With all of the peanut bunker around, anglers sticking close to shore will want to chase blitzing topwater blues and false albacore. If you’re still looking for a monster striped bass, Block Island still has them.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Tom at The Tackle Box in Warwick had a great time fishing between Conimicut and Warwick this week, catching big scup, fluke, sea bass and dogfish all in the same trip. Plenty of blues are in the upper Naragansett as well, including snappers for the kids. He thinks the big stripers found out at Block are still a few weeks away from moving inshore.
According to Mike at Quaker Lane in North Kingstown, the false albacore and bonito have finally showed up at Coast Guard House and the West Wall. Fluke have moved out into deeper water. Try 80-100 feet. Fewer scup are begin found, but ones that are caught have been big. Striper fishing is slow, with primarily schoolie-sized fish being taken, although Mike did report some keepers begin taken at Weekapaug. If you’re looking for blues, you’re in luck, with tons of fish and snappers for the kids.
Howard at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett said striper fishing is still slow, with 15- 20 pound fish taken off the beaches at night. There are plenty of sea bass are in the area, but fluke are hit or miss. Blackfishing is also good if you can get through the scup to find them.
Albies and bonito are around, with one Galilee customer catching 5 in one trip this past Saturday. Howard suggests trolling, as they haven’t been frequently feeding on the surface.
Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters reported that Block Island fluke is very good, with a 30.25-inch, 12-pound fluke weighed in on Wednesday. A big school of fish has been there for a few weeks, sitting in 100 feet of water on the backside of the Island. Large spearing, Butterfly jigs and Viper Spoons have been among the most popular offerings. Lots of scup and small bait in the area. There are some bonito and albies out front from the backside of Fisher’s Island all the way to Watch Hill Reef. Fluke in the Watch Hill Area is slow, but the abundance of black sea bass has made up for it.
Offshore, folks are killing the nighttime bigeye and yellowfin bite at Fishtails. Tackle shops in the area report being cleaned out of offshore gear, squid and butterfish.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Blues, albies and bottom fishing are the best bets this week for Rhode Island anglers. Block Island is still holding big bass and fluke as well.
Been catching lots of blk fidh at beavertail 6am to 9am.stripers been nailing blk deep 12″ yozuri plug sunrise