New and never published.

[piemma]

I have been surf fishing Block Island every Fall for almost 50 years. We usually go in early November, but that time period has proven to be problematic. The Bass haven’t really been there in November so this year my friends and I planned a trip in late October to coincide with the New Moon. The old surf fishermen always thought the new Moon and the first crescent were the phases that produced the best fishing.
Dennis Zambrotta and Bob Huddy arrived on the Island 2 days before me an immediately got into fish on the South side. (So as to not “spot burn”, I will be intentionally vague about locations.) Nothing huge but almost all the fish were slot fish and a few over that.
I arrived on the first ferry out of Galilee on Monday and, after getting settled in my studio condo at the Neptune House, went out and scouted the usual spots. It was very warm for October with temps in the mid-60s and high humidity. SW Bar looked quiet with very little surf and fog hanging low. Same with Gracies, Dories and Charlestown Beach. I headed over to the North end and looked at Cow Cove, Mansion Beach and Scotch. There was a NE wind, so these spots were facing right into the blow that was now cranking. Lots of good-looking water.
My partners were going back to the South side, but I can’t climb up and down the cliffs anymore due to bad knees. Spar Point, Black Rock and that whole area was out of the question for me. Hell, someone had rigged a rope on the trail to Black Rock as the trail has deteriorated to the point that you needed the rope to get back up. Snake Hole was doable, but the boys hadn’t been in there nor had they heard any reports. Na, not going to do that trek for a few school fish.
I had an early dinner and headed out for Cooneymus Rd to fish the SW Bar. Headed South on the ¼ mile walk to the Bar, fishing along the way. Nothing, absolutely nothing. I got to the Bar and sat in the “lumber yard” to watch the way the bar was setting up. I was fishing one of my own needlefish I had made for the trip.
Fished for about ½ hour and didn’t get a tap. I started heading back South, fishing along the way. I thought I saw a swirl near one of the big rocks where I had gotten fish in years past, so I took a halfhearted cast and after one crank on the VS200, I was on and she was taking drag. I landed the Bass, measured her and put her back. About 34-35” so mid to high teen fish. Well, this could be a good year. I picked up 2 more fish which were slot fish, maybe 28 to 30”.
The next day was foggy and warm so the fish would probably be in close. I’m a 0 dark 30 guy, so I was out wandering the Island at 4:00 AM. I went to the North end as the tide was right and picked up 1 decent fish on the rock/rubble bar. Started to head East and picked up a couple of fish at Mansion Beach but they were small, under slot. The rest of the day was uneventful. Wednesday Dennis and Bob were back on the South side, and I continued exploring of the West side and the North. A few fish but unremarkable.
That afternoon I pulled into the lot at the condo and one of the Island resident “sharpies” pulled in next to me. It was warm and very humid, so all the windows were down in both vehicles. The “sharpie” was on the phone with one of his buddies and they were planning there nights fishing. They then mentioned that they had been doing good up inside New Harbor with flyrods. Humm. I had brought a 9wt fly setup and fly’s this trip in hopes of getting some Bonita in the Coast Guard Channel, but this was a different scenario I didn’t figure on.
I checked the tides and saw we had a high tide at about 9:30 PM. If I hit a certain spot at about 11:00 PM or so we should have a good drop flowing.
At about 11 that night I headed out, waders, dry top, flyrod and my usually wading belt with pliers and Manley side cutters. I got to where I wanted to fish and there was a good flow, outgoing. Waded in and false cast a couple of times. Second drift and I’m on. Fly rod is different in that even a 25” fish will put a bend in the rod. I landed this fish, and she was about 34”. Nice, probably 15 pounds. 2 casts later I hookup again and this is a better fish. Landed and she’s 36” and a little bit. Great fishing on a flyrod in the middle of the night. Humidity was about 100% and temp was in the high 60s. Crazy for the last week in October.
Took a little break to let the water calm down after all the splashing and waded back in. Second cast and I’m on. WOW!! Different class of fish! Takes all my fly line and she’s into the backing. Strips 100 yards of backing and I cannot stop her. Now she’s out aways and I hear her break. She starts stripping backing again and the drag is doing nothing to stop her, so I start palming the reel. 5 seconds later I stop her and then…. PING! Yup, snapped a 17-pound tippet like it was sewing thread. Fish had to be in the 30# range.

Naturally, I am now shaking, soaked in sweat and totally pissed that I just dropped the biggest fish I ever had on a flyrod. I sent a text to Dennis stating that I am “under gunned”. To my surprise, he says: “On our way”. They show about 10 minutes later and start fishing. Suddenly there is a splash that sounds like someone threw a cinder block in the water. Holy Carp, there are more big fish here! We all fished like crazy but never touched another fish. DZ did manage to hang up on a tree and broke off his lure. I didn’t have any heavy tippets so I just gave up until I could get some 30-pound tippets.

The next day I did manage to get a couple of 30-pound tippets but didn’t touch another big girl. Bob and Dennis did get into Bonita at the Channel that afternoon, but I was too late. I did finally get 2 Bonita on the flyrod on Friday before my ferry back to the mainland. A side note: Dennis and Bob got into a massive blitz on the South side when they found adult Menhaden littering the beach. They had Bass to 20+ pounds and Bluefish, 10 to 13 pounds.
Dennis came up with one of his gem sayings after I lost the big girl on the flyrod: “Paul, you have been humbled.” The Block never disappoints. Even if you don’t get fish, which we sure did this year, the Island is magical.