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Fishing report from the Providence Journal:

UPPER BAY

"The upper Bay has been host to some very large schools of silversides," writes Ray Stachelek, skipper of the charter boat Castafly. "Acres of baitfish have been holding from the Ohio Ledge Buoy to Rumstick Point area. The larger dense pods of silversides that remain submerged have held keeper-size bass under them. Surface baitfish tend to attract smaller bass of one to two pounds. . . . Drift fishing with sinking lines and pausing for the boat's drift to catch up with the line produced strikes. Olive Clousers have been the most effective flies."

In a six-hour session early this week, Kevin Brown caught about 80 stripers, all on soft-plastic lures, and six of the bass were between 28 and 32 inches long, he said in an e-mail report. "Standing on my casting decks, I watched stripers come up from the 20- to 30-foot channel depths off Colt State Park to Poppasquash Point all morning and into the afternoon scattering the small bait on the surface." He also reported taking fish on a tube-and-worm rig off Colt State Park.

Large schools of bass appeared along the north side of Greenwich Bay Wednesday, along with increasing numbers of bluefish and squeteague, said Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle. Other hot spots for bass include the waters near Mount Tom Rock and the northern tips of Patience and Prudence Islands, he said. Pat Bonanno has been catching fish on Striper Swipers and Crocodile lures near the islands. The waters off Conimicut Light also have been producing bass, according to George Viau of the Tackle Box.

LOWER BAY

Ferrara said bass as large as 20 pounds apiece have been biting near Hope Island, and the fluke bite is just beginning between Dutch Island and the Jamestown Bridge.

Action on the Sakonnet River is heating up, especially at Fogland Point, according to Corey Pietraszek, a charter boat skipper who guides for The Saltwater Edge. Bass and squeteague have been biting, as well as a few bluefish. "It also sounded like the Sachuest Point area is good to anglers," he said in an e-mail. "#^&#^&#^&#^& Diamond reported getting fish on every cast for about an hour out on the point last week. These fish have been in the 18- to 28-inch range and lots of fun on the 8-weight fly rod."

BEACHES AND SALT PONDS

Fishing with Bob Hines as his guide, Brian Hill of West Hartford, Conn., caught several stripers, including a 34-incher on flies during a worm emergence on Ninigret Pond. "Best patterns were the crystal chenille worm, tied with a long tail of orange bucktail, a body of orange crystal chenille, and a black ostrich hurl head," Hines said in an e-mail. "Capt. Bob's foam tail worm also worked very well. This is tied with a strip of close cell foam extending approximately two inches beyond the hook bend then wrapped over with flame orange glow bug yarn. The head is tied with black ostrich hurl and the foam is clipped in front of the eye of the hook, gurgler style. Both flies are tied on #4 streamer hooks."

The pond is getting crowded, said angler Ed Lombardo, but anglers were catching fish up to 30 inches long Tuesday evening on the wildlife-refuge side.

Though Ninigret Pond offers more shore access for waders, the northern end of Point Judith Pond is a a better bet for anyone with a boat.

Stripers have been hitting lures in Charlestown Breachway during the ebb tide, but angler Mac Hedgpeth says the bite at Quonochontaug Breachway has been slow. Bass are biting inside Quonny Pond, however.

Fluke fishing is improving off Washington County's beaches, according to the captains of the Frances Fleet. "There are no monsters but plenty of limits of fish to 3 pounds with the best just over 4 pounds," they said in an e-mail. "In addition to some great numbers, Sunday's trip saw several fish between 4 and 5 pounds, so the sizes are creeping up, it seems, each trip."

OFFSHORE

Party boat fishermen caught several cod apiece last weekend along with ocean pout, the skippers reported. A series of low-pressure systems, however, could ruin the weekend.

FRESH WATER

Dana Perreault of Barrington caught a 5-pound bass in Pulaski State Park this week. The fish hit a Culprit grape shad worm, according to Beverly Mouradjian of Big Bear Supply. Perreault caught a 6-pounder at the same time last year, using the same lure in the the same spot.

Doug Lees of Pascoag caught a 13-pound, 5-ounce stocked salmon on Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, said Wayne Barber of Wayne's Place in Pascoag. Trout fishing has been excellent on Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods State Park, where Colin Doran of Charlestown landed a 3-pound, 13-ounce rainbow on a nightcrawler.

BEST BITES:

Barrington to Bristol:

Striped bass, possibly bluefish

Greenwich Bay:

Striped bass, bluefish, possibly squeteague

Salt Ponds:

Striped bass, hickory shad

BEST TIMES TO FISH

The moon causes tides and affects the activity of saltwater and freshwater fish as well as animals on land. Anglers generally find the best fishing two hours before and after a high tide, but fish and other animals also become active around the time of low tide.