AW Marina

Karen at AW Marina said she talked to customers who’d had good fishing locally and beyond this week. Folks in the shop had reports for albies, bass, blues, scup, sea bass, fluke and tuna depending on where they had been or planned to go. Locally, the shore fishing is steady and good for anglers casting bait for scup. Sandworms, squid and clams have all been effective for porgies on both sides of the river at Fort Trumbull and Avery Point. Striper fishing in the mouth has been decent as well with one customer sharing pictures of a 40-inch class bass from the pier. The stripers are also being caught on the troll with spoons and tube and worm rigs. Bluefish activity as The Race has been steady though the size of the blues has been on the smaller side. Other customers in to load up on epoxy jigs, tins and Albie Snax said there were headed east to chase reports of albies and bonito along the Rhode Island shore. Word was some albies had shown up last week to join the bonito that had taken up residence. The best sea bass and fluke reports were coming in from Montauk where one customer described easy action for nice sized sea bass to pair with some good fluke action. Other folks into load up on bait before heading offshore have said that fishing in the canyons has been good. Karen said she had plenty of bait on hand including rigged squid for anyone making the long steam offshore.

Karen at AW Marina told me it had been a busy weekend at the shop between the good weather and bluefish tournament. They sold lots of bait and tackle to customers fishing for everything from porgies, to blackfish, fluke, sea bass, stripers, bonito, tuna and sharks. The shop had weighed a few fish in for the tournament when we spoke and a 13.73-pound fish was the heaviest they’d seen. The bluefish bite has been best locally at The Race where blues had kind of taken over for the stripers that had residency earlier in the season. Striper fishing has been best in the river where customers are catching them from boat and shore. Shore fishing in the river has been very good for customers who’ve reported catching striped bass, porgies blackfish and the occasional fluke. Regulars have been saying they are seeing some of the best shore fishing for stripers that they can remember in the last couple of years. Most of the fish are coming on bait but when they are showing on the surface, topwater plugs are working well. Porgy fishing has been very good from the pier as well as across the river at Fort Trumbull. A few keeper fluke have been caught as well on the same sandworms, clams and squid meant for scup. Karen reminded her customers that the summer blackfish season closes on the last day of the month and that will give us some time for the anticipation to build for the coming fall season. The boaters she’s talked to reported a few different bites. A few of the hardtail addicts had been in to stock up on epoxy jigs and tins to take to the Rhode Island south shore in search of bonito. Fluke fishing at Montauk has been pretty good most days with some nice-sized fish mixed in. The nearshore tuna bite just south of there has been steady with the occasional off day as well. Other folks were in to buy chum and were headed out sharking. She was also selling flats of butterfish to bigger boats headed out to the canyons.