Fishing Forecast - August Full Moon

The fall run is starting to kick off here in RI, with shoals of baitfish making their way to the oceanfront from the salt ponds, rivers, and estuaries that they call home for the summer months. There have been bonito and even a handful of spanish mackerel caught over the past couple of weeks with albies (hopefully) not far behind them. There's a chance that by the next fishing forecast in two weeks, there will be albies to talk about. It's definitely time to get out there and try to find the early ones, which are generally the biggest of the season and the least finicky. The bluefin bite on the midshore grounds is picking up nicely, with fish well dispersed across a very large area meaning there are plenty of options. There have been whispers of some yellowfin midshore as well, although I haven't seen anything consistent yet. Inshore, the striped bass bite is good, but the ridiculous numbers of sharks make it really difficult. The bottom fishing is also good, but seems a bit lackluster compared to previous years. There is no shortage of short fluke and black sea bass, but consistently finding quality keepers seems to be another story. As more bait flushes out front, the bottom fishing will should only get better.

Hardtails

The bonito bite has been hot and cold recently. If you get out on the right day, it's a steady pick with great feeds on top. On the bad days... graveyard. There's certainly no shortage of bait. I'd expect that in the next couple of weeks, we'll see the bonito bite steady out and become more consistent. Metal/Epoxy Jigs and Albie Snax are usually the first things you'll want to throw. Small minnow plugs like the Yo-Zuri Mag Minnow are also a great option. On your hunt for bonito, you may see or catch some spanish mackerel mixed in. Some years are better than others around here, and the signs are pointing toward a good one this season. They will eat all of the same things, and they seem particularly willing to hit a minnow plug. The Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnowis another great one, but it doesn't cast well compared to the Mag Minnow. For kayak and boat guys, they troll great. It's also that time of year when the albies will be showing up "any day now" until they actually do. There's plenty of bait, the water temperature is in the right range, and the water is clean out front. All of the ingredients are there. If you want the first albies of the season, spend as much time on the water as possible in the next couple of weeks, blind cast as much as you can bare it, and keep your eyes peeled for those distinctive, intense surface feeds.

Peter with a nice bonito that fell for the fly.

Offshore

The bluefin bite is really taking shape now. Over the past week, trolling, jigging, and popping has all resulted in bites. There's a mix of sizes depending on where you go. From footballs to 40-50 inch class, to 60+ inchers and giants. They're all around. Although the bite is hot in general, if you happen to get out there when it's cold, it can be really difficult to get bites even when you're on a pile of fish. Being prepared with a variety of approaches can be key right now. The Chatter Spreader Bars and Hogy Splasher Bars are both good options if you plan on trolling. There have been fish up high and spread out, so it's not the worst idea by any means. For poppers we have the Hogy Charter Grade Tuna Chug Popper and Yo-Zuri Mag Popper.Again, they've been up high, so casting poppers around even if you aren't seeing surface action is a good idea. The jig bite has been great. The UVT,Hogy Sandeel,and Point Jude Deep Force Jigs are all taking fish. Pink glow (in the UVT) and natural sandeel colors have been hottest. The RonZ has been getting bites as it always does, and the UVT Chief has burst onto the scene in a big way. Mahi have been rolling in pretty thick for a couple of weeks now, although they're mostly on the small side for now. They will grow very quickly and will be perfect for fish tacos in just a couple more weeks. There have also been white marlin on the midshore grounds, though I haven't been hearing about particularly great numbers - just knowing there are at least a few around is enough to get me excited, though. It's a great time of year to be offshore, you just never know what you're going to see.

Jon with a beautiful bluefin on a 10" RonZ.

Bass and Bottom Fishing

The bass fishing has been great for some, and tough for others. The water is warm, and the sharks are in very thick. That isn't a great recipe for good bass fishing. If you can get on a bite without the sharks invading the scene, there is good fishing to be had. From the surf, Needlefish,Bottle Plugs,and Minnow Plugshave been the best options at night. With small bait around, try a Striper Fly or Red Gill Original as a teaser above your plug. From boat, trolling the Tube is probably the top producer for nice fish right now. Small baits aren't a bad choice from now through the end of the fall as they generally switch to a diet of small baitfish like spearing, peanut bunker, bay anchovies, sandeels, etc. Metal/Epoxy Jigs,small Topwater like the Rebel Jumpin Minnow, and Albie Snax are all great bets. The bottom fishing has been pretty tough in general this year. It isn't particularly hard to catch a pile of small fluke and black sea bass, but consistently finding big ones hasn't been easy for most. Upsizing your baits is one way to cull bigger fish. For sea bass, I like a 5-6" Paddletail to weed out the plentiful short fish. For fluke, a 6" or bigger Gulp! on a Bucktail is a good way to beef up your presentation. Fluke rigs like the Teezer Fluke Rig and Flippin Out Fluke Rig with big baits are also perfect. It's a great time of year to catch tautog on artificals like Metal/Epoxy Jigs as they take advantage of the bounty of small baitfish around out front. As the fall run really kicks into gear, the bottom fishing should pick up all over the board.

Shawn with a great light tackle bass