Fishing after storms can be tricky

Noah Brunelli of Wakefield (13 years old) with the 4.9 pound largemouth bass he caught on the Saugatucket River with worms he dug from the woods next to his home.

Fishing after storms can be tricky

Many of us may have a touch of cabin fever after being waylaid by the remains of Jose.  Freshwater fishing is a good bet after a storm as the water is not as turbid and conditions are usually more tolerable with no high ocean surf.

As the weather clears here are some ‘fishing after storms’ thoughts and tips.

Be safe. Winds and rain create fast moving water on river banks and the coastal shoreline.  Stay away from this water as you can get washed in particularly from high ocean surf.

A storm like the one we had this week can change fishing a lot.  Some species like summer flounder (fluke) may leave the area totally.  Yet others species just won’t bite.  They may not bite because the water is dirty with sand that irritates the gills of fish so they stop moving around and feeding or they simply cannot see your bait in murky, cloudy water. 

Storms can also create fishing opportunities with reefs, clam and mussel beds that get torn up with broken shells providing a feeding ground for many of the fish we target. 

Additionally, a good storm this time of year often provides a cleansing and transition time for anglers suggesting it is time to target fall species like tautog, migrating striped bass, surface feeding bluefish, cod and false albacore.

Sea run trout seminar

The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU225) will host its monthly membership meeting on Wednesday, September 27^th, 2017, 6:30 p.m. at the Coventry/West Greenwich Elks Lodge, 42 Nooseneck Hill Road (Rte. 3, Exit 6 off of Rte. 95), West Greenwich, R.I.

After a short chapter meeting, Ron Lasko will give a presentation titled ‘Beyond a tale of two rivers – a future for sea run brook trout’.  Lasko is the author of ‘A tale of two rivers’ which is the ecological, and historical story of Cape Cod’s sea run brook trout.  For additional information contact Glenn Place at 1-401-225-7712 or at TU225President@gmail.com .   

Where’s the bite

False albacore (albies) and bonito fishing was very good this week as false albacore and some bonito were running along our coastline from Watch Hill to the Sakonnet River with reports from the East Fishing Grounds and other areas lighting up too.  The most intense contact was around Pt. Judith both toward Westerly and north to Narragansett Beach.  Angler Adam Maziarz said on the RISAA blog he landed a nice bonito off Scarborough Beach Saturday.  Maziarz said, “They put on a quite a show, occasionally getting completely airborne. I managed to catch a bonito on a pink Hogy epoxy jig, which made the trip worthwhile. They seemed fairly picky; I tried many colors of epoxy jigs attempting to match the hatch but the pink did the trick.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “Albies and bonito were thick, acres of them from Pt. Judith to Block Island feeding on peanut bunker. Popular places to land them from shore include the West Wall at the Harbor of Refuge, Fort Getty, Jamestown and Sakonnet Point.”  Dimitri Mancini of Continental Bait & Tackle, Cranston said, “Diego Vargas, one of our good customers and an outstanding fisherman, fished the East Fishing Grounds Saturday and landed false albacore and his party limited out on extra-large black sea bass underneath.  Large bluefish were on the surface too.”

Tautog fishing is spotty.  Some anglers landing fish in the upper Bay but the best bite has been in the lower Bay with some tautog anglers landing fish to ten pounds.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “Customers are trying to hook up with tautog from shore but are not having much luck at places such as Wharf Tavern.  But, I did hear the bite at Castle Hill, Newport was good.”  Charlie and Carole Prisco of Warwick caught keeper tautog in the upper Bay last week, the fish were there with small ones too but as Charlie said, “The tautog bite is on.”

Striped bass fishing is the Bay is not good however the bluefish bite exploded this week in the east passage and south of Conimicut Light.  “The bluefish bite off Barrington Beach and south of Conimicut Point was good this weekend.  The blues were feeding on schools of peanut bunker.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle.  The bass bite at Block Island was on and off last week.  “The bite has been early in the morning.  We have been leaving the dock at Pt. Judith at 5:00 a.m.” said Capt. Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters.  Some days you arrive at the Island and the bite is on other days the fish are just not there.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “The striped bass bite at the Cape Cod Canal continues to be outstanding.  Anglers are landing pass in the 40 pound range from shore.  The ‘Whip it Fish’ by Al Gag’s, a soft plastic lure, is working very well for Canal fishermen. Dimitri Mancini of Continental Bait & Tackle said, “The striped bass bite for customers fishing the Cape Cod Canal has been staggering.  Better than it has ever been.  Hogy soft plastic lures are working well. It has been a very successful lure for our customers fishing the Canal and comes in a variety of colors with white and pink working the best lately.”

Black sea bass, scup and summer flounder.  Anglers are reminded that the black sea bass season in Rhode Island and Federal waters is closed this Friday, September 22 to October 21.  The season opens again on October 22 with a seven fish/person/day limit.  The closure in the fall was a tradeoff for the season staring a month earlier in June this year.  “The scup bite is strong at Sabin Point and Colt State Park with anglers often reaching their 30 fish limit.  They are also catching a lot of northern kingfish.”  said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait.  This weekend anglers fishing my dock and the Town Dock in Wickford were landing scup, northern kingfish, skipjack bluefish and an occasional summer flounder.   I fished off Beavertail Point this weekend with my brother Henry, Mike and friend Kevin.  They landed summer flounder, black sea bass and scup with a slow pick of keepers.  

Cod fishing is starting to pick-up with anglers targeting them at the East Grounds and Cox’s Ledge. Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “Hi hook this Saturday was four cod with a decent number of fishers having two apiece. There were some large sea flounder to over four pounds and a few big fluke to 11 pounds along with a nice assortment of ling including some real "baseball" bat size specimens. Both jigs and bait produced on the cod fish.”

Freshwater fishing continues to be good in area lakes and ponds.  “The largemouth bass bite is good in ponds at Rehoboth, MA and at the Brickyard Pond in Barrington where one of my customers caught a six pound catfish this week.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle.  “The largemouth bass bite is very solid with three and four pound fish being landed fairly common in places like Meshanticut Lake and Randall Pond in Cranston.” said Dimitri Mancini of Continental Bait.  Noah Brunelli (13 years old) and his brother Zach Brunelli found a good largemouth bass bite to 4.9 pounds on the Saugatucket River.  They caught multiple bass using worms dug from the woods near their home in Wakefield, RI.

Fishing after storms

Newport Blues:  Angler Steve Brustein of West Warwick with one of four bluefish caught when a school surfaced in front of 1^st Beach, Newport. The fish were bled and iced in minutes ready for the smoker.

 Fishing after storms

The storm is over.  The seas are settling down.  Ever wonder what impact storms have on fishing?  

A storm like the one we had this past week can change fishing a lot.  Some species may leave the area totally.  Yet others species just won’t bite.  They may not bite because the water is dirty with sand and mud that either irritates the gills of fish so they stop moving around and feeding or they simply cannot see your bait in murky, cloudy water. 

But there is hope. Storms also create opportunities with reefs, clam and mussel beds that get torn up with broken shells providing a feeding ground for many of the fish we target.  Additionally, a good storm this time of year often provides a cleansing and a wakeup call to anglers suggesting that it is time to target fall species like tautog, migrating striped bass, surface feeding bluefish and false albacore.

“The water is like dirt.” said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown.  “A stormy week like we just had can convince a species that it is time to move.  Like summer flounder.  Last week, right up until Sunday, we had a commercial rod & reel fisherman bring in 20 pounds of fluke.  So they were still here.  But very possibly with a storm like this, with water this dirty we won’t find them again.  We might get a few stragglers as the fluke move out to deeper water.  At the lower part of the Bay for example or it may come back for a while off shore.  We will have to wait and see.” 

There have been an abundance of school size striped bass in covers and ponds.  Wickford Cove and other ponds and coves around the state are holding Atlantic menhaden and a lot of smaller bait that the school bass are feeding on.  Matt Conti said, “Salt Pond is loaded with school bass.  This is a place and species you can target when the weather is bad out in front or offshore.”

At press time the water has started to clear so hopefully by the weekend anglers will be able to fish for species such as black sea bass, striped bass, tautog and cod fishing which has been experiencing a fairly  good bite close to shore. 

Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown, said, “Customers have been catching cod fish just south of the windmill area.”  So the hope is that fall cod fishing will develop like last year… a good bite at the East Fishing Grounds and around Block Island and waters close to shore, like the waters off Newport that produced good cod fishing last year.

Another good thing about storms is that they create new fish habitats with a new food supply of insects, shrimp, shell fish and small fish that arrive with the water. These flooded areas and water adjacent to them can become good fishing areas as the water starts to recede.   Fishing is good at inlets and outflow too because water levels are high due to rain, abnormally high tides and heavy surf. Once water rushes out of rivers, bays, and inlets, bait that may have sought refuge up inlets gets tossed around as they leave for open water where larger fish are waiting.

Good fishing as the weather clears.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Catch & Release Tournament selects final winners

The Pabst Blue Ribbon catch and release striped bass, bluefish and summer flounder (fluke) tournament ended August 20^th.  To be eligible for the season ending cash prizes, a minimum of three fish had to be caught and released.  The length of the longest three fish in each specie category makes up an angler’s total entry.

Last week after all winning candidates passed a polygraph test the results of the competition became final. 

Tournament winners: Striped bass category winners were Russell Zivkovich, 150”, $5,000 cash prize; John Hanecak, 149.5”, $1,500; and Keith Darrow, 147.5”, $500.  Summer flounder (fluke) winners were Gary Stephens, 87”, $5,000 cash prize; John Davis, 83”, $1,500; and Howard Ward, 74”, $500.  The bluefish winners were Russell Zivkovich, 110.25”, $5,000 cash prize; Al Tremblay, 108.50, $1,500; and Gary Stephens, 108.25”, $500.

Visit www.pbrfishing.com for details on the September 25 celebration event and for a listing of Junior Division winners.

Where’s the bite

Summer flounder and black sea bass.  Last week we bottom fished a portion of four separate trips.  The areas we covered included the West and East side of Jamestown and all along the Aquidneck Island’s southern coast from Elbow Ledge at the Sakonnet River to the Brenton Reef Area. We also fished the areas around the Newport Bridge.  The result yielded a number of nice sized black sea bass to 21” but only seven keeper summer flounder. So I am convinced that this storm is very likely to chase any remaining summer flounder up and out of the area and away from our coastal shores to deeper water for the rest of the season. Angler Mike Swain of Coventry said, “I checked my logs from last year and this time last year the fluke were gone.  So I think they are gone for good this year.”  Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Fluke fishing had been great before the storm at Block Island in the wind farm area with tons of nice black sea bass being caught too.”  Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “Fluke fishing was picky most of the week with big fish to 10 pounds being caught but the overall numbers were not good.” 

Bonito and false albacore.  The bonito bite is expected to be soft as they seem to be moving out of the area.  Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane said, “Earlier last week the bonito bite was good along the coastal shore.  They were mixed in with schools of bluefish so anglers were getting cut-off quite a bit.”  However, the false albacore are in.  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor said, “Toward the end of the week the false albacore were here pretty strong.  Generally when they arrive, the Bonito leave the area.  But they were blitzing pretty good last week before the storm along the southern coast shore.”

Bluefish were on the surface from Elbow Ledge all along the Aquidneck Island southern coast to Brenton Reef.  They were rather spotty, you had to look for them but they surfaced from time to time.  Angler Kevin Fetzer of East Greenwich said, “We spotted schools of bluefish Sunday off of first beach and we casted into the fray when they surface. We landed four for a friend who likes to smoke them.  No false albacore on bonito were mixed in with them.”

Striped bass fishing remained very strong last week.  Angler Eric Appolonia said, “We fished with eels on the Southwest Ledge at Block Island just before and after high tide and did very well last week.”  Matt Conti of Sung Harbor said, “The commercial season opens again this week so I am sure we will have a lot of fishermen targeting striped bass as soon as the weather clears.”  Fishing for striped bass can be hit or miss as the fall migration starts.  Schools of fish move in and out so someday the fishing can be good and other days it is not good. 

“Yellow fin tuna fishing on our first trip of the season was successful last week as anglers caught fish in the 50 to 70 pound range drifting chuck bait during the day. The trips will be run into October.” said Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet.

Freshwater fishing for trout has not been good.  Anglers are waiting or the restocking of ponds and waterways with trout for the fall and winter season.  However, largemouth bass fishing has been consistently good.  Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane said, “The largemouth bass bite has been good with anglers using shiners and worms as well as spinner baits with success.  Worden Pond and Indian Lake have been yielding fish consistently for customers.”  Kim Petti of Fin & Feather Outfitters, North Kingstown said, “Fishing in our spring fed ponds had been good all season.  With no rain the ponds did not heat up.  The Wood River water level remains high but everyone is waiting for DEM to restock with trout.”

Fishing before and after storms

Safety first: Safety should be your first concern when fishing before or after storms. Anglers often like fishing in favorite spots (like this one at Conimicut Point) before a storm as the barometric pressure drops fishing generally improves. Fishing after storms can be good too.

Fishing after storms can be good:  fish like this long 41”, 20.5 pound striped bass caught a couple of weeks ago by Albert Bettencourt of East Providence can be caught after storms too.  Al was drifting eels off Barrington Beach at 3:45 a.m. when this fish hit.

Fishing before and after storms

Many anglers believe the best time to fresh or saltwater fish is before a storm… before a cold front moves in. They believe the fish feel the difference in barometric pressure… the front moves in, the pressure drops and it triggers a feeding frenzy. I guess the fish sense bad weather so they eat while the eating is good. Many also believe that during and after a storm fishing is not good as the water is turbid and cloudy so fish cannot even see the most attractive bait. However, this is not necessarily true.

Sometimes fishing after a storm is good. Just like any other time, the right time to fish depends on a lot of variables… water temperature, oxygen level in the water, water movement, structure and most importantly bait in the area that fish can feed on. Safety is the most important thing to remember when fishing before and after storms. I head for shore if the weather is threatening, if on shore do not take any risks fishing near high surf that is unpredictable. Wait until things calm down.

Fishing after can be good after rain storms, tropical storms, even hurricanes… the quality of fishing depends on a lot of variables. For example, flooded areas create new fish habitats with a new food supply of insects, shrimp, shell fish and small fish that arrive with the water. These flooded areas and waters adjacent to them can become good fishing areas as the water starts to recede.

Fishing after storms has been good for shore, near coastal and Bay fishermen. Anytime you can get close to inlets, the shore or underwater structure you will do well. Fishing is good at inlets and outflows because water levels are high due to rain, abnormally high tides and heavy surf. Once water rushes out of rivers, bays, and inlets, bait that may have sought refuge up inlets gets tossed around as they leave for open water where larger fish are waiting.

Other contributing factors to good fishing after storms are geography and storm patterns. For example, with storm winds coming out of the southeast, south and southwest… bait, crabs, oysters, mussels, clams, etc. get crushed and pushed to the opposite shoreline or get hung up on ridges. These areas become prime feeding grounds for hungry fish. Good idea to try clams and split crabs as bait when fishing after a storm in these areas.

During the hurricane season a couple of years ago I asked a couple of noted local anglers what they thought about fishing after storms. Here is what they had to say. Fish the opposite shoreline after a storm and you are more likely to catch fish because the bait is there said Steve McKenna of Cranston, an associate at Quaker Lane Outfitters in North Kingstown. Steve said, “I like to fish the fist clearing wind after a big storm once the sea settles down a bit… I caught my last three 40 lb. striped bass after storms.” 

Captain Rich Hittinger said, “At the end of the season, storms have sometimes sent the fluke packing to deeper water with no significant bite until the following spring. It also can chase the giant tuna out of here for the season, but we can only wait and see what happens. In any case the scup, sea bass, and stripers will still be here after the storm, but it may take a few days before they settle back into a feed.”

Mark Pietros comments about cod fishing after a storm on the RISAA fishing blog , “I went out… a couple days after that rain and wind storm. It wasn't a hurricane but the seas were pretty bad a few days before. When we went out the "weathermen" were calling for a small craft warnings. The seas were actually one foot or less, it was a great day. We had all the cod action we could handle along with a few haddock, pollock and the biggest hake I have ever seen….I have been out several times after storms and have had good luck when fishing in deeper water.”

Two additional theories about fishing after storms: first, big storms do not necessarily bother fish in deep water, so bottom fishing offshore for fluke, tautog and other species may not be affected at all. Secondly, with fish not feeding much during a big blow they are very interested in eating as soon as things clear. Both fresh and saltwater anglers have related success using surface plugs once winds settle down as water throughout the water column may still be turbid and cloudy after a storm even though the seas have calmed. Surface plugs splashing around on the surface will likely get the attention of hungry fish.

Try some of these storm fishing tactics and let us know what works for you by e-mailing your comments to www.dmontifish@verizon.net .

Fishing before and after storms

Tom Peters of Warwick, RI with the seven pound fluke he caught early last week under the Newport Bridge. Keeper fluke were hard to come by under the bridge, Tom caught this fish using a buck tail on a three way with a teaser tipped with squid strips. Fluke fishing along the southern coastal shores of RI continues to improve.

Safety should be your first concern when fishing before or after storms. Anglers often like fishing in favorite spots (like this one at Conimicut Point) before a storm as the barometric pressure drops fishing generally improves. Fishing after storms can be good too.

Fishing before and after storms

Many anglers believe the best time to fresh or saltwater fish is before a storm… before a cold front moves in. They believe the fish feel the difference in barometric pressure… the front moves in, the pressure drops and it triggers a feeding frenzy. I guess the fish sense bad weather so they eat while the eating is good. Many also believe that during and after a storm fishing is not good as the water is turbid and cloudy so fish cannot even see the most attractive bait.
However, this is not necessarily true. Sometimes fishing after a storm is good. Just like any other time, the right time to fish depends on a lot of variables… water temperature, oxygen level in the water, water movement, structure and most importantly bait in the area that fish can feed on. Safety is the most important thing to remember when fishing before and after storms. I head for shore if the weather is threatening, if on shore do not take any risks fishing near high surf that is unpredictable. Wait until things calm down.
Fishing after can be good after rain storms, tropical storms, even hurricanes… the quality of fishing depends on a lot of variables. For example, flooded areas create new fish habitats with a new food supply of insects, shrimp, shell fish and small fish that arrive with the water. These flooded areas and waters adjacent to them can become good fishing areas as the water starts to recede.
Fishing after storms has been good for shore, near coastal and Bay fishermen. Anytime you can get close to inlets, the shore or underwater structure you will do well. Fishing is good at inlets and outflows because water levels are high due to rain, abnormally high tides and heavy surf. Once water rushes out of rivers, bays, and inlets, bait that may have sought refuge up inlets gets tossed around as they leave for open water where larger fish are waiting.
Other contributing factors to good fishing after storms are geography and storm patterns. For example, with storm winds coming out of the southeast, south and southwest as Irene did earlier this week, bait, crabs, oysters, mussels, clams, etc. get crushed and pushed to the opposite shoreline or get hung up on ridges. These areas become prime feeding grounds for hungry fish. Good idea to try clams and split crabs as bait when fishing after a storm in these areas.
During the hurricane season last year I asked a couple of noted local anglers what they thought about fishing after storms. Here is what they had to say. Fish the opposite shoreline after a storm and you are more likely to catch fish because the bait is there said Steve McKenna of Cranston, an associate at Quaker Lane Outfitters in North Kingstown. Steve said, “I like to fish the fist clearing wind after a big storm once the sea settles down a bit… I caught my last three 40 lb. striped bass after storms.”
Captain Rich Hittinger said, “At the end of the season, storms have sometimes sent the fluke packing to deeper water with no significant bite until the following spring. It also can chase the giant tuna out of here for the season, but we can only wait and see what happens. In any case the scup, sea bass, and stripers will still be here after the storm, but it may take a few days before they settle back into a feed.”
Mark Pietros comments about cod fishing after a storm on the RISAA fishing blog last year, “I went out… a couple days after that rain and wind storm. It wasn't a hurricane but the seas were pretty bad a few days before. When we went out the "weathermen" were calling for a small craft warnings. The seas were actually one foot or less, it was a great day. We had all the cod action we could handle along with a few haddock, pollock and the biggest hake I have ever seen….I have been out several times after storms and have had good luck when fishing in deeper water.”
Two additional theories about fishing after storms: first, big storms do not necessarily bother fish in deep water, so bottom fishing offshore for fluke, tautog and other species may not be affected at all. Secondly, with fish not feeding much during a big blow they are very interested in eating as soon as things clear. Both fresh and saltwater anglers have related success using surface plugs once winds settle down as water throughout the water column may still be turbid and cloudy after a storm even though the seas have calmed. Surface plugs splashing around on the surface will likely get the attention of hungry fish.
Try some of these storm fishing tactics and let us know what works for you by e-mailing your comments to www.dmontifish@verizon.net .

DEM announces grant program of boating infrastructure projects
The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces that proposals are being accepted until Wednesday, September 7 for boating infrastructure grants for facilities and associated infrastructure that provide stop-over/tie-up opportunities for transient recreational boats.The federal grants, which provide a 75 percent reimbursable match up to $1.5 million, are for the development or renovation of such facilities as mooring buoys, day docks, navigational aids, transient slips, safe harbors, floating docks and fixed piers, floating and fixed breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms and showers, retaining walls, and bulkheads. They can also be used for dockside utilities, pump out stations, recycling and trash receptacles, electric service, dockside water supplies, dockside pay telephones, debris deflection booms, marine fueling stations, and one-time dredging not to exceed 10 percent of the total project costs, including the match.
Any municipality or marina interested in submitting an application should contact Robert Ballou, Acting Chief, Division of Fish & Wildlife, at 423-1926. Proposals must be submitted to Robert.Ballou@dem.ri.gov by September 7.

RISAA Bluefish Tournament postponed
Due to hurricane Irene, the RISAA Special Bluefish Tournament for members has been postponed. The tournament will now run from Friday, September 2 at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Where’s the bite
Freshwater. Chris Catucci of Warwick reports that a, “Rhode Island Junior Bass master tournament was held last week. It was a difficult day to fish with keepers hard to come by. Nick Woodbine of Warwick, Rhode Island won the Tournament with around five pounds.”

Fluke fishing was difficult for most of the week due to high storm winds. However, fishing along the southern coastal shores of Rhode Island continues to improve. Eric Feroldi on the RISAA blog reports catching fluke at a 50/50 keeper to short radio early in the week off southern coastal shores. Many fish 20 inches and over with his largest weighing in at 7.42 pounds in about 57 feet of water. Fishing in the Newport area has slowed with the keeper to short ratio not very good. Tom Peters fished early last week under the Newport Bridge and had a twenty to one radio. High winds Thursday and over the weekend eliminated the possibility of most fluke fishing.

Striped bass fishing continued to be slow off coastal shores and Narragansett Bay last week, and good around Block Island.