Rhode Island Fishing Report 8-28-14

As most anglers are waiting patiently for the arrival of false albacore, bonito and hopefully larger schools of striped bass, there remains some very good local angling to keep everyone busy in the meantime. Scup and black sea bass rule the bottom, and tautog fishing begins to get going in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Greg, at The Tackle Box in Warwick, was happy to report that the upper Narragansett Bay is now flooded with bait, both large and small, and blitzing bluefish can be found all over them. Along with the schools of bait and bluefish, striped bass numbers are starting to pick up once again in the bay. Reports of keeper bass to 25 pounds came in from multiple customers this week, with all reports coming from 40 to 50 feet of water and tight to structure. Fluke appear to be making their move east and early reports from Sakonnet indicate that it may blow wide open out that way very soon. A few bonito are still popping up here and there from Block to Point Judith, but reports are still very spotty.

Steve McKenna, at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, saw a week of improvement for local surfcasters. There are vast amounts of rain bait across South County to Narragansett, and anglers are scoring plenty of schoolies to small keepers off the local rocks and beaches. Surfcasters tossing live eels after dark are seeing some larger bass but fish over 40 inches are still hard to come by. Scup and black sea bass are still available across the entire Rhode Island hard bottom, and a few customers have been buying up crabs and trying their luck with tautog, which are now starting to bite in 15-25 feet of water.

Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, saw multiple bass over 50 pounds hit his scales this week, which were taken from the waters around Block Island. While the circus of boats out there may have receded a bit, there are still some cow bass to be had for anglers making the trip over. Local surfcasters are reporting steady bass action with fish to 20 pounds in Narragansett and Jamestown, with most of the better fish coming after dark on live bait. Once again there is no shortage of black sea bass or scup this week, however fluke are becoming harder to find and may be starting their migration.

Over at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, Mike reported that bass action has been steady on the Watch Hill reefs, but still remains better at Block Island. Bluefish have moved into the region in better numbers, including a few big schools at The Race and Plum Gut. Scup up to 3 pounds are all over Sugar Reef, and plenty of smaller keepers are also being caught from shore at the lighthouse and in the breachways. Some tautog have been in the mix for scup and sea bass anglers and it may be time to consider bringing some crabs with you on your next trip.

Fishing Forecast

Keep an eye out for blitzing fish this weekend, as I have a feeling that before long it won’t be just bluefish blitzing out there. Scup and black sea bass fishing are as strong as ever, and if you’re out combing the bottom try dunking some crabs for tautog. The Rhode Island tautog season remains open through September.