Block Island Fishing Report from Snowfly Charters

Snowfly Charters

25 Cady St. Coventry RI 02816
and
Block Island RI 02807

Snowfly Sportfishing Charters

2015 Fishing Report

June 11, 2015

    Greetings! It's been way to long since our last report and for that we apologize. I'm hoping this spring has given you all a positive fish catching attitude. Lots of sunshine, warmer temps and Striped Bass have taken the place of huge snow mounds at the top of our driveways, bitter cold & ultra short days. A lot has happened with the Striped Bass fishery since then. As most of you know by now, the DEM changed the Striped Bass regulation from 2 Bass to 1 Bass per angler per day. This is really good news and a step in the right direction. Our beloved state fish has taken a real beating over the last decade both commercially and recreationally. Hopefully some day soon Striped Bass will no longer be commercially fished which will in turn allow for better regulation and an increase in the size and population of these magnificent fish. So let us enjoy this small victory for a moment but at the same time realizing that there is a long way to go to save the man in the striped suit.   In the end if a commercial fishery exists for Bass then we won't be able to protect the big fish. These are the breeding females which would include just about any fish over 35 inches. These fish are ABSOLUTELY crucial for the survival of the species! These big girls are the fish that are being targeted.    It's actually the recreational end of things that kills most Striped Bass. However; it's because they can be sold commercially which allows the greedy recreational fisherman (this includes many 6 pack charter boats) to sell their catch as well as their clients catch in alot of cases to restaurants and fish mongers. John and I believe that most fisherman are not aware of this fact and really have no idea of the real state of the Striped Bass.   We hope that further regulations will save the Striper from a fate that is inevitable at the rate in which they are being harvested. Now lets talk about the 2015 fishing season. Capt.John will be arriving on Block Island with his 23' Jones Brothers tomorrow and I will again be trailering my 23 SeaCraft on the mainland to wherever the fish are. The water is still a frigid 53 degrees on the island but Stripers and Fluke fishing have been good at times but still inconsistent. Narragansett Bay has also given up some spectacular fishing at times but also inconsistent. No matter where in Rhode Island you're looking to get out and tight to some fish Snowfly Charters has you covered. So give us a call and lets get you on the water and create some epic fishing memories.

Until next time, Screaming reels & ripping tides!

Capt. Greg Snow
Capt. John Tondra

2014 Fishing Report

June 10, 2014.

We are now officially in the midst of the Rhode Island Striped Bass fishing season.   Block Island was a bit late to light up (as we knew it would be) but Capt John is doing very well and his fly fisherman are out fishing the spin fisherman and the six pack wire liners are downright struggling. The fish are on tiny baits which gives the guys with the whippy stick a huge advantage. Narragansett Bay is still fishing well and I expect it to continue for another week or two. Schools of Menhaden are being harassed on a regular basis by some seriously large Stripers with the occasional gorilla Bluefish and even Weakfish. I think the next few weeks are going to be lights out on the Block so lets get you out with Capt. John to experience one of Southern New England's best fisheries.

Rhode Island waters really heating up!

May 22, 2014. The bite is on! Rhode Island is just now lighting up with a nice Striped Bass push. There have been small Bass around for the past 2 weeks but we can now confirm that some solid critters are here and hungry.   Went out Wednesday with Bob and Pete and came across some really heavy Stripers harassing jumbo baits. The early morning hours were very active with fish on the surface but as soon as it got late and the sun was hi in the sky it all shut down. Any interested in doing a trip over Memorial weekend let me know.    Sunday morning is available.

Sept 14, 2013. It has been a slow start to the False Albacore season here in Southern New England. It is now official that these awesome little tunoids have invaded our waters and are being caught on a regular basis now. The Albies have taken up residence at their usual haunts during the usual tides. We hope that they stick around long enough for all of us to get our shots at what I consider the most addictive, exciting and of course frustrating fish to catch on fly or light tackle in our local waters. The last two weeks in Sept and first two weeks of Oct are usually prime for the Alberts.   I will trailer the 23' Seacraft anywhere in Southern RI but concentrate on the Watch Hill area and also run to Montauk Point for Full days. Capt. John has relocated to Montauk Point so for anyone wanting to fish out of that area please let us know.

Aug 15, 2013. The Block Island Striped Bass bite has been good over the past 2 weeks. We are seeing lots of baby Butterfish and Squid in the waters around the island. Capt. John has found concentrated schools of Stripers in very specific and unusual spots around the island. Once found the Bass have been very aggressive. We went on a Bonito hunt early in the week and cashed in big time.   We found Lots of Block Island Bones willing to eat whatever you put in front of their noses. Some fish were quite hefty and oh so delicious. Bonito make amazing sashimi. Make sure you ice'em down for a firmer flesh. As a reminder, Capt. John will be relocating to Montauk Point, NY for the fall run around the 10th of Sept.   Capt. Greg will be tailoring the SeaCraft wherever the bite is hottest. We will most likely be concentrating efforts in the Watch Hill area. Greg will be making runs over to Montauk again for full days. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the boat.

June 23, 2013. Well as the weather goes, the fishing goes. Capt. John out on Block Island is seeing increased numbers and size on the Striped Bass front. With the past few days displaying some terrific weather, the balls of sand eels have been getting pounded relentlessly by the ever growing population of Striped Bass and Bluefish, John is also catching massive scup as well as Fluke and Black Sea Bass. Bigger fish have been hiding in the rocks along Newport and Jamestown. Schools of Menhaden are still getting harassed by big bass and fisherman alike in the Providence river. The next couple of weeks should be primetime if our weather holds out.

June 4, 2013. Sand eels, bunker, crabs, mantis shrimp, cinder worms and silversides have been on the menu for Striped Bass in the Ocean State as of late.   Things are starting to heat up all over Rhode Island and Block Island. Narragansett Bay and Block Island have seen some real inconsistent fishing over the past week but it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose. I'd put my money on Block Island. The Block Island bottom fishing for this early in the season has been better than in past years. Newport and the usual haunts in South County have had better numbers and some bigger fish are being caught. Capt. John out on Block Island offers great specials for family fun bottom fishing with 2 hour charters starting at $175 for 4 anglers. These are perfect charters for kids. Lots of species including Fluke, Black Sea Bass & Scup are being caught. We hope to see everyone on the water sooner than later.

May 21, 2013. The much anticipated 2013 Striped Bass season is upon us. These hungry, fresh Stripers have invaded the waters off Newport, Narragansett Bay, and Block Island. We were actually a little surprised to see actively sipping stripes on Block Island with the water temp being just a tad over 50.   Captains John & Greg were scouting out the island and stumbled upon a group of Bass chewing on sand eels. The Island is also holding some seriously nice Fluke for this time of year. Capt. John is a master at finding these doormats.   Narragansett Bay is also giving us a nice showing of the Stripers as well as Bluefish. Give us a call or throw us an email to book a trip.

February 11, 2013. Hello fisherman! I hope that everyone had a terrific holiday season and the thoughts of spring run Striped Bass have been filling your dreams. Snowfly Charters is now booking for the 2013 fishing season.   Remember that the month of June goes fast. The 3rd and 4th week of June are almost full. The big news is that Snowfly Charters is expanding. Capt. John Tondra will be part of the team come the 2013 season. John is an outstanding fly fishing and light tackle guide that will be running charters out of his custom 23' Jones bros center console. John has over 30 years experience fishing Southern New England. There were a lot of charter Captains trying to come aboard but none with the experience, professionalism, and personality of Capt. John. Everyone is going to love him.   John will heading up our Block Island outfit and Capt. Greg will be running out of the mainland Rhode Island. Greg will be trailering the 23' SeaCraft to all points in RI as well as Cape Cod Bay for the Bluefin Tuna bite.   So no matter where you are in Rhode Island, Snowfly Charters has you covered. With over 60 years of saltwater fishing experience Greg and John will keep your lines tight and faces smiling.    We are looking forward to hearing from everyone this season and we'll see you on the water.

Oct 1, 2012.   I got out yesterday morning with a good friend. The forecast was for rain with light breezes. Rain is no problem as long as it's not blowing 20 knots (again). Left Watch Hill at 630 with the amount of life there just not up to par for this time of year. Made the 10 mile journey to Montauk. We had raging Albies for 6+ hours. The breeze laid down to nothing and the bass started rafting up and put on a good show. The bait is still micro and all predators could be picky at times but in the end there were many fish caught. You can see the little Bay Anchovy in the picture of the Albie on the deck. To say the fishing is red hot right now is an understatement. Tue & Wed of this week look spectacular weather wise. I have both open for full days at Montauk if anyone wants to experience this epic fishing.

Sept 28, 2012    Greetings my salty friends. Well it's now or never for a shot at the fall blitz.experience. We have seen some spectacular fishing over the past week. The Stripers have finally shown up in big numbers and are giving us some spectacular blitzing action. The False Albacore are in huge hungary pods as well. Scott and Bob were up from Delaware Tuesday. Sunday it looked as if our charter for Tuesday was going to be perfect weather. We were quickly reminded that we were in southern New England in late September. Our forecast went to hell real quick. A very grumpy 20 knot breeze all day from the Southwest made for wet and bumpy conditions. Thank God it was 75 degrees and the Bass and Albies had the feedbag strapped on tight. The bait was par for the course, tiny Bay Anchovies. If you weren't matching then you weren't catching. Lots of screaming reels and big smiles for these guys. The weather looks great over this weekend so drop me a line if you are interested in getting out to fish either Watch Hill or Montauk. As a guide it's a curse to do this but I guarantee solid blitzing action over the next 3 days. I hope to see you on the water.

May 30, 2012.

The weather this past Memorial Day weekend was absolutely perfect. As usual, when there is warm, summer like conditions in Southern New England during mid spring the Striped Bass will have the feedbag on.   Loads of Sand Eels were getting chewed up by fresh ocean run Stripers.   I don't think in six charters over the weekend we one fish under 28". These fish were some of the healthiest I've seen in recent memory. Great color and no lesions or discoloring on any of the Bass we boated. These Bass averaged about 33" with lots of 38" plus fish. Sometimes finicky when eating small Sandies it was tough at times but in the end we always got them to take both flies and plugs. We have no shortage of big Bluefish either. Are you surprised that these Blues were not picky??   It's shaping up to be an outstanding early season Striped Bass run on Block Island.

May 21, 2012

Fish on! The much anticipated Block Island Striped Bass fishing season is officially underway. The Stripers showed up on the Block early this year as we predicted. The first week of May resulted in some pre-season catches with really solid and consistent results over the past few days.   The Bass are here in good enough numbers now to start excepting charters on the island. I have a couple openings over Memorial Day weekend so lets get y'all tight to some early season Stripes.

April 12, 2012

    Hello my fishing friends! Capt. Greg here just giving y'all a 2012 fishing season update. The charter season began this past Easter weekend. Don't get too excited now, the season started for me. I pulled out the SeaCraft to do some minor repairs and maintenance. I will try to get her ready to fish ASAP for all of you hard cores that are chomping at the bit. This wildly warm winter will certainly affect the fishing in some way, shape or form. It's impossible to know what this spring has in store for us but one thing is for sure, it will surely be interesting.   There are some solid reports from South county that large schools of schoolie striped bass are already hammering bait on the beaches. I have made the decision to keep the SeaCraft on her trailer for the month of May. Trailering allows for a lot of wiggle room when deciding where to fish the spring run. Narragansett Bay? South County? Newport?   Nobody knows where the Bass will show and what they will be feeding on. It's anybody's guess.  I can't wait! The Striped Bass will be migrating out to Block Island as usual, and as usual Snowfly Charters will be right on their tails. I expect to be doing charters on the Island by Memorial Day weekend. June is almost entiely booked, so don't procrastinate when booking your fishing trip for July and August. I'm now accepting reservations for Memorial Day weekend. The past few fishing seasons have been starting earlier and earlier. That (along with the recent weather patterns) makes me believe things will be firing up early once again.  It will be hard to top last season's epic fishing but who knows what Mother Nature will give us. Looking forward to hearing from everyone and psyched about getting my anglers tight to some quality fish.   Cheers.....

February 9, 2012.

Okay, I know it's a little late but I want to start by wishing everyone a happy New Year. Let's hope the 2012 fishing season is half as good as 2011. Snowfly Charters had its best season in ten years due to the fact that 2011 was oh so fishy. The Block Island season started nicely with a decent number of Sand Eels taking up residence from the North Rip to the Southwest Corner. The first two weeks of June proved to be good, consistent fishing with cookie cutter 34" stripers being taken on both fly and light spinning tackle.  These fish then became oddly finicky and thinned out considerably. I found myself scratching my head wondering what the heck was going on. I mean it was now the 3rd week of June and the bite was off. Slow fishing on Block Island at the end of June is imposable, right??   This is the exact time of year when I tell all my clients to come out and experience Block Island at its best. Then something happened that as far as I know has never happened on the Block.   A huge pile of Halfbeaks showed up in the north rip. I'm talking metric tons of these things! Halfbeaks are almost exclusively an offshore bait species. Basically a northern version of Ballyhoo. They ranged from three inches to a foot in length. They are packed with oil, have a soft bone structure and virtually no defensive needle bones on its fins (common in almost all finned baitfish species). It seems like everything likes to eat these things.   What the Halfbeaks do have is speed. These silvery speedsters look like living mirrors grey hounding when pursued.   It's quite a sight to see and makes for exciting Bass and Bluefish blitzes. I've never seen carnage like that before. The action we saw for two months strait was as incredible as it gets anywhere.    Even Montauk at it's best couldn't match the mayhem that ensued. At times we had Bluefin Tuna and even a group of four White Marlin lured into forty feet of water by Mother Natures' giant chum slick provided by the Bass & Blues. Finished off the season fishing out of Watch Hill, RI.   September and October were both tough months.   Wind and huge swell made the fishing inconsistent. Just before and after Columbus day was the best weather and fishing we saw during the fall run.   The bite at Montauk was a total bloodbath during this time. Acres of False Albacore and some seriously nice Stripers in gigantic pods were absolutely feasting on balls of Bay Anchovies. I will be concentrating on the May Squid run on Watch Hill Reef so if anyone is interested in that then let me know. I'll then move out to Block Island sometime around Memorial Day. June is about half booked at this point. July and August are fairly open as of now. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone and looking more forward to getting y'all tight to some big fish in the not so distant future.

October 12, 2011

Here we go ladies and gentlemen! This is what we have all been waiting for. Cooler temps and friendly breezes have gotten things ramped up around Watch Hill, Montauk and Fishers Island. Lots of False Albacore, Bluefish and now the the men in striped suits have busted onto the scene. The fall blitz is at it's peak and God willing will stay good for a few more weeks. It's all weather at this point. The weather stays fair and the fishing will stay great. It's just that simple. Bay Anchovies, Baby Butterfish and small Silversides are being mauled on a daily basis. Lets get you in on some of this great action. Remember that the Sea Craft is in Watch Hill, RI which is only 2 hours from NYC.

Sept 28, 2011

Greetings fellow fisherman! It’s been weeks since my last report and for that I apologize. We have seen really good numbers of False Albacore in Watch Hill, Fishers Island and Montauk Point. We are experiencing a nice Indian summer as of late. As much as we all have enjoyed it the fishing slowed a bit in the past couple days because of it. There will be a chilly Easterly over the next 48 hours which will get the bait and the fish migrating again. My clients in past few trips have been focusing on the False Albacore. The Striped Bass have not yet started their run in a big way yet. Still waiting for this to happen. With so much warm weather I expect the fishing to be good well into November.. I still have some weekend slots open so throw me a line and lets get out to enjoy whats left of the 2011 season.

Aug 31, 2011

    Snowfly Charters has relocated to Point Judith, Rhode Island. The fall run will be heating up the Rhode Island coast for the next 2 months and we will be there to witness it. As the baby Bunker (Menhaden) and Bay Anchovies spill out of there safe havens i.e...bays,  rivers, and salt ponds the Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bonito and False Albacore will be waiting to pounce. I also want to thank everyone that came out to fish with me on Block Island. We had a terrific year! It was truley storybook fishing from The 1st of June till I left just before Hurricane Irene came rolling through. No big problems with the storm. Sustained 50-60kt winds. Some big swell but nothing to mess the fishing up that much. Actually I think Irene probably pushed up a bunch of fishy water with her. I'll report again in the next week to give everyone a heads up on the Bonito/False Albacore bite off the coast of RI.   Doing charters on mostly weekends but with a couple weeks notice I'm sure we can get you out on a weekday as well. Looking forward to seeing you on the SeaCraft.....

Aug 9, 2011

    Wow! Is it already the second week of August? For those of you that look forward to my reports I apologize that it's been 4 weeks since my last posting. I have been full out with charters and just haven't had the chance to sit down and report on the spectacular catching we have had on Block Island in the past month. The island is absolutely filthy with Halfbeaks still.   We have seen blitzing Striped Bass and Bluefish that would rival Montauk on its best day. When you are getting wet in the boat and having to raise your voices to speak to one another you know it's mind boggling, lights out, bloodbath blitzing!   Pretty locked up over the next couple weeks but I do have some openings (mostly evenings). Just a reminder to everyone that I will be relocating Snowfly Charters to Point Judith come the 26th of Aug. I have learned that the fishing In South County RI is much more consistent than Block Island when it comes to the fall run.

July 12, 2011

    The past week has been nothing short of epic! With acres of halfbeaks being harassed by a laundry list of predators. Are you ready for this?? Of course we had Striped Bass and giant Bluefish but also Bonito, Skipjack tuna, Bluefin tuna and even White Marlin all joining in on the carnage. The action has tapered off a little since then but still plenty of fish pursuing bait all over the Block. I've got a little more availability over the next couple weeks so give me a call.

June 26, 2011

    The fishing is great! What else can I say. My next available date is the 9th of July. For those of you who fish me regularly make sure you book soon as I am exceptionally busy this season. I don't want anyone to miss out because they procrastinated.

June 15, 2011

The weather in the past 4 days or so has made the fishing a little tougher but we are still racking up some quality fish. The Striped Bass are growing in size despite the cold North winds that have tried to shut us down out on Block Island. There are just to many fish around for that to happen despite the weather. Dan Klin found a 30 pound fish sipping sand eels in the rocks on the west side of BI. This fish went deep into his backing letting us know that this wasn't the cookie cutter 32" fish that we have caught in the last couple weeks.   Peter Laurelli brought a couple buddies out that worked their butts off but managed some real nice fish on the fly. Next week I have the evening of the 20th open through the morning of the 24th. After that its all pretty locked up. If you want to experience Block before the crowds and high prices kill alot of what makes the island so special then next week is prime time.

June 7, 2011

The fishing on BI is outstanding right now! We have lots of 10 to 20 pound fish pounding flies and most artificials. Get your butt out here and experience Block Island at it's best. I have tomorrow am open as well as Thursday am open. Most likely the fishing will be lights out for at least the next 72 hrs.

June 1, 2011

Well is was a short and ugly season for me on Narragansett Bay. It was filthy with stripers from the 15th though the 18th. That's right, a 4 day striped bass season. Thursday the 19th the fish just disappeared. This is the 3rd abysmal season in a row. There is Just something in the bay that these striped bass just don't like. Or maybe they know of better opportunities elsewhere. Whatever it is they all left in a hurry. Speaking of elsewhere, Block Island is already experiencing some great fishing. I will be on Block come the 2nd of June. Block Island unlike the Bay has seen world class fishing in the last 6 years. I have no reason to think that this year will be any different. Looking forward to seeing y'all on Block Island.

May 15, 2011

I am pleased to report that the Striped Bass migration has reached Narragansett Bay. Multiple types of forage have taken up residence all over the bay. Herring, squid, spearing, and mantis shrimp have finally been sniffed out by these hungry, fresh, ocean run Stripers.   Fishing has had its ups and downs but as usual the weather has dictated the fishing success. Good weather=good fishing. I'll be guiding out of the Bay until June 1st and then I'm out to Block Island for the remainder of the season.

May 6, 2011

As usual the spring run of Striped Bass have waited until Mothers Day weekend to show their hungry faces in Narragansett Bay. Good reports are starting to come in all over the bay. Very large schools of squid have swarmed around Newport and the rest of the lower bay. There are still tons of herring in the upper bay and the adjacent rivers. I also want to remind everyone that the Pogie boats are not aloud in the upper bay this year. The purse seiners that have been absolutely raping Narragansett Bay for many years will no longer be hassling the Menhaden that are so important to the health of our waters . With all this good news I think we all have our fingers crossed in anticipation that it's going to be a fantastic season in Narragansett Bay. I haven't seen the consistent fishing yet to start doing charters but next week as we approach the full moon I will start running trips. My first availability will be on the 12th of May.

April 11, 2011

Ahhh....Spring at last. I'm sure you are as excited as I am to see blooming flowers and to hear the birds chirping at sunrise. Well I have good news and bad news. Always start with the bad news. The striper fishing in Narragansett Bay has been poor the past couple of seasons. Good news is that the old salty Quahogers (professional clam diggers) are all telling me that there are more herring moving up the Bay now than ever before. More good news is that for the first time in 3 years we have not been pounded with monsoon like rains in late winter and early spring. These heavy rains pour tons of nutrients into Narragansett Bay. In turn the bay gets an abundance of algae blooms which choke the water of light and oxygen. Needless to say, the fish don't like this. I am very optimistic for what Narragansett Bay has in store for us in the next few weeks. I will have the 23' SeaCraft at the Warwick Cove Marina by the 1st of May. I'll be sending out another fishing report as soon as I find the numbers of Striped Bass I need to start running charters. So get your gear ready and your tackle in order because the man in the striped suit is coming to town.

October 12, 2010. Snowfly Charters had a stellar season on Block Island but all good things must come to an end. Capt. Greg has moved on as the fall migration has fired up along the southern Rhode Island coast. The False Albacore, Striped Bass, Bluefish and even Bonito have keyed in on the flood of Bay Anchovies streaming down the south shore. Snowfly will be running out of Point Judith, RI for the remainder of what is sure to be an outstanding fall run. On Sunday the 10th we managed a super New England Grand Slam! That is Abies, Stripers, Bluefish and a surprise visit by our good friend the Striped Atlantic Bonito.   Columbus Day we managed Albies and Bluefish. The weather has been spectacular and the fishing will most likely follow suite as long as fair weather holds. This is your last chance to get a tight line for the Southern New England fishing season so lets get out and rip some lip!

Aug 23, 2010. Block Island has shown us her ugly side over the past 4 days with sustained winds of over 35 knots out of the N and NE. It has been impossible to get out. Moving charters and losing charters has been nonexistent this season so I guess I shouldn't complain. In all honesty I don't mind stiff breeze. The fishing has been as slow as it's been all season and a good shakeup is what BI needed. I'm out twice on both Thursday and Friday so if anyone's interested in coming out then contact me so I can give you the latest early fall fishing update. Other areas like Montauk and Pt. Judith have show good signs of a solid run of fish so it shouldn't be long before we start seeing the classic fall blitzes that make Southern New England such a special place to be in September and October.

Aug 16, 2010. Block Island has seen it's share of turbulent weather in the past few weeks. With Northerly and Easterly breezes putting a thorn into the side of a so far stellar season, it just reminds me of how excellent the weather has been up to this point.   Well, I tell everyone I know that when it comes to fishing I believe it is quality over quantity every time. Thankfully the fish we are seeing have been quite large but just not the numbers that the fair weather summer southerlies bring. Bonito and even Skipjack tuna have made some appearances around the rock. They are there one day and gone the next. That's the hardtail way.   I want to remind everyone that beginning in mid September I will be doing runs over to Montauk far the fall run. Albies, Bass and Blues will be hammering Bay Anchovies and Peanut Bunker on their way down south so don't miss out.

July 25, 2010. Block Island is still seeing very good fishing but certainly not the insanity of the past month. As the water approaches 70 the Striped Bass are getting a little grumpy. The good news is that they are still here in solid numbers. We have had a couple NW breezes come through which always make it tough for a couple tide cycles. Squid and sand eels are still what's for dinner. The Blue fin tuna bite is heating back up between 15 & 20 miles from the island. The Bluefish are everywhere! There isn't a better fish to test you tackle or an angler when these toothy critters go well over double digits.   The 27th through the 31st are pretty open so get your butt out to Block Island and lets hook you up!

July 15, 2010. Believe it or not the Striped Bass fishing on Block Island is getting better and better. The fish are becoming more numerous and growing in size as well. Many fish over 30pds and a few over 40pds have been taken on the fly with to many cows on light tackle to count. Squid and sand eels are still the predominate forage.   I actually have a good number of openings in the next week so get in on this before the water gets to hot!

July 4, 2010. It's football season on Block Island! The serious overpopulation of sand eels on Block Island has lead to an offshore migration of these little critters. In the past couple of weeks we have seen some serious action with Bluefin tuna. Whales, sharks and massive schools of monster bluefish have joined the party as well. We haven't had an over abundance of great topwater shots on spin and fly gear but trolling small feathers and green machines on a two line spread works well. With the sparse gear you can make a quick run to busting fish without bring in the lines. Most fish are around 20 to 40 pounds but a number of fish over 100 have been boated. The bass fishing is still very good as well. Not much has changed there. Bass slurping sand eels all day long and readily eating sand eel patterns and ultra slim soft plastics. It's really shaping up to be a super July on Block Inland so give me a call and get ready to rip some lip!

June 22, 2010.    Wow it feels good to be home! My summer home that is. This is my 11th season on Block Island and it just keeps getting better. The fishing is world class, the scenery is breathtaking, the locals are great and has a vibe that is unmistakably Caribbean. I moved out Sunday night and fished Matt and John from Durango ,CO. Fishing was good but not what we have seen over the past weeks. Matt is a trout guide back in CO and John is a very good angler as well These guys had some of the best takes on the fly I have seen in a long time. John had 5 or 6 fish on consecutive casts. Not because there were fish all over but because he made good casts and better presentations with solid hook sets.   The Bass have been getting more and more finicky over the last couple of days. There are still lots of fish around but because they have gorged themselves on sand eels for the past few weeks its starting to show in their attitude. Very fat, lazy bass doing a lot of milling around can be nerve racking. The good thing is that this usually means that they are going to key in on. a different forage soon. I expect that to be squid. Bass eating squid on Block Island are big and aggressive so I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires over the next few days. Come on out and wrestle with some BI cows. Until next time....   Screaming reels & ripping tides.

July 15, 2010. Believe it or not the Striped Bass fishing on Block Island is getting better and better. The fish are becoming more numerous and growing in size as well. Many fish over 30pds and a few over 40pds have been taken on the fly with to many cows on light tackle to count. Squid and sand eels are still the predominate forage.   I actually have a good number of openings in the next week so get in on this before the water gets to hot!

June 16, 2010. OK, I have good news and bad news. Bad news is that the fishing in Narragansett Bay this season was the worse I have ever seen it. The past two seasons have been slow but this season was torturous. No one knows why but it is what it is. Not sure if I'll be guiding out of the bay next season. Stand by for that. On the other hand Block Island is a full on bloodbath right now. Tons of sand eels and squid are getting chewed on like nothing have seen. When you have whales and seals hanging around that means that you have some serious life in the area. Both big bass and chopper bluefish are gorging themselves. Unlike the Bay, Block Island has been stellar fishing for the past 5 years through out the summer and this is starting off even better than any season previous to this. I will be relocating Snowfly Charters out to Block Island on the 20th and still have a few dates at the end of June still open and July is pretty full but still some availability. I'm running a special for Saterday and Sunday evenings for those that don't want to stay over for the night. Sat & Sun have a 9pm ferry so I'm offering a sunset fish for $375 for 2 anglers. 4:30pm to 8:30pm. This gives us plenty of time to get you back to the ferry for 9pm. I will pick you up and drop you off. This a great opportunity to fish one of the best locations on the East Coast without having to spend the the time and money for an overnight stay.

May 7, 2010 Narragansett Bay is seeing some really nice waves of fish moving through after the summer like weather we have seen recently in Southern New England. It's been a long winter and we are all greatly anticipating a tight line to the critter with stripes. The upper bay is seeing great numbers of hearing, menhaden, spearing and even the squid are starting to show now. These are signs that the Narragansett Bay Striper season is not only underway but is sure to be a great one. The past couple of seasons in the bay have been in all honesty "disappointing". 2010 has started with more and bigger fish than in recent years so lets keep our fingers crossed and look for more of the same over the next month. If you are heading out on your own then remember "small" is the word right now. Most bass that we have encountered have been sucking down two inch spearing. Small Ray's flies and mini soft plastics seem to be the ticket. I have had a lot of calls and e-mails about letting y'all know when the fish show. Well now you know. The next few weeks will be primetime in the bay so let me know if you are interested in getting out for a sunrise or sunset charter.


   2009 Fishing Reports

Oct 12, 2009 Oct has brought some outstanding angling opportunities to South County RI in the past week. With a nice mix of False Albacore, Striped Bass and Jumbo Bluefish New England grand slams have been fairly common. The weather is always the big determining factor in Oct. so if it's nice and not blowin 30kts the fish is good. It's just that simple. There have been metric tons of Bay Anchovies migrating down RI beaches while getting chewed up on a regular basis by all of the above. Small realistic chovie imitations and unweighted soft plastics have been devastatingly effective. Water temps are still hovering around 60 so this fall run will continue for at least the next 2 weeks and probably well into November. The Snowmobile is based out of Pt. Judith, RI and I will be doing trips until the fishing shuts off.      Capt. Greg Snow

May 30, 2009 The spring Striped Bass and now Bluefish season are in high gear now. Narragansett Bay is hovering around 55 degrees and the upper bay is thick with big adult menhaden, loads of squid and acres of small spearing. We have perfect temps and more than enough forage for all the hungry Stripers and yes there are lots of blitzing Bluefish to be had as well. When the weather cooperates the fishing has been great. Remember, the last two weeks of June are WORLD CLASS on Block Island for Stripers! The hotels have lots of specials and the crowds have not yet arrived. Don't let this opportunity slip away.

May 12, 2009 And away we go! The fishing in Narragansett Bay is at it's best right now. It will probably be hot for another couple weeks or so. Of course this makes life very easy for me as a guide. Just put'em on fish and watch the Melee. Lots of keeper sized fish being caught with plenty of fish in the twenty pound range. Small flies and jigs are what these feisty, fresh fish are keying in on. Absolutely covered in sea lice, this shows that these bass are coming from open ocean and that they are in very good health. Lyle and Pete absolutely murdered them on Tuesday morning with countless doubles on the fly. Until next time Screaming reels and roaring tides. Capt. Greg Snow

May 5, 2009. Thank the Lord, Spring is here! Easter is gone and Mother's Day is fast approaching. The dogwoods are in full bloom and the Forsythias are dropping theirs. The water temps have skyrocketed into the fifties and Ospreys have set up shop on their marshy perches. These are the signs we look for this time of year to tell us that the Stripers are are making their way up beautiful Narragansett Bay. Oh and guess what... They're here! The upper bay is full of fat, healthy, fresh bass in the 20" to 30" range with some 35" being caught as well. The bay is stuffed with hearing, bunker, squid, and spawning Mantis Shrimp. The fish are aggressively blasting small topwater plugs, small soft plastics, shrimp and squid flies. The next 3 weeks should be something special. It will only get better as the water gets a little warmer and the bait continues to funnel in. I am so looking forward to a stellar spring run before I relocate Snowfly Charters out to Block Island come mid June. The last two weeks of June are prime for world class bass fishing so book your BI charter now before the date you want vanishes. FYI the first week of July has only 2 slots available. Until next time. Screaming reels and roaring tides. Capt. Greg Snow

2008 Reports

Nov 11, 2008. I fished with my good friend Bill Murphy from Murphy's Fly Box at Cape Cod Bay on the 17th. We were looking for some Blue fin tuna on spinning tackle and boy did we find'em. Bill and I spent a few hours looking around the usual haunts and dragger fishing boats with not much luck. We got some great intel from a good friend that was also taking advantage of the Indian summer day. He told us that fish were busting bait only about 3 miles from our location. Enough said! Throttle pegged, we ran through the glassy 4-7 foot ground swell that was more reminiscent of an amusement park ride under the windless conditions. Just 2 miles into the run we spotted some seriously large surface explosions that were unmistakably Blue fin tuna. 100-200 pound fish blowing up on the surface of glass calm conditions will burn a fiery brand into your fishing memory bank forever. The best analogy I can give you is that its like some guy is throwing out his old kitchen appliances from a plane at 8000 feet. We stopped and started our drift while casting our plugs into the middle of the very spread out school. Our hearts were pounding uncontrollably in anticipation of a thunderous strike from one of these big critters. Then it happened. 3 to 5 fish erupted about 100 feet off the port side and Bill made a sniperlike cast dead center into the raucous. As Bill vigorously worked his supper sized popper back to the boat there were at least 2 tunas in hot pursuit with one of them pushing 200 pounds! THWAP!! He's on! The fish made a short run and sounded making it a brutal, vertical, hour plus long battle that ended with about a 120 pound fish in the boat. Boy, I'm sure glad that larger fish didn't get a hold of Bill's popper first. It would have been a whole different scenario hooked up with such a large fish. The activity had dissipated and we had a 20 mile run back to port. It was already 2:30pm so unfortunately it was to late for me to get a shot at a fish as well. I was very content with what the day had brought so we headed home in what was now a 15-20 knot stiff breeze right in our face. Great... Bill's litle 18' Hydrasport handled it surprisingly well. Needless to say it was an epic trip that left Bill and I with a great memory and a freezer full of Blue fin tuna. O darn!

I was also fortunate enough to make it down to Florida from the 29th to the 5th with friend and fellow charter captain Chris Bell. A record setting coldfront put a real damper on the fishing in general but we did manage to hook up with lots of Spanish Macks and False Albacore on ultra light and fly tackle. We also made it down from Englewood to Islamorada in the Keys to fish with legendary guides Craig Brewer and Rusty Albury. We were looking at about 60 years of serious fishing knowledge between Craig and Rusty. I met Rusty and Craig at the Redbone Tournament held in Montauk Point, NY. These guys are true southern gentlemen. Rusty offered me a to stay at his home if I was able to make it down during my trip to Florida which was on offer that couldn't be passed on. Craig just spent 4 years restoring a 1973 23' Sea Craft. He did a remarkable job on her. Of course I have a deep love for these boats and so do most that have ever owned or spent considerable time in one. The boys said we were looking for Sailfish since they like crappy cold fronts. Well I guess the weather was good then. Just 3-4 miles out off Islamorada we saw Ballyhoo getting sprayed by Sailfish. It was windy and lumpy out there but the 23' Sea Craft "Brew Ha Ha" ate it right up. Fishing again was tough but we did manage a gorgeous sailfish that danced across the water like a ballerina. The short stay with Rusty and fishing with him and Craig was the highlight of our Florida trip. Absolutely class acts that showed us true southern hospitality. These guys have a wealth of fishing knowledge and the vessels to put that knowledge to good use. I highly suggest contacting Craig and Rusty for flats fishing or offshore & wreck fishing if you plan to be in southern Florida at mudman1@bellsouth.net Until next time. Screaming reels and roaring tides. Capt. Greg

Oct 19, 2008 Beautiful fall foliage, frosty New England mornings and South County surf breaks boiling with Bay Anchovies and Baby Bunker. Hummm....that sounds like the fall run is well under way to me. Snowfly Charters has now relocated to Jerusalem, RI to finish off the 2008 season with the always wild fall migration of striped bass, blues, albies and probably even an appearance by Mr. blue fin. It's always bittersweet leaving Block Island in October. The striped bass season was better than great on BI and the island is gorgeous this time of year but South County RI is the place to be for the next couple of weeks. Yesterday the beaches were frothing with 200 yard long schools of Bay Anchovies. There were monster bluefish tearing through the baitballs all day long. There are still lots of bass around but the big teeth are ruling right now. I was getting 62-63 degrees so the bass are just starting to make there big push south. Greg will be out of town come the 29th so the clock is ticking to get
in on some of this outstanding fall action. Tight Lines...Capt Greg Snow.

Aug 28, 2008 Welcome to the Boneyard! For those anglers with keen eyes, the right offering, and a pocket full of patience, Block Island is holding solid numbers of our fast, finicky, and usually frustrating friends. The east side tide lines and rips are loaded with mini squid and sand eels. If you can locate the Bonito, your fly, metal or plug will not go unnoticed which is a bit unlike these sharp-eyed speedsters. The bass bight is still tough in the shallow boulder fields but tickling the rock tops in 30 to 50 feet of water with small soft plastics has taken some seriously large fish in the past couple of weeks. Ridiculously large bluefish are keeping the reels screaming when the the bass and bone bight slows during the inevitable August fishing roller coaster. The albies have been spotted just a few miles east of BI so it should be any day now...

Aug 8, 2008 Bones on Block Island are a welcome sight after a chilly easterly that sent the big bass packing. Don't get me wrong, there are still stripes here but they are a different group of fish that happen to be significantly smaller. The past month and a half has been the best bass fishing I've seen on BI in ten years. The only sour note is all the big stripers I saw being killed purely as ego boosters. The Bonito are racing through the rips and tide lines chewing on squid and sand eels. They are showing very little so you have to put your time in and I'm sure you'll be rewarded. Albies are next and if it is even a fraction of last seasons run it's gonna be screamer!

July 24,2008.The fishing continues to be better than good out here on Block Island . With the Spear fishing state record at 68pds and the rod and reel state record at 75.6pds both being set within a week of each other in our waters so I guess it would be redundant to say that there are some ridiculously large creatures locally right now. My fly fishing clients have boated and released 19 bass over 30 pounds in the last week with one client landing a 26,32, and 39 pound fish on a biblical morning trip. This particular client was the only 60+ foot caster of the bunch which tells you the opportunities we have seen recently. The water temps are about 66 so I expect that our large striped friends are going to be on the move to cooler waters any day now. Acres of voracious blue fish have invaded BI which will keep lines tight for weeks to come. BFT reports are pouring in so I will be out looking hard this weekend so look forward to what I hope is a great fast fish report next week.

July 7, 2008. Game On Kids! Block Island is now seeing some of the best striper fishing it has seen in the past decade. Heavy fog has kept the boat traffic to almost nothing while square miles of sand eels siphon in some absolutely remarkable numbers of striped bass. Lots of legitimate shots of fish tickling 40pds have been a common occurrence on the fly with cookie cutter 20 pound fish being the norm. Hot southerly breezes are pushing in the fog and swell which churns up a sand eel cocktail that bass and surprisingly few bluefish are stuffing there faces on daily. The BFT action is quiet only because the fog and quality bass fishing has left most fisherman staying tight to BI. I can tell you however that with these sand eels getting chewed on every day and night that Charlie is sniffing them out and they are not far from the island. I will be looking for fast fish on Friday with a hardcore client that understands the difficulty in trying to find these fish. I'll give yall a full report of what's happening offshore next week

June 27, 2008. Another stellar report from Block Island with more sand eels than I have seen in quite some time. Quite a few very large bass have been taken at night from the beaches on pencils and black or purple sand eel patterns. With light winds all week It's been a pleasure for fly guys. TEETH! It's unbelievable how many Bluefish are patrolling the waters around BI right now. With many of these bluedogs approaching 16lbs be prepared for explosive strikes, achy forearms and lots of giggling. BFT's are in the area so all the gear is ready to do a little tuna tango...

June 21, 2008. As I prepare to head out to block Island for the remainder of the season, fishing continues to be quite good in Narragansett Bay. A myriad of baits can be found throughout the Bay. Bunker, Spearing, anchovies, silverside and sand eels are choking the shallows. Good size bass up to 40" have been taken on light tackle with early topwater action resulting in some seriously elevated heart rates. Block Island on the other hand has seen some truly epic fishing in the past week. Squid and baby butterfish are getting chewed on in a major way. There have been countless 40 pound bass with lots of 50's and at least one confirmed over 60 this past week. It's great to see such large fish but if you are lucky enough to tangle with one of these beasts please release her. I am constantly reminded of the serious ego problems with so many fisherman over the course of the season. The bottom line is the fish over 25 pounds make for very poor table fair, not to mention that they are all breeding females. It really makes a much better story showing your buddy a picture of a 45 pounder that you know is still swimming out there making little stripers and passing on her big fish genes.

June 12, 2008 This second week of June has been explosive like so many before it. I am fortunate enough to spend the bulk of my season on Block Island where I have put in many early morning hours with both clients and fishing friends in the past couple of days. It's been a scouting and feeling out adventure for the most part. . It's on fire right now! Giggling like school girls at the constant triples. Flies are murdered and soft plastics inhaled on a regular basis with cookie cutter 15 pound fish and lots of tweens spoiling there fun more than frequently. Snake flies and light colored flatwings have produced some really serious fish . Fish when you need to and not when you want to, and now is that time.

June 5, 2008. After a very tough couple of weeks it is game on in Narragansett Bay once again. Large suicidal fish have been blasting adult menhaden and any large fly and or plug that comes within striking distance. Clients are getting multiple shots at fish in the high twenties and low thirties. Lot's of unforcasted wind Thursday. Called for 10kts and it was all of double that! Whatever, the fish didn't seem to mind one bit. 12" walking plugs and super sized soft plastics were taking stripes in explosive surface grabs. The next couple of weeks will be a slaughter. I love it!

May 24, 2008. The fishing this week was a bit tough in Narragansett Bay. With last week showing some seriously good fishing, the fly and light tackle guides had to work hard to put fish in the boat this week. Keeper size bass were fewer and a bit picky. The bait slingers fared a little better with plenty of 20-30 pound fish taken. We have a stellar forecast for the next few days and I'm sure things will heat back up. There are still lots of Bunker left even though the Bay Raper pogie boat from ARC bait Co. out of Massachusetts has taken literally tons of Menhaden out of Rhode Island Waters. Do I sound a bit grumpy? I am. I hate that our local waters get hammered by Massachusetts commercial fisherman. I just find that wrong on so many levels Another shiny, happy report next week......

May 6, 2008. The report from Narragansett Bay is very encouraging. Large numbers of small bass have set up on the many shallows of of the bay feeding right through the morning and afternoon. The bass are chewing hard on mostly small spearing. Yellow and white Ray's flies on 6wt. & 7wt. outfits make these 20" to 27" fish a real hoot. Ultra light tackle enthusiasts will enjoy many surface strikes on small topwater walking plugs. The birds have been making it relatively easy to locate the hordes of schoolies. There is so much bait in the bay right now that it is inevitable that something special is going to happen soon. Large adult Menhaden, small spearing and squid are quite abundant all over the place. Tight Lines

May 3, 2008. Well the season is officially here with loads of herring and massive schools of adult menhaden shooting up the rivers. Fished the 1st with Pete Alarie and did very well with many schoolie bass. What these fish lacked in size they more than made up for in huge numbers and feistiness. Fresh ocean fish with lots of lice is a great sign. The bass spit up crab larva and small 2"-3" herring. A little picky but plenty of tight lines. Book a trip now cause the Stripers are in the bay!

2007 REPORTS

Sept 10, 2007 The fishing is still very good but nut what it has been the past 3 weeks. September is definitely the month to be on BI. Bluebird skies, warm water and very few tourists.

Aug 19, 2007 I have never seen so many Albies in RI waters! Holy Cow.. We are seeing absurd numbers of tuna all up and down the RI coast. Even Mahi!!! in 20 feet of water off South County beaches. Need I say more?

Aug 12, 2007 Thanks again for being patient my fellow fisherman. I'm so busy with trips that I just have not had the time to post reports. I can tell you this. No news is good news. When you don't hear from me for a few days or maybe longer it means that the fishing is good and right now it is stellar!

July 31, 2007 There are Bonito everywhere! I love my job. Come on out ya'll.

July 23, 2007 I was supposed to have a morning and a sunset trip for today but Mother Nature said, "Relax Greg. Take a day off why don't ya." We all know that she is the boss and with 25kts out of the NE, well enough said Mom. This is my first reschedule of the season so far so I guess I'm pretty lucky to have sailed so many days to this point. Before this blow the fishing has been outstanding with not many fish over the 20 pound mark but a zillion 25 to 35 inch fish that are more than willing to inhale flies and small plugs. There are Bonito around but scarce. Mahi are very close to the Island right now with some catches as close as 5 miles. It looks like the breeze will lay down tomorrow and go back south which should make the fishing as good as it was before the NE wind. Tight Lines

July 13, 2007 WOW! I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted a report. If you are looking for a weekly BI report, then go to www.reel-time.com I do the BI report for them on a weekly basis. I have been insanely busy with charters and I hope yall forgive me for my lack of attention to the site. The fishing has been superb for the last month with only two trips with less than ten fish. The Blufin bite is the big news right now. The Block is seeing some BFT action but the cape is on fire. Big animals between 50 and 100 pounds will test the stoutest of fly and spin gear. These fish are crushing plugs but are real fussy when it comes to eating flies. Check out the pics. Still lots of bass and blues to be had all over the island. I have a few dates open this next week so give me a call and lets get you out on the water.

June 9,2007 I hooked up with an old friend, Chris Bennen early this morning for another round in the fog. The entire west side of the island was loaded with rolling fish. The bass were not in tight groups but if you got your fly within a couple of feet of a swirl then a tight line would soon follow. Sand eels, sand eels, sand eels! Oh ya, the fish were chewing on sand eels. Chris landed a nice fish at 35"(check out the pic).

June 8, 2007 Headed out to BI for the weekend at around 7:00pm. Pea soup fog so I had to put my wife on the ferry. Like most people, the fog really freaks her out. I slowly made my way to Sandy Point & the north rip. Thank god it was mill pond flat. As I arrived at the north rip I was immediately greeted by rolling stripers as far as I could see. Of course that was only 150 feet but these fish were big! 15 to 20 pound fish were slurping sand eels and my olive popping fly. I only fished for an hour but landed 10 fish between 32 and 39 inches. The fog along with the setting sun made for a very dark ride back to New Harbor but it was well worth it,

June 7, 2007 Got up at 2:45am to be on the water at 4:00am. Eric & Chris had no problem with the early start and immediately got into fish. Chris landed a nice 32" bass and Eric wrestled a 10 pound blue to the boat. There was very little traffic which always makes for a better experience.

Heading out to Block Island this afternoon with my wife to attend the wedding of Capt. Chris Willi and his wife to be Jessica of Block Island Fishworks . I plan to get plenty of fishing in so expect a full report and some great pics on Tuesday when we get back. Have a great weekend.

June 5, 2007 Got bunker? The upper bay certainly does! So what happens when big adult Menhaden station up in the bay for weeks? Cow stripers & monster bluefish will track them down and gorge. It can be tough for us fly and light tackle guys because the bait slingers are all over the bay right now. They are not afraid to push you right out of a sweet spot. If you put your time in with huge soft plastics and LARGE plugs I guarantee you a tight line with one of these big girls.

June 2, 2007 Got Jim Moore from upstate New York out this morning. Jim has been fly fishing trout for years but got a little salty today. Mt. Hope Bay has good numbers of fish right now with sunrise surface activity pretty consistent. It was quickly spoiled by the Saturday run and gun squadron of center consoles and even large sportfishers playing my favorite game( Who can scare the hell out these fish first). Jim did manage to get a few fish to the boat before we had to move on to less crowded waters.

May 31, 2007 Maybe a dozen fish this morning. A cold front moved through last night and a chilly northerly blew all day. Not the worst day I've had but certainly not great.

May 30, 2007 This morning I took out Ken, Eric & Jamie from the Mills Tavern In Providence. These chaps love to fish but have never caught striped bass. Lets say that these guys are now spoiled! The crystal minnow and walking plugs were drawing violent strikes which led to screaming drags. Lots of double hook ups and bent rods produced triple grins all morning long. A memorable trip indeed.

May 28, 2007 Memorial day is not usually a day that you will find me on the water. There tends to be a lot of knuckleheads out there. The forecast was a little grim however; and I knew thats all it would take to keep the masses off the water. The forecast was wrong! Imagine that. No T-storms or wind but lots of cloud cover and mountains of bait all over the bay. I took my wife Heather out for her first trip of the year. Of course I cut her a break on the rates. Anyway, we hammered the bass with about 6 blues mixed in. They were eating silversides and our flies & topwater plugs. You could have thrown anything at those fish and they would have slurped it right up. Defiantly her best bass day yet with lots of keeper sized fish and I don't know how many schoolies. We will remember this day on the Narr. Bay.

May 25, 2007 It felt like an August morning instead of May at 4:30am. Oddly warm for this time of year. We saw no life for the first 2 hrs except for all the adult menhaden that have been all over the bay for weeks, We did manage to hook up about 6 fish over in Greenwich Bay. Again, it was hot and still. The last hour was very good however. We found a pod of fining fish off Prudence. Some fish were pushing 30lbs. They were pretty picky but got them to crush a jumbo walking plug. It was a great way to end it. Ron also got a nice 30" fish on a squid fly right on the surface(check out the pic)

May 24, 2007 Fished Michael Wilmerding from Firefly Outfitters up in Boston. We met at 5am which gave us the last few hours of the dropping tide. It was gorgeous! I knew that it was probably to nice. A very light southerly, bluebird sky and quite warm. Great for us humans but not really striper weather. We did have a pretty good outing though. About a dozen and a half fish, mostly on the fly with the average fish being about 23". It's funny how we want good weather to fish but with no wind the tide moves much slower making the fishing slower. Out again tomorrow and I am expecting it to be even hotter and stiller therefore I don't expect great things(But you never know)

May 20,2007 Some fish around today but nothing like yesterday. A good early morning bite but way to many boats with clueless anglers. This coming week looks great as far as weather and fishing so give me a call and lets get you hooked up.

May 19, 2007 Got Pat and his wife out this morning and experienced the best fishing of the season so far. Countless fish from 10:30 to 2:30 with half the fish being over 28". Barb landed the big fish of the day at 34" and we left acres of rolling bass. A tan and red 8" flatwing was the fly of the day. Pat and Barb had a blast. I hope to see them again out on BI this summer.

May 18, 2007. I was supposed to get Pat and Barb Callan out this morning but it was blowing a gale. No fly fishing today.

May 17, 2007. Fished a second day with Bob and his two uncles. Left a bit later (8am) to catch the entire ebbing tide. It was the right move. The wind was very light and we had good cloud cover all morning. Fished in 20 to 30 feet of water with 6 inch Storm jigs and did very well with a nice striper blitz and a triple hook-up to finish the trip. I really enjoyed fishing the Bobs and Mike and I'm looking forward to getting them out on the water again soon. Check out the picture of the triple bass.

May 16, 2007. Took Bob Sandfort out with his two uncles Mike (79 yrs) and Bob(73 yrs). The just don't make em like Mike and Bob anymore. These old timers were a pleasure to have on the boat. Good fisherman with plenty of patience and most importantly a great sense of humor. A bit windy but caught a few keepers and plenty of schoolie bass in the upper bay and plugs and soft plastics.

May 13, 2007. My first trip this morning with Bob Greenburg and his sister Sue. Left out of Dutch Harbor, Jamestown and boy was it cold! North wind at 15 to 20 and in the mid 40's. Caught a few fish in Greenwich Bay but pretty slow overall. We need those warm southerly to kick up again.

May 8, 2007. Lots of small stripers off the west wall in PJ. First and second beach in Newport have been getting alot of the same fish. The fish are great fun on ultra light spin outfits and 5 and 6 weight fly rods.

April 27 2007. Did a week of fishing with friend and fellow charter Capt. Chris Bell at his place in Englewood, Fl. He has a 19' skiff down there all set up to fish the gulf. We wanted to hit some tarpon but the water was a little cool at 71 degrees. I got some info from a local fly guy and friend that the reefs off Englewood and Venice were stacked with bait. Let me tell you, it was a BLOODBATH!! There were acres of thredfin herring And we hammerd King macks, Spanish macks, Amberjack, Cudas, and big Albies. All fish on the fly and light spin. A super trip!

2006 Reports

July 28,2006. Now that the weather has improved I was able to get Drew Hewbeck and his friend Adam out early this morning. Drew and Adam are both avid fly guys and I was very hopeful on our prospects this morning. We started at the North Rip at 4:30am with not even a sniff on their flies or my go-to hookless teaser plug. We then worked the boulderfields on the south side and again nothing. It seemed that the fish had not moved back in after the still air and heat that had enveloped BI for 4 days finally moved out. I was blunt with the boys telling the that the bass and blues were a bust. I mentioned that there might be some small blufin off a few miles and it might be worth a look. They both loved the possibility of hooking one of those magnificent fish. The wind picked up 15 to 20 and it was a pretty sloppy ride out. We saw nothing on the surface until a couple of Whales started working the clouds of krill on the surface. I decided that there was enough life in the area to probe around with 7" slug-os. First cast WHACK!!!! Drew had a nice fish that burned 250 yards of 30pd braid off in about 30 seconds. 20 minutes later I tailed a 34pd blufin. (Picture is soon to come) We set up for our next drift. We dropped the slug-os down and THUD!!! We had our second fish on. It was Adam's turn. His fish was a little bigger. Around 40pds. I leadered the fish and it broke off but a leader is a catch. He was disappointed that he was not able to get a picture but they both had an awesome time. This is a great example of being prepared for whatever mother nature throws your way.

July 26, 2006. HOt! I'm from South Carolina were it gets really hot but we have had a few days of 90 degrees+ which could rival those SC dog days of summer. This is almost unheard of on BI. No wind and ultra high temps means slow fishing. The water has not moved in a few days so I've rescheduled my trips to wait for the water to start moving.

July 22, 2006. I took Gary Smith from Fairfield, Ct out this afternoon. We headed strait for the Southwest Ledge, being a sunny afternoon trip I figured the bass were deep. They were! Gary landed 12 fish with two of them going over 20pds. We were probing the deep boulder fields with Storm jigs and Slug-os. We worked it hard but managed to do quite well while the wire liners trolled circles around us with no luck.

July 19, 2006. Fished Ray and Scott from New Jersey this morning. Neither have ever fished! Not normally the cliental I take out but they didn't want to troll or bait fish(can you blame them) so I agreed and we went to the south side were the swell was 5 to7 and the big girls were stationed up in about 25 feet of water. Dropped a couple of 6" slug-os down and immediately picked up two twenty pound fish. Not bad for your first fish EVER. The swell was making my Jersey boys a little green faced so we came in a little early. They were content however, landing 6 fish between 20 and 30 pounds on 40 size reels and 3/4 oz. rods.

July 16, 2006. Wow! I have to start by apologizing for not putting up a report for the last 9 days. I have been crazy busy! The fishing is still very good with the sunset boat trips producing the best. I was out with Capt. Pete Farrel east of the Block on the 15th and stumbled upon a huge school of bluefin sipping krill of all things. So what do you throw at juvy blufin sipping krill? We threw every fly you could imagine at these fish to no avail. But there was one thing that they would smash thrown with a spin rod. We ended up hooking 4 and landed 1. There have been lots of bluefish around and have been great targets for the fly guys. The bass fishing is still very good during low light conditions but as soon as the sun breaks through they head for cooler water. Some nice fish are being caught sight fishing from the swimming beaches and and Andy's Way. Small Skok flounder flies are working well.

July 7,2006. Took my friends Pete and Ron out to look for Bluefin today, and we found them! They were extremely hard to see. Even with a light wind they were like bonefish on a cloudy day. These fish are not actively feeding so all you can see is some slightly nervous water. Pete dropped a fish and I landed a 50pd fish. It was awesome!!!!(check out the picture)

July 6, 2006. It finally laid down this afternoon and Phil and Mike got to fish the North Rip and both landed there first Striped bass. They were ecstatic. Phil also landed a bruiser of a bluefish.

July 5, 2006. It just blew to hard to get out yesterday and today. All of 20kts....

July 3, 2006. Went early this morning with Arron and his brother Greg. We left the dock at 3am. It's a good thing we did because there were bass blasting sand eels all down the west side of the island from about 4:00 to 6:30. The bass were hitting slug-o's, sand eel patterns, crystal minnows, jumping minnows and pretty much whatever else we threw at them.

July 2, 2006. Blew like a bastard today. I had to reschedule my trip with Arron Browne.

July 1, 2006. Saw more Bluefin this morning with Capt. Chris Bell from Adventure Charters in point Judith. They were not concentrated enough to chase so we ended up at the ledge and caught many big bass on light tackle. A couple of fish went over 20 pds. He had a blast.

June 30, 2006. It was a nice evening so I took a good friend out to the North Rip and there were fish everywhere! These fish were chasing baby scup of all things. These fish were small for BI standards 25" to 30" but we murdered them with crease flies and poppers on our 8 weight rods.

June 28, 2006. Took out Steven Werre from NJ. It was blowing 15 to 20kts. but he is a pretty salty guy so we headed out to the ledge to try to jjig up some bass with 5inch slug-o's. There were 4 to 6 foot seas and it was tough to stay tight to your jig but we managed to pick up about 15 bass from 30" to 40". A wet but very productive trip.

June 24, 2006. Had to reschedule Kevin Brown due to 6 inches!!! of rain. I'll be off island for 2 days helping my wife move out here. I'll be on the water again on the 28th

June 23, 2006. WOW, There are big bass everywhere! As usual for the last week of June the fishing is world class. Caught lot's of fish on the south side with 5 fish going over 40" We were using slugos in the bolder fields. There are also Bluefin 30-50pds around. So if your dream is to tangle with New England's premier gamefish on Fly or Light Tackle then now is the time to book a trip on Block Island.

June 20, 2006. I took out Gavin, Greg and Paul from the Outdoor Life Network this morning. We met at 5am. Paul, (who guides out of CT) drove up the night before and took a short nap in his truck before I stirred him at 4:30. It's nice to see someone as NUTS about fishing as I am. That's pretty much what it takes to be a guide. I was a little worried as we left the dock. There was not a cloud in the sky, not a stitch of wind and most importantly no moving water! Of course I had my slowest day on the Bay EVER!!! Two small bluefish and a fluke. Not the day you want to have when the CEO of OLN is scouting for a guide to feature on some upcoming fishing shows. Although I was embarrassed and really pissed off at mother nature, they were all very cool guys. They also fish all the time so they know that's fishing...... I'm on the ferry tonight with the Sea Craft so all my trips from this point on will be out of the Block Island Boat Basin. I can't wait! The fishing on BI is the best in southern New England..

June 17, 2006. I took Dr. Broward and his wife out this morning. They wanted to fish Block Island so as I did a few days ago, I splashed the boat in Point Judith. It was blowing 10-15 so it was a little tough going but the fish loved it. The Doc's wife, Madison caught a 35" and a 39" fish. She was screaming! I love seeing clients get that excited. My job rules!

June 13, 2006. Larry Smith returned this spring and wanted to fish Block Island this morning. I don't move out to BI until the 20th of this month but I will throw the Sea Craft on the trailer and splash it in Point Judith. The weather was looking a little rough, west at 15 -20kts. I told him that we would launch the boat in Point Judith at 4am and go from there. It turned out to be the right decision. There was barley a puff of wind and we made a B-line for the Block. There were fish all over the west side of the island. Larry landed about 30 fish. 3 of which went over 35". They were crushing 6" storm jigs in pearl as well as Yellow bombers and walking plugs. Larry will be out again in mid July for the possibility of a blufin on light tackle

June 9, 2006. Fished with Jerry Flecher from Denver, CO this morning. Jerry was a good caster and I thank God for that because it was pretty slow this morning. It was a beautyful bluebird sky and no wind. Not the best weather for striper fishing unless you are sight fishing the flats. Jerry did manage to catch 8 stripers with a couple of 30" fish. Overall a great day considering the less than stellar conditions. Let this be a reminder for any fly rodder that on slow days a 70 to 90 foot cast will cover the water necessary to pick off a couple fish. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.......

June 4, 2006. Scott Allison from Portsmith had his brother -in-law Bobby up from Long Island and I wanted to catch the same tide we had on the previous day so we left the dock at 11am. Although the fishing was not even close to what we had on Sat. they managed to catch plenty of bass between 22"-30" and a couple of big bluefish. Bobby even managed to catch 2 very nice fluke. On the way back to the dock I saw a group of birds sitting on the water so we checked them out and wow! A pod of fish were rolling on the surface and I quickly handed Bobby and Scott a couple of rods and said "Cast, quickly, Now!!" They both hooked up immediately and 2 very nice fish were landed and released. Bobby's fish went 40" . Talk about the proverbial cherry on top of an already good trip. (Check out Bobby's big bass in my pictures)

June 3, 2006. Fished with Peter Alarie in Greenwich Bay in the late morning and experienced the best fishing I have personally witnessed in Narragansett Bay. We had ACRES of fish exploding all over the place. Thousands of bass had corralled parking lot sized schools of bait to the surface and were just gorging themselves. Most fish were caught on gurglers and surface flies. ( Check out Pete's 34" bass in my pictures). An EPIC day on the water by anyone's standards.

June 2, 2006. I took out Allen Justin from Hog Island to fish Newport. The morning started slow but when the tide started moving more he caught lots of bass off Brenton Reef. He was a happy client.

May 30, 2006. Fished the North rip on Block Island this morning to do some scouting before I move out there for the summer on the 17th of June. Had great topwater action and a couple of nice fish on the fly rod. Capt. Chris Bell and I caught 10 fish with 8 being over legal size.

May 25, 2006.One of my best clients from Boston came down to fish the upper bay early this morning. Kevin Dennis brought his friend Mike down with him and experienced the best weather we have seen this spring. There was no wind and it was beautiful! Just the warm summerlike sun on our faces would have been enough but the fishing happened to be stellar as well. We spent the first hour looking for activity around the northern end of Prudence Island and Greenwich Bay with little success. The tide started moving and things really lit up. The whole eastern side of Warwick Point was loaded with schoolie stripers and Kevin and Mike had a blast. There was nothing large caught but these guys caught many fish on there fly rods. Between the weather, fishing and great clients it was a guides dream day on the water.

May 23, 2006. The striper fishing in the upper bay is outstanding right now. I was scouting for a trip that I have Thursday and I hope the fishing is half as good as it was today. There were 70 to 80 fish caught. Most fish were between 18 and 25 inches with about 10 fish going over 28 inches. Most fish were caught on the surface with small flies. The larger fish were taken with large squid flies with fast sinking lines stripped very, very slow. We fished the rising tide just after sunrise. Now is the time to book a trip.

May 11, 2006. There are fish all over the upper the bay right now! Lots of keeper size fish around Warwick Light and the east shores of Prudence Island. These fish are not really picky. Small flies on the surface are being crushed. Small plugs in yellow and olive are taking good numbers of bass.

May 7, 2006. Fished with Peter Alarie and Kenny Abrams today. It was a blowing early and laid down around 11:00 am. Caught fish all day around Popasquash Point and the structure on the north side of Mt. Hope Bay. We had a great time . Kenny brought 80 pounds of tackle. It was pretty funny.