BAY

The blues are back. Ed Hughes reported that the first bluefish of the season were taken Tuesday in Allen Harbor, and Kenny Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle said blues were biting in Greenwich Bay on Wednesday night, two weeks earlier than expected. Anglers are beginning to catch blues around Newport, too, said Sam Toland of Sam's Bait & Tackle. While squidding Wednesday night, Toland could smell the blues, he said.

Striped bass, including some larger fish, are biting in the triangle defined by Pine Hill, Providence Point and Warwick Light, said Ferrara. Smaller bass and an occasional keeper are biting steadily near Sandy Point, Sally Rock, Chepiwanoxett and Sally Rock, he said. Sam Toland said large schools of 18- to 26-inch stripers were prowling the waters from Providence Point to Barrington and Poppasquash, but the foul weather that moved in Wednesday night could affect fishing this weekend. On Aquidneck Island, anglers are starting to catch keepers on chunks of menhaden. Clam worms and clams were catching stripers, including a few keepers, at Sabin Point this week, said John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle.

Bill "Eelman" Nolan has been catching lots of bass on soft-plastic lures including Storm Shad and Triple Ripple Grub Tails. "Hordes of adult bunker were making their way up the East Passage Wednesday," he said. "Acres of them! That's a great sign. It's only a matter of days, I think, before some real quality bass are on their tails."

Billy Silvia, skipper of the charter boat Can't Imagine, has been catching bass on the large hump off Poppasquash Point. Of the 20 fish he caught there Wednesday, seven were keepers, the largest of them 35 inches long, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Keepers have been mixed among the schoolies in Tiverton Basin, said Joe Latinville of Riverside Marine.

If the blues are in, there may be some squeteague, too.

Tautog are biting at Ohio Ledge and Conimicut Point, and off Bullock Point, said Ferrara. Blackfish have also been biting at Stone Bridge and Bristol Narrows this week, Henault said. The waters off Castle Hill continue to produce large tautog, said Toland. Ohio Ledge is another good spot for tautog this week, said John Littlefield.

Squid jigging in Newport, Toland said, "is decent but abnormally slow this year, and it's probably not going to get better." Jiggers caught some squid Wednesday in Bristol Harbor and off Colt State Park, but the squid were in small, concentrated pods, said Littlefield.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Thom Pelletier of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle said he found "a nice mix of keepers to 4.5 pounds along with the throwbacks, although it's going to take some time to adjust to the fact that a 19.5-inch fish is a throwback. Most fish went for Green Monstas, Glow Daddys and Glow Babys with squid strips and shiners. West of the center wall, Matunuck and The Cottages all held fish."

Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle saw a fluke fisherman catch a bluefish in the waters off South Kingstown this week. The water temperature was only 50 degrees, he said.

Cinder worms started to appear on Ninigret Pond early this week, but their numbers fell by midweek, Mouchon said.

Striper fishing has improved close to shore in Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor and both sides of the Pawcatuck River, said Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters. In the river, keepers have been biting. The action has also increased around Weekapaug in Rhode Island and the Mystic River in Connecticut, he said. Small bass were taking jigs in Matunuck near the Ocean Mist this week.

Flounder fishing had been outstanding since the season opened, he said, but the bite stopped suddenly.

PARTY BOATS

Cod fishing slipped this week, according to the skippers of the Frances Fleet, but squid jigging exploded, said Frank Blount, skipper of the fleet. The number of hake and ocean pout has increased, but anglers were catching fewer and smaller cod. Pollock and tautog also are biting.

On a squid trip this week, Blount said, "a slow pick turned into a nonstop, red-hot bail job just before 10 p.m. The Frances Fleet is squid fishing by reservation Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m.

FRESHWATER

Members of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife were stocking trout in South County this week.

Some big bass have been coming out of Echo Pond in Barrington, said John Littlefield. Greg Rego weighed an 8-pound largemouth at Ocean State Tackle. He said he caught the fish on a shiner at Tucker Pond in South Kingstown.

BEST BITES

East Passage:

Bass, possibly tautog, bluefish

Greenwich Bay:

Bass, bluefish, possibly squeteague

Wood River:

Trout

HOT BYTES

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

THE TIDES

The moon causes tides and affects the activity of saltwater and freshwater fish as well as animals on land. Anglers generally find the best fishing two hours before and after a high tide, but fish and other animals also become active around the time of low tide. This table shows the height of tides in feet at Castle Hill near the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Recreational shellfishermen prefer to dig for clams when the tides are lowest, shown on the chart as "minus tides."