They were the best and usually most highly contested surf fishing spots in the Rhode Island area. The prime locations along the Ocean Drive were coveted by the locals and our fellow members of the Linesiders Bass Club who worked at the Newport Naval base who ended their work day by 3:30 p.m. Russ and I were working until 5 p.m. and were just driving home before the aforementioned anglers were already set up and had lines in the water. We searched for an ocean facing spot that was not just productive but comfortable as well. One of the old timers at the club had suggested Sachuest Point, which after the beach crowd picked up their wet towels and blankets, left quite a few parking places at the head of the lane. We packed in the open spaces, never obstructing a path or a lane as we walked along the rugged western shoreline under the berm with our sights set on Sheep Pen Rock.
This is a large congregation of rock and ledge consisting of several connected and disconnected structures which is almost always visible with even the slightest surge of wind and wave conditions. The Sachuest Point Nature Reserve maintains an office on the grounds which is usually open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. where you can obtain the permit required to fish nights. We are told by local tackle shops, their customers and our friend Iron Mike who said that fishing along the aforementioned berm below the path out to the east facing point was accessible and seldom a problem. There is an area which supports nesting birds which begins around April 15th and ends after September 15th when the last of the nesting birds have hatched and fledged their offspring. That area is well marked and there is no reason for any fishermen to go near it.
During the summer months we would always arrive after the beach crowd left and walk the berm until we were abreast of Sheep Pen Rock. Unlike the canal there is usually quite a bit of room for plug casters as well as bottom fishermen. We always carried two rods; a conventional rod with a Penn Squidder for bottom fishing, where our basic rigs consisted of a 4- to 6-ounce sinker, with what was, at the time, a state-of-the-art gold plated 9/0 offset Eagle Claw hook. The other was a spinning rod with an Atom swimmer or popper ready for the occasional blitzes that occurred within reach. Our hand-selected fresh squid baits were usually all in the 3- to 4-inch range through which we inserted a hook from the tail up through the head. It took very little current to make it move like it was alive. Back then coffee cups were made of thin Styrofoam, pieces of which we inserted inside the squid to keep it off the bottom and away from the spider crabs and jumbo scup which went on the prowl at night. Sachuest Cove and in particular Sheep Pen rock is one of the very best locations to fish along the Rhode Island shoreline.
It is no coincidence that on any given day you will see several Rhode Island charter boats trolling west of that ledge or casting plugs into the white water. It is not just a very good surf fishing location, it is also one of my favorite boating locations to toss plugs at first light then pick up the tube and worm rods and troll along the edges of the reef and the big shallow pieces of it to the east and south east that usually hold stripers and blues. In the fall this becomes one of my favorite tautog spots, one which I have been fishing with the old vets from the Weetamoe Yacht club since I was 13 years old. Many decades later this is still one of the best tog and scup areas in the area. Give it a look!
