BAY

Bass are still biting in the Barrington, Warren and Seekonk rivers, said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, but the fishing isn’t nearly as good as it was a few weeks ago. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle said stripers have moved south to the reefs, but smaller fish continue to bite in the waters off Pine Hill, Gould Island and Hope Island. Kevin Kendrick of Edwards Fishing Tackle believes most of the bass have moved to the east toward Little Compton and Westport.

Everyone agrees that scup fishing is excellent, and some large fish have been landed including one over 18 inches taken by Albert Bettencourt. Littlefield recommends the waters off Rumstick and Colt State Park. Ferrara suggests the water off Plum Light, Hope Island and Providence Point as good bets. Scup are taking squid and strips of menhaden or mackerel along Ocean Drive, according to Kendrick, who said that triggerfish have appeared there, too.

Skipjack bluefish are arriving in most of the Bay’s coves, said Littlefield, but bigger blues are scarce. Skipjacks are taking tiny Kastmasters and streamer flies.

Fluke fishing is steady, but it’s critical to move to deep water –– 80 to 100 feet –– to catch keepers, said Kendrick. Ferrara said the waters near the Jamestown and Newport bridges hold larger fish.

Large sea bass are scarce, said Kendrick, but there have been a few near Seal Rock.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

“Quonny Breachway has been bringing big tautog along with some nice size-scup,” writes Robin Nash of Quonny Bait & Tackle. “At East Beach people have been catching their limit of scup seven days a week. Some anglers from West Springfield, Mass., brought in a striper weighing in at 39.14 and a Westfield crew brought in a 34-pounder both caught off Block Island with live eels. Surfcasters seem to be struggling at the beaches with most coming up with schoolies. Quonny’s kayakers are still doing great with tube-and-worm. Fly fishermen have are also catching keepers at Quonny's inside channel.”

On Sugar and Catumb reefs, bass are taking menhaden and umbrellas rigged with pearl-colored shad, said Jim Gray of Gray’s Boat Yard. Wednesday, bass were thrashing baitfish near Point Judith Light, said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. Al Stocking caught two 42-inch bass on the reefs off South Kingstown on Wednesday, said Steve Travisono of Breachway Bait & Tackle. Smaller bass continue to bite in Ninigret Pond, he said.

Large bluefish have arrived in small pods, Travisono said. The end of Charlestown Breachway is a good bet on an ebb tide.

Sandy Allen caught a 14-pound cobia while fluking in about 35 feet of water Wednesday.

Al Conti and his son, Matt, each caught 50 pounds of fluke in about two hours Wednesday, and 60 percent of them weighed over 4 pounds, Al Conti said. If you’re fluking and start to catch sea bass or scup, you’re on hard bottom and it’s time to move, he advised. Gray suggested fishing in 45 to 55 feet of water off Misquamicut. Bruce White caught an 11.5-pounder this week, said Travisono.

If you want to catch sea bass and scup, they’re off Five Cottages, Conti said. Gray recommended the waters off the Pink House, east of Watch Hill.

PARTY BOATS

“Early word from [Wednesday] night’s striper trip is that the fishing was off to a red-hot start with rods bent on good-size stripers up and down the rail,” according to the skippers of the Frances Fleet. As of 9:30 p.m., there were already a lot of good-size bass brought to the gaff.”

OFFSHORE

Blue sharks are biting near the Gully, south of the Suffolk and the Horns, said Al Conti, “but other than that, nothing is happening offshore.”

BLOCK ISLAND

Fishing with Billy Silvia aboard the charter boat Can’t Imagine, David Henault and some friends caught their limit of bass –– some fish weighing 44 pounds –– by 6:20 Wednesday morning. They had left the mainland at 4 a.m. The anglers were drifting eels off the southeast corner of the island. They also hooked and lost fish that they estimated to have weighed more than 50 pounds apiece.

“The entire west side has been alive with bass on top, feeding on the plethora of sand eels,” said Chris Willi of Block Island Fishworks. “Fly rodders are having luck with sand eel patterns that stand out from the live ones. Big [6-inch] Deceivers in white and gray over white nailed bass at Black Rock without the need for a teaser plug. Monster blues were also found on the outside of the Black Rock buoy.

"Monday morning, we had bass up to 42 inches on 6-inch RonZ and Sluggos."

FRESHWATER

Anglers are catching bass, carp and some very large northern pike on the Blackstone River, according to Mark Pawlitschek of Blackstone Valley Outfitters.

BEST BITES

Block Island:

Bass, bluefish, fluke

Party Boats:

Bass, fluke, scup

Newport:

Scup

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