I took a quick trip to Rhode Island as I knew that the fishing was hot and it was a matter of time until the huge schools of fluke migrate out of the waters in and around Point Judith & Narraganset.While in port I decided that whether the outcome was good or bad, that it would be a success. Today it was one of the days where you are glad you were fishing with a good bud and could laugh at the failures and struggles of righting the ship when your stern isn't producing the normal and much expected bounty.
Different drift and wind causes a challenge to recognize which type of bait rig you need to use. A faster drift means a longer trailing rig. Our morning drift gave us a quick moving pass over the fish. I used up to 10 ounces to really keep touch with the bottom. I've learned that this fishery needs anywhere from 6-12 ounces to be effective when using bait. The late morning and afternoon was a pure bucktail and inchiku jig catch. Both Jie & I caught some nice fluke over 20 inches on the inchiku jigs I prepared. Along with fluke, Jie took a 11 inch porgy while I was pulling up countless beautiful skate (see photo below).
Being a quickstrike trip I had limited gear so when arriving to the dock, I picked up some more terminal gear:
- Rods: Lamiglas 7040CT, Daiwa Saltiga SA66MF, St. Croix Premier PM76MHF, St. Croix Tidemaster TC76MHF
- Reels: Shimano Ocea Jigger 1500PG, Shimano Stradic FJ5000, Abu Ambassadeur 7000 (Vintage), Abu Garcia 6500C Catfish Special
- Rigs: Doormat Fluke Rig By Little Rhody Tackle, Homemade bait rigs, Homemade Porgy Rigs, Homemade Yozuri Inchiku jigs.
- Leader: Seaguar Premium #40lb Fluorocarbon, Ande Monofiliment #60lb
- Swivel: Spro #150lb Ball Bearing
- Squid Teaser: Yamashita, Shimano Engetsu
Technique: I best found that when dragging bait rigs to keep them still. There really wasn't a need to bounce bottom unless you felt it getting caught up. Most the bottom of the area we fished didn't have snags or wreck debris. Perhaps one of the drops had some wreckage but it was minimal.
Whilst bucktailing, the short pump of the jig found most fish tugging instead of really attacking the hooks. I did feel some quick lateral movement worked in random interval would help attract fluke as their peripheral view of my jig increase as I was higher off the bottom. Inchiku jigging seemed to work both with the drag/bait and bounce/raise technique.
Another note, the less movement the more skate fish. So I kept the rig moving. :)
Anglers: Jie & I
City of Port: Point Judith, Rhode Island
Fishing Location: Block Island (Southwest corner)
Departure Time: 7AM-4PM
Captain Name: Rich
Vessel: Lady Frances - Frances Fleet
Species Caught: Summer flounder, Skate, Black Seabass, Porgy
