Calling around the regional horn on Thursday afternoon, I heard industry veterans from near and far commenting on one of the less obvious symptoms of our long turn in the economic dumpster: Where, five or eight years ago folks were just going fishing, taking longer rides on whims alone, those still at it seem to have become markedly less spontaneous in their fishing habits—as one of my longtime sources put it, “Everyone just seems to be hanging back, waiting on word of the sure thing.” An unfortunate byproduct of all this caution—the report-chasing—is that people just aren’t fishing places that have the fish right on schedule simply because no one else has already sampled it and confirmed that there is indeed life there. If you’re in this wait-and-see camp yourself, remember that one of Mother Nature’s cruelest tricks is rolling out a whole array of the season’s best fishing this month, when we’re all just starting to tiptoe into the water. If you wait too long for someone else to green-light your maiden voyages to your pet fluke and striper spots, you could well be sleeping when all piscatorial hell breaks loose. Meantime, the better bass finally hit Block Island—both ends—while the Providence River continues to dole out a pretty steady supply of 20-pound-class fish around the abundant bunker schools on the prowl between Conimicut Light and the I-Way Bridge just outside downtown.
WATCH HILL
There’s some fair fluke fishing to be had off the south side of Fishers, though you’d be wise to expand your territory beyond world-famous Isabella Beach—a place that tends to concentrate much of the drifting pressure even though there are choice lanes of boulder-strewn, gravel bottom and other prime slabitat all along the south side of that island. Word has it there are still some pogies and occasional bigger bass up in the Pawcatuck River. No word so far on the Watch Hill Reefs, though there should be some world-class light-tackle striper casting unfolding in that area over the next week—if it’s not already going off.
CHARLESTOWN
Jon Lyons at Ocean House Marina has, in his daily comings and goings around Ninigret Pond and the Charlestown Breachway, seen some eye-popping linesides cruising the channel edges and loafing around in some of the deeper holes. The worm hatches have been going, but not at full blast—a good thing in that the fish in the area are apt to stay a bit more cooperative off the periods of peak worm abundance. Little cut-down bubblegum-colored Slug-go’s and other worm-hatch standards will take Ninigret bass from dink size on up.
SNUG HARBOR
Matt at Snug Harbor said the striper situation over at Block Island finally has begun to take shape, with the recent arrival of a slug of better fish in the 15- to 25-pound bracket and some bigger. Unfortunately for those who favor the SW Corner, the dogfish have been swarming during slower periods of tide out in the deeper water. Accordingly, folks dragging wire line—either snapping parachute jig/pork rind combos or umbrella rigs in various configurations—have enjoyed a bit of an edge down in that neighborhood. The same fish have also invaded the North Rip, where the aforementioned wire-line offers will do the job. You might also put a decent day together diamond jigging or working larger plastics on leadheads along the Rip seams.
Fluke fishing has been hot-and-cold, with some big days and also some very tough picking. The deep, tide-swept bottom out in front of Point Judith Light, over toward the Hang, and off the Center Wall should hold some jumbo fish. Further west, great mats of that infuriating brown weed have rendered large swaths of normally prime June bottom between Matunuck and Charlestown almost unfishable outside 35 or 40 feet. You may scare up some decent keepers working the shallower drifts, but expect to cull through some shorts between candidates for the cooler. The broken bottom—40 to 75 feet—outside Newport’s Ocean Drive should be worth a look for some better slabs, and both sides of Jamestown’s south end will cough up keepers; in the latter area, you’ll often find dead water on one tide, and bonanza fishing on the opposite.
WARWICK
Kenny Landry at Ray’s Bait in Apponaug noted there’s been a full-blown googan circus at times up in the Providence River, as novice bunker-seekers run right over bait schools putting the bait and the bass/blues right down, then milling around until the life pops up again elsewhere. The guys who know how to approach the schools with a light hand on the throttle and a bit of regard for the others trying to work them have been enjoying some very solid snag-and-drop fishing, taking a mix of blues and some bass from keepers to north of 30 pounds. On a daily basis, bait’s been showing anywhere from Conimicut Light northward to the I-Way Bridge, from Barrington across to Rocky Point. Kenny and friends, Frank and Pam Tameo, teamed up for around a dozen bass into the mid-20’s on Thursday morning—most of their action near Bullocks Point. The fluking from the middle Bay on up has been a bit heavy on the throwbacks so far, but there should be some doormat-sized stuff down nearer to both bridges at this point.
MIDDLETOWN
Sam Toland at Sam’s noted the fluke guys have been struggling to cope with endless brown weed that has gunked up a huge percentage of normally productive real estate along the Newport oceanfront. Where the stuff seems to have stayed a bit further outside to the west (Point Judith westward) it’s thick out to 60 or 70 feet, forcing early-season doormat hunters to court dogfish disaster to scratch a few better fish. A couple of local sharpies have stuck good fish over toward Sakonnet, including one north of 12 pounds, lately. Jamestown seems to have less gunk than other areas, and is getting more pressure as a result. The striper situation is tough as this goes out the door; the fish up the Bay in places like Prudence are not exactly stacked like cordwood. What 30-plus fish are coming in are the result of some real patience and finesse, with slow-trolling live bunker, stemming the tide and yo-yoing and other technically more involved methods accounting for most of the recent catch. The bunker, according to Sam’s guys, are thinning out enough that securing sufficient bait supply is the biggest job of a given trip. Out front, the reefs have stripers on them, but it’s been schoolie city so far. In the bigger picture, Sam believes cold water east and north of the Cape may serve to hold fish to the south and west, from Chatham to Block, etc.
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