BAY

Bass fishing is slower, said Greg Zeek of Zeek’s Creek, but anglers are still taking fish at Brenton Reef. Kevin Kendrick of Edward’s Fishing Tackle agrees about the slowdown, noting that there were a couple of large bass taken in the waters off the Cliff Walk this week.

Bluefish have been surfacing near Patience and Prudence Islands, Zeek said, but in the lower reaches of the Bay, they’re staying in deep water. More bluefish have been feeding on herring leaving the Narrow River, said Zeek. It’s a good time for fly fishers to be casting blueback imitations on the ebb tide in the river.

Fluke fishing has been great for anglers willing to explore new spots, Zeek said. The fish have been holding in areas that anglers usually associate with tautog. Ron Fink caught an 11-pounder this week, and Eric Cote took a 10.25-pound fish. Many 6-pounders have also been landed, including one that Timothy O’Shea caught. Zeek recommends the waters at the mouth of Mackerel Cove, Hull Cove, and between Fort Getty and Dutch Island. Kevin Kendrick suggests fishing the waters near Elbow Ledge, Seal Rock, Jamestown’s mooring field, and the waters north and south of the Newport Bridge.

Scup have been biting throughout the East Passage. Kendrick said shore fishermen can catch scup behind Fort Adams, at Brenton Point, along Ocean Drive, off Beavertail Point, Fort Wetherill and the Cliff Walk.

Tautog may be in the same areas; spear fishermen have seen some big ones.

Shore fishermen are catching triggerfish at Van Zant Pier and the Goat Island Causeway this week, Kendrick said.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Fishing for scup in Quonochontaug Pond, a fisherman was surprised to catch a 36-inch, 11.5-pound squeteague this week, said Tim Yvon of Quonny Bait & Tackle.

Along the beaches, bass fishing has been slow, and surf fishermen have been getting hung up in a lot of weeds, said Yvon, noting that the bite in Quonny Breachway has also died. The surf near the first parking area at the Fire District Beach in Weekapaug has been pretty reliable for anglers interested in catching small bass in the early morning, he said. Fishing at East Beach has been tough. The reefs off South County have also been a challenge for bass fishermen, said Steve Travisono, skipper of the charter boat Sea Dog.

Fluke fishing, on the other hand, keeps improving, according to Travisono and Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. The ratio of keepers to throw-backs also is better than it had been, and anglers are catching a lot of big fish. “Even I caught a 10.9-pounder yesterday,” Conti said on Thursday morning. Anglers are catching fluke in deep water, but there have been several taken close to the beach, too, said Travisono. Conti recommends the waters south of Nebraska Shoals. A kayak fisherman caught three keepers inside Quonochontaug Pond, said Tim Yvon.

Scup fishing also is improving, and anglers are catching some large ones.

Roger Lema has been catching green bonito off the beaches.

OFFSHORE

“Offshore went dead,” said Al Conti. “The bluefin are gone.”

There is a pronounced temperature break in the waters south of the Horns, he said, but the water is lifeless.

"We have been able to find at least one bluefin tuna in all but one trip when going offshore,” said Peter Beuth, first mate aboard the charter boat C Devil II. “We've been trolling for an hour or two and then going sharking because although there are a few tuna well off Block Island, there aren't enough to make a whole day of tuna fishing out of it.'

BLOCK ISLAND

Fred Robinson caught a 14.7-pounder off the south side of the island, near Black Rock, said Conti. Huge scup, including some 3- to 4-pounders, have been biting too. Bass and bluefish are still biting, but they’re deep.

PARTY BOATS

The skippers of the Frances Fleet report that Wednesday offered steady fishing for fluke, scup and sea bass. Fluke sizes were mixed with shorts as well as jumbos in the catch off South County’s beaches. Fishing Wednesday night produced a few keeper bass and plenty of bluefish, some weighing more than 10 pounds.

FRESHWATER

“No pike are biting, but bass fishing excels on Stump Pond,” says Rudy D’Agostino of the R&Y Shop. Anglers are catching large numbers of bass on the Smithfield reservoir on shiners and Berkley Power Bait worms.

“The upper reaches of the north and south branches of the Pawtuxet River hold bass, carp, pickerel, pike, trout and crayfish,” said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle, “and it’s a totally underfished resource.”

BEST BITES

Aquidneck Island:

Fluke, bluefish, scup, striped bass, triggerfish, tautog

Jamestown:

Fluke, scup, bluefish

Patience and Prudence Islands:

Bluefish

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.”

*-Morning tide