The past weekend's fishing main feature was that their was a whole lot of people looking for not all that many fish.  Saturday mornings charters, the Peter Azur group, didn't have much luck around the Watch Hill Reef Complex so a quick trip out to Block Island's Southwest Ledge was undertaken.  After working the area hard, there was next to nothing to show for those efforts.  A return trip to Watch Hill was undertaken and after working as small stretch of structure, the rods began to 'go off.'  While the catch was blues and more blues, a bent rod is better than no action.  Small boats descended like vultures as soon as we were observed landing a fish or two, and one of two weekend warriors put themselves into perilous position by runnng up and stopping immediately in front of the BILLFISH while we were trolling swimming plugs.  Big boats don't stop all that quickly and as it was stated, "So, you show up and decided that you own this part of the rip?"  Dangerous stuff for those who don't understand that boats don't have brakes.

    Sunday's two trips didn't go as planned, but their was plenty of catching as, while the bass and blues were absent, their was no shortage of scup to be had.  The Gregg Nelson group pounded on the silver scaled tads, and Dr. Richard Cagna and his son, Garrett, put a hurt on these tasty bottom dwelling species.

    All in all, a decent weekend, but one where it's a guarantee that fishing will get better over the course of the next few weeks.

   There's still a few opening on both the big boat and the Dusky for those who'd like to experience either some inshore or offshore angling.

  With cooler nights and warm days, the Fall migration pattern of both the inshore and offshore species lies on the near horizon.   Although the water is still somewhat turbid on the inshore grounds from TS Irene, the striped bass catches have begun to increase in regard to both quality and quantity.  Bluefish are being their normal pesky selves chewing everything that you put into the water literally crushing diving plugs with their pugnacious temperaments and jaws powerful enough to shattered the plastic offerings.

    Scup are being caught in both size and numbers.  The hardest part of angling for these silver scaled fish which are easy to catch and find, is filleting them once you get back to the dock. With a bag limit of 40 fish per angler, there's little doubt that many meals can be had by targeting this specie.  Black sea bass are also biting with abandon and are probably one of the best eating fish found in the ocean.

    Pods of False Albacore are running rampant in and around the Watch Hill Reef Complex leaving those who target them employing light tackle with sore wrists and a desire to capture even more of these feisty adversaries. 

   Offshore, late September through late October is the best time to target trophy makos and thresher sharks that can approach the 1/4 ton mark.  Some of the largest male blue sharks will test both the tackle and the mettle of anglers who tie into them.   These Apex Predators are often called 'Twofers' as it frequently takes two or more anglers to land one of these beasts.

   If weather windows can be found, the canyon fishery will improve day by day as late September segues into the Fall weather patterns and yellowfin, bigeye, albacore, swordfish, and mahi-mahi will bite with abandon for those that make the long journey to the 'Edge' of the Continental Shelf.

    Both the 25' Dusky and the 36' Wayne Beal have some opening left if those who are landbound would like to savor some of the best inshore and offshore fishing of the year.

One & All,
A little late, but better than no report at all.
Saturday morning's trip aboard the 36' Wayne Beal- BILLFISH- lead us from a quick look at Sugar & Watch Hill Reefs before heading out to Southwest Ledge. While bass were somewhat scarce, the five young boys aboard with one of the Dads, had a good time cranking in some monster bluefish. One and all had a good time on their first trip fishing upon the ocean.
Saturday afternoon's trip one a potpourri trip with good numbers of scup, black sea bass, and even some nice stripers to round out the day.


Sunday's late afternoon trip was a tough one in the 25' Dusky as the prevailing ENE winds never let up for the Rick C's trip.
I'm very weather/wind conscious prior to all trips and am very much aware that 'shopping for a forecast' either for inshore or offshore fishing can lead to some very unpleasant days on the water.
Sunday's weather was just that, the wind was forecast to moderate somewhat as the afternoon wore on, but it actually stepped up a notch from 2- 4 PM. Fishing from the 25' Dusky- BILLFISH SPORTFISHING- there was no way that I could work on or around either Sugar or Watch Hill Reefs during the outgoing, mid-tidal stage with breaking 4- 6 footers, although it did lay down nicely as sunset approached. We ended up with a fishbox filled with a pile of scup as my decision to stay in much closer proved to be the correct one on this day.

 

  

    I hooked up with Mike DelSesto, Mike, Roger, Steve, Kathy, Matt, and Will to head off to the Edge early on Monday morning aboard Mike's custom 51 sportfishing battlewagon, STRADIVARIUS, for another canyon foray at the edge of the Continental Shelf.   It was more than a little sporty heading down past MV and ACK as the ENE wind (which was supposed to lay down early, but didn't) made for some bouncy conditions. However, the STRADIVARIUS is a thoroughbred and we 'only' managed 25+ knots blasting through the solid 4- 5's for the 135 mile run from Brewer's Marina in Cowessett, RI on the west side of Narragansett Bay.
    I spoke with Joe H. on the 'Helen H' when they crossed our path as they headed back to Hyannis and he gave a report of good night time action between Hydrographer and Veatch Canyons.
We arrived at the tip of Hydrographer Canyon at 1100 and set in.
   Our initial plan was to work over easterly towards Welker Canyon where there was even better water, but the solid layers of weeds made us change direction and we started working to the west. The SW Corner of Hydro produced some mahi and the first couple albacore (losing one). Working the 100 Fathom line from east towards Veatch Canyon we had a few hits, but it was a slow afternoon over-all. Once we hit the east side of Veatch, it was non-stop action with the mahi and a couple more albacore came aboard. Setting up on the SE Corner of Veatch, we had a perfect drift up toward the tip of the canyon. Overnight, we took a couple of yellowfin (one very nice fish) an albacore and all of the mahi (and then some) that youd ever want.
   All that can be said about the STRADIVARIUS is that it's a true blue water boat that's destined to become a tournament winner- as it has the range, speed, and creature comforts- coupled with its inherent beauty- to go wherever you want and to get you back to the scales on time. Also, nothing like eating a Klondike Bar at 0300 while watching anglers pound on the mahi milling about in the football stadium lights that the boat has.
We finally headed back in towards the fuel dock at Galilee at a modest 23+ knot cruise.
   After filleting the fish and helping Mike clean up the boat, I loaded the Ford 150 with all my gear and headed back to Watch Hill and the BILLFISH as I had a shark charter lined up for Tuesday. After getting all of the gear aboard, along with the bait and chum, I hit the rack at roughly 2420 with an 0400 alarm setting.
   Capt. John Alves showed up at the appointed hour (one GREAT mate and an even better person). The charter consisted of Mike & Amy, both of whom had never been offshore but really wanted to catch a shark.
Stopped for some bluefish and headed down to the SE of the Mudhole, just above Tuna Ridge (I knew the water was puke right out to the 600 line) knowing that it held some False Albacore and a few bluefin through my connections.
   The waiting period commenced and our small blue was meandering about on the far outside of the slick. After 2 hours the far line (livey blue) sanpped out of the rigger. The balloon didn't move much so we decided to stick it back up. However, at that point, the float was slowly moving and after a 15 count, a very strong hookset was applied.
   And, with that, the fireworks commenced. The green balloon literally flew through the water leaving a five foot plume of water above it, and- then- a monster mako make a 'Flipper Jump' landing on its back. Immediately the orders were given... 'Reel in the other lines, harness up.. be ready for some fancy dancing!' The mako made one other memorable jump (males don't jump as much as the females). Finally, after an hour and half, we got the leader up, John 'button-holed' the fish with the harpoon through the gills and two flying gaffs and an AFTCO tailer were used to secure the fish. Dragging it through the tuna door required some effort.. and after tying off both its head and tail, the fish was ours.
  This large Apex Predator taped out at ll feet in length and 400 lb in weight. 
  Mike and Amy 'caught a shark' that they'll remember, and one tired guy is typing this little narrative out.
 There's also a great set of jaws in the freezer, and a whole lot of mako that's being readied for the grill.

  The bass, blues, and bonito are literally causing marine mayhem along Rhode Island's South County coastline.  September and October are two of my favorite months for inshore and offshore fishing as the various species are feeding for their upcoming migratory movement.  That fact makes for some red-hot fishing action as schools of the above fish go on feeding frenzies or 'Blitz's' throughout the local area, especially around the Watch Hill Reef Complex.   If you've never caught a False Albacore, a monster Striped Bass, or a pugnacious Bluefish, now if the time to give me a call to head out to the offshore arena for the sharks and tuna or, especially, aboard the Dusky for some unbelievable light tackle fishing.

13 June 2011

6 June 2011

 

3 June 2011

The Steve Weaver group out of Springfield, MA showed up bright and early for a full day inshore trip.  Despite a 0/0 fog covered trip down the Pawcatuck River, we were on the Watch Hill Reef Complex by 0545 and, with only one other boat to contend with, we slammed the stripers using surface swimmers and deep divers on light tackle.  While the biggest fish only went 36 inches, we were throwing back numerous fish in a 'catch and release' mode in a short while.

   The fluke fishing was not as productive as the wind had picked up and the drift was less than accommodating.  All in all, a great day with a great group of guys.

       Also, running at 30 knots in 'dead fog' without radar will, no doubt, get you and your friends to a 'final destination' a whole lot quicker than you could ever imagine.

      Fluking off the beach at Misquamicut is 'So-So' with a keeper to short ratio that's lobsided in favor of the shorter fish.  Squid, spearing, sandeels, and herring have been the flavors of the day although those that  like to use bucktail jigs have been scoring, as well.  Biggest summertime flatty so far is 6 lb.