Codfishing is heating up for the Francis Fleet in Rhode Island, while blackfishing doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Schoolie bass on light tackle are becoming more abundant and have been on the feed prior to their winter migration.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

While this season is beginning to dwindle down for most, it is still going strong and steady for the Frances Fleet in Narragansett. According to Roger, just about everyone aboard the boat over this week has walked away with plenty of dinner-plate scup and keeper black sea bass. The target species, Atlantic cod, are just starting to show up in respectable numbers and cod around the 10-pound mark are becoming more common. Captain Mike has reported some good blackfishing for the fleet, especially when the winds have settled and made anchoring an easier task. Over the past weekend a 10-pound blackfish took the pool and many other keepers hit the deck of the boat, with a few customers limiting out. Be sure to keep an eye on their website as they will be sailing for bottom-fish throughout the fall and into the winter months.

At Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown word is that the tautog bite is still going strong, specifically in 25 to 35 feet of water. The excellent weather of the past weekend saw many anglers on the water and saw keeper tog from Watch Hill to Narragansett, and with water temperatures around normal there are certainly a few more weeks to score some nice blackfish inshore. There is still a good amount of inshore bait around South County and schoolie bass blitzes continue to pop up along the beaches. Some of the bait is of the larger variety, mainly Atlantic herring, and surfcasters who have found some bigger bait have been seeing some larger, keeper-class bass. Some secondhand reports have come in from the Block Island surf and word is that the striped bass bite has been very good for the past few nights on needlefish plugs and small bucktails.
A few reports from surfcasters have come in to Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, most of which reported a nice supply of bass along the South County coast but not many keepers. It seems that a good deal of surfcasters made the trip out to the south shore of Long Island this week, where an excellent sand eel bite has been taking place. Large tautog continue to come out of the deeper water around Sugar Reef and Wicopesset Passage and while this upcoming weekend may not be as nice as the previous one, it looks to be pleasant enough to get a few more tog trips in.

Connecticut Fishing Report

River’s End Tackle in Old Saybrook informed me that reports have been limited as a lot of boats have come out of the water and a lack of interest has taken over on some of the colder days. Pat did reference a number of reports from late last week through the weekend of school bass blitzing from Weekapaug to Watch Hill, with most of the action starting late in the afternoon and lasting well into dark. School bass have also been popping up in eastern Connecticut around Black Point but the vast majority of the CT bass appear to be in the area of Milford to Branford. Blackfish reports have also been limited but the reports that have come in have been good ones. A customer came in with a limit of big blackfish from the Waterford area and reports have still been decent from the breakwaters. The amount of large blackfish still holding in fairly shallow water is a sign that the fall blackfish season is still far from over.

Andrew, at Fishin Factory III in Middletown, is now only open Friday-Sunday and has been spending a lot of time fishing the Connecticut River during the week. In between trying to catch some native bait for the shop, Andrew has been cashing in on an excellent northern pike bite in the river and black crappie bite on the coves. Last weekend Andrew had an influx of customers buying crabs and nearly all of them reported good catches of blackfish from the Old Lyme shoreline west to Westbrook. The bite was very good in 20 to 25 feet of water and Andrew anticipates similar action this upcoming weekend.

Mike Roy of Reel Cast Charters took advantage of the pleasant weather Saturday-Monday and managed some slammer blackfish on jigs in western Long Island Sound. Fish continue to hold on the 20- to 25-foot rockpiles from New Haven to Milford and Mike was able to get limits for himself and his customers in quick fashion. Mike will continue to run charters for the rest of the month and will likely see some more monster blackfish before all is said and done.

In the far western sound, reports have also slowed due in large part to a lack of boats still in slips but Dan at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reported that his consistent customers have still been picking up limits of blackfish around the Norwalk Islands and at Penfield Reef. Anglers are seeing far more shorts than keepers but with a little bit of effort a four-fish limit is easily attainable. Diamond jigging for bluefish at the western sound reefs continues to go strong, although it will likely be slowing down in the upcoming week or two. Schoolie and small keeper bass are beginning to stage up in the mouth of the Housatonic and Saugatuck rivers and both shore and boat anglers have had success throwing small jigs and soft plastics on light tackle. It is likely that some of these fish are staging up for the winter and there is probably a similar bite going on in the lower Thames River, although I haven’t heard any first hand reports.

Freshwater anglers are still having success fishing the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers for broodstock Atlantic salmon, although the low flows are beginning to make things difficult. A steadier freshwater bite has been going on in the Saugatuck River, where anglers fishing live shiners under slip bobbers have been finding some keeper walleye that are eager to bite in the early morning and late afternoon hours. While the walleye have seemed to prefer lower light conditions, some big smallmouth bass and brown trout have been keeping Saugatuck anglers busy throughout most of the day.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The weather has certainly been up and down, which is usually the case in New England this time of year, but for the second straight week the weather seems to be improving a bit for the weekend. It might be tough getting out on the water when temperatures are near freezing at daybreak but cash in on the few remaining days we have left as we have a long winter ahead of us. Blackfish will once again be a safe bet in Rhode Island and Connecticut and there appears to be enough school bass along the coast to keep you busy no matter where you are. If you’re in western Connecticut and are looking to try something different, go on a walleye hunt at the Saugatuck Reservoir or Squantz Pond; these fish could grow quite large and are probably the best tasting fish New England has to offer.