo have been drawing far more knockdowns on the troll.
Monomoy has been another hotspot this week, with some big stripers feasting on squid in the rips. Wire-lining jigs and casting squid imitations are fooling the big bass.
      Matt picked up the phone at Nelson’s in Provincetown and said the fishing hadn’t changed all that much from last week, which is a good thing if you have a boat and can fish the waters off Race Point. Bass and blues remain stacked up along the drop-off feeding in the clouds of sand eels, and occasionally running the beach when seal activity doesn’t force them to stay in deeper water. Tuna are still around, but not quite as thick as previous weeks.

Best Bets for the Weekend        

If you need a break from barbeques and fireworks this weekend, Monomoy offers a great shot at putting a cow bass in the boat. Fish the rips with soft-plastic baits or surface poppers in the mornings or evenings and brace yourself for some explosive topwater action. Martha’s Vineyard seems to be the best destination for surfcasters looking to do some plugging this week. Try some choice spots along the north shore before the masses descend upon the beach and you may just find yourself in the middle of a bunch of hungry stripers. Adventurous anglers may want to scoot out to The Hooter next week to try for the first bonito of 2008. Water temperatures are flirting with that 70-degree mark and sand eels are all over, so the bonito may be out there. Since this is a great weekend to take the family fishing, why not give the scup in Vineyard Sound a try? Lots of keepers, and some big ones too, are just a short boat ride from the dock. Grab your light tackle and some sea worms and spend the holiday relaxing with these feisty panfish. Whatever fishing you do, have a safe and happy Fourth of July.

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By Ron Powers  

      Happy Fourth of July! This weekend we’ll be spending some quality time with family and friends, watching in awe at a sky full of fireworks – and the only thing better than that is bringing some tasty fillets to the barbecue! From Plymouth to Plum Island, hefty stripers are being brought to deck, and while the tuna frenzy has ebbed a bit, there is no shortage of fish – you just have to look a little harder to find them. Finally, the winter flounder have retreated to slightly deeper water, with the exception being the North Shore, where even shorebound anglers are reaching their limits. 

Stellwagen Bank is swimming with bait and bluefin tuna. Christoper Beebe hoists a 100-plus-pounder he caught out on the Bank in June.

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       I think party boat fishing is right up there with baseball and cookouts in terms of traditional New England pastimes. Even better, it can be shared with family. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be focused on winning the pool! Richard Wolfe of Sea Wolf Tackle in Londonderry, New Hampshire, told me about one exciting overnighter aboard Al Gauron’s charter out of Hampton Harbor. The bite was solid east of Stellwagen, and Richard took a full 20 minutes to haul in a 26.6-pound “Boston bluefish” (pollock) that fell for one of his pink Norwegian jigs. There’s no doubt this was a nice fish, but it played second fiddle to the pool-winning wolfish that clamped down on a SeaWolfe Cod Killah. Richard has been killing some sizable cusk at the Isle of Shoals as well.
      Stripers and bluefin can get awfully fussy when they are focusing on sand eels, and this can lead to a frustrating day for anglers. One buddy of mine was pulling his hair out about finicky fish in the Sandwich area that refused to hit every sand eel imitator he could find. I decided to give him a pack of Bill Hurley’s Sand Eels, which are infused with genuine sand eel oil, and my friend clobbered the fish until all he had nothing left but shreds of the lure.
       After that, I wondered how these lures would fare with bluefin. I asked Mr. Hurley if he had any tuna testimonies, and he responded that the lure works well when the tuna are sipping sand eels exclusively and ignoring everything else. Just don’t tighten the drag too tightly, since the hook could straighten out during one of the tuna’s blistering runs. The waters in most of our region are dense with sand eels right now, with the exception of the Greater Boston area. 
      Another lure that deserves mention is the Rebel Wee-R Crawdad. Russ Eastman, the gear guru at Monahan Marine, is equally at home on the high seas as he is by a quiet brook. But if you were to ask him about his absolute favorite type of fishing, I would bet he’d pick trout on the Deerfield River. Russ is not likely to bail on his trusty Rooster Tails, but a friend introduced him to this unconventional lure, which really nails the trout.
      A bunch of big bass have been landed by the Shifting Lots Preserve in Plymouth, according to Cliff from The Fisherman’s Outfitter, including some 40-pound-class fish from shore. Most of the action is taking place after dark with eels. New pods of schoolie-sized stripers recently hit Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury bays, and a good-sized school of pogies has reinvigorated the bigger game fish there. Keeper fluke are still being found off High Pine Ledge in Duxbury, and as is usually the case, you have to target the deeper holes – that’s where the fish lie in ambush. If you have tuna on the brain, than think Peaked Hill Bar. Flounder are plentiful around the Green Harbor jetty and the Brant Rock jetty.
       Just up the coast, the most successful anglers in the Scituate/Cohasset area are boating linesiders by live-lining pollock, oftentimes from shore. These little baitfish are averaging 10 inches and can be found off Rexhame Beach, the Cedar Point jetty, Egypt Beach and The Glades. Some of the best stripers are being taken with the pollock by Cowen Rocks. Pollock don’t behave like mackerel or pogies when on the hook – they’ll instinctively try to seek shelter and bury your line. Accordingly, shore slingers should use a non-weighted Styrofoam float (the weighted variety isn’t buoyant enough) and boaters should use 50-pound-test braid, a barrel swivel and a 4- to 5-foot fluorocarbon leader of about 50-pound-test. You’ll want to troll as slowly as possible, as close to rocks as possible. Pollock are extremely delicate and must be handled gently and quickly or they will perish. For shore anglers, the goal is to have your pollock frisky enough to occasionally sink the float; a lively bait gets more attention.
       Fluke can be found at the mouth of the North River and at the confluence of the South and North rivers. These good-sized flatties (approximately 20 inches long) are hitting bucktail jigs spiced with squid, mummichogs or fish strips. For winter flounder, Scituate Harbor appears to be drying up, but the hits keep on coming off Peggotty and Egypt beaches and Cowen Rocks. 
     Closer to Beantown, the hot areas for big fish are near the lighthouses, Graves Light and Boston Light. The tube-and-worm rig appears to be doing the most damage. Most anglers will avoid these rocky areas when seeking flounder, but if you drop a big sea worm in between the boulders, you just might raise a few “phonebook” flounder. Early-risers have been greeted by schools of pogies off Wollaston Beach, by Spectacle Island and out to Deer Island Light. Recently, my friend Nick Frasso and I were snagging a few pogies when some guy motored right up to the school and kept dropping a cast net off the bow of the boat. Shockingly, he did not net a single pogy, but he did manage to sound the school. There’s a reason why experienced pogy-pursuers stand well back from the school and snag – it works! There’s also buzz in Boston Harbor about a rash of lemon sharks that have recently been taken. These 4-foot fish have a distinctive, elongated tail similar in shape to a thresher’s.
       Flounder in the harbor are still holding off Rainsford Island, Hospital Shoals, Georges Island and Faun Bar. Get them while they’re hot and the blues are not! These two species do not mix, and I don’t have to tell you which one beats a hasty retreat.
       Regarding flounder, the North Shore is not far behind Boston in terms of catches, according to Mike from Surfland. In fact, Plum Island anglers are even catching limits from the shore! The blackback bite is best by the sandbar at the mouth of the Merrimack, off parking lot 1, and for boaters, by the “3” Can. Mackerel at the mouth of the Merrimack are keeping big bass interested off the ocean side of Plum Island. Some anglers are jigging up the mackerel and drifting them upstream in the Merrimack, and they’ve been taking big stripers. Joppa Flats is delivering nice fish to everyone –surfcasters, kayakers and boat fishermen alike. Eels are working well, as are dark-colored soft plastics such as Slug-Gos and Hogys. Tube-and-worm rigs are the default method for daytime anglers.
       The rocks on the North Shore are holding some big bass, mainly due to the abundance of pollock and mackerel. Misery and Bakers islands are fishing well for those using live bait. Pogies are holed up inside Salem Harbor among the moorings, frustrating would-be netters and but proving easy to snag. The craggy coast from Manchester to Rockport is giving up some nice stripers to anglers pitching bronze-colored Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows. At night, drifting eels on the outgoing tide at the ipswich, Essex, Rowley and Parker rivers is a high-percentage cow technique. The inlet at Good Harbor Beach is also good option, as is Milk Island at the opposite end of the beach.
       Strange things are happening at Great Bay in New Hampshire! Pogies in the bay are going largely unmolested, and the dense schools of mackerel from the Navy Yard in Portsmouth up to the Isles of Shoals might have something to do with it. According to Kyle of Suds ‘n Soda, most anglers are jigging up mackerel and using them at the same the spot. If there is no activity, then they take the mackerel to the Piscataqua River and drift them there. Some cow bass are being taken this way. Tuna have been showing intermittently at the Isles of Shoals, probably attracted by all the mackerel.
       The abundance of bait in southern Maine shows no signs of abating, but anglers are still groaning about fussy, sated stripers that refuse to take their offerings. Craig from Saco Bay Tackle said that the more successful fishermen are chunking rather than live-lining. Simply put: Big bass are scroungers, and oftentimes they prefer scoffing down a chunk rather than chasing a meal. Some of the biggest fish are being taken off Hills Beach, Biddeford Pool and Pine Point. Tuna of mixed sizes are just outside the islands, and shop regulars have been taking them by the Isles of Shoals. All the standard techniques are working: squid bars, live-lined baits, casting wares and Butterfly jigs. Groundfishing is great on the northern edge of Jeffreys, with some big haddock being hauled up.

Best Bets For The Weekend

       All eyes won’t be on the sky this July Fourth – there’s way too much going on in the water! Big numbers of big bass have arrived in Plymouth, at Boston Light, Graves Light and the rocky coast of the North Shore. With all the mackerel around New Hampshire and Maine, anglers won’t likely take many road trips. Tuna are sill plentiful at Peaked Hill Bar, throughout Stellwagen and up to the Isles of Shoals. And as befitting an American holiday, you might consider taking the family out on a party boat. If you do, drop a Cod Killah down there; if you hook into a wolfish, it’ll be a holiday your family will never forget!

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