Hillyer's Tackle

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said it was another steady week of fishing for his customers though the word of the arrival of albies to the region had been the source of some new chatter. They sold lots of epoxy jigs and tins to anglers looking to head east in search of false albacore. A few customers mentioned they had heard the fish had shown there late last week Other than the albies, customers were in to buy gear for everything from snapper blues to bluefin tuna. Locally, there are snappers and scup to be caught from the rocks. Scup fishing is decent everywhere from the local rocks east to Watch Hill. A few customers are still picking away at local fluke but others are making the run to Montauk or Block Island where there is more consistent action for keeper sized flatfish. A few legal sized sea bass are being caught in deep water off of Black Point and at The Race. A few customers reported catching stripers in and around the mouth of the Thames River. Others were in to buy epoxy jigs to take east and look for bonito along the south shore of Rhode Island. Near and offshore fishing has been good. The recreational sized bluefish bite south of Montauk has been steady as have yellowfin and swords at the canyons.

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said it had been a busy weekend as the bluefish tournament and fair weather had kept a steady flow of customers coming through the shop. As of when we talked, the shop had weighed the second heaviest fish on the board (at the time of the call), a 16.94-pound blue caught by angler Rich Befoe. They weighed in a few fish over the 14-pound mark over the course of the two day tournament, evidence of a fresh push of large blues into the sound. Other than the blues, customers were in to buy gear for everything from snapper blues to bluefin tuna. Locally, there are snappers and scup to be caught from the rocks. Scup fishing is decent everywhere from the local rocks east to Watch Hill. A few customers are still picking away at local fluke but others are making the run to Montauk where there is more consistent action for keeper sized flatfish. A few legal sized sea bass are being caught in deep water off of Black Point and at The Race. A few customers reported catching stripers in and around the mouth of the Thames River. Others were in to buy epoxy jigs to take east and look for bonito along the south shore of Rhode Island. Near and offshore fishing has been good. The recreational sized bluefish bite south of Montauk has been steady as have yellowfin and swords at the canyons.