A Day Fishing the Ocean

Day ruiners!

I started my day about noon time. High tide was at 1:30 and I wanted to do some bottom fishing. I stopped at a tackle shop on my way down and bought some sea worms. My goal/hope was to catch some scup. Tautog season is closed for the summer. However, I would not have been disappointed to catch any. I would have let them go, but I love their fight.  I tried the avenues in Narragansett. As I was walking in, another guy was walking out with a bucket that had some scup. That was certainly positive.

I set up my rod for bottom fishing. I casted it out. As soon as it hit the bottom, little bait stealing choggies (cunner) were all over it. I caught a couple of them, but couldn't stand it so I left.

 I then went to a public access spot a little north of Narragansett Beach. I couldn't go there, because paving was going on. Then I decided to go to the East Wall. I figured I'd have a good shot at scup and fluke there. Unfortunately, the parking lot is still closed because of work being done on the wall. That sucked. I probably would have had my best luck there.

From there, I thought I could cast from the Short Wall at Salty Brine  Beach. However, since it is summer, they charge to park there. Needless to say, it was getting frustrating. I also now realized that Scarborough Beach and Roger Wheeeler would be out of the question. I decided to give up on bottom fishing.

It was about 5:30 but it was cloudy. I hoped the stripers might be somewhat active. I tried a backwater spot that had easy access and free parking. I caught four stripers and a hickory shad, and felt better about my day. The fish stopped biting about 6:30. I guessed they would start up again about sunset, but I didn't want to waste the ninety minutes. On a side note, the Rhode Island National Guard Air Show is coming up this weekend. A few of the planes put on a show at Narragansett Beach. There was also a few parachute jumpers. I could see all this from my vantage point. It was neat to see.

The sunset on the lighthouse was amazing, but the fishing wasn't

From my bottom fishing disaster, I knew the ocean was very calm today. So I thought I could fish at . Beavertail is straight up scary. Waves are usually huge there. I figured since it was so calm, I may as well give it a shot. At least I'd have a chance at a big fish. After putting on my waders and finding a safe perch, it was about 7:30. I fished there until 9:30. I never got a hit. There were two other guys who also looked like they went fishless. I was disappointed. I really just wanted one big fish, but it was not meant to be.


I wanted to get home early but I also wanted to try one more spot. I have a little honey hole that can be good if bait is around. The last couple of years it wasn't produced at all. I tried it earlier in the week and caught four small ones. I told myself I'll fish it for fifteen minutes.

Honey hole schoolies save the day

An hour and a half later I left. I caught five schoolies and a big sea robin. There weren't a lot of fish, but there was some busting bait on the surface. The tide was all wrong for this spot, so I think it is a good omen that it is going to fish well this year. There wasn't any visible bait, but there must have been some around because I saw multiple fish popping the surface.

All in all, today had its ups and downs. I really wanted to catch some bottom fish. Catching scup, fluke, and tautog (that I would have caught and released) are not my strong suits. The lack of public access hurt, especially at the East Wall. However, I found stripers at two of the three spots I looked for them. I got a total of nine stripers, a hickory shad, and a sea robin, along with a couple pesky choogies.

Fifteen inch sea robin caught at night