Fishing this August was pretty good despite bouts of unseasonably stiff northeast wind. In shore, striped bass fishing was a little on the picky side. What we lacked in numbers we made up for in size with some nice bass in the 20 to 35 lb class. These fish were common all month and were caught either trolling with large single tubes or drifting live bait. Hot spots included the Pollack Rip, Great Eastern, the Tube Monster, and the Porgy Hump. If your wondering how the Monster got its name, try trolling by it with a little too much wire out….ooops, there goes another $25 tube lost to the bottom!
Fluke fishing was excellent on the backside off Hither Hills State Park, Gurneys Inn, and inner and outer Frisbee. We fished off Hither Hills several days and landed as many 150 fluke; unfortunately only twelve to fifteen could be put in the box with the nineteen and a half limit. Anyway, it was still great action and lots of fun. Mid month, a nor’easter and the ever-present ocean swell shut the fluke fishery down for a while. Hopefully as the ocean calms we will see good fluking make a come back as the big doormats migrate out of the bay and into the ocean.
Porgy fishing remained strong all month and filled up many coolers for the happy anglers that pursued them and Black Sea Bass began to make a showing at West Grounds off Block Island.
Offshore, shark fishing was a little slow which is usual for the month of August but enough Makos and an occasional Thresher were being landed to still make it interesting.
Early August saw canyon fishing heating up with Albacore and unusually large Yellow Fins being landed. A huge area north east of the Fishtail was alive with krill luring a nice body of tuna fish as well as a couple of hundred Finback whales. On several occasions we experienced truly exceptional tuna fishing as we trolled amongst the magnificent Finbacks, which were surfacing in almost every direction; really cool. A few Blue Marlin, Wahoo and countless Mahi were also landed in the deep.
In September, look for better Striper fishing as the scouts start swimming south from Cape Cod. Some hefty doormats will be landed on the backside, providing the state does not implement an emergency closure of the fishery. Hard to believe, when there are more Fluke than ever?!!!
Tuna fishing should be excellent in the Tail and the Dip and some nice Blue Fins will be taken in the Butterfish Hole and the Aquarium. Tomorrow I will be tuna trolling amongst the fins backs again.
Until Next Time,
Keep Dreaming and Fishing,
Captain Mark |
