What a great time of year. Football is in full throttle and the annual migration of bass and blues has also started, giving people without a boat and those who choose to fish from the shore as a preference a chance to enjoy good fishing.

Our own beaches will offer sport but also those over in neighboring Rhode Island, a very popular destination for Connecticut residents.

On the Tuesday afternoon high water three stripers over 40 inches were caught at Watch Hill Lighthouse along with bluefish, that information from Del Barber of Westerly, a retired Pfizer employee who constantly watches the beachfront for signs of activity. That same afternoon and the next morning, this writer fished the Quonny area for seven bass to 30 inches and a 7-pound blue on a half-ounce lead head with four-inch twister tail.

Hillyers Tackle reported shore fishermen caught stripers from the shore at Ocean Beach Thursday morning. Bunkers though moved out of the Niantic River, their presence there drawing in bass at times with range of a person along the rip-rap and bridges. The Race still contains lots of blues and some bass on diamond jigs, hitting best some days at the end of the tide.

Over at King Cove, Bill told me some of the locals caught schoolie bass from the bridge leading into Stonington, just up from the Shell gas station. Out in the boats, some of the live bait sharpies using live porgies, brought in stripers from 30 to 40 pounds if you could keep the bait away from all the blues.

Bunkers were around as of this report in Stonington Harbor and some larger bass were caught around the inner breakwater on this bait as a result. You might find some sea bass on the deeper rockpiles off Weekapaug and Charlestown along with large porgies.

Allen Fee at Shaffer's Marina observed fishing was pretty darn slow during the passage of Tropical Storm Hanna but picked up nicely after it went passed and waters cleared. They sold lots of diamond jigs for blue fishing in The Race, many of those fish destined for the smoker before the dinner table.

Hickory shad are moving into some of our rivers, caught on light rods and small darts or spoons both for sport and also use as live bait for big bass. Porgy fishing is still fine but blackfish season is closed until October and fluke fishing finished until 2009.

The bass fishing on the Watch Hill Reefs was good, said Roger at J&B Tackle. He and a buddy landed four fish over 30 pounds and one over 40 on the heads of live scup after the bait was bitten in half by hungry blues. Some bluefin tuna were spotted both in The Race and also down off Watch Hill.

Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle reminds all that like to catch porgies that the season for them will close in state waters on Sept. 25. That fishery remains very good along with small blues and a few bass prowling the Thames River. Biggest striper of last week was a 40-pound caught at Outer Bartletts on live porgy.

Captain Jack Balint at the Fish Connection said there were a lot of false albacore over around Montauk Point last Friday but didn't know if those fish were still there. His sources reported lots of bait around Plum Island and Gardiners, waiting for the fall run to gather headway.

River's End down in Old Saybrook said catches in small boats along the lower Connecticut River were on the poor side after Hanna went past. You might get a large bass out of the Sluiceway if blues leave the bait go by. Crabbing is very poor to date but hickory shad are arriving in small inlets and some rivers, fun on a light rod.

TIM COLEMAN CAN BE REACHED AT THEWRECKHUNTER@AOL.COM

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