BAY

Bass and bluefish are still biting in the upper reaches of the Bay, said Ken Ferrara, Jr. or Ray's Bait & Tackle. He and a group of friends caught their limits in a short time, fishing chunks of menhaden near the Mobil Dock and Rhode Island Yacht Club early this week. Twenty-pound bass were routine, and some of the bluefish weighed 10 pounds, he said.

Tube-and-worm rigs are also taking keeper bass in the upper Bay, said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle. He recommended trolling off Sabin Point, the Carousel in Riverside, and Barrington Beach, where the bite is improving. Bluefish have appeared in those spots, too, he said.

Fluke have been biting near Conimicut Light, Warwick Light and the No. 3 can off Oakland Beach, Ferrara said. To the south, fluke have been taking bait between Dutch Island and the Jamestown Bridge. The fluke bite has been very good between Rose Island and the Newport Bridge and along Elbow Ledge, said Kevin Kendrick of Edward’s Fishing Tackle.

Scup, and an occasional sea bass, have moved onto most of the rock piles; shore fishermen are catching them at Beavertail Point, Ferrara said. Colt State Park and the Stone Bridge in Tiverton are two more good spots for shore fishermen, said Littlefield. Kendrick said, “Scup fishing is tremendous inside Newport Harbor, the Goat Island Causeway, Castle Hill, Ocean Drive –– anywhere you find a rock pile and moving water.”

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Stripers between 28 and 34 inches have been taking tube-and-worm rigs in the waters near Point Judith Light, said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina.

Robin Nash of Quonny Bait & Tackle said fluke fishing has been very good off Charlestown Beach in about 45 feet of water. Anglers are jigging mummies and squid. One boat caught fluke on just about every drop, taking home five fluke over 23 inches. They also took in some harbor blues and a 16-pounder. The weeds at East Beach have cleared out, she said, and large top-water plugs have been bringing in harbor blues along with a few keeper bass. “Weekapaug has been very good for scup,” she said. “We had customers catching fish in the 14- to 17-inch range.”

The reefs off Charlestown and South Kingstown and the waters off the Charlestown Breachway have been producing good numbers of 25- to 35-pound bass for anglers fishing live bait, said Steve Travisono of Breachway Bait & Tackle. He said bass have been taking sandworms and clams in Ninigret Pond, and he predicted that cinder worms would emerge if the pond gets a few days of sunny weather. Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters said the reefs off Westerly and Stonington hold a lot of bass that are feeding on sand eels.

Fluke fishing is steady off Charlestown, Travisono said; a 7.5-pound fish was weighed on Wednesday.

Sea bass and large scup are stealing fluke fishermen’s bait, said Conti. The scup bite has been very good off Matunuck, said Travisono. Shore fishermen are catching scup from the walls at the Harbor of Refuge.

Fishing in ideal conditions with lots of bait in the water, a group of fly fishermen caught only a handful of small bass in the Narrow River, near Sprague Bridge, said Ed Lombardo.

OFFSHORE

Bluefin tuna, in the 20- to 25-pound class, have been feeding on sand eels off the southwest side of the island this week, said Conti. One angler got the little tuna to hit a tin lure.

BLOCK ISLAND

This morning, Johnny Martini weighed a 50-pound bass he caught near Southwest Ledge, said Al Conti. Glen Corsetti landed fish in the 40-pound class Wednesday night, and he said some bigger bass broke off. There are lots of smaller bass off the northern end of the island, but dogfish are a nuisance, Conti said. The bite is better at the peak of the tide when the dogfish disburse.

Mark Landry caught and released more than 50 bass at the island this week. The first two fish he caught were 30-pounders, according to Zack Fisher, of Wayne’s Place.

FRESHWATER

A 14-pound pike nailed a shiner on Waterman Lake this week, said Rudy D’Agostino of the R&Y Shop.

Trout and salmon have been nailing Rapala swimmers trolled slowly on Wallum Lake, said Zack Fisher. Trout have been biting flies and mealworms on Rod Top Pond, D’Agostino said. Fisher agreed.

Largemouth bass are small but abundant on Stump Pond. The fish are taking shiners.

BOATERS BEWARE

Safe boating patrols will be stepped up June 26 -28 in a joint operation conducted by the Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Law Enforcement and U.S. Coast Guard units from Castle Hill and Point Judith. 

The effort is part of Operation Dry Water, a coordinated national weekend of boating-under-the-influence (BUI) detection and enforcement. The enforcement effort is aimed at reducing the number of alcohol-related accidents and fatalities, and fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol use on the water.

The Coast Guard will increase the number of BUI patrols to collect and report BUI and safety compliance data. Marine law enforcement officers will be out in full force on Rhode Island waterways throughout the weekend, searching for boat operators whose blood-alcohol content exceeds the limit of .08 percent.  Rhode Island law sets limits and penalties for boating while intoxicated that are similar to the driving while intoxicated standards, and requires the same levels of testing.

BEST BITES

Block Island:

Bass, possibly small bluefin

Upper Bay:

Striped bass, bluefish

Point Judith:

Bass, scup

HOT BYTES

For more frequent fishing reports, go to Hot Bytes in the sports section of projo.com.

SHELLFISHING CLOSURES

For current conditional closures, call RIDEM’s 24-hour information line at 222-2900. Current descriptions and maps of shellfish grounds, closures and approved areas are available on RIDEM’s web site at www.dem.ri.gov/maps/mapfile/shellfish.pdf.

BEST TIMES TO FISH

The Providence Journal’s weather page now includes Solunar Tables, listing the best times to go fishing.

THE TIDES

tmeade@projo.com