Bonito and false albacore favor sharp edges and dropoffs, especially on a falling tide.

Striped bass reside all winter long in some of Rhode Island's estuaries and salt ponds, but the migratory fish arrive in mid-April to forage along the beaches. Napatree Beach and East Beach in Watch Hill, Matunuk's Deep Hole, and First and Second Beaches in Newport are top spots and are best fished on incoming tides with intermediate lines. From there the stripers shift around following bait and key on herring moving into the rivers and the salt ponds.

The Pawcatuck and the Sakonnet Rivers are the two largest river systems, and Quonochontaug (Quonny for short), Ninigret, and Point Judith Ponds warm quickly during the early season. Depending on the depth of the ponds, you should bring floating and intermediate lines as well as lines with sinking heads.

Quonny Pond, Ninigret Pond, Point Judith Pond, and Narragansett Bay all have small to medium-size wadeable flats where a floating line is ideal for casting to fish moving with the tide. Stripers can be skittish on the flats, so the morning and evening light that coincides with these midtides are excellent times to fish. If your boat draws shallow water (9 inches or so), you should have no problem fishing the flats. A second alternative is to drop anchor and wade-fish the hard-bottomed flats quietly. Fish the channels and deeper water adjacent to the flats with intermediate lines or sinking heads.

Bass and bluefish also forage higher into Upper Narragansett Bay, which splits around Conanicut Island. The West Passage runs along the towns of Warwick and Greenwich, while the East Passage runs along the towns of Bristol and Barrington and into the Providence River.

Sight-fishing to stripers in the many wadeable, hard-bottomed flats is best during midtides at morning and evening hours.

The East Passage joins with the top of the Sakonnet River to form Mount Hope Bay. Up there, bass, blues, and weakfish frequent the mixture of flats and estuaries. Other good spots to fish include Mill Gut and the Bristol Narrows in Bristol; the Sapowet River in Tiverton; the Narrow, Barrington, and Palmer Rivers in Barrington; and Nanaquatucket Pond off the Sakonnet River.

Later in the season the small, speedy fish arrive. Bonito usually show up around mid-July, and false albacore arrive in early August. The bonito and false albacore favor sharp edges and dropoffs, particularly on the dropping tide when the bait is concentrated along these seams, and they run along the edges of the river mouths such as the Watch Hill Reef, the West Wall, the mouth of the Sakonnet River, and the Westport and Narrow Rivers.

Squid arrive in mid-May, and stripers take up residence on the reefs at Watch Hill, Napatree Point, and Point Judith. The reefs comprise an intricate chain of rocks, ledges, and passageways that offer structure for feeding fish to trap bait. If you boat-fish this area, be careful around rocks and rip currents; many boats have lost motor lower units in these waters.

From mid to high incoming tides, stripers feed on the outside of the reefs, and as the tide rises, they move in close to shore. But when the tide drops, they hold on the down-current side of the structure, particularly where the passageways suck baitfish back out into the open ocean. Sinking shooting heads are a good first choice, except when the winds are light and breaking fish call for a floating line with a popper or slider. By mid-June, menhaden, silversides, and sand eels move in, and the fish spread out throughout the Rhode Island coast. The water temperatures have warmed and anglers fish the colder water along the rocks at Newport Neck, Jamestown, Fort Weatherill, Breton Point, Beavertail, and Little Compton.

Studded boots or Korkers are important for traction, and floating lines or sinking heads are standard. You should move around when fishing the rocks because the fish are constantly on the prowl. Later incoming tides and the onset of dropping tides are the best fishing times, and fluorocarbon shock tippets will prevent the bass from sounding and popping your tippet on the rocks.

The first wave of bluefish hits the reefs and beaches in late May. They feed on herring, squid, silversides, and sand eels. These blues range from 3 to 6 pounds, and they can be finicky in their eating habits. Racer blues, with their big heads and emaciated bodies, also arrive, fresh off their migration. They may bask at the surface without eating for days, and when they do eat, they prefer natural-colored patterns tied on with monofilament (instead of wire) tippets. Usually bluefish favor brightly colored streamer flies or attack poppers. You should carry wire bite guards or wire shock tippets and pre-rig a variety of large and small flies between #4/0 and #2 in both natural and bright colors to cut your rigging time during the bite.

Bonito arrive when the water temperature remains consistently in the high 60s, usually around early July. You'll see them around Watch Hill Light, Napatree Point, and along the breachways of Quonny and Ninigret Ponds.

The West Wall along Point Judith Pond also is a consistent spot for bonito, and they race down East Beach during higher tides. The bonito feed on silversides, sand eels, and bay anchovies. Some anglers fish for them with small epoxy flies, small flatwings, and Ultrahair Clousers fished on floating lines. Others fish sinking heads and leaders with 10- to 12-pound fluorocarbon tippets. Bonito leave in mid-September when the water temperature drops back into the 60s.

By mid-August, the first schools of false albacore arrive to chase bay anchovies, small butterfish, silversides, and sand eels. The albies feed in the same spots as the bonito but also along the mouth of the Narrow River, off of Beavertail in Jamestown, and along the rocks by Newport's Cliff Walk. Point Judith's West Wall is also a good spot for albies. As with the bonito, small epoxies are the flies of choice.

Also known as "Appleknockers" since they stay around until the apples fall from the trees, albies leave Rhode Island around mid-October.

Fall fishing extends well into December. As the out-migration starts, the bass school up and sweep along the beaches and reefs on their way to Maryland waters. Reverse the spring fish migratory order, and you should have a winning fishing plan.