BAY

Bass continue to bite in the waters from Providence to Bristol to Prudence Island, says Kenny Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle. The waters near the crane at Port Edgewood produced several fish in the 20- to 25-pound class this week, he says. The water off Rumstick Point, Barrington, and Potter's Cove on Prudence also hold stripers, he says. Mike McCoy, skipper of the charter boat Reel McCoy, has been catching bass at the hump off Poppasquash Point, just west of Hog Island, says David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Billy Silvia, skipper of the charter boat Can't Imagine, has been catching fish there, as well as in the waters beneath the Newport and Jamestown bridges, according to Henault.

Fluke have been biting in the waters off Shepley's Dock in Warwick, says Ferrara. Henault recommends Austin Hollow and the drift between Dutch Island and the Jamestown Bridge.

Ferrara says scup and sea bass are biting near Hope Island and General Rock off North Kingstown.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Fluke - including some doormats - are biting just south of the bell buoy outside the Harbor of Refuge. A few 8-pounders were taken there Wednesday, and Jim Lyons landed a 12-pounder, says Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. Jim Gray, of Gray's Boat Yard, recommends the waters off the carousel in Watch Hill for catching fluke.

Scup have begun to bite, and there are some plate-size fish among the catch. Conti says he saw one that must have weighed 3.5 pounds the other day. Scup are appearing off Misquamicut, says Gray.

For striper fishermen, live eels were the best bets in Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor and off Pleasure Beach near the Millstone nuclear power plant, according to Nils Christensen of UltimateKayakFishing.com. Anglers competing in the Kayak Fishing Rodeo, at King Cove Outfitters, caught plenty of fish in those spots, he says. Stripers between 28 and 33 inches continue to bite at Watch Hill Reef, says Jim Gray.

Bluefish have been biting at Catumb, Sugar and Watch Hill reefs, Jim Gray says.

OFFSHORE

There are plenty of blue sharks at Ryan's and Jenny's Horns, says Al Conti, noting that one boat, trolling for tuna, raised a couple of thresher sharks out there.

BLOCK ISLAND

"The shore bite is pretty good," says Chris Willi of Block Island FishWorks. "There are a lot of schoolies but keepers are mixed in. Fly-rodders are still having success with small sand eel patterns. Fish were all the way out to 1BI under birds, mostly BIG blues on BIG sand eels.

"Sharkers are getting into the blues 10 miles south of the island but no big makos yet."

The number of sand eels on South West Ledge is astounding, says Al Conti. Right now, they're attracting dogfish, but small bluefin tuna could arrive any day.

FRESHWATER

"Carp fishing is red-hot right now as the fish are in a post-spawn feeding period," writes Dave Pickering. "The mulberry 'hatch' is also on and the carp are feeding big time on them. My son, Jon, and I have been hitting our mulberry spots along the Blackstone River every morning in the last week. We get from 5 to 7 fish in a couple of hours with the average carp around 10 pounds. However, we landed a huge mirror carp this morning on a mulberry. The fish weighed in the low twenties, one of the largest mirrors we have ever caught. The thunderstorms and heavy rains of the last week have knocked down tons of berries and that has resulted in fantastic fishing."

"Freshwater has been brisk to say the least," reports Anthony Palumbo. "I went to Wordens Pond on Saturday and Sunday and did great. They were hitting on top-water Scumfrogs when fished along the shoreline right into the tall grass. As usual they were also taking worms in basically any form. I fished them wacky, Texas, and even drop shot. When it seemed to slow a bit I threw a Shakey head and they ate those up. I caught about 10 fish with the largest at 5 pounds, 2 ounces and the smallest around a pound. All fishing was done from 8 a.m. to around 3 p.m. both days.

"I also fished Johnson's Pond from the Zeke's Bridge side last Friday and did well hitting the docks with tubes and Wacky Worms. All but one were 2 pounds or under with the one weighing 3 pounds, 4 ounces."

David Henault says 1.5- to 2-pound bass have been biting in Tillinghast Pond in West Greenwich. A fairly recent acquisition of the Department of Environmental Management, the pond is one of the most scenic places in the state. It is accessible to canoes, kayaks and small rowboats.

High water has swamped fly fishing on the Wood River, reports Ed Lombardo. The good news, he says, is that the giant Hex mayfly is still emerging in large numbers around 8:45 p.m. He predicts that good fishing will return for the weekend if there are no more storms.

BEST BITES

Providence to Bristol:

Striped bass

Kent County ponds:

Bass and panfish

Blackstone River:

Carp

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.”