BAY

"For guys in boats, bass fishing is tremendous," says Kevin Kendrick of Edward's Fishing Tackle. He recommends the waters near Brenton Reef, Beavertail Point, Sachuest Point, Elbow Ledge and Cormorant Rock off Sachuest. Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle also recommends Brenton Reef and Beavertail.

Fly fisherman Ed Lombardo reports: "We fished the Warren River and Bristol Narrows on Monday and did very well. We took fish on both the outgoing and incoming tide. We started at the Warren River just upstream from the bridge near the old American Tourister plant. Fish were just below the point to the right. The Bristol Narrows water color was very brown and dark; we took no fish and fished only for 20 minutes or so. We went back to the Warren River and by then the tide had turned to incoming. The outgoing fished much better. The best flies were #1 shrimp pattern and 4-inch streamer patterns in dark olive and brown to look like a mummichog."

Shore fishermen have been catching some large scup along Ocean Drive, the Cliff Walk and Beavertail Point, says Kendrick. He saw a 4-pounder this week. The waters off Providence Point hold fluke as large as 15 inches, says Ferrara.

Around Aquidneck Island, larger fluke are holding in 70 to 100 feet of water, says Kendrick. The waters beneath the Newport and Jamestown bridges hold fluke, says Ferrara.

He says sea bass have begun to bite in 50 to 80 feet of water.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Anglers complaining about the lack of keeper-size fluke need to move, say Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina and Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters. Conti and his son Matt have been fishing a spot they have named "The Vault" from which they make "withdrawals" of big fluke. Each of them can take 50 pounds of fluke in less than two hours, and many of the fish weigh more than 4 pounds apiece, says the elder Conti. Off Misquamicut, the fluke are moving in pods of similar-sized fish, says Wade. "If you're finding small fish in 35 feet of water, move to 45 or 50 feet of water," he says. "Keep moving until you find big fish and stay on them. The waters from Point Judith to Stonington hold large numbers of fluke. The largest fluke weighed at Breachway Bait was a 6.5-pounder.

Bass have been feeding on the surface from Block Island to the mainland, says Robin Nash of Quonny Bait & Tackle. They're feeding on sand eels, says Steve Travisono of Breachway Bait & Tackle, so the bass are tough to catch. A shore fisherman caught a 38- and a 40-inch bass on squid in the Quonochontaug Breachway this week, Nash says, and kayakers have been catching stripers on pink tube-and-worm rigs in Quonny Pond. Travisono recommends fishing umbrella rigs with small baits that mimic sand eels in the waters from Matunuck to Charlestown. There was a lot of surface activity west of the ferry channel Wednesday, said Conti. To the west, bass have moved out to the reefs, where they are taking eels.

Large scup have been biting near the Harbor of Refuge walls and rock piles from Narragansett to Charlestown, says Travisono. Most of the sea bass that have been biting are small. Mike Wade says surf casters fishing at Watch Hill Light have been catching some fat scup in deep water.

Shore fishermen are catching tautog tight to the rocks at the East and West Walls and the breachways, say Travisono and Thom Pelletier of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle.

Buefish are scarce, but Wade says there have been some larges ones biting near the reefs in Long Island Sound.

OFFSHORE

Charlie Donilon, skipper of the charter boat Snappa, reports: "Just finished three days of shark cage diving. We worked an area from the southeast corner of Coxes Ledge to 30 miles south of Block Island. All three trips produced good numbers of sharks. Five blue sharks and one ocean sunfish on July 4, six blue sharks on the 5th and eight blue sharks on the 6th. We also had a bonus on the final day where we found miles of humpback whales feeding on bait fish that ran from the Mud Hole to Coxes. Schools of tuna were spotted on all three trips. If the bait stays in the general area, it could bring in the tuna for some excellent summer fishing. It may also improve our cod fishing. Water temps are still quite cold in the low 60's. We are about a month behind where the water temps should be -- in the low 70s."

The sportfisherman Twenty Five caught a 265-pound thresher shark near the wreck of the Suffolk, according to Al Conti.

The Big Game caught and released bluefin tuna as large as 60 pounds apiece in the waters south of Cox Ledge.

BLOCK ISLAND

Spearfishermen took five stripers that weighed 240 pounds in aggregate near Southwest Ledge this week, according to Al Conti.

Chris Willi of Block Island Fishworks reports: "Great fishing for a solid week. Even with the rain and storms early in the week we were able to fish Southwest Point and Black Rock with great success on the fly and light tackle. Smaller Sluggos and Ron-Z were the ticket for what could have been finicky fish which were on top but not liking the top-water plugs. The fish were rolling on sand eels at Southwest Point but only in a tight pocket and would have been missed if it were not for some birds working them. Big white Deceivers worked for fly rodders as did the epoxy sand eels in lighter shades. Squid flies are hot right now as well.

"Hit the beach hard with fish fanatic Lou Eagle. In his 60s, Lou can fish a 11-foot fly rod from the beach for hours without a break. Cooneymus, Charleston, Mansion, Scotch, Cormorant, and the Channel held fish. Dories and Graces coves did not. Big, dark patterns, like snake flies, worked everywhere."

FRESHWATER

Bass are taking shiners in Indian Lake in South Kingstown, Lake Tiogue in Coventry, and Belleville Pond in North Kingstown, according to Thom Pelletier.

Rudy D'Agostino of the R&Y Shop says small bass, pike and pickerel have been hitting shiners in Stump Pond in Smithfield.

Ed Lombardo says he has received reports that fly fishermen have been catching trout on imitations of the giant Hex mayfly on the Wood River, but he has been fishing for bass in the Bay.

BEST BITES

Block Island:

Bass

Rhode Island Sound reefs:

Bass

Ocean Drive:

Scup, possibly tautog

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