Tag along on an early-fall bottom fishing trip aboard the Galilee-based charter vessel C-Devil II as we head west along the beaches of South County, RI. The goal is to see what types of edible species the ocean will yield, and Capt. Kelly Smith and mate Gibb Randall do not disappoint by putting us on black sea bass, tautog (blackfish), and scup (porgy).
All three species are readily available through the fall over the rocky bottom and wrecks along the South County beaches, and the technique for catching them is pretty simple. In our case, we bait up with sections of green crab on a two-hook dropper rig weighted with a light bank sinker and lower the rig to the bottom in 20 to 40 feet of water. It doesn't take long for the action to start, and in just a few hours we have a cooler full of tasty bottom fish ready for the fillet table.
The gear used is relatively light:
Rod Tsunami TSSPJC-661MH slow-pitch jigging rod
Avet SXJ Conventional Reel
Fins XS 50lb. Braided Line
Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon 50-pound-test leader
Jigging World Z Blade 5/0 Octopus hook
The real trick in this game is finding the best spots that hold the most fish, and that requires some local knowledge, plus a good depthsounder and a willingness to move around to different spots if the one you're fishing isn't paying off or only yielding small fish. Also, you'll need to know how to anchor directly over the spot where you are marking the most fish, and that means calculating the effects of current and wind.
To book a trip aboard the C-Devil II, visit www.cdevilspor...
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL
___________________________________________________________________________________
Follow us on Facebook: / explorenewenglandfilms
Follow us on Instagram: / explorenewenglandfilms
Explore New England TV Website: explorenewengl...