Plug N Play Fishing Update

PNP Mid Summer Update

2011-08-08T14:22:00.009-04:00

Well its hard to believe its already mid August and the halfway point of the 2011 fishing season. We here at Plug N Play Charters have been flat out running trips daily with AMAZING results. We are also proud to announce the newest addition to the family, Capt Matthew Perry is now a USCG Certified Captain and is running trips with PNP full time. I've personally had the pleasure of knowing Matt since he was about 10 years old and see his fishing skills broaden with each passing season has brought a smile to my face and seeing him now utilize his fishing skill to offer our patrons a wonderful day on the water is even better. We are delighted to have him working with us and I'm sure anyone who gets the opportunity to go fishing with him will feel the same! Congratulations Matt and Welcome Aboard.

Now to the reports...fishing this season since the early spring has been phenomenal. Since mid June we've had what we would say is the best season in many years for bigger bass. PNP just had another awesome top water 53lb bass taken last week which is wonderful news. She was caught by my son which was also great to see and released to fight another day. With that being said the fishing has been amazing in many locations with bass in the 15lb-40lb class taken just about daily all on light tackle. What a season its been guys and we feel the best is yet to come as August and September are usually big fish months for PNP in years past and its sure to follow suit this season. With Capt Matt running trips with us we have decided to put the 21ft Parker back in the water which is easier to trailer, making trips in other locations much easier for both of us. Matt's been fishing his clients in the RI waters along Newport and has had awesome results. Matt's recent excursion did well this past weekend with his sports landing over 40 BIG Bluefish in the 12lb-15lb class and nice bass in the 20lb class working the whitewater pockets along Newport and Little Compton. Nice work Capt Matt on your first few trips and I know the clients LOVED IT!

The phone and emails have been pretty steady with questions regarding the small inshore tuna fishery. Right now on the days we can make the trips we have been running south of MA/RI in search of School Bluefin Tuna from 15-60lbs and had mixed results but we are catching. Many other people have also asking about the inshore Bonito and False Albacore bite which could be amazing this year. We are covered with small herring and sand eels in many of the popular haunts for these fish and if the bait holds things could get wild in the next few weeks so be prepared as its any day the Bonito will start up in local spots. If this type of trip is something your considering trying or already have and want to get back out now is the time to book these trips.I usually tell people Labor Day is the starting point for the False Albacore and by the time they contact us to book the good dates are taken. Advanced bookings are highly encouraged and help us greatly and also allows you more time to get better prepared for you trip.

Right now we still have some keys dates open for inshore bass and bluefish which is on fire. We have also diversified some this season and are offering Fluke, Scup, and Sea Bass charters which has been awesome if this is more your speed. The Scup fishing is a "no brainer" right now with hundreds of "dinner plate" sized fish on just about every drop. Overall for us the bottom fishing trips are a wonderful change of pace and are more relaxed at times versus tossing big lures into the rocks. Even better is we have noticed we are seeing a more "family oriented" fishery which means getting the younger ones out for some recreational fishing and what better way to teach a youngster to fish then a tight line on every drop with a Scup, Sea Bass or even a Fluke on the end of the line. Happy Times!

Well if your already scheduled with with us for the 2011 "Fall Run" awesome and if booking with us is something you've want to do now is the time so please let us know as we have plenty of open dates left with the recent addition of Capt Matt to the rooster. If this first half is any indication to what's to come we here at PNP feel the 2nd half of this summer season could be "off the hook". If you have any questions or just want to say hello drop us a call or email and don't forget to "become a fan" on the PNP Facebook page. We will be offering discounted trips, rate specials, fishing updates, etc using the Facebook Page for all our fans to hope on board!

2011 Season Is Underway

2011-05-12T10:17:00.000-04:00

We recently added 2 boats to the fleet. Both boats are state of the art fishing vessels with cutting edge electronics and safety gear. These boats will help get us to the fishing grounds fast and safe. The newest vessel M/V Irie Mon is a 2005 23TE Contender and the M/V It Ain't Luck a beautiful 28ft Southport CC which is based in Plymouth MA for all our tuna and cod fishing adventures. Having access to these boats has also opened up other opportunities for fishing such as Scup, Fluke, Sea Bass, and Blackfish charters which will begin to run daily based on each species season. We look forward to seeing everyone again this season and for more info feel free to contact us via phone or email

Spring has sprung here in New England and we are kicking off another fishing season in style. The one real good thing to this point is I'm way ahead of the curve and had the boats ready in late April which allowed for some earlier then usual scouting trips in Buzzards Bay which paid off huge.

Traditionally, I really never see any bigger schools of fish move into the areas in catchable numbers until roughly May 8th or so depending on food and water temps. This year we have already bo

ated numerous bluefish before May 1st AGAIN. Much like last years early showing and many keeper sized bass have come aboard! For the most part this is exciting but the shear number of bluefish really is surprising I just hope they don't keep the bass away.

The Squid numbers this season are far better then last years weak push which usually helps the

fishing stay good for most of the month. If this wind ever lays down maybe we'll actually get out this week. For the most part of 5 days we have had HARD N-NE winds with gust close to 40mph making it tough to get out. I have trips scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday so I hope the fish are still active in the same areas as last week. Tight Lines!

Fishing Is Getting Hot Weather Is Not!

2009-07-24T11:29:00.009-04:00

Well again I apologize about the lack of reports but to be honest the charters this season have been unreal with a full schedule and very little time most days but I'm trying anyway right! Since the last report the fishing I would say has been solid and getting better daily. I will have to say that most of the action from past seasons along the rocks of the Elizabeth Islands has been amazing in early July but tougher this season for sure. I would have to say it was very slow when I was able to get out there the first two weeks of the month and now its finally starting to get better for the bigger fish many angler hope to see. I'm not sure if its the overall numbers of fish or just other factors like weather and food sources but traditionally the first week of July is when you start to see "shark like" objects following your lures or flies to the boat but this season seems to be a few weeks behind. Maybe its largely in part to this so called "summer" we are having or maybe its just a cycle of fish but its finally showing signs of improvement in the spots that usually hold big fish each season for us.

When I am able to get out there I've had to work a bit harder at finding them and when you do they seems to be more then happy to come up on a large surface lure or flies. Oddly enough the thing that's been concerning me is the lack of smaller fish say 18"-28" in many locations. I mean not that I'm not a huge fan of big fish as many are but if you look at the pattern prior to the crash of the Striped Bass fishery 25 years ago its scary how similar things went then and it didn't go well. The fishery we have here in New England is amazing and many people including myself never got a good look at when it was REALLY good out there years ago but if it was better then this now that must have been unreal. I would hate to see it crash again or just plain disappear because of over fishing or just terrible management. We all do what we can to help keep the stocks healthy but some things like environmental changes and commercial harvesting is just out of are control but appears to be getting better on some levels in certain places and I hope it will remain to improve and not get any worse. I just hope other people like my son and his children get to enjoy what we have now which is what its all about. Maybe the lack of smaller fish is a sign of a cycle I'm not sure but lets hope the fishery stays stable as my jobs and many others who live in New England rely on it to keep food on the table and this area would never be the same without it.

The Newport fishery as far as I can tell has been amazing. When the conditions are right and the seas allow you to fish some of the structure along the reefs and rocks the bass bite has ben nothing short of awesome. Many days anglers are getting fish from 28"-40" and it seems like this goes from Newport all the way to Westport at times you just need to move and until you find the fish. From what I have seen is Newport has had a huge push of big sand eels like 5" long which after talking to some of the hardcore locals has not happened for sometime and can help hold the bigger fish in these waters for a longer period of time. With that being said the fishing has been great and I hope it holds right until October. We have not been catching many bluefish yet which is rare as usually your trying to get away from them to get just bass this time in the season. Although its almost time for the huge schools of bluefish to start moving in which traditionally starts around the first week of August along Newport. What we really need this year is some peanut bunker. Last season we saw just about nothing for peanuts and without this small baitfish we might end up having a repeat performance of last fall where the fishing is just tougher and you see very little surface activity. Either way the only complaint I have at this time is the weather. Summer, man who would have thought we would have 65 degrees as an average temperature in July. I hope august is better for weather because this rain is getting old and a few weeks of some nice weather could push in some pelagic fish in many locations so give us a break Mother Nature! Well I look forward to seeing everyone who's booked in coming weeks. I do have some dates open in August and September so if your looking to book something now's the time for sure.

Go Big Or Go Home Baby!

2009-06-19T14:39:00.003-04:00

Wow what an amazing few weeks of fishing we have had since since the last report a few weeks ago. In a matter of two weeks the fishing has been not only great for numbers of fish but for size. After many years of fishing hard with clients and seeing some amazing opportunities of anglers hooking and landing the fish of a lifetime it finally came together last week with the first 50lb fish landed and released to swim another day. On certain days the fishing has just been amazing but this one morning the tide, drifts, and overall conditions were prefect for fishing this area. The drift lasted almost an hour and after releasing well over 30 fish ranging from 25lbs to 35lbs we finally hooked a monster in 7 feet of water that looked like a small barrel was dropped from the sky into the water when she hit the Yellow/White Tattoo Sea Pup. She managed to fight like a mud filled boot to my surprise with a very slow subdued run and after about a 5 minute battle she came boat side and when I saw the fish I know it was big. We landed her and snapped a few pictures and released her to swim another day so shes back out there guys. The 60lb Boga Grip is very reliable and rarley lies so popping it down between 48lbs and 51lbs I figure it was very close to 50lbs easy as I struggled to get it off the deck and into the clients arms which was really funny to watch. Some of the best fishing of this season is taking place right now and if mother nature would allow us to get some better weather it could blow wide open again as the reports along New Jersey and Long Island are sounding great for the bigger bass bite right now so buckle up as these fish head north for cooler water and food.

Right now the fishing for Striped Bass has been spectacular with big fish and solid numbers on all trips. I plan on making my first good runs out to the Islands this week when the wind lays down here in search of the first good push of big girls. While the fishing has been great in close to shore its almost time to start searching cooler waters as it approaches 65 degrees inshore. The weather has been the worst part of June. As many of you know who live locally its been very unsettled with more then our fair share of EAST winds which I don't like for fishing. Colder then usual spring temps and measurable amounts of rain everyday for the last 20 days has made it no fun. I don't mind being cold but when your cold and wet it really starts to wear on your patients but the fish are already wet so who cares right! Well I guess If hunting big bass is what you like doing then now is the time to give some serious thought about booking some time with PNP. I figure with the current weather pattern and the cooler then usual water temps the fishing will only remain to stay good right into July. I have plenty of good dates still open for July and August which are two of my best months traditionally so please email me or call today to book some time for fishing. Also, while I've been trying to work at the shop in Middletown during the week more I can easily do a morning or afternoon trip in Newport so just let me know where you would like to fish and we'll make it happen.

Bass Fishing At Its Best

2009-06-06T10:12:00.003-04:00

All I can say is this week has been wonderful for fishing with little boat traffic and some great conditions. The weather has been cooler then usual for early June but hey its still spring and to be honest I kind of like wearing a winter hat and gloves this time of year. The fishing has been top notch most days with a very nice push of fish that came in late last week and provided some great fishing this week in Narragansett Bay. The huge schools of bluefish earlier in the week feeding on all the small herring are much more dispersed making it easier to try and target bass in the deeper parts of the water column without getting cut off right away on bluefish or using wire which is great.

The fishing here in Buzzards Bay has also started to get really good again for bigger bass. I had Dave Gale for his first real trip of the season yesterday in the rain and the bass fishing was amazing. We worked hard to find some bigger fish but finally hit pay dirt with many of the fish hooked and landed being in the 15lb-30lb class. We we're using big yak hair flys on an intermediate line which made for some great takes near the surface and helped us target the bigger fish in the group. Many of the bass following Dave's fly to the boat on some of the drifts could have easily pushed 50" and hey they didn't get that big for nothing so getting them to commit to a fly or lure is very tough but if anyone will figure it out it will be Dave for sure. Well, the spring fishing is in full swing and if the weather holds and the reports of many huge bass south of us in Jersey and Long Island start moving this way it could make for another great few weeks of fishing here. O yeah and one quick side note....The tuna have arrived. I'm very busy with bass trips right thru June that getting out to chase them anytime soon may be tough but I'm starting to take some bookings now for tuna fishing off Cape Cod starting in July so if your thinking about it now's the time to book these trips.

We Got Tons Of Bluefish All Over The Place!!!

2009-05-31T22:15:00.001-04:00

The reports from PNP are good this week. After a couple rough days with a huge cold front just about killing the fishing on top its finally getting better again. I've been fishing more in Narragansett Bay this past week and it really has been amazing. Huge schools of small herring are making there way out of the rivers and back down to the ocean and in its path has been huge schools of fish making there way into the bay making for some awesome spring feeding frenzy's. Most of the action has been bluefish which is great but the bad thing is if your trying to target bass without wire they are just robbing quality tied flies an expensive lures but that's part of the game. On days when anglers are ok with a tight line the bluefish schools in the lower bay have been feeding pretty much right through the moving parts of either tide providing very good surface action for the light tackle clients as well as the fly guys. The tough part right now is getting your jigs or flies down fast enough without it getting bitten in half by Mr Bluefish while fishing for bass. Either way the fishing is starting to get really good and with the next few days weather looking great things should really be in full swing but the mid June. I will start running out to the Islands in about 10 days in search of the first slug of big bass that are commonplace along the boulders in June out there. Lets hope this year is as good as last for size and numbers.

The Big Girls Are Starting To Show Now!

2009-05-25T09:40:00.004-04:00

Well I apologize about the gap in reports but with the work on the boat and trying to work in the shop at the same time things have just been very busy. I guess I would have to say the fishing in the last few weeks has been nothing short of awesome. Most trips have been between fishing here at home and in Narragansett Bay which has been nice. In Rhode Island waters the best action for me has been all over Narragansett Bay with a solid push of fish moving in from the Newport Bridge north to Prudence Island. Most of the fish have been on the surface with flocks of birds on them so finding them has not been the tough part getting them to eat at times has been another issue. They seem to be keyed in on small herring that are making their way out to the ocean and can make the bass very picky at times. The fly anglers have been doing great with smaller flies and the spin anglers using small swim shads and surface plugs have done fine but some days you need to work more to get them to eat certain colors. The fish we've been catching in Narragansett Bay are ranging in the 25"-32" range and when the bite is good catching 30+ fish a trip per person is not uncommon.

As far as the action closer to home in Buzzards Bay its been very good but the fish seem to moving much faster then in past seasons. This can make your job a lot harder as you find a nice push of fish one day willing to eat just about anything but a bare hook and the next day they have moved or are there but not willing to eat anything even live bait. Either way the next two weeks are going to be prime time for the bigger bass as they are starting to show up in the traditional spots and are hungry. We have taken a few fish this week at and above the 30lb mark on spinning gear and if history stays true next week is the better week for bigger fish as the June month approaches. If your looking to get into a big bass either on fly or on topwater plugs the next two weeks are a safe bet for something large. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the coming weeks and June is just about full with a few dates left open so get your request in now for dates as they are going quick.

Stripers Are Finally Back For 2009

2009-05-09T20:34:00.003-04:00

Finally.... the fish are here in catchable numbers and making it worth getting up early to get out to the waters edge. The weather has been a huge bummer the last ten days here with rain and wind and not so spring like conditions but it has not slowed the arrival of the fresh lice covered schoolie bass in many of the local hot spots. This mornings trip was great as I was invited to tag along with a friend of mine Ryan in his 16' Boston Whaler. Running around in one of these classic boats is wonderful on the right days. It really brings back memories of being 10 yrs old again chasing fish around the local waters or pulling your buddy behind the boat in a tube. Ryan has been fishing hard the last few weeks so finding the fish was not an issue. We started fishing about 5 minutes from the ramp and we promptly had fish on the end of the line. Many of the fish this time of year are not really big but its a great change after freezing all winter long waiting for something to show up to fish for. Even with the rain and wind we got a few solid hours of fishing in and hooked and landed at least 20 fish and lost many more so its offical..They Are Back! Biggest fish of the day was Ryan's 30" fish which was about 12lbs and loaded with lice. It would have been great to get out again tomorrow but the forecast does not look good with heavy winds up to 40 knots. Looks like we'll be shore fishing tomorrow. If your interested in booking some dates this month or at any point this season please feel free to contract me. Good tides and dates are going fast so book ASAP for the prime choice tides

Southern New England Fall Fishing Is Now!

2008-10-15T10:39:00.007-04:00

Well people its that time of year again. The leaves are changing with the cooler nights and all species of fish are starting to move south again to the winter holdover grounds. The fall fishing definitely started out weak in most of the areas that we fish but has come full circle the last week or so. Many of the days along the Islands we're tough in late September as the MV Derby guys invade and you have to share. We did have some fabulous days of fishing out along the Islands however with some days giving up a few fish just over 30lbs on both fly and spin. With that being said I decided to not run over to the Islands as much until the derby ends and started fishing back here along the Sakonnet and Newport shoreline again which has been a welcome change. The big question from all clients has been "Where are the albies"? Well yes the albies did come in but for a short time and on the days when the fish would stay up for more then 2 seconds making it tough for the fly rodders but a not to tough for the spin anglers using metals or Yozuri Live Bait you could in fact catch them it was just very tough which is usually the case for these fish. WE did manage to land about 20 total this season which is a far cry from landing 20 a day last season. These fish stayed for about 2 solid weeks on and off and then they just left as fast as they arrived. However, last week I had a day with Earl when fishing for bass a huge school of late October run Bonito made a push by the rocks we had been fishing and we did manage to get tight to a few of these guys before they left the scene. Tasty Critters!

The last few days I've not been booked which happens every year in October. The fishing is great but I think many people by this time have had enough and the books just get loose so its time for me to try and enjoy a few days fishing. My thoughts are this, you work very hard during the season as a guide and see many opportunities come and go but that's part of the job so when you can get to go fishing with other people its great and my fish of choice to chase is tuna. The waters off Cape Cod have been great all season long but this time of year when the bigger baits like half beaks or bunker are around the tuna just go nuts and the tuna fishing can be amazing. Many days are filled with huge schools of fish jumping 5-8ft out of the water after halfbeaks and if you can get close enough quick and get a surface plug or fly into the mix its party time! I had Phat Matt and Harvey Simon aboard on Saturday and we encountered a huge school of tuna that were feeding like bass just sipping sand eels off the surface and if you got a lure next to them they would just explode on it. We hooked 5 and landed 3 for the day and Harvey's fish was just a big butterball weighing what we figured to be about 90lbs. Overall this was a great season for BIG tuna on LITTLE tackle. Man I hope we can get out a few more times before the weather just gets way to grumpy for the Parker and the season is over. These fish are the best thing in the ocean period!

Most of the fall action has been just been awesome most days. I have had some really tough days but the better days seem to out number the tough ones making it a solid fall season overall. I think with the amount of bait and fish still north around Boston and south heading into the Canal we could have some great bass fishing here along the Islands and north estuaries of Buzzards Bay again in the coming weeks. The fall fishing is in full swing and I have some openings from now until Halloween so give us a call and plan to get out to enjoy some fall run fishing as the 2008 season is about to come to a close.

The Fall Fishing Is Heating Up!

2008-09-18T21:39:00.006-04:00

Well as usual another long time since I updated to fishing report for everyone which is not anything new but many thanks to Dave Gale for busting my kahunas tonight so I'm doing so now. The last few weeks have been up and down with major motor issues and a tropical storm rolling by and it has been wild to say the least. I hope this black cloud of bad luck with boat is finally moved one and things start to get better again. As for the fishing on the other hand its been just getting better by the day it seems. The lack of bait has been a huge concern until the last few days when huge amounts of bay anchovies and schools of peanut bunker are starting to show in better size. Today was the first time all season I can really say we saw fish starting to school up and eating schools of bait. Most of the time I'm in the rocks drifting just teasing fish or looking for fish to be holding in structure. This is great but when this time of year comes around you start to look for fish to be moving more and migrating and catching better numbers versus size or many times both with many different species. The heavy north wind today brought some cooler air and with that we got into our first really good push of bait and migrating fish which is great!

The past few weeks I've been flat out busy with bookings everyday which is wonderful so no complaining here. Dave Gale went huge again in some really rough seas last Friday but managed to get tight to one of the bigger bass of the season again. Another huge bass on fly gear for Dave as he is without a doubt the top fly rod angler this season for big bass and he gets the job done when it counts. Great work once again Dave now please lets catch some albies on the next trips. I also had Dave Gonder and his wife Heather from Canada. They made the trip down this week to do bass fishing one day and a Cape Cod Tuna run the next day. We got some last minute intel from Phat Matt and decided to make the run on Tuesday and it was a good call. After a few hours of waiting and hunting it finally happened. A really good school of tuna between 60-120lb blows up near the boat and we finally get tight to one. I felt bad as Dave is a custom rod builder and made an awesome rod for the trip and unfortunately got tight on my Calstar but either way after 30 minutes of fighting he landed an awesome 100lb fish. Nice Work! The following day we decided to fish for bass along the Islands. Flat calm conditions have not been good to me out there but we did manage a few nice bass and had a fair amount of bluefish to play with at the same time.

Today I had John Rukavina onboard for his annual fall trip. He books 4 days and spreads them out and thanks for that as today was NE 20-25 and tomorrows forecast looks even worse but we'll give it a try anyway. The fishing today was really limited as we had to stay close with all the wind and heavy seas. John's an excellent angler so you just drive the boat and try to get some shots off when the fish are up. I decided to stay close to home and its a good thing we did because we ran into the first real school of fast moving fish today...FINALLY! People have been calling asking and I really figured its getting late and these fish are just not going to show but they finally did today which was wonderful. John hooked and landed a bunch and we finally called it a day after taking a beating in close to shore which is not a good thing on a north wind running in the lee. Well lets hope tomorrow is as good as today's conditions and the bait and fish are as active. Let the games begin I think the first real signs of fall are here. I have some awesome dates in October open so get an email over and book some time to fish. This is your last chance for the "08" season and remember its a long winter guys!

The Fishing Has Been Fair

2008-08-24T18:03:00.008-04:00

As I type this update I'm hearing reports of the first solid showing of Bonito and even Albies all along the Southcoast. Many reports are coming in from the Vineyard and Long Island but still I've not seen any on my daily hunts between here and the Islands which is no fun because everyone wants to chase them. I still get many calls and emails but I'm serious these small inshore tuna have managed to stay out of sight pretty well to this point. I really think the lack of bait we usually see along Newport and other areas has just not come together this season so far and until then I think the actual numbers of fish breaking on top may be very small. This makes it hard to locate them and in turn you spend hours looking for a fish that might just not be there or is there and not showing so you blind cast for hours with no results.

On a more positive note, the bass and bluefish have been great most days. For the last few weeks many days of fishing have been 6-8 hour days and during much of them the fishing has been better then expected. Anglers using surface lures have done very well at first light along many of the usual haunts and when the tidal flow is right even later into the morning. I've had some days with multiple 30lb fish taken after 11am this year which is solid proof if you work the structure right bigger fish are around you just need to make them eat or at least take a look at what your throwing.

The big problem the past few weeks has been the unpredictable thunder storms that just seem to evolve right above the boat. I had a great client Jim Allenchy about two weeks ago lined up for an all day trip. I looked at the forecast the night before and decided why not we can give it a try in the morning and see what the conditions are like as we go. We'll anytime your greeted at the ramp by no other boats, an empty parking lot, and a very red sky you should rethink things. I figured the run would not be all that bad and it wasn't. We start fishing at around 7am and things are not all that bad. Find some decent fishing finally when the sky decided to go from a light shade of grey to almost night and opens up above us with rain like a tropical monsoon. Thunder and lightning and from what I could tell a few good water spouts appear and its suddenly like Armageddon on the water. Well we run for cover along a safe beach and wait it out only to start fishing again to see another cloud coming so we decided to call it a day and made the really rough ride back. I must give Jim credit he never complain if anything loved it from what he said and he did land a very nice fish in what I would consider a tropical storm and lost what could have been the largest fish to date to a huge rock and poor boat handling on my part.

Other then the serious weather I feel the August fishing has been awesome overall. The bass bite has been tougher the last few days with the full moon and seaweed almost everywhere you turn. I think in the coming days with these cooler night and first signs of fall here the fishing should turn on again and I hope to see some Bonito or Albie first hand in the coming days even if I have to break down and run to MV with Phat Matt for a recon trip in his little boat. As I mentioned I have been busy and looking at the calender all I have left is 5 DAYS between now and October 1st which is amazing considering the state of the economy and peoples spending habits. I'm trying to my best and it appears to be working I guess. I look forward to seeing everyone who's booked in the coming weeks and if fishing during the cooler months of the migration are what your thinking about please book your October rates now. I have some very nice dates open in October around good tides which is a shock but they will fill in soon. Stay Tight!

Double Trouble!

2008-08-05T20:30:00.004-04:00

Todays trip was booked way in advance as a gift from Kathy's dad Bob to her husband Vance for his 30th. These two are not only a great time to have on the boat but are very accomplished anglers who love to chase big bass on plugs. Vance gets out all the time when the bite is good in NJ where they live and Kathy gets out from time to time as well but really likes boat fishing over the surf stuff so she looks forward to these trips and had no problem tossing big lures in the rocks with Vance today. We started in the usual spots that had fish early last week which had been good and again when two good anglers get the plugs in the good areas and you get "no love" its time to move. The fish have moved from these areas or are just not feeding well on the weaker parts of the tides so we had to look a bit before we found bigger fish. It started out slow but about an hour into the trip found a real good slug of bass in the 10lb-30lb range laid up in the rips and rockpiles looking for food. We did see many nice bass follow the other hooked fish to the boat so we knew they were there. We never did land anything giant but hooked and lost one good one and I thought overall it was a great trip. Kathy got on the board with a nice 18lb bass and Vance with a 25lb bass. As always I look forward to having these guys again as they make the pilgrimage every summer to Newport and look forward to fishing. See you guys next year.

PS....Vance please ditch that silly Yankee's hat next time!

Thumbs Down On NOAA Today

2008-08-04T21:36:00.003-04:00

Well, after talking with Peter G late last night we decided to give the offshore run a go today. Well at 5am this morning we all meet at Joe Dwyers boat in Newport and the wind was already ramped up and things just did not look good for an offshore run due to a bad forecast. We all piled in the boat anyhow to get out front of Newport with the plan to dash south to look for small BFT or Bonito or any pelagic fish for that matter if the wind stayed the same or even settled down around 7am. We in turn tried sitting for about an hour off Land's End and then we decided even with the wind to try and run south and look for some fast movers. Pete G was at the helm and the 23 Regulator was regulating the high seas and I mean high seas. After we crossed about the 10 mile mark the sea conditions went down hill quick. Seas with a stiff NW-W direction with outgoing tide in Rhode Island Sound made for some real grumpy seas. We had solid 3-5 footers and a few miles north of Cox's Ledge called it and decided today was not the day for tuna fishing and changed our course from SW to NW. We then made the run into Pt. Judith's Harbor of Refuge and decided to try and look for Bonito which was also not really happening yet. We sat for about an hour looking at empty water and just got bored quick really. After looking there we decided to go into Pt Judith to grab some quick "chowda" and Clam Cakes @ Georgia's and try to regroup which was a great call...Thanks JD! While eating them we just decided maybe just take a cruise around and try some good bass waters and enjoy some time out on the water and what time we had left in a pretty nice day other then the windy conditions offshore. Overall a great time with some great people and I love days off on the water when driving and putting people on fish is just not what I need to do I can rest and watch others fish. Seeing that Dan will be going back to Afghanistan in a few months for what I think is his 4th tour "in country" I think he needed that trip and it was great to see him fishing before the real work begins. Good Times on the Beast and drinking a few beers and cruising in the Regulator is always fun even if the fishing is just down right slow. Maybe next trip well catch more then a good buzz and sunburns guys!

Warm Water and Smaller Bass This Weekend

2008-08-03T21:54:00.004-04:00

Today I was lucky enough to have Jim Burton on board for 6 hours of fly slinging. Jim's an accomplished angler and outstanding fly caster so trips like this are always a pleasure for me as much as the anglers. We started out slipping along some really nice structure with good moving tides so I figure this should be great with low light conditions and some fog. Well after ten minutes of moving around we found it to be dead and I mean dead. I just could not believe how one day the place is covered with fish and the next just empty and void of even a few small bluefish. I guess they have fins and will move so that's what we did we grew our own fins and moved to cooler water and better structure. Anywhere on the south side of the Islands today was awesome. Nothing real big but plenty of fish in the 18"-30" range. Jim had a great time catching tons of schoolies and was rewarded with one plump 15lbs bass that put up an awesome fight. Overall not a bad weekend of fishing and the water is a bit dirty and still loaded with weed so lets hope the big tides and some wind push that stuff out. Nothing like seeing "Walter" headed toward your fly or plug only to see him turn away due to 5lbs of seaweed on your offering. I'll be going offshore with Pete, Dan and Joe Dwyer on Joe's 23 Regulator in search of this seasons south side first inshore BFT or Bonito. Stand By!

The Bass Bite Is On!

2008-07-31T18:29:00.011-04:00

Well first off I apologize about the delay in the fishing reports. I had some engine issues with the boat about two weeks back which have been smoothed out now and I have been flat out busy and just tired so there ya go! With that being said the busy part of things has been great and so has the fishing. The weather was not great last week with heavy swells and big winds so I was able to get a few things done around the house and at the Saltwater Edge. The rest of August is all booked and I have a few days toward the end of the month open but thats it so things are looking good for August.

Today was another trip with Dave Gale and his son Evan. Evan is a plug fisherman so he's got the upper hand when it comes to distance and presentation to the bigger bass. We had ideal conditions for hunting big bass this morning with a fair amount of fog, overcast, and not much boat traffic. The tide was perfect in our first spot and on Evans third cast with a big wooden spook he goes tight to his first bass of the 2008 season which weighed in at 18lbs! Not a bad start kid! We picked through the rocks and found many more fish just milling looking to eat anything that swam by. After awhile we decided to move around some more and try to find the big girls. A few spots this past week have been holding some monster fish and I've found that the first hour or so before the tide rips really hard has been best in these spots. Well we worked and worked and finally after a few good drifts we found the bigger fish. Now Dave is on the bow and Evan is working from the back using the spinning tackle. Dave has been fishing his 7 wt fly rod most of the morning as we really didn't find any huge fish early just some smaller ones so why not use the 7wt when you can. Well, when this pack of fish decided to rush up to the boat Dave's small 7wt was not a good weapon of choice but he casted anyway. A fish I'm guessing is about 45" comes up and slowly inhales his small E-Z Body baitfish pattern and he's off to the races. Meanwhile, Evan is reeling in another nice fish which he also hooked from that school of fish. After a few minutes of battling and some amazing rod work by Dave using his tiny 7wt he manages to turn this big girl around and starts gaining some backing and fly line. We now get a good look at her and we know she's big but how big. Dave slides the fish boatside and we put the 60lb Boga on her and Wham! 38lbs of pure 7wt fly eating pleasure pulls down on the Boga! Another great day of fishing for Dave and his son Evan.

Yesterday I had Tony Amado. Tony is from New York and most of his fishing is done for Largemouth Bass, Salmon or Atlantic's so when its time to hit the salt for Striped Bass he can't wait. We decided to get an early start due to the forecast of bright sun and no wind. I figured the tide would be better later in the morning so we putted around in the rocks catching smaller fish and having a great time. Most of this style of fishing is cast, cast move. I'm convinced if the fish are in the area they will let you know if not move. We did just that for most of the morning just moving around trying different patterns at different depths and caught tons of bass and a few small bluefish. When the tide was finally right for hunting for the big bass we moved in and did the first drift in a very good spot. After a few cast with little to show I was thinking that the fish finally moved on. No sooner did I say "Think its slow in here today" a really nice fish follows the fly to the boat and tries to eat but Tony runs out of room to move the fly and no go. The next cast he goes long and after a few strips he gets tight to a nice fish in the 20lb class and he's all smiles! We had a few really good drifts with mixed results but we did manage a few serious critters on fly gear from many of the the rocks that morning. Nice work Tony.

The Dentist Goes Large Again!

2008-07-12T12:13:00.009-04:00

Well it has been another spectacular week of fishing here in Buzzards Bay as well as along Newport. Once again I had Dave Gale and his good friend Mark yesterday for a few good hours of fishing. I guess before I start with the update I should just explain why the importance of having a good trip with Dave is critical. Dave started booking trips years ago and the funny thing was every time his trips would come up the weather was usually as foul as could be, hence the last name "Gale", or the fishing was just not good. Last year we started to break the weather curse and got better windows without 4 ft seas or 20 knots of wind and got tight to some better fish. Well, Dave and I had one morning last year around this time that was unreal as far as quality and numbers of bass go. On one drift Dave make a well placed long cast into a boulder field that had been holding good numbers of giant bass for about 3 weeks. Well this day these fish were all charged up and they wanted to eat big poppers in the worst way. A fish I'm guessing would have went well over 40lbs, emerges from the pack and consumes his popper right at the boat. He does an amazing job of setting up and clearing the fly line while still maintaining solid pressure on a huge bass which is key. Dave knows my style of fishing and that's this "lock em up". I fish a very tight drag all the time and I rely on my rigging and rod angle and pressure to know when and how to pull on a bigger critter. I figure land the fish sooner then later and I do it with all species of fish I pursue and its worked well and not so well but I will continue to operate this way regardless. Well, Dave to has started to like this style of fishing and this particular morning has a very snug drag which is great to see for both him and the fish on the end. Well even with that being said the fish just runs a straight path for the largest rocks within 20 miles and cuts off the fly line with about 40 yards of backing with it. Dave and I just sit in amazement while we try to figure out how we might find a flyline in my gear bag or a tern might fly by and drop a brand new Airflo intermediate in the boat while passing to get him fishing again. No such luck but what an experience for him to witness it go down. But we also wanted to to try and save a fish a few weeks of towing hardware around which must have sucked.

Well Dave fishes a few days a month to say the least and the following week he invites a good friend and accomplished fly caster to get out with him. We do in fact have great conditions again and the fish are happy and his buddy ends up landing a 30+lb fish on an 8wt. Now Dave is convinced he is jinxed and has sunk into what many anglers refer to as the "rut". No way to live really and I think I might have to get Dave some medical attention at this point. Well this season things have come full circle for Dave and he is not only casting when it counts but can see and understand when and how to manipulate a fly for larger fish and its paid off. I'm excited to say he's finally on the upside of that "rut" and has learned and become on of the better guys for this style fishing.

Well the fishing continues to be as good as it gets early in the mornings. We did have some swell on along the south facing shorelines for most of the week but the water quality changed almost over night for yesterdays fishing which was great to see finally. Dave and Mark had solid fishing from about 5am until 9am when things really slowed down. Most of the action for the guys tossing big plugs like Tattoo Sea Pups or needlefish have done great. The key is this you need to cast far from the boat. Big bass don't like boats hooked or not hooked. They are very aware of whats happening in the water much like if you live near a highway your used to hearing it where as your family comes to stay and can't sleep the whole time do to the noise. Its ambient and I feel the fish are the same way at least the bigger guys in water under 15ft deep. Great week this week overall and I hope the swells move along quick as I know commercial season open tomorrow and well have plenty of boats to compete with for the next few weeks until that slaughter is over. Well for all who have trips this coming week I look forward to seeing you and like I mentioned in the last update I do have some solid dates open during the next few weeks as well as into August so get your plans together now and lets catch some fish!

Day Off Finally For Catching Up!

2008-07-09T13:17:00.005-04:00

Well its been awesome but biz is cranking right along and the phone and email continues to be nuts with people wanting to get out in the worst way which is a good thing for me. Today I think not many people are out unless they are out in a tug boat due to the heavy 20-30 knots of SW wind. This leaves me a few minutes to get caught up on phone calls and emails as well as try to give all of you a heads up on the bite. I must say as far as the bass fishing goes its been nothing short of awesome. Many days when you can find that cooler water your in for a treat if willing to put up with big lures and big flies. Many full day trips all last week yielded fish in the mid teens to 35lbs which is what you expect to see this time of year. I was lucky enough to have Greg and his two sons on Monday morning. We stayed close but found plenty of smaller bass and a huge school of hungry bluefish. Max smashed one that tipped the Boga Grip out at 8lbs which is a very nice Bluefish on light tackle. Nice Work Guys!

Yesterday I had Randy and his dad Loyd from Michigan. These guys are regular pros with spinning tackle. I decided to trailer down to NPT for to get out on some of the reefs and rocks piles that are traditionally great this time of year and man did I make a good call. One Randy's first cast he goes tight to a 20lb fish and his dads not far behind. We had fish most of the morning in various spots that could not turn away from the surface lures producing great fishing action all morning. As the sun got higher the fish started to shy out some but the action overall was fantastic. I think these two will be back next summer for another trip. Overall not a bad week so far I'm just a bit concerned about the wind and swell that Bertha might throw at us later this week and toward the start of next week. If your looking to fish I have a few openings next week and toward the end of the month for all the peeps looking to give Mr Charlie Tuna a good run!

July 4th Weekend Was Not All Bad!

2008-07-06T21:24:00.004-04:00

I had Tom and Ray aboard today for an full day of fishing. The day started out slow as the tide was just not moving well but before long we went tight to a few small bass in the rocks along the northern side of the Elizabeth Islands. Even with it being the last day of the July 4th weekend I figured the water would have been loaded with boats but for the first few hours it was not. Well, that all changed about 9am when the tide started to really get moving and a ton of boats just moved in. With the increase in boat traffic and motor noise the fish seemed very spooky today but we still managed a few nicer fish in the mid teen class. For the most part a great day of fishing and I look forward to having Tom and Ray again very soon.