I usually don’t fish the oceanfront on Fourth of July week because it’s a zoo. However, last week I had an errand to do at south county and was down there anyways, so I took a rod with me to give it a try. I got to the oceanfront about 5 p.m. The crowds at that point were unbelievable. Parking lots were filled, restaurants jammed, and traffic was moving at a crawl. But, I did manage to find a parking spot near the West Wall, and I decided to go looking there hoping to find the abundant bluefish that have been reported. I found no bluefish, but I did manage to catch five fluke with a bucktail jig. All were undersized. There was lots of bait along the Wall, but no bluefish. There were also no fishermen, which tells you a lot about what has or hasn’t been happening.
From there I headed to the East Wall at about 7 p.m. Same story: people and traffic jams all over the place. I was barely able to park there as the free beach was loaded. Got one fluke off the Wall and saw no bait and no blues. Finally, my last stop was at Narragansett Beach where I arrived just before dark. Ocean Road was jammed with cars and people walking around, and there were hundreds of people on the beach and in the water at dark. I walked a ways down the beach and finally found an open spot where I would not hook a swimmer and I started plugging. Boy, the water was warm. Also, there was no bait around. I did manage to pick up a schoolie about twenty inches long on a Slug Go well after dark after most of the swimmers had departed. That was it.
So, striper fishing from shore is in a summer slow down here in Rhode Island with lots of people, disruptions, and few fish around. Daytime and evening fishing is pretty much a waste of time in the daylight. Even bluefish are nowhere to be found. Word is that those venturing out very late, from midnight to 5 a.m., are getting an occasional keeper bass on eels. Most fishermen I know, unless they own a big boat capable of getting offshore to Block Island or off the rough waters of Newport or Jamestown, are cutting back on their trips to the oceanfront or giving up until the fall.
I, on the other hand, have turned my attention to freshwater fishing for largemouths and carp, as I often do when saltwater sours. Both these fish love hot weather and are active in the heat of summer. In the last week I have landed over forty carp with sizes from small ones up to the low twenty-pound range. Carp are fantastic fighters and are plentiful in many southern New England states.
If you are looking for info on how to fish for these fish, click here to check out my carp fishing website.
My son, Jon, loves to fish the local ponds for largemouths. We went a few days back, a day in which the temperature was near 90 degrees. In two hours of fishing in the evening we landed over twenty largemouths and two pickerel. Many of the bass went 3-4 pounds, very good sizes. They were all taken on plastic worms.
So, while many surf fishermen sit home just moaning about the lousy summer saltwater fishing, realize some hot fishing is available close to home in freshwater. Give carp or largemouth bass a try — it might just open up a whole new world of possibilities for summer action.
Photos of Warmer Water Sending More RI Fishermen Inland
