It’s Hot…
Short report this week as not too much has changed and the heat has slowed down bass fisherman a bit. Remarkable water temperatures are the main theme out there at the moment. Surface temps before the sun even rises are often 74 degrees or higher. Temps can easily spike above of 78 degrees during the day. Satellite surface temp charts reveal that the water temps several hundred miles out are nearly the same as what is here along the coast. As a result various offshore species are inshore but rarely in quantities that can really be targeted. We got lucky and came across and caught a 40 pound mako in the fog within 2 miles of Newport. Bluefins are scarce, and that’s probably a generous description. We don’t know of any catches and almost no one has even seen any. Everything we hear just seems to be rumor as we haven’t seen any proof. Many miles and several dawn to dusk days and we haven’t even seen one inshore.
Scattered tiny mahi are now very close to shore and can be found under almost any piece of structure. Flies, especially small clousers, are great for tempting these picky little fish. Small
tins and little topwaters can sometimes tempt them into striking as well. There are occasional bigger ones around, but most of them struggle to be above 5 pounds. You’ve got to go farther offshore to their more normal haunts to reliably find larger ones. Those fish will often be easier to catch as well.
The bass fishing is actually pretty good despite the heat. The Bay is very tough at this point, but the South coast of Rhode Island is decent for stripers. Early, late, or at night is the best bet for stripers as it always is, but especially now. The deeper reefs and humps along the coast are the best bets during this tough stretch for boat anglers. Moving water and some depth are factors that will help both shore based anglers and those working from the boat. Reports from shore anglers were mixed this week, Steve McKenna did manage an 18 pounder on a topwater at sunrise this week and smaller fish have been blitzing the suds in many locations at dawn and dusk.
Bluefish are everywhere there’s bait. Blind casting will produce almost anywhere and early mornings and evenings often feature blitzing blues. Brenton Point, Sakonnet Point, Beavertail and more have all had somewhat reliable bluefish blitzes.
Baby bunker have arrived and are increasing in numbers. This has turned on the bluefish and also triggered occasional bass blitzes. Everyone is hoping this will fuel the pelagic species as well. Time will tell.
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