Baitfish Are Moving

Baitfish are beginning to move out of the shallow water coves, inlets and salt ponds, and predatory striped bass, bluefish, bonito and false albacore are all taking advantage. Baby bunker are moving along the coastline, as are schools of anchovies and butterfish, with some small squid here and there. The bait is somewhat scattered, and so are the predators. Because of the scatter, the fishing around Watch Hill area is a real mixed bag. But the fish are out there, and things will only improve. This is the time to go out in search of that elusive New England "Grand Slam."

For the Wood River, David at River & Rip Tide Angler in Coventry tells me that Trout Unlimited recently did a float stocking and there are plenty of very nice rainbow trout in the river. Conditions are a bit tough with water levels being so low and the fish being bunched up, though weekend rainfall may provide an assist by adding a bit of water. Some small black caddis flies are providing surface action sporadically, terrestrials maintain their dominance as best producers. David notes that water temperatures are in the mid-50 range, ideal for trout. As they continue to slide downwards, try some streamer patterns to attract bigger fish who are fattening up for the winter months ahead.

Fishing Update

The action has cooled somewhat in the Watch Hill area, at least for bonito and false albacore. The bait that was thick a week ago has either scattered and/or been gobbled up, and the speedster twins have scattered as well making for frustrating fishing for either. The fish are still around, but they don't stay up long and are inconsistent at best. If you like tangling with toothy bluefish though, there is no lack of them, in all sizes and at all places. School bass are still around as well, but also scattered. Big bass are still lying deep on the reefs and other structure, though fishing fresh cut bait along the beaches is improving as water temperatures slowly decline.

Dave at River & Rip Tide Angler in Coventry tells me the Wood River could use a bit of water to get levels up a bit. The trout are bunched up in the deeper holes and are therefore a bit skittish and more difficult to entice to a fly or other offering. They are however still feeding, and terrestrials continue to be a best bet. Trout Unlimited Narragansett Chapter anticipates doing a float stock in the near future, but no specific date is set yet. Stay tuned.

Little Tunny/Bonito Bonanza!

Little Tunny (false albacore) and bonito have been thick as thieves in and around Watch Hill Point and all the way west to The Race, and as I am now hearing, beyond that to Bluff Point, Avery Point and all the way into the western end of Long Island Sound. Lots of boats out after these speedsters, and unfortunately, not all of them practice good on-the-water etiquette, so have patience if you can or find less crowded waters (though perhaps less fishy) if you cannot. These fish have been feeding on quarter-sized baby bunker and/or butterfish in the Watch Hill area, so have some flies of this nature. Small to medium sized Deadly Dick's are hard to beat if you are spin casting. The fish are getting increasingly picky and skittish as time goes on but to high boat traffic and heavy pressure.

Dave at River & Rip Tide Angler in Coventry tells me the water level of the Wood River is actually a bit lower than ideal, and that because of this the fish are bunched up and a bit skittish; proceed with caution along the banks and when in the water. Terrestrials remain your best bet, though occasional caddis flies are on the water. Trout Unlimited will be doing another float stocking soon, and hopefully a bit of rainfall will boost water levels.

Getting To Know Your Watershed Lectures at WPWA

There are a lot of exciting projects happening in the watershed these days! To help keep the community informed, the WPWA has organized a series of brief lectures to review various activities in the watershed. The first two presentations will be at the WPWA campus in Barberville and the third will be a special presentation at our annual meeting in May 2010.

Lectures are free for members of the WPWA and their guests. The schedule and RSVP instructions can be found at www.tinyurl.com/wpwa-lectschedule. Be sure to RSVP if you want to attend because space is limited.

The lecture topics and speakers are:

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November 1, 2009, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, WPWA Headquarters, Barberville

"Getting To Know The Watershed - Electronically: New Breakthroughs in Web-based Information for RI's Watersheds"

Greg Bonynge, RI Geospatial Extension Specialist, URI
Elise Torello, WPWA

Greg and Elise will demonstrate some incredible new web technologies that are free and simple to use to explore the watershed's natural resources.

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January 24, 2010, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, WPWA Headquarters, Barberville

"Restoring Our Connections To The Sea For Migratory Fish"

Christopher Fox, Executive Director, WPWA
James Turek, NOAA

Chris and Jim will brief us all on the dam removal projects underway in the watershed.

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May 2010, WPWA Annual Meeting, Location TBA

"The Natural History of Trout and Trout Fishing in the Wood River"

Ed Lombardo, WPWA Trustee

Fishing legend Ed Lombardo will give a special lecture at the annual meeting on recreational fisheries in the Wood River. This is not to be missed!

Little Tunny Arrives!

There were good numbers of bonito around Sugar Reef at the end of the ebb tide, which is when I happened to get out there. Despite several chases and half-hearted hook ups, none were landed and the fish disappeared at the end of the tide.

Caught the start of the flood tide at Watch Hill Point and the place got real busy with fish breaking the surface between the bell buoy (a nice shiny new one replacing the one lost when Hurricane Bill came by the area) and the point. The fish turned out to be Little Tunny (false albacore), and they continued to feed heavily for about a half hour after which everything just turned off. I managed to land 3 small fish, in the 6 to 8 pound range, before the action shut down.

Both speedsters are in the area now, and hopefully they will stay a while.

Bonito Alert, Again

It looks as if the 2 consecutive weekends of big offshore swell from tropical systems has finally calmed, and with that, the bonito have moved back into the area. Dave at River & Rip Tide Angler in Coventry as well as Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters both had confirmed catches of this speedster at Sugar Reef, and to the west on the south side of Fishers Island. Dave also had reports of false albacore on the south side of Fishers, but couldn't confirm that until this evening. I will be heading out tomorrow late afternoon to see if I can locate either of these small tuna-like species.

The Wood River continues to be in good shape, but Dave notes that the trout are wary and spread out. A planned float stocking by Trout Unlimited did not happen due to bad weather, but will in the next week or so and that will add some nice fish to the mix. Green inchworms are the fly to have on hand.