Oh where to begin…Let’s start with the obvious… Fishing is still awesome!  Blues, bass, bonito, black sea bass, and fluke are all in our fishery.  All are accessible, fun and available. Many beach fishermen this time of year get jealous of the boat guys because of their access to the open water, but beach guys, remember, this is when most of the great beach fishing begins to happen.

 

Not just does the volume that most anglers catch rise, but the mixture in species becomes really fun. This is when the bonito and the albies begin to show.  While the albies are still likely weeks away we have a lot of bonito in our water and many more to come, and while many people jump on their boats and run right to the bonito bar, the jetties and Great Point are just as good destinations.  Our island’s best beach fishermen in fact tend to make Great Point home for the next two months as this is when Great Point lights up with a variety of fish, particularly in the early morning.   

 

In fact, daily I get the question of “where should I go beach fishing?” and without hesitation I tend to say Great Point in the early morning or evening.  In August, when we have the sand eels in thick, it is the most consistent fishery we have from the beach.  You can also catch a mixed bag of blues, bass and bones.  If the point is inaccessible to you though, no worries we have tons of other areas to fish as well.  Smiths Point area, from the access point all the way to the point, is also fishing tremendously well and is holding all three species as well.  If you want to target massive bluefish, Nobadeer to Tom Nevers has been great as well as Quidnet on the east side.  Getting the drift… fish are all around the island.  While the waters have warmed a ton, there are still bass being caught in the twilight hours and at nighttime.  Perhaps the best location to target these guys from the beach if you can not get to either point is “point of breakers” right near Surfside, in the white water.

 

From the boat, blues in particular have been more than plentiful and they are huge! Particularly on the east side of the island off of Quidnet and on the south side of the island from Surfside to Ton Nevers.   If you are targeting these fish, bring PLENTY of lures as they will crush your gear, but honestly it is worth it.  They are a ton of fun and plentiful.  There are plenty of other spots to catch blues as well, not just the gaiters: Great Point Rip has them, most the western rips are full of bluefish as is old man.  With all the bait in our fishery the blues are all around us with a variety of sizes as well.  This is the time of year where if you see small terns, you will find sand eels, and likely there are blues, sea bass or even bonito under.

 

Bonito… While the bonito bar is typically the most consistent spot to go, it has been good to this point, but not great.  The bar fishes best on an incoming tide and there have been plenty of blues/bass there and some bonito, but the weather has just been incredibly inconsistent, so tough to have a few good days there to get on them. This fishery should firm up over the weekend though.  As mentioned before though, there is a ton of bait on the jetties and in the harbor and everything is setting up to have another stellar year of harbor bonito fishing.  This is a ton of fun as these fish set-up just like albies and it takes patience and skill to SLOWLY creep a boat on them and hit with a good cast to frothy fish.  The chase is worth it though, when you hook up.

 

And never forget our bottom fishing.  Sea bass are now all over the west end as well as Sankaty and the south east corner.  When the sand eels get here, they are typically everywhere on the outer edges of the island and this year is no exception.  Our Fluke fishing is still strong too, particularly east of the island.  If you are in the market for some dinner fish, this is recommended.  

 

My last point is I have heard numerous stories of boats stuck out in the fog this year.  This has been an incredibly difficult weather summer, particularly with all the humidity and the pop up thunderstorms.  Please always monitor the weather before you leave on a boat trip and while you are out there.  I am on the water 10+ hours a day and check the weather 5-7 times a day even on the most beautiful days to monitor likelihood of fog rolling in as well as storms.  We have had more “unexpected” thunderstorms this year than any year I can remember.  As amazing as the water is make sure you are prepared!  For when you are, the memories and experiences are always worth it! 

 

With fishing at the best its been in years, we hope everyone gets out there. Go wet a line!