One of the best times of year to fish

This is one of the best times of year to fish the saltwater. The striped bass have come on strong, in our bays and estuaries, along the coastal shore, and at our two iconic striped bass fishing spots that books have been written about, Block Island and the Cape Cod Canal. But yes, somedays it is harder to hook up.

Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “The striped bass in our bays have been there but very finicky. They have been feeding at night, so they are stuffed and they are not going for an angler’s bait or lure because they are not hungry.”

I found this to be the case last week with my charter customers. Joe Kuyouth caught a 36” striped bass on the channel pad north of Conimicut light, trolling tube and worm down low in the water column. The fish had a big belly, and it was filled with Atlantic menhaden, half-digested, as well as squid.

This was the only striped bass we caught that day but saw many on the sonar and two or three on the surface trolling with dorsal fins above the surface but not eating in the Bear Point Prudence Island area.

Meantime, Jeff Sullivan of Sam’s Bait & Tackle, Middletown, was hooking up with a monster 44-pound striped bass off Newport. Jeff said, “I caught this fish in 75 feet of water off Brenton Reef. The fish was suspended halfway down the water column in a large school of fish that were suspended and not moving. I caught it on a swim bait I was able to send down to the proper depth.”

There is a slot size limit for striped bass, a minimum size of 28” to less than 31”, one fish/person/day.

Summer flounder

The summer flounder (fluke) bite is starting to kick in, too, with large fish in the mid 20-inch range being caught south of Block Island. Narragansett Bay and the near costal shore is starting to percolate, too. 

Angler Matthew Haczynski, on the R.I. Saltwater Anglers Association blog, said, “Saturday four of us caught a handful or two of recreational keepers at the mouth of Narragansett Bay and the Sakonnet River in 25’ to 45’ of water. Fluke were tossing up large sand eel and some very small squid. The keeper to short ratio was high. The big ones are mixed in with the little guys, with multiple fish in the 5- to 8-pound range for all those shorts.”

The minimum size for summer flounder (fluke) is 19,” with a six fish/person/day limit. However, there are Special Area Provisions that allow for two of the fish being caught to be a minimum size of 17 inches to be taken from shore (visit Marine Fisheries Minimum Sizes & Possession Limits | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management).

Freshwater bite hot, too

This is an exciting time of year for freshwater fishing too, as our waterways have come alive with all types of insects and smaller bait fish.

“Fly fishing in the Wood River for trout was very good last week. Rising trout between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. were present in a variety of spots,” said Ed Lombardo, fly fishing guide, and expert. “Midge adults and pupa insects were prolific. We were very successful using large dry flies, size 14 and even 12’s. The pattern that worked best was an Emerger tied with a burgundy or yellow colored body of dubbed rabbit fur, the tail and front wing tipped forward of white Antron yarn, and that is it.”

If you want to learn more about the largest mayfly hatch in the region you are in luck, because Ed Lombardo will be giving an ‘Introduction to the Hex Hatch Lecture and Fly Tying’ demonstration Thursday, June 11, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the  DFW Outdoor Education Office, 1B Camp E-Hun-Tee Place, Exeter, R.I.  Registration is required, the cost is $10 per person. Email kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater fishing for largemouth bass is great, with trout fishing still good in ponds restocked in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In Massachusetts, visit Trout stocking report | Mass.gov, and in Rhode Island visit Designated Trout Waters | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Striped bass and bluefish

East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert, said, “The canal continues to produce striped bass of all sizes. Some days are dead, then last Thursday about two dozen guys in a row were reeling in fish that were 40-plus inches, one after another.”

“The striped bass are hitting all over the bay. Customers are catching them with soft plastic lures and trolling,” said Tyler Holman of The Tackle Box, Warwick.

On my charter boat last week, Joe Kuyoth, Gary Vandemoortele and Shaina Boyle caught bass to 36” trolling tube and worm north of Conimicut Light. Later in the week there were fish in the bay but they seemed full and not willing to take our bait or lure.

Jeff Sullivan of Sam’s Bait & Tackle, Middletown, said, “I caught a 44-pound striped bass Wednesday off Newport in 75 feet of water using a swimbait.”  Declan O’Donnell of Breakaway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said, “Fish as far as the eye can see! With the migration in full swing and water temperatures climbing by the day, bait and fish are flooding Southern Rhode Island waters, and the fishing has been seriously good. Silversides and sand eels are here in full force, drawing big schools of striped bass into the area to feed. Reports of feeding frenzies are coming from right in front of the Charlestown Breachway all the way to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett.

Black sea bass

Summer Flounder (fluke) and black sea bass fishing is on, with anglers hooking up with keepers in our bays, along southern coastal shores and at Block Island. The black sea bass off Newport has been very good on the ledges, with anglers limiting out fairly quickly with the 16”, three fish /person/day catch limit (four fish/person/day if on a charter boat).

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle said, “The fluke bite is slowly building, with the best reports still coming from around the island. With water temperatures warming and bait pushing into the area, we expect more fish to start sliding onto the South Shore over the next couple of weeks. Sea bass have also started showing up, with a few keeper fish caught this week.”

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net  or visit www.noflukefishing.com .