Southern New England
Region

October 26, 2007

Narragansett Bay

of Cast a fly Charters reports:

Weather has been a factor this week. It has been snotty along the southern shores of RI.

Heavy seas have kept us off the ocean. We've been spoiled this fall with some great weather. The migration will continue for several more weeks. This time of year you pick your days. No sense taking a beating. Nothing worse than a cold spray of seawater in an open boat. Burr!!!

There is plenty of large bluefish still available in the bay. The better activity is still around the Wickford / Quonset area. The endless supply of bluefish is starting to show signs of thinning out. Plenty of four inch bunker still around.

Fly fishing has been difficult with the high winds. Bluefish have been skittish with approaching boats. Casting longer distances with surface poppers and swimming plugs gets you there. We haven’t seen much striper activity in the bay. There is some good tautog fishing out front. Shore anglers are taking some sizable fish all around the southern end of Beavertail using green crabs.

Jim Froio of Syracuse NY landed this beauty prior to this week. Jim returned to steelhead country with some great memories of our Ocean State. I doubt that salmon fishing will remain the same after a ten minute battle and 100 yards of backing out?

Cast a Fly will continue to fish the migration for at least the next few weeks. We will try and keep you posted whenever possible. We hope you found our reports helpful, and informative throughout the past fishing season. We try not to embellish our reports, but actually journal our experiences with on the water facts.

We like to thank Reel-Time and host Thorne Sparkman for compiling this information each week for the Southern New England section. It’s a time consuming job chasing us down each week. We are on the water, while he sits behind a keyboard. I’m sure he would like to change places.

Now that the season is winding down, we wish to all Reel-Timers the very best of holidays ahead. Enjoy the festivities with family and friends. Cast a Fly will be at the fly shows this winter. Please stop by and say, “Hi!”

Tight threads… Capt. Ray

Peter Graeber of The Saltwater Edge reports:

As a good friend of mine says “Fall is promised to no one”. I completely agree. The later it gets, the more you have to want it. Ignoring the cold and fighting on to find a few more quality bass isn’t for everyone, but it can certainly be rewarding.

The Canal is still producing large and has been for weeks although a big slug of small schoolies has joined the fray. While the fish could of course go out to sea along the Elizabeth Islands it’s a good bet somewhere along the Rhode Island coast determined anglers will find and catch some of these nice fish. Many thirty pound fish and several forties were taken as this school has moved along.

These next couple of weeks are realistically the last stretch of fishing if catching truly big fish is your goal. While there are always the stories of big fish caught in late November and early December, and some are even true, those are not common fish. But they are possible, so never discount them entirely. It just depends on how determined you are to catch in the very latest parts of the season. Block Island is a classic November spot and many surf anglers will be making the trek to this storied late season fishing spot in the next few weeks.

Locally around Newport, the past week has been fairly quiet, although mornings and evenings often feature bluefish and schoolie bass blitzing some spots. Larger fish have been tough to come by, but this might change if the schools to the East of us hug the coastline.

For those looking for school sized bass and blues, beaches all along Rhode Island are often producing both morning and evening. This is basically parking lot fishing. Pull up, take a look around for bait and birds, and if no one is home move on. This isn’t a big fish strategy, but if you’re mainly looking for a tight line you can usually find some action somewhere during the late season by covering some ground. Have Pencil Poppers and tins such as Point Jude Lures or Crippled Herrings ready to go.

Look for the coming weeks to feature some big bluefish blitzes, schoolie blitzes, and if you’re in the right spot at the right time maybe some bass blitzes with quality fish. Nocturnal anglers will definitely pull a few more big fish from the waters along the coast. Narragansett Bay is loaded with 4” bunker; blues will continue to harass this bumper crop of bait, and hopefully it will exit the Bay and be discovered by some large stripers. Catching quality fish deep into the fall is a choice. If you want it, they are out there waiting.

Block Island and Fishers Island

of Snowfly Sportfishing Charters reports:

As Halloween and Thanksgiving approaches so do the gravy trains of striped bass.  Some might think it's crazy to say so but the fall migration has just begun.  There are still acres of bait in the harbors and salt ponds of southern RI and the fishing is as good as it has been for a while.  Upper and lower Narr. Bay is witness to daily bass and bluefish blitzes.  Eventually the schools will find their way out of the bay and westward toward Watch Hill. 

Albies are still present off Moonstone and Westerly Beaches.  The hardtails are scarce but if you put in your time then you could be rewarded with a late season Albie or more likely a Bonito.  Bonito will stay the longest,  sometimes into mid November! Bass fishing was good until January last year and I expect it to more of the same this season. 

Everyone is pullling and winterizing  their boats and going over their guns and bows.  I have no problem with that.  There will be daypulling 70's with light winds and chewing fish all over the place with no fishing pressure whatsoever.  It can be amazing.  I had a trip up to Provincetown on Sunday and lost 3 Bluefin in the 80 to 150pd range.  Broke one off right at the boat.  We were all crushed!  Tough on spin tackle.  That's fishing.   The water was 53 degrees and the Gannets were working overtime.  Never saw more than a fish here and there but managed to hit some fish with slugos deep.  Those fish always make an appearance off RI beaches between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Find a nice day with good visibility, burn some fuel and you might be very surprised on what you could stumble upon.  I will start doing trips the first week of May out of Bristol, RI in Narr. Bay.  Until then I plan to hit as many tropical places as I can hopefully resulting in lots of tight lines.    Have a great winter and for God's sake keep  warm!               

                                                                                Capt. Greg Snow

Eastern Long Island Sound

of Tiderunner Charters reports:

The thought of ending the season is not a happy one for me; tree stands and snowy days beside the fireplace always seem an eternity away from next spring, so this year I am not going to give up until the weather drives me from the water.

Last week we found ourselves on the RI coast where there are still schools of bait and hungry fish following, had a great day with two State of Connecticut corrections officers, Scott Coles and Scott McDonald. Coles started the day with a bonito and we soon had thoughts of a New England Grand Slam; the day was warm and the waters calm more like June than October. It was one of those days were everything seemed  to be orchestrated in our favor; a large pod of fish pushed bait to the surface and grew in size as we approached it, only a couple of other boats around, and for two hours we drifted and set up waiting as the school moved up current to us. The main body of the school consisted of 4 to 7# bluefish with stripers rolling on the outside of the school; when a popper was placed on the edge it was instantly crashed by a striper from 24" to 32"; what a way to spend a day. Coles managed his first Grand Slam of bonito, bluefish and stripers, with McDonald landing a mix of bluefish and stripers, what a way to spend a day.

If you haven't given up yet neither have I, weather permitting we will be on the water until the middle of November.

Spring will find us in the Thames sometime in April for some early striper fishing and the herring run, that is a great way to brush up on your casting skills and possibly catching dozens of hungry fish.  Have a great week, and a safe winter.
 
Captain Mike Duclos
Tiderunner Charter and Guide Service
413-427-1198
www.Tiderunnercharter.com
mduclos@tiderunnercharter.com

Pat Abate of Rivers End Tackle reports:

STRIPED BASS-  Theres been more and smaller bass around this week. The usual late fall school bass are gathering along the shoreline with some good reports coming from Fishers Island Sound to the Connecticut River. Small bass have been near the mouths of North and South Coves in the River and running east from Griswold Point to Black Point. The Causeway has had a mix of bass, blues and shad. The larger bass along the shore have been hot on the bunker leaving the estuaries, find some adult bunkers and the cows won't be too far away. The mouth of the Niantic River has had some pushes on bunker and hickory shad. We have had a few reports of larger bass on Long Sand Shoal hitting drifted whole or chunked bunker. The action at both Montauk  and the Rhode Island beaches has picked up the last few days and the wind forecast the next couple of days should even be better.

BLUEFISH-  Good to overwhelming! Blues from 2 to 12 pounds are abundant from the Westbrook to Westerly Beaches and near shore waters. The Old Saybrook Town Beach has had some fairly consistent blitzes at dusk and dawn. Anglers throwing chunks from the DEP Piers and Saybrook Point are getting mixed sizes. They have also been along the Fenwood shore. The usual choppers are at the Race and Plum Gut.

Western Long Island Sound

of Connecticut Island Outfitters reports:

This is the time of year when the Western part of the sound enjoys a little extra from the fishing season.  The water is still pretty warm, there is still plenty of small bait, and migrating fish are in the process of passing through with many fish to come for another month.  This is also the time of year when the growth in the sound slows down and the water is very clear.  Anglers can see more structure, see more bait, and often see fish taking their fly.  The exception is when we have heavy rains, and flash flooding, which make the water cloudy and turbid from all the run-off.  This can slow the fishing a bit, particularly near shore in the best spots. But with fish “chowing down” aggressively, last week’s down pour was the exception to the exception.

Darker flies in black, brown, and olive provided enough contrast in the murky water for the fish to find them. And find them they did, as the Striper bite continues provide fly rod action. Fast-sink lines continue to provide the most strikes, and are the best tool for the steady breezes of fall fishing.

Myth Busters Ken & Eldon nabbed this nice pair (Eldon’s just short of keeper) simultaneously on a grassy corner, only to debunk the “banana-on-board-brings-bad-luck” folklore with another nice double hookup shortly after peeling breakfast.  Personally, I’m sticking to apples!