Block Island Fish Reports - June 16

[Capt. Ray Stachelek]

Fishing Reports up to and including Thursday, June 16, 2011
Location: Block Island

Cast a Fly Charters fly skipper, Capt. Ray Stachelek reports:

Block Island may have the best fishing conditions around the state right now. It’s not on fire by any means. Not as good as previous seasons for this time of year, but most boats are catching throughout the day. There are periods of slack and use that time to explore and find new fish. No dense concentrations of sand eels. In most cases you find a smattering of them with a dozen bass picking away at the strays. It may last a few minutes till you find them again surfacing nearby. Naturally as the day goes by it requires more angling skill and more careful boat orientation if you want the bite to continue.

Captain’s log:

The Testa brothers had their annual fishing outing this week. Usually they fish the bay, but there were better conditions at the island. Brother Dick usually is considered a hard luck angler. As Dick would say, “I could jump in the water at a trout hatchery with a pocket full of food pellets and not attract a fish.” He bested his brother during the morning hours, but when the fishing became more sporadic his brother Mike closed the gap. Dick was thrilled with the results. Now we just have to keep the karma going.

Dick Testa with his first striper of the morning



Not to be outdone, Mike holding the pool winner of the day.



It’s been three years but Joe Ganino and Kevin Pinto both of western Connecticut returned for some striper action. They found a flurry of gulls working the tip of the rip with surface activity over fifty feet of water. Usually that kind of depth spells curtains for a fly fisher. They were fortunate to have the chance to fly fishing deep waters, flats, and over structure all in the same day.

The story of the day was Kevin getting into some stripers on a fly rod. The last six months have really been hectic and stressful. Kevin had an unfortunate accident at home that severed tendons in three of his fingers three weeks ago. They were surgically re-attached and he has gone through several weeks of therapy now. On top of that Kevin has been battling other health issues. After seeing his first striper over the rails, you could see he finally had a chance to relax and lament about his accomplishment.

Joe and I hope the progress continues and his health improves putting him and his mind in a better place. Our best wishes for continued recovery. Kevin U DA Man!

Kevin and his proud accomplishment



Dave Grigglestone and friend Halsey were blown off the water Tuesday out at Block Island. Winds gusting to 25 mph made fly casting and drifts impossible. That’s not what the weatherman predicted? They got up at two in the morning for this? Story to be continued.

[Bill_N]

Nice report Ray! Have the dogfish thinned out any for the eel guys?

[Capt. Ray Stachelek]

Bill_N
Nice report Ray! Have the dogfish thinned out any for the eel guys?

They're there in the mornings finning on the surface.
We see plenty of marks near the bottom later on.
Most guys are still trolling. That's the most popular method.
Very few are jigging or live lining in the rip.
Probably to expensive to loose an eel.