Striped bass and bluefish are migrating through the waters of Rhode Island, southern Massachusetts and Long Island Sound in huge numbers.

Bird-hunting season is already open in southern Canada and northern New England, and small-game season opens in Rhode Island and Connecticut this weekend.

It's time for outdoors writers -- including this one -- to be outdoors. This is the final Fishing Report of the season. After tomorrow's HotBytes posting at www.projo.com, the blog will also take a break for a couple of weeks. Good luck.

BAY

"Massive bluefish are biting at the Hot Club in Providence," says David Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

This morning, Billy Silvia, skipper of the charter boat Can't Imagine, found tautog near Stone Bridge in Tiverton and keeper bass near the Mount Hope Bridge, Henault reports. Pete Sebring has been catching small bass and some keepers, too, on the Barrington River. Henault also recommends Sabin Point and Conimicut Point for stripers.

Bass as large as 18 pounds, smaller schoolies and bluefish of all sizes continue to bite in Greenwich Bay, says Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle.

Now is the time to catch blues in the triangle marked by points at Hope Island, Conanicut Point and Wickford.

Mike Neto, skipper of the charter boat Adriana, caught tautog, sea bass and stripers on the reefs off Newport this morning. The bass were hitting eels and swimming lures with diving lips.

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

"For blackfish, forget about the deep water," says Thom Pelletier, skipper of the charter boat ThomCat. "They're in close on the South County reefs and rock piles. Yesterday, my party had them averaging about 5 to 6 pounds. The limit goes from three to eight on Saturday."

The Narrow River is filled with menhaden and hickory shad, says Ed Lombardo. The bass bite there, however, is an on-and-off proposition. An angler fishing live menhaden there last week caught big bass, but he struck out this week.

Ed Hughes has been finding pods of bass from Monahan's Dock in Narragansett to West Beach in Charlestown this week.

When you're searching for migrating fish, cast in rocky spots where there may be no visible activity, advises Mike Laptew, "The Diving Fisherman." He'll explain in the next Outdoor Notes column.

OFFSHORE

"At Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, we weighed in a bluefin tuna of 87 pounds, dressed, for Bruce Weinsein on the FinReaper, one of four that they boated around the Mud Hole," writes Thom Pelletier.

"A bunch of boats went offshore last weekend and everyone was catching," writes Chris Willi of Block Island Fish Works. "The Island Lady boated a yellowfin tuna, albacore and several dorado. The night bite had a few big blue sharks, one mako, and three run-offs among about 15 boats at West Atlantis Canyon."

BLOCK ISLAND

"The past two weeks have been pretty mediocre -- actually lousy," writes Chris Willi. "We hope this is not going to turn out to be another fall like last year. We made it out maybe half a dozen times. The few fish caught were bigger -- 36 to 44 inches."

FRESHWATER

Leo and Mike Schulz have been catching bass in Browning Mill Pond and Breakheart Pond, both in the Arcadia Management Area. Yesterday morning on Breakheart, Leo hooked a 7-inch bass on a small Rat-L-Trap. As he got the fish to his canoe, there was a big splash, and his rod doubled over. A 5.25-pound largemouth had nailed the smaller fish.

Bass fishing has been rewarding at most ponds in Providence County, says David Henault. He recommends Roger Williams Park for bass and big carp.

Trout have been rising on the Wood River, Henault says, but they're challenging. Ed Lombardo says recently stocked trout in Burrillville have been taking leech and midge-larvae imitations.

FLY-TYING CLASSES

The state Division of Fish and Wildlife will offer six weeks of fly-tying classes on Tuesdays, from 7 to 9 p.m., beginning Oct. 21.

Instructors will provide materials and tools. The cost is $6 per class or $30 for the entire series in the North Kingstown Community Center at Wickford Town Beach.

For more information, call the fish-and-wildlife agency at 789-0281.

BEST BITES:

South County beaches:

Bass, bluefish

Newport reefs:

Tautog, bass, bluefish

Greenwich Bay:

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.”

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