May 8, 2008
Outdoors writer Tom Meade has filed tomorrow's Fishing Report early. You can read it now: Just click this link to find out what's hot and where.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 12:57 PM | Permalink
May 1, 2008
Outdoors writer Tom Meade has filed tomorrow's Fishing Report early. You can read it now: Just click this link to find out what's hot and where.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 10:36 AM | Permalink
March 3, 2008
The Massachusetts Striped Bass Association's fishing show over the weekend was filled with anglers talking about schools of fish.
Capt. George Doucette, however, was talking about a school of fishing, specifically the Cape Cod Fishing School, an on-the-water learning experience.
Tom Meade spent some time with George to learn more. To hear what the skipper had to say, go to Tom's HotBytes blog.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 11:44 AM | Permalink
February 15, 2008
This is the fourth in a series of 2008 saltwater-fishing forecasts for Rhode Island waters.
By TOM MEADE
Journal Sports Writer
STONINGTON, Conn. - Anglers will continue to find trophy striped bass in the waters from Watch Hill, Rhode Island to the mouth of the Connecticut River this season, two experts predict. There may be fewer trophy fish, however, if recent trends continue on eastern Long Island Sound.
Look for the best bites inside and off the mouth of the Thames River, say Don Michaud of King Cove Outfitters in Stonington and Pat Abate of Rivers End Tackle in Old Saybrook. Abate also recommends the Connecticut River for catching stripers, and Michaud predicts that the mouth of the Mystic River and the Pawcatuck River -- Little Narragansett Bay -- will continue to provide plenty of bass.
Menhaden will be the bait of choice again, starting around the first of May, when migratory menhaden appeared last year, the experts agree, and soft plastic shad imitations, like the Storm Wild Eye, probably will be among the most popular artificial lures. Deep-diving plugs and jigs are becoming more popular as tube-and-worm-rig sales slip slightly at Rivers End. At King Cove, the hub of kayak fishing on the Sound, the tube and worm took several big fish last season, and the rig continues to be a favorite.
"If things hold true, based on the guys that were fishing the Thames last winter and right now, I think bass fishing is going to be at one of its all-time highs," said Michaud.
He and Abate stress that menhaden are the key to holding big bass in the Sound.
Last season, migratory stripers arrived in late April, said Abate, and the first big push menhaden were right behind them, bringing big stripers to the eastern Sound.
"I was thinking about the 40- and 50-pound fish that were weighed at my shop, and there were three guys who ended up in the top 10 or 12 anglers in both On The Water and The Fisherman [magazines] last season. Ken Zwirko, a New Jersey guy who fishes these waters, had one that weighed 58 pounds and change, and Ray Jobin, a local [Rhode Island] fisherman, had one that was 59 and change."
Another angler caught two trophy bass a week apart, Michaud said, "and both fish weighed exactly 52.45 pounds."
Menhaden were so effective as bait that some anglers were driving to Providence and Pawtucket -- where the baitfish were concentrated -- to catch enough of them before launching at Barn Island in Stonington.
"From May to mid-June, we had the best fishing I've ever seen in shallow water," Abate said.
"The run of squid and butterfish we normally see on the reefs never materialized," Abate said. Large schools of spearing arrived during the summer, attracting school bass that provided a lot of action for fly fishermen. In late August, pods of menhaden kept stripers near the mouth of the Thames. By September, huge schools of juvenile menhaden -- "peanut bunker" -- arrived, and there were massive feeding blitzes of small bass and large bluefish on the reefs and along beaches and rocky points.
False albacore and a large number of bonito also arrived, and fishing for them was fairly consistent off the western end of Fishers Island, Abate said. Otherwise, the bonito and "albies" were scattered.
Fishing continued to be hot through October
Then it ended as abruptly as a door slamming.
Each year, Abate conducts an unscientific, but illuminating, "hit count."
"I generally go out by myself and count the number of hits I get," he said. "That tells me what the level of activity is. Three years ago it was not unusual to go out for a few hours and get 20 hits and land some fish. Last year, I'd go out and get eight hits. This year, I expect to go out and get, maybe five hits.
"But if the bunker come around, it will aggregate the bigger fish again."
Posted by Mike McDermott at 1:14 PM | Permalink
February 7, 2008
By Tom Meade
Journal Sports Writer
Striped-bass fishing at Block Island probably will be great this season, according to experts, but they say it will be an expensive trip for mainlanders.
"By the time you pay for bait and gas, it's a $100 trip," said Johnny Martini.
"And that's if you have a new [fuel-efficient] motor," said Fred Bowman. "If you don't, it's going to cost more."
Martini is a commercial rod-and-reel fisherman, known for catching trophy stripers on live eels. Last season, he caught a 53-pounder. In 2007, gasoline cost well over $3 a gallon at marinas on the mainland and between $4 and $4.25 on the island. Anglers like Martini, who trailer their boats, will save money by fueling at inland stations, but the trip to Block Island will still be expensive.
Basing their forecasts on the last three years of fishing, experts believe the cost of traveling to Block Island should be an investment that pays off for anglers looking for large bass.
Last season, anglers fishing aboard Bowman's charter boat, Bottom Line, caught three bass over 50 pounds, 30 fish over 40 pounds, and many more in the 20- to 40-pound range. He fished with hickory shad and eels as bait, and trolled his signature tube-and-worm rigs. By the end of the season, 98 percent of his anglers caught limits, he reckoned.
"It should remain the same this season," he said. "I'm not looking at it getting any worse. The bass population seems to be holding up with the amount of pressure on it."
Last year, the striper season started early with the first keeper landed May 10, said Chris Willi, the island's harbormaster and owner of Block Island Fishworks. "That's about three weeks earlier than usual," he said.
Bill Gould, skipper of the charter boat G Willie Makit, started his season on Memorial Day weekend. "It was a good run of fish at the beginning of June," he said, "and then it tapered off a little bit. At the beginning of July, it started to get a little scattered out, and that lasted through August."
G. Willie Makit generally trolls umbrellas and tube-and-worm rigs on downriggers because it's an easier technique to grasp for inexperienced tourist anglers.
"People who were using live eels probably had a little more success than we did at times," he said.
"We had an awful lot of throw-backs," Gould said. "I think we may get more barely legal fish this year, so the fishing should be better."
Last season, fishing for bass and bluefish improved in September when small pods of bonito and little tunny, or "false albacore" appeared, said Chris Willi. "Fall was horrible for us. There wasn't a lot going on in October and November when there usually is, particularly on the beach. There was plenty of bait around. We had a lot of sand eels and an occasional school of peanut bunker. So all the signs were there for a good fall, but it didn't happen."
For the past several seasons, Southwest Ledge had held a lot of big bass, but last season state environmental police and the Coast Guard began enforcing a ban on striper fishing in federal waters. "That took away the bulk of the ledge," Willi said.
He likes to fish the shallow water near Black Rock and other spots on the "back side" of the island. Last season, he said, "I never had a bad day there."
Fishing for scup, sea bass and fluke has been good for the past few seasons, and, Willi said, the coming season looks equally bright.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 11:19 AM | Permalink
January 10, 2008
In a telephone interview about the outlook for fishing on Narragansett Bay, Capt. Jim White talked about what worked last season. Tom Meade asked him about the most effective rigs and lures. Click here to listen to Jim's complete answer.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:21 PM | Permalink
July 30, 2007
Over on the HotBytes blog, we've just posted Tom Meade's latest audio report. Today, Tom talks with Delainey Broggi, Rhode Island state champion bass angler in the 15- to 18-year-old division. She is heading for the national championship in Hot Springs, Ark., this coming weekend. Today, the Coventry High School junior talks about her favorite soft-plastic bait and how she likes to fish it.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 7:15 PM | Permalink
May 16, 2007
Head over to Tom Meade's HotBytes blog to hear Tom's latest audio edition. Here, on the eve of the opening of fluke-fishing season (on Friday), Tom interviews Thom Pelletier, the maker of ThomCat Fluke Rigs. Pelletier discusses the techniques he uses to catch doormat-sized fish.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 2:19 PM | Permalink
May 10, 2007
Head over to Tom Meade's HotBytes blog to hear Tom's interview with fishing guide Ed Hughes, who discusses how to fish the shore from Pawtuxet Cove to Fields Point with light tackle.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:59 PM | Permalink
May 8, 2007
Go to Tom Meade's HotBytes blog to hear his latest audio report. Today, Tom interviews tube-and-worm expert Don Cameron, of Captain Don's Bait and Tackle, who talks about catching large fish from small boats, inncluding canoes and kayaks.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 11:01 AM | Permalink
April 30, 2007
We've just posted Tom Meade's latest audio edition of HotBytes. Today, Tom interviews Capt. Thom Pelletier, skipper of the charter boat ThomCat and maker of ThomCat Fluke Rigs; and Capt. Jim White, skipper of White Ghost Charters and author of the book How To Fish Plastic Baits in Saltwater. They talk about common fishing mistakes and how to correct them to improve your fishing.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:59 PM | Permalink
April 27, 2007
Over on Tom Meade's HotBytes blog, you can now listen to Tom's interview with charter-boat skipper and flounder-fishing expert Ron Mouchon, who reveals his hot spots and tactics for winter-flounder season, which opens Saturday.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 7:14 AM | Permalink
April 25, 2007
On Tom Meade's HotBytes Blog, we 've just posted Tom Meade's latest audio piece. Today's guest is Capt. Jim White, author of the book How to Fish Plastic Baits in Saltwater. White talks about go-to lures, favorite colors, and how to fish them.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 1:15 PM | Permalink
April 20, 2007
We've just posted the latest audio report to Tom Meade's HotBytes blog. Today, Tom talks to Ed Lombardo, founder of the New England School of Fly Fishing, who talks about early-season flies and tactics for trout.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 9:56 AM | Permalink
April 17, 2007
Tom Meade interviews Rhode Island-based fishing guide and consultant Ed Hughes in the first audio edition of his HotBytes blog. Click here to check out the blog and listen to the audio.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 2:04 PM | Permalink
