SWE Fishing Report: 7.1.07

[Pete_G]

Summer time fishing is here



There’s still good fishing in the Upper Bay, and simultaneously the fishing is improving along some parts of the South coast of Rhode Island. Narragansett is still surprisingly quiet, although Newport has turned on to some degree. Night fishing from shore has been good despite the full moon, and throwing topwaters in the evening has been productive on some days. Water temps are rising rapidly everywhere, with mixed results on the stripers. In some coves along the coast schoolie bass and small blues have been blitzing hard every morning. Boat fisherman have been enjoying consistent, good fishing as well. The fish we have seen off Newport are a little darker, as opposed to ocean fish which are usually very bright, which makes us think they’re Narragansett Bay fish coming back down and moving along the coast.

Twins: Consecutive full moon 30 pounders





The Bay is still a great spot to fish. It doesn’t have the consistency that it had at its peak, but there’s still incredible fishing to be had. As the water has warmed some fish have clearly moved South, but others are holding tight even in the upper reaches of the Bay. There were quite a few straight out assaults by big bass on schools of bunker this week. Big poppers, live lined pogies, and chunked pogie are still the tools that get the job done most reliably. Fly fisherman are still finding fish all over the Bay and are getting good results on both small flys and large. Small silversides, baby squid, and obviously adult menhaden are the predominant baits in the Bay at this time; both flys and plugs imitating these baits are always a safe bet. Small blues are breaking on the surface from time to time in most of the Bay. Occasional big blues are being caught by striper fisherman also.



Newport produced large for Rob Taylor from shore this week. Flying in the face of the full moon hex he pulled a 32 and a 30 on consecutive nights under the nearly full moon on a slack tide. For surfcasters who love to throw plugs, sometimes it’s necessary to throw eels when the fishing gets really tough and around the full moon is often the time to do it. Full moon fish from shore are notoriously difficult and I could only raise one giant bass on a metal lip while Rob’s eels pulled large. The bass blasted a hole in the ocean when he took a shot at the plug but never actually ate it. That’s not an uncommon tendency of full moon fish. Soft plastics like the Sluggo can sometimes get bigger, moon shy fish to feed in addition to the eel. Overall though it’s been a slow pick from shores of Newport.



Birds continue to be in the air most afternoons along parts of the coast, but unfortunately they are usually out of range for shore fisherman. Boaters have been taking advantage of the actively feeding fish. Often the fish are just small blues or bass but they do provide great fun for casual fisherman and kids. Keeping new fisherman connected, young or old, is more important then the size of the fish. There are big bass and alligator blues occasionally mixed in though, evidenced by the giant splashes you’ll occasionally see. The scale and style of the splash makes us think it's big fish picking off adult unker.

Tall ships are in town:



As the bass leave the Bay, the big question is will they immediately pack up and head East, or will they set up shop along the Rhode Island coast? The answer to that question will to some degree effect how the summer’s fishing will play out. Bait is always an important factor, and as usual it will likely dictate more then anything else whether the fish stick around or immediately skip town. Keep watch for these exiting fish to mix it up with some of the remaining schools of bunker that are leaving the Bay. We’ve also seen big schools of bunker along the coast, and it’s safe to say at some point these fish will discover them.

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[mari]

Nice report, thanks to Pete! I have come to check if it was posted daily in the past several days... Is there possible to have the report posted before the weekend comes?

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by mari

Nice report, thanks to Pete! I have come to check if it was posted daily in the past several days... Is there possible to have the report posted before the weekend comes?

We generally aim to get it out on Thursday. Sometimes work and fishing slow it down. Then once we fall behind it's tough to catch up...

I'll try and get one out on time this week.

[Frightnight]

Fishing was pretty decent for me until about a week and ahalf ago, then nothing. I have been in the bay, mouth of the bay, Prudence. a little, and still nothing. You keep mentioning the bass leaving and going east? It was my understanding that you caught bass here all summer?

[Pete_G]

You'll catch bass here all summer. It's a matter of how many end up staying here and how many come through during the summer. I only sort of believe in the concept of "resident" fish. I definitely believe that the fish will go where the bait is, and right now there's not much of that off Newport and it's making me nervous.

If the bass coming out of the Bay find little to eat, I always worry they'll pack up and leave. Bass are pretty versatile and can get by grubbing on the bottom for various things to eat, but if there's easy eating somewhere else I have a hard time believing they won't go there.

Baby bunker aren't too far off now, and they'll certainly work as bait. It'll be interesting to see how big this year's crop of peanuts will be after having all the adults around this year.