FINDING FISH

Some key fishing locations on the south side of the Island are the beach below Mohegan Bluffs and Black Rock Point. On the east side, spend time working the shoreline from the jetty at Old Harbor south to Lantem Rock, and on to Old Harbor Point, hitting each jetty along the way. Sand-eel patterns are good choices, as are white or black Tabory Snake Flies-be sure to use colors appropriate to the time of day and water conditions. Chartreuse-and-white Deceivers, as well as Clouser Minnows in chartreuse or black, are also good bets. Guide Johnny Glenn's silicone fly, Charlie's Angel, is another very popular Block Island fly.

As water temperatures reach 50 degrees (sometime around mid-May or so), look for striped bass to appear. They are the prime target for Block Island anglers until late November. Arriving soon after the bass, bluefish move through on their migration north. Like the striped bass, their numbers and appetite greatly increase in the fall, before they journey south in early November.

When light westerlies blow in, head to the west side of the Island. These breezes will push bait in against the shoreline, setting up a buffet for bluefish and striped bass. Check the beaches at Southwest Point, farther north at Dories Cove and Grace's Cove, Charleston Beach, around the entrance to the Great Salt Pond at Dead Man's Cove and Skipper's Island, and at the Island's northern tip, Sandy Point. One note of caution-Sandy Point can be one mean piece of water to fish at times, so be extra careful.

For easier fishing, try the eastern side along the stretch of beach from the Pots and Kettles to Jerry's Point, and even down to Crescent Beach. Bass often cruise along this beach, just beyond the wavewash. These fish, particularly during the summer, can be suckers for a crab fly drifted (like a nymph) on the outside edge of the surf zone.

For those who relish the challenges of offshore fishing, blue sharks arrive in June, followed by makes. A chum fly fished in a chum slick is the standard way to hook up to one of these big-game fish. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna show up in late July and actively feed until the first of October.

Like annual, late-summer tourists, false albacore and bonito move into Block Island's waters around August 1, with the bonito the first to turn up. False albacore depart earliest, when fall temperatures first begin to cool the water. By mid-October, the bonito move out for warmer, southern waters. Although less celebrated than other spots in the Northeast, Block Island is arguably the best fishery for bonito and false albacore around. A consistently good spot to look for the fish is in and around the entrance to Great Salt Pond, by the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Beane's Point, and in the pond itself. Sand-eel patterns, sparse Clouster Minnows, and small minnow patterns will get the attention of these speedsters.