01:00 AM EDT on Friday, May 7, 2004

BAY

The bass aren't large, but they are numerous in Greenwich Bay, according to Thom Pelletier of Quaker Lane Outfitters. Marguerite Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle and Bar Bones Charters said the best bite has been off Buttonwoods, but there are larger fish off Barrington Beach. Last weekend, Bill Krueger and Ray Stachelek caught stripers steadily on the Seekonk River with flies that looked like mummichogs. Stachelek caught the largest fish of the day, an 8-pounder. On the Warren River, David Brown caught stripers as long as 26 inches on Tsunami soft-plastic swimming lures with jig heads, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. The beaches on Aquidneck Island continue to offer a steady bass bite, said Sam Toland of Sam's Bait & Tackle. In Massachusetts, John Viveiros of Main Bait & Tackle said that stripers are biting near Brayton Point and off Assonet.

A big run of squid entered the Bay on the full moon this week, and all the usual spots in Newport, including the Goat Island Causeway, have been hot, said Toland.

Tautog in the 8- to 9-pound range are biting at Stone Bridge and the railroad bridge in Tiverton, Viveiros said. Sam Toland also recommended the water near the Mount Hope Bridge for tautog. The blackfish prefer worms over clams or crabs. Ferrara said she and Steve Anderson took tautog as large as 6 pounds on the north side of Conimicut Light.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Cinder worms have been spotted on Ninigret Pond, but there were no bass beneath them. That could change with the arrival of hickory shad which appeared on the full moon this week.

The bite and size of stripers is improving on the Pawcatuck River, according to Don Cameron of Captain Don's Bait & Tackle and Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters. Tube-and-worm rigs have been taking bass off Charlestown, said Cameron, and smaller lures have been working on slack tides in Quonochontaug Breachway, Carpenter's Bar, and Fresh Pond Rock at night. Michaud also recommended the inside of Charlestown Breachway and the waters of Little Narragansett Bay, between Stonington Point and Sandy Point, where kayakers have been catching bass.

Thom Pelletier, the maker of ThomCat fluke rigs, is planning his first fluke trip of the season on Sunday. Draggers have been catching the summer flounder off Misquamicut, said Don Michaud. Don Cameron said the waters off Point Judith have been producing fish.

Weakfish are appearing in the Point Judith fish traps, Pelletier said.

Tautog have been biting near Enders Island and Latimer Light in Stonington, Conn., said Michaud.

OFFSHORE

Offshore party-boat anglers are catching small to medium cod with plenty of haddock and some wolf fish, according to the skippers of the Francis Fleet. Nick Blount had a trophy haddock of 8 pounds on a two-day trip last weekend. Boats fishing wrecks and rock piles closer to the mainland are returning with a mix of small cod and large ocean pout, as well as some red hake. Daily fluke-fishing trips have begun and nighttime squid fishing is scheduled to start tomorrow at 7 p.m. Schools of squid are beginning to appear in local waters.

FRESHWATER

Patrick Polion caught an assortment of largemouth bass as large as 4-1/2 pounds apiece, along with northern pike on Stump Pond in Smithfield this week, according to David Henault. Chris Ares and a pal also caught bass and pike as large as 9 pounds on Stump. Super Frogs are catching bass as large as 6-1/2 pounds, Henault said.

Cook's Pond in Fall River produced a 5-1/2-pound largemouth, said John Viveiros.

This week's rain storms have caused rivers to swell and delayed float stockings. "Despite the rain and high water, I did see the Mahogany Dunn, (Paraletophlebia) emerging," wrote Ed Lombardo in an e-mail. He said the flies ranged from size 16 to 14. He spotted both duns and spinners. "To simulate the dun I like using a stripped blue quill with an underbody of mahogany colored rabbit fur and a cul-de-canard wing, tied short as an emerger," he said. "A soft-hackle dry fly in the same color also works very well. Larger mayflies are still emerging as well. Black Quills and some mottle-winged March Browns in sizes 12 and 10's abound on both the Wood and Moosup rivers. Brown Caddis in size 16 and 18 are showing up more and more. The Blue Winged Olive in sizes 18 and 20 is also appearing."

For a mixed bag of trout, bass and perch, Sam Toland recommended St. Mary's Pond in Portsmouth.

BEST BITES

Newport:

Squid, striped bass

South Kingstown Shore:

Striped bass

Stump Pond:

Bass, pike, pickerel

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."

High A.M. Hgt. High P.M. Hgt. Low A.M. Hgt. Low P.M. Hgt.

Today 10:33 3.8 11:00 4.7 4:08 -0.4 3:50 -0.3

Tomorrow 11:30 3.7 11:58 4.4 5:00 -0.1 4:41 -0.1

May 9 12:29 3.6 6:00 0.1 5:37 0.2

May 10 12:58 4.1 1:29 3.5 7:21 0.3 6:49 0.5

May 11 1:59 3.8 2:31 3.5 8:52 0.4 9:06 0.6

May 12 3:02 3.6 3:34 3.6 9:54 0.4 10:28 0.6

May 13 4:05 3.4 4:35 3.7 10:38 0.4 11:23 0.4

What's the catch? Send your fishing reports to Tom Meade by e-mail at tmeade [at] projo.com.