DEEP HOLE, RI

There are two main locations close enough to each other to be fished as one and both are accessed from the same parking lot. This is also one of those “old-time” hot spots, a place that has been on the radar of local surfmen for years. From the Deep Hole Fishing Area parking lot at the end of Matunuck Beach Road, Carpenter’s Bar is to the west and Deep Hole to the east.

While striped bass and bluefish can be taken here throughout the season, I generally concentrate my efforts towards the end of the year, say after October 1. However, a group of anglers fishes this area every April to tangle with their first fish of the season. Early outings are either hit or miss, but when it’s on, it is possible to score your first pile of bass of the year. Small jigs, either on their own or behind a casting egg, are the top choices.

Summer along Carpenter’s Bar has always been schoolie-central for me, but I have heard of the occasional cow being landed in the midst of the little guys. This spot saved an otherwise dismal outing for me in July a few years back. After working the Narragansett surf for little more than several hits, I made the move west and figured I would stop by Carpenter’s for a few casts. A good number of casts came in with doubleheaders and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a wet night with a dropping tide, southwest wind and steady three- to four-foot waves breaking over my head at times.

%pullstart%I walked down the beach below the Ocean Mist, waded out on the bar and racked up an impressive number of bass to 20 pounds on a teaser and Bomber combo.%pullend%Deep Hole, to the east of the parking lot, is my preferred area to fish here. It is possible to wade out on the bar on the west side of the hole and cast into the dark, deeper water. Bass and bluefish are known to trap herring, bunker and all manner of bait in this hole. When (see also if) sea herring move inshore late in the season, this is a prime spot to connect with a late-season hog. Daytime in November can be absolutely outstanding here with a high dropping tide and light southwest breeze. Be careful, however, as an angler drowned in this area several years ago when he stepped into the water not knowing how deep the trough in front of him was.

I pack my bag with long-casting pencil poppers, bucktail jigs, needlefish and metal-lip swimmers by day; change out the poppers for Finnish swimmers after dark. Quite often a long cast is needed to reach the fish here, so take that into account when filling up your plug bag.

To access the Deep Hole Fishing Area parking lot, follow Route 1 to Matunuck Beach Road. Follow this to the end until you see the large parking lot entrance on the right. There are two access points at either end of the lot which lead right down to the beach. The beach is a combination of smallish pebbles and sand, and there is a good sweep over the bar at times, so Korkers or spikes of some sort are helpful. Waders are a good idea; a wetsuit makes things even easier.