PNP Mid Summer Update

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

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!

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!

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

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!!!

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!

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.