It’s better late than never as the first set of fresh striped bass have started to set up shop on the reefs of Rhode Island and Long Island Sound. Keeper fluke have also shown for the first time, while tautog and freshwater fishing remains steady.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
According to The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, the herring run is still going strong in the upper bay and some larger striped bass have finally taken notice. Keeper bass in the 35-38 inch range were found tailing herring around the upper bay this week; while in the smaller back bays and creeks school-sized bass are running the show. Multiple worm hatches took place this week across the state’s many salt ponds, and the fly-rodders have cashed in on the resulting great schoolie fishing.
Steve McKenna, at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, reported that plenty of schoolie to 30-inch bass remain in the early season spots across the Ocean State but finding any sort of consistency has been difficult. In many cases strong fishing one evening hasn’t exactly translated to similar results the following evening. We remain a week or two behind in terms of water temperatures and consistency should grow as more and more fish make their way up the coast. The windy weather earlier this week made tautog fishing difficult, but reports of keeper fish from the rockpiles of Newport and Narragansett have come in from anlgers taking advantage of breaks in the weather. Fluke reports have been quiet inshore but reports have been increasingly good from anglers making the run out to Block Island.
This spring has been a lot better to the freshwater anglers than the guys in the salt and that trend has continued this week as largemouth bass fishing reports have been excellent across the state. Good flows and increased trout stocking has resulted in another week of strong trout fishing for both fly and spin anglers.
Fishing Forecast for Rhode Island
Some rain and cooler temperatures have arrived for the end of this week but the long weekend looks to be a beautiful one with plenty of sunshine and temperatures approaching 80. Striped bass opportunities remain plentiful up in our rivers as well as out front so no matter where you’re located this weekend will be a good one to chase linesiders. Early season fluke is looking like another viable option and results could be excellent if you can find the fish before the rest of the fleet does.