Striped bass fishing rose to a new level this past week with large schools of slot size fish (28 to < 35 inches, one fish/person/day) making their presence know if our Bays, estuaries and favorite reefs to catch them. This week, large schools of striped bass were on Westerly reefs, in the mid and upper Narragansett Bay area, in our estuaries and at the Cape Cod Canal. The striped bass were plentiful, but you had to find them.

Dave Gordon, striped bass sharpie, said, “Last week we decided to head up Narragansett Bay rather than down and ran into a ship load of striped bass between Rumstick Point, Barrington and Ohio Ledge (in the middle of the East Passage just off the shipping channel). There were lots of schools of them feeding on huge schools of Atlantic menhaden. There were some up on the ledges but the bigger schools were in the channel it seemed. Caught five fish up to 32 inches fishing for a short time.”

 Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, East End Eddie Doherty, said, “Every tide continues to hold baitfish for the predatory buffet. Tim Petracca of Bourne was fishing with Ben Faulmino of Sandwich when they got into a four hour east end top water bite that yielded over three dozen striped bass in the 30 & 40 inch class.”

The bait is here and so are the striped bass on their fall migration run back down south.  So, go catch them and use good catch and release practices to lower mortality rates.

Tautog bite comes on strong

Tautog fishing exploded this week. Fishing was good in our Bays, at jetties along our southern coastal shore, off Pt. Judith, Narragansett, Jamestown and Newport around rock piles and ledges.

Daniel Miller took first place in the Rhode Island Tog Classic sponsored by Crafty One Customs, Portsmouth with a hefty 15.39 pound tautog. Ralph Craft, Tournament host, said, “The Rhode Island Tog Classic was a big success with great community participation.   All proceeds from the Tournament benefited the Three Angels Fund for friends and family coming together to cope with cancer.”

First place winners were Miller, 15.39 lbs., Boat Division; Matt Murray, 6.67 lbs., Shore Division; Justin Oser, 10.60 lbs., Kayak Division; and Oliver Miller, 8.44 lbs., Youth Division.

With improving weather, now it the time to tautog fish before things get too cold.

There are new regulations for tautog fishing this year initiated by the RI Saltwater Anglers Association with the aim of preserving large females with great spawning potential. Anglers are allowed just one trophy fish, 21 inches or larger, the minimum size is still 16 inches and a 10-fish boat limit applies for private recreational vessels. The spring season ran from April 1 to May 31 allowing for three fish/person/day, the season reopened Aug. 1 to Oct. 14 with a three fish/person/day limit and the limit then jumps to five fish from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31.

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass, bluefish and false albacore. The bass bite this week on the Cape Cod Canal was very strong with the full moon providing bigger than usual tides.

“The Providence River and Bay are yielding monster bluefish and striped bass with anglers using top water and swimming lures with success.  The fish are scattered, you have to find them but they are there,” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

East End Eddie Doherty, expert Canal angler and author said, “Expert surfcaster Jack Barton guided his seven year old grandson James Astle working a 5-ounce white bucktail with a red Fat Cow jig strip into catching his first striped bass. James caught a 30-inch slot, and also reeled in his first bluefish, a well fed chopper, in front of a crowd of regulars and tourists who got to witness the future of sport fishing in action!”

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, RI said, “Shore anglers were finding bass and blues from the surf and the rocks. Albies continue to pop up but are starting to be inconsistent. Most shore anglers are having success at the west and east walls (at the Harbor of Refuge). There is quite a bit of bait moving along the beaches now which is bringing schools of bass right in close to sand. Still a lot of nice sized bass inside of the salt ponds as well. Cast with a sense of urgency the fall bite goes by in a flash.”

Fluke, black sea bass and scup. The scup bit is still very strong anywhere there is structure and good water movement in particular. “I have customers that are floating green crabs on tautog rigs with no weight and are caching 16 to 18-inch scup. The scup is still very good in the Bay and along the coastal shore.  And the black sea bass bite is good at Block Island and south of the Island,” said Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Tautog. “Fishing for Tautog has been great as long as the ocean cooperates. The fish have been relatively shallow, from 15-25 feet of water. Anglers are catching fish on both rigs and jigs. Since the fish are shallow the shore bite has also been pretty good.” said Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle.

Freshwater fishing is improving with ponds being stocked with trout in RI and MA waterways. “Many anglers are still focusing on saltwater fishing but those targeting largemouth bass with shiners and trout at stocked ponds are doing well,” said Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

 Dave Monti holds a captain’s master 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@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com