Fishing Forecast - July Full Moon

It's hard to believe we're already moving on to July. With water temps firing up in a hurry, heaps of bait around, and a fair extended forecast, there's plenty to look forward to the next couple weeks. The bonito bite is still solid, though maybe not quite as hot as a couple weeks ago. That seems to depend on the day more than anything right now, but they're still consistently around. I would think they'll continue to hang out through July and into the fall run. There doesn't seem to be much reason for them to leave at this point. The bass bite has been great all spring and summer, and there's no sign of that slowing down. The bottom fishing is also great right now. That should only continue to get better as we move into the second half of summer. There are some promising signs that it will be another good year for recreational-sized bluefin, and that should start heating up any day now. It's also that magical time of year when we start to see the species of fish we don't always have a chance to see here in RI. Tropical strays are a personal favorite mine. Once that ocean temp creeps up over 70, some funky fish tend to show up. Particularly when we have deep blue, clean water like we have out front right now. It's one of my favorite times of year to be on the water just for that "you never know" factor.

Striped Bass

The striped bass fishing has been fantastic all season long here in Rhode Island. Even with the spike in water temps last week, the bay is still holding a fair amount of bait and a good number of fun-sized bass. It'll depend on the day, and you might have to run around a bit to find them, but there are definitely still active bass to be caught in the bay. If you poke out front, the fishing has been excellent. Look for moving water, structure, and depth. You don't necessarily need to fish the deep water, but you'll want to try spots that have deep, cool water readily accessible to the bass. Big topwater is still a great option in low-light conditions. The Doc, JoeBaggs Skipper, JiggingWorld Rattle Stick, Lemire's Plugworks Wave Jammer, and 247 Mully are all great spooks. Another option, brand new to the shop, is the Yo-Zuri Mag Pencil. If you're familiar with the Yo-Zuri TopKnock pencils, you should be excited. At 8" and 3.3oz, it is basically a bigger, meaner version of the TopKnock. They cast great, work smoothly and come in some great colors. Other than topwater, big soft plastics are king in the summer with a nice low-and-slow, lazy presentation for big bass that don't want to work hard for a big meal. I won't get too much into that here, because myself and Coby recently filmed a video covering all of our tips and tricks when it comes to fishing big soft plastics. If you're interested, you can find that video Here. Lastly, as we step into the dog days of summer, make sure you have a couple of Butchie Built Tubes with you at all times. This goes for boat and kayak fishermen. Everyone has their own ideas as far as what the tube "looks like" to a bass, or what it imitates. Whatever the case may be, they are a proven big bass catcher throughout the most difficult time of year to fool big bass. They work great going slow or fast - throw it behind you as you reset a drift or change spots. An alternative to the classic "Tube N Worm" is to cut a strip of Fishbitesand use that for scent rather than a worm. Both will work!

A big ol' boat bass caught on a big soft plastic on a JoeBaggs SPJ Jighead.

Funny Fish

It seems crazy to be saying the bonito fishing has slowed down a little bit... at the end of June! It was pretty hot and heavy in the middle of the month but seems to have taken a step down in numbers of fish. There are still a lot around, and especially if you're on boat, you can go out front with the expectations of at least seeing a handful of schools come up top to feed. With water temps right in their comfort range and plenty of bait around, there's no reason to believe we won't get another strong wave of bonito at any time. Between the abundance of sandeels and squid out front, everything is well-fed this summer. The longer the bonito stick around, generally, the pickier they will get. To match the thin profile of a sandeel, try throwing Metals/Epoxies, Hogy Surface Eraser, or Savage Gear Sandeel Pencil. When the fish are clearly feeding on sandeels, it's tough to beat the Savage Gear. It casts great, and not only looks like a sandeel in your hand, but more importantly, it moves like one in the water. Rip it in either up top or just under the surface and you'll see the slight wiggle and roll that the bonito just can't seem to resist. Another early season favorite are Swimmers or minnow plugs. As the fish get pickier and inevitably wind up feeding on smaller bait come fall, these tend to get phased out. For now and the next couple of weeks though, make sure you have a handful in your bag with you.

Jon with a beautiful shore-based bonito from earlier this week.

Bottom Fishing

The fluke, black sea bass, and scup fishing is all excellent right now. For both fluke and black sea bass, the only "problem" is the abundance of short fish. You'll probably have to fight through many small fish before you get into a keeper. This certainly isn't the worst problem to have, but it can be tough on the days you're just looking to load the cooler. It's not a bad idea to leave the more popular bottom fishing grounds and try something that doesn't see much pressure. It's definitely a theme, particularly on the fluking grounds, that once the party boats, charter boats, and of course the draggers have their way for a couple weeks, the keeper-sized fish can be few and far between. One easy way to cull bigger fish, both fluke and sea bass, is to upsize your presentation. There are right and wrong ways to do so, though. For example, if you're using an epoxy jig for sea bass, putting on a bigger/heavier jig isn't necessarily going to get you bigger fish. It'll probably just make it more difficult to catch fish in general. The same could be said if you're using a Bucktail for fluke - if you're catching a lot of shorts, you don't want to just throw on a bigger/heavier bucktail. Instead, try putting something on the hook as a trailer to increase the length and profile of your bucktail. Whether that be a strip of Fishbite, a strip of squid, or a Gulp! or another soft plastic. As far as sea bass, I would change profiles completely in that scenario. If you're getting lots of short fish on a metal/epoxy, try switching to a good-sized Paddletail or Bucktail. That change to a bigger profile can be key to getting those bigger bites - but you want to do it in a way your bait is still presenting in a natural way to the fish. 

A beautiful pair of triggerfish caught recently on a Hogy epoxy tipped with Fishbites.

Lastly, as water temps skyrocket and we approach that time of year when anything could happen, make sure you keep your eyes peeled. Watch for fish cruising open water on the surface, watch your sonars for big suspended marks over deep water, check floating debris and buoys for life, and keep an eye on any fish that you're bringing up from the depths to see if it has any curious followers. Those are just a handful of ways to be prepared to catch one of the several tropical species we have sniffing around our waters. For example, just the other day I was filling the cooler on a mission to make a big bowl of ceviche. With my limit of two keeper sea bass, I went on the hunt for some scup to top off the cooler. As I brought one to the surface, I saw several big gray silhouettes following it up. Sure enough, a whole school of triggerfish came up to my kayak. I frantically unhooked the scup, put a tiny sliver of Fishbites on the treble of my epoxy, and caught 3 within a minute or two before the rest of the school vanished. Moral of the story (besides the fact that you should  have Fishbites on hand at all times) is to get out there as much as possible this time of year, and pay close attention, because you never know what you might run into!