BAY

Bass were biting on the upper reaches of the Bay until Wednesday’s storm. Even though they have been catching fish for several weeks, fishing guides Jim White and Ed Hughes say the action has been slower than the last few years, but it’s picking up and should continue to improve.

Thom Pelletier, skipper of the charter boat ThomCat, reports: “Fished Tuesday with Capt. Jack Springel of East Coast Charters live-lining pogies in the Providence River. Non-stop action with [big] bass and gator blues. Burnt out by noonish.”

Jim White, skipper of the charter boat White Ghost, says, “Tuesday, Dr. John Lendetto and his friend Rod had 45 stripers up to 30 inches on light tackle spinning gear and six big bluefish. The fishing is finally beginning to pick up after a very slow start. Hopefully it will continue.”

Schools of menhaden are keeping bass in the Seekonk River, near the Division Street Bridge in Pawtucket and the hurricane barrier in Providence, says Chris Ropoza of Ocean State Tackle. “The pogies are running heavy,” he says.

John Viveiros II caught a 46-pound bass on a chunk of menhaden off the Sakonnet River, according to his father, John Viveiros of Main Bait. The Westport River holds schoolies and keepers, he says, noting that the 88 Bridge has been hot.

Scup and bluefish have moved into the Sakonnet River. The railroad bridge in Tiverton is the best spot for scup, says Viveiros, but they’re also biting at Stone Bridge and Fogland Point.

Fluke have been biting in the waters off the Sakonnet River, Viveiros says. Fluke had been biting off Newport before the cold front moved in, says Sam Toland of Sam’s Bait & Tackle. The return of warm air and light breezes should turn the bite on again this weekend, he predicts.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Bass are moving onto the reefs from South Kingstown to the mouth of the Connecticut River. John Goolgasian, skipper of the charter boat Marlin II, took a 50-pounder off Carpenter’s Beach on Memorial Day.

The bite on the reefs has slowed since then, said Ron Mouchon of Breachway Bait & Tackle, speaking from his boat yesterday morning. The combination of breeze and current was making fishing a challenge.

Small bass, between 28 and 31 inches, are biting on the reefs off Westerly and Stonington, says Jim Gray of Gray’s Boat Yard, and bunker are keeping more bass in the Pawcatuck River, he says. The large bass that had been biting north of Fishers Island appear to have moved somewhere else, says Bill McEvoy of King Cove Outfitters.

Fly fisherman Ed Lombardo reports: “We fished the Narrow River and the striped bass were in the 14- to 20-inch category with two fish very close to being keepers. We started Sunday at around 9 a.m. when the tide was at its best, and with the new moon phase starting. It made conditions very good both for the bite and for good fast moving water. I was using a two-fly presentation. My lead fly was a white-and-blue Deceiver, and my dropper fly was a burgundy worm fly. Fished hit both flies. We also used shrimp patterns and did well with them as well. At about 11:30 a.m., I left the Narrow River and tried Charlestown Breachway. The water was still moving very well, but I didn't get any fish.”

Fluke fishing is steady in the waters off the carousel in Misquamicut, says Bill McEvoy, noting that one angler who fished off Isabella Beach was disappointed. Emma Golinski caught fluke as large as 8.3 pounds off Misquamicut, according to Jim Gray.

To the east, Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina and Ron Mouchon agree that fluke fishing is very good. Conti recommends fishing a white jig tipped with squid. “You don’t need all that other jewelry,” he says.

PARTY BOATS

Frank Blount, skipper of the Frances Fleet, reports on fluke fishing Wednesday: “The bite was decent in the morning despite a pouring rain, and then the wind came up and the drift became very quick and the bite eased. More shorts around today so there was more action. Anglers did get a few really nice fish as well with Kevin Sellers nailing a fine 7-pound slab for the pool. Another angler had a fine brace of 4-pound fish. High hooks caught as many as 25 fish for the day. One jumbo seabass and a cocktail bluefish came aboard but otherwise it was all fluke. A tandem bait rig with just squid and spearing was the way to go today and the rig had to be kept moving. There was so much squid on the beach today it was ridiculous. Capt. Mike commented that he has never marked so much squid on the beach. Squid were snagged as well as jigged up today. What was interesting was that an angler caught a fresh squid and promptly gave it to another angler who sent the squid down on his bait rig alive but the fresh live squid received no interest whatsoever. Bizarre.”

BLOCK ISLAND

Consider this: Commercial rod-and-reel fishermen are allowed to keep five bass a day now. Yesterday morning, Johnny Martini returned from Block Island with his limit that included a 50-pounder and a 47-pounder. Total weight of the five fish: 204 pounds, according to Al Conti. Average weight: 40 pounds. As usual, he was fishing with live eels.

FRESHWATER

Anthony Palumbo reports: “I hit Roger Williams Park two days ago and it was a bit slow but I did manage to catch a few bigger largemouths in the 3-pound range. They were hitting watermelon-flake Tiki Sticks and purple Tiki Sticks as usual. Tuesday, I went down to Barbers Pond in South Kingstown and I caught a bunch of trout on smaller spoons and silver Roostertails. I also used some Powerbait nuggets and got a few hits but switched to live worms and did terrific. Bass were hitting down along the bottom on crank baits and on the old reliable Wacky Worm. They would hit the worm on the first fall into the water once it got almost to the bottom. The water temp was between 68 to 70 and I saw no bass on beds. Thuesday is Tucker Pond.”

BEST BITES

Sakonnet River:

Bluefish and scup

Prudence, Patience Islands and north:

Striped bass

South County ponds:

Bass and 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."