Sound bass stack on Execution ledge as big tides flush bait through the rips

The Sound's been telling a story this past week, and it's one I've seen play out a hundred times over three decades on these waters. We had a new moon on June 22nd that cranked up the spring tides — the kind of water movement that gets everything stirred up from the Throgs to Oyster Bay. Those big tides peaked midweek with 7-foot swings, then started backing down as we moved toward the first quarter moon coming up Friday. That transition from spring to neap is critical — it changes where the bass hold and how they feed.

The wind's been the real player this week. Southwest flow for five straight days churned the western Sound into chocolate milk, pushing all that warm surface water east and stacking it against the Connecticut shore. Water temps jumped from 66 to 70 degrees in four days — too fast for my liking. When the water heats up that quick, it scatters the bait and makes the bass finicky. But Friday's northwest wind shift started to clean things up, and by Saturday morning you could see bottom in 12 feet again. That clearing water is what triggered the bite at Execution Rocks.

The bass action has been all about structure and moving water. Execution Rocks has been the star performer — big fish stacked on the ledge where it drops from 25 to 45 feet. The pattern's been consistent: slow morning until the outgoing tide really starts to rip, then the bass move up onto the ledge to ambush bait getting swept over the drop. Large Mojo lures trolled tight to the rocks have been deadly — 9-inch and 11-inch models in bunker and herring patterns. I'm talking about 40-plus-inch fish, with a few pushing 50. The key is staying in that 25 to 35-foot zone on the upcurrent side of the rocks and letting the tide carry your spread over the structure.

Stepping Stones has been producing similar fish but more sporadically. The current there doesn't set up as predictably as Execution, so you need to work harder to find the right drift. When you do connect, though, it's quality — thick bass in the 35 to 42-inch range. Same Mojo program works, but I've also seen fish taken on large bunker spoons and even some guys doing well with live peanut bunker on fishfinder rigs.

The fluke fishing has been a different story — frustrating would be the word. Oyster Bay Harbor to Lloyd's Neck should be prime doormat water this time of year, but the bite's been scattered at best. Most guys are grinding out shorts with the occasional keeper mixed in. The 17 to 19-inch fish are there, but the big summer fluke haven't shown up in numbers yet. I think that rapid water warming pushed them deeper or further east. White Gulp Swimming Mullets on 3/4-ounce bucktails are still the go-to rig, but you're covering a lot of water for each fish.

Porgies have been the bright spot for bottom fishing. The rocky areas around Centre Island and the structure off Bayville have been loaded with quality scup — fish running 12 to 15 inches, which is excellent for this time of year. They're hitting sandworms and clam strips on high-low rigs in 20 to 30 feet. It's not glamorous fishing, but when the bass bite slows, the porgies keep your rod bent.

Bait's been the puzzle piece this season. The bunker schools that usually stack up off Matinecock in June have been thin and scattered. I'm seeing more spearing and sand eels than menhaden, which explains why the bass are relating so tightly to structure instead of roaming the open Sound chasing bait pods. The few bunker schools I have marked have been small — maybe 50 to 100 fish instead of the massive schools we typically see.

Looking ahead, Friday's first quarter moon means we're sliding into neap tides — smaller tidal swings that peak around 4 feet instead of 7. That changes the whole dynamic at places like Execution Rocks. The current won't rip as hard, which means the bass might spread out more and feed longer into the slack periods. I'd adjust by fishing the edges of the structure instead of just the main ledge, and maybe switching to smaller presentations — 7-inch Mojos instead of 11-inch, or even dropping down to bucktails with Gulp trailers.

The weather pattern looks promising for the holiday weekend. High pressure building in from the west should give us light northwest winds and clean water through Tuesday. That's exactly what we need to get the fluke bite going in the shallows and maybe draw some of those deeper bass back up onto the ledges. If the water stays clean and the wind stays light, I'd expect the Execution Rocks bite to stay strong through the weekend, especially on the morning outgoing tides.