Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said shore fishermen peobably will do better than boaters now. Divers are seeing blackfish tight against the rocks along the Harbor of Refuge walls.

John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle recommend fishing for tautog near the Wharf Tavern.

The current size limit is 16 inches and the possession limit is three fish daily, according to DEM's website chart.

Keith Stockley with a 49-pounder taken aboard Played For It, just off the southern side of Jamestown, according to Will Barbeau of East Bay Anglers.

"This has probably been the worst weather on record for June," writes Chris Willi, "but the fishing has been great nonetheless."

The owner of Block Island Fishworks continues: "Steve Colton and his brave crew hit the beaches on Fathers Day night, fly fishing. They reported a spectacular time despite the insane wind.

"A couple of days of northerly wind and we finally got out on the South Side and did OK Friday and fantastic Saturday. Dogfish are still everywhere making a mess of things for the flukers who after sifting through the dogfish are still finding it hard to find keepers.

"The first Block Island Shark Tourney is this weekend hosted by JB Tackle. Hope to have some good pictures."

Young Neal was drifting eels near Brenton Reef, David said.

Today, bass in the 30-pound class were biting were taking eels and chunks of menhaden in the same area, David reported.

Russell Bates caught and released several 30-pound bass while trolling umbrella rigs off Point Judith, and surf caster Blaine Toedt has been doing well there, throwing two-ounce, white poppers parallel to the shore.

This morning, Johnny Martini weighed a 50-pound bass he caught near Southwest Ledge, said Conti. Glen Corsetti landed fish in the 40-pound class last night, and he said some bigger bass broke off.

There are lots of smaller bass off the northern end of the island, but dogfish are a nuisance, Conti said. The bite is better at the peak of the tide when the dogfish disburse.

Mark Landry caught and released more than 50 bass at the island this week. The first two fish he caught were 30-pounders, according to Zack Fisher of Wayne's Place.

"It's becoming a life-style brand for surfcasters," says Joe Lyons, the man behind Surfcasting Rhode Island, and the creator of the trademark brand.

Formerly a pre-press technician, Joe created the brand after hearing some fishermen using the words about five years ago. His friend, Laurie Reilly, designed the image.

A destination's initials appear over a striped bass in an oval. The slogan, "Fish Hard Live Long," also appears in the oval. The design us especially popular on Block Island, Joe says.

On the mainland, the shirts and decals are available in several locations, including Softouch in Galilee. Recently, some West Marine stores started to stock them.

Joe has plans to broaden the line to other regions with other fish depicted.

Millie Arzuaga had a good day fluke fishing aboard the part boat Seven Bs south of Block Island.

Frank Blount owner of the Frances Fleet, also reported a good bite during the first week of fluke fishing season. Anglers have been catching a lot of fish in the 5- to 8-pound range, he said.

Sea bass are also biting for party-boat fishermen aboard the Seven Bs and the Frances Fleet.

"We had no problem taking fish on sand eel imitiations until the sun broke around 7:30 a.m.," Joe writes.

"After motoring over to the neighboring reefs, the fog rolled in again.Once the tide was half way turning low, Catumb Reef got explosive with surface feeding activity. After only catching a brief glimpse of the bait of choice, both Dave and I were stymied. My best guess is that a school of butterfish moved in, causing a major commotion. A specially tied Clowser Minnow by Steve DiNofa, noted fly tyer and fisherman, subdued these fish quite well. Dave also hooked a very large bluefish, which put on quite a display before cutting the leader.

"Chasing the rips, we made our way back to Watch Hill, where we took bass well into the afternoon, all on the surface. Overall, over two dozen stripers, all in the same size class, and all on the top."

The Department of Environmental Management has announced that it will open its Lafayette Fish Hatchery in North Kingstown to the public Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Lafayette Fish Hatchery is one of three hatcheries where DEM raises fish until they are stocked in the state's waters. The event will include a 30-40 minute tour of the Hatchery with the Division of Fish and Wildlife. The tour will explain the functions and procedures of the Hatchery as well as the life stages of fish.

The open house is also part of the Rhode Island Great Outdoors Pursuit, a DEM effort to encourage Rhode Islanders to enjoy the recreational resources and outdoor activities our state parks have to offer - while moving toward a healthier lifestyle.

Registered teams will earn game points for the tour. The next Pursuit event will be held on June 28 at a secret location. More information and clues about the Pursuit are available online on the DEM parks website and will also be available at the Hatchery on Saturday.

Directions from Providence: From Route 95 South turn left toward Route 4 South. Take exit 5B toward Route 102/Exeter. Turn left onto Route 2 (South County Trail) and then turn left onto Long Lane. Turn left onto Hatchery Road and follow until you reach the hatch house

Brendan Richards, pictured, caught bass drifting eels aboard the charter boat L'il Toot in the Rip at the northern end of Block Island this week.

"The fishing has been really good at dusk and into the night," says Chris Willi of Block Island FishWorks.

"The Rip has been red hot on the moving tide, sometimes with top-water lures and sometimes with mid-water lures. The Slug-Go and the Jumpin' Minnow are choice lures for light tackle guys. Squid flies, white Deceivers, and sand eel patterns are working on the fly. Two friends of mine enjoyed a sunny morning chasing some bass at the Rip and then at Southwest Point. The fish were a bit finicky but getting the fly into the middle of the pack seemed to prompt the strikes. Charlestown Beach has maintained its reputation as the place to be for the first to weeks of June for the surf casters, and the New Harbor channel is freshly dredged and holding fish. Not much is happening at Black Rock yet."

State waters near Southwest Ledge are producing some large bass this week, said Al Conti. A 58-pounder came to the scale at Snug Harbor Marina.

"Thought you might like to see this pic of John Martin of Barrington," writes Luca Razza. "Fishing aboard the Gail Leigh Monday morning, he caught this 45-inch, 33-pound striped bass on a half-ounce, lime-green Gibbs pencil popper using 12-pound test line and the light spinning outfit in the picture. It was a great morning off Conimicuit. Lots of action."

Pete Halsey, left, and Bob Bean took several fluke near the Jamestown Bridge today, opening day of the summer-flounder fishing season.

The large fish in front weighed 10 pounds.

When they pulled into the dock at Allen Harbor, Bob said they also released some smaller fish.

The father-and-son fishing teams of George and George Jr. Friedlander from Fall River and Mike and Zack McGaw from Portsmouth hit the stripers pretty hard on the southwest corner of Block Island Monday, says Mike McGaw. "Trolling 49'r shad umbrellas yielded a first ever triple header for us with two fish over 34 inches and one small fish. Action was non-stop for about two hours. Water temp is still only 55 degrees."

Frank Blount, owner of the party-boat fleet, is planning two trips a day, a fluke and seabass combination from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the another fluke trip from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Recent reports from the commercial rod and reel sector indicate fluking is exceptional with many big fish being caught along the local beaches," he said.

"Capt. Mike was out recently and had six fish over 21 inches, most well over 4 pounds, in just 40 minutes the other day.

"For this past week's fishing activity, Capt Richie reported a very good day of sea bass fishing on Saturday with most anglers getting six to a dozen nice sea bass apiece including more jumbos than the past couple trips, and some fish upwards to 3.5 pounds.

"Many anglers also had their 10 fish limit of hubcap-size scup to nearly 3 pounds. Anglers also caught and released some jumbo fluke and a mess of big blackfish to 8 pounds.

"Capt. Ray reported Friday and Saturday nights' squid trips observed more squid than both he and Capt. Don had ever seen, but getting them to eat the squid jigs was another story."

We had a blast Wednesday fishing with Capt. Billy on the Can't Imagine Sport Fishing Charters. Don, Catrina and I had an afternoon fishing trip to show Ohio native Catrina what big stripers feel like.

She came down to fish the Kayak Fishing Rodeo last weekend, and she is hooked on kayak fishing and saltwater. We got into stripers drifting bunker in front on Sandy Point Lighthouse on Prudence Island. Catrina got her first keeper striped bass on the second drift in 50 feet of water. The average size was 34 inches and 19 pounds with Don O'Neil
boating a 39-inch 25-pound striper. There where fish working the surface as well as the bottom so we had a lot of action.

Bristol Harbor is loaded with baitfish and the bait balls we saw on the fish finder were large. I'll be back fishing for big stripers in a couple of weeks from the kayak. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to hook up with the kayak angler we were watching fishing the harbor.

"Blue-winged Olives, Mahogany Duns, Midges, and Gray Drakes are still showing regularly. BWO's, and Mahogany Duns start showing around 11 a.m. and go until late afternoon. Large Gray Drakes, size # 10 start just before dark and fish key in on these larger Hex-like duns. Which brings me to the following:

"Our famous Giant Michigan Mayfly, Hexagenia Limbata or Hex will start hatching around June 15t or 16, depending on weather conditions. We need hot humid days and with this latest weather it looks as though the Hex may in fact be a little later than the 15th. For the past 30 years or so, the earliest I have ever seen this hatch start was on June 12. I like using a size #10 2x-long White, Yellow, or Orange body Wulff Pattern for my dun. For my spinner same size and body of orange rabbit fur with spent wings of white calf tail. Once this hatch gets started and the spinners are on the water, I will use my spinner imitation most or the time during this hatch."