Leaves are starting to change, fall weather is starting to settle in and signs of a good fall run abound. Pods of false albacore can be found chasing bay anchovies across the Rhode Island coast. Some good striped bass reports have anglers thinking positive for the first time in a while, and big blitzing bluefish remain commonplace across the northeast.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
False albacore have thinned out in the area, but a strong bonito bite is ongoing in Newport, according to the guys at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown. Shore, kayak and boat anglers are reporting good catches of bonito that are feeding heavily on bay anchovies. The bay anchovies have also attracted large schools of 5- to 6-pound bluefish that can be found blitzing alongside the bonito and some schoolie striped bass. There are still plenty of scup and sea bass to be had on the Newport rockpiles, but numbers are starting to thin and anglers are starting to transition to tautog fishing, which is heating up on the shallow rockpiles.
Greg, at The Tackle Box in Warwick, reported that there are still some keeper scup and a few fluke in the upper bay, but most anglers are starting to target the tautog that have moved onto bay’s rockpiles. 20 feet of water over hard bottom, and a jig tipped with green or Asian crabs has been a steady producer. Five-pound bluefish are actively feeding on small bait on the surface, while some 10-pound class bluefish and keeper bass have been seen harassing the bunker schools that are still in the area. False albacore have become spotty but can still be found in the bay for those putting the time in.
At Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, false albacore and bonito are still dominating the fishing attention from Narragansett to Watch Hill. Pods of fish have thinned out but have become more widespread, and an abundance of small inshore bait have kept these fish close enough to shore for both land-bound and boat anglers to score. Striped bass have woken up and are starting to feed on mullet in the South County surf. The surf fishing from Westerly to Narragansett has been better over the past few days than it has all season and is getting some serious attention from local surfcasters. Most bottom-fishermen have started to target tautog and the shop saw fish tipping the scales at nearly 10 pounds this week.
Breachway Bait and Tackle in Charlestown was happy to report that the surfcasting in and around the breachways has been the best they have seen in over five years. Local surfcasters have accounted for a good deal of 40-plus-inch fish over the past few nights, and fish are hitting both live eels and artificial plugs with ferocity. While the bigger fish have shown up after the sun goes down, school striped bass and large bluefish have been feeding tight to shore throughout the day and evening. False albacore are still around in good numbers at Watch Hill and Napatree, though they have become a bit spooky. Keeper scup and tautog are showing up in the breachways and in front of the lighthouse and that bite should only improve over the upcoming weeks.
Fishing Forecast
With temperatures starting to drop, fall fishing is on everyone’s radar. Tautog fishing in Rhode Island should garner some serious attention this weekend. Finding these fish proves harder as the season goes on and well-known rockpiles get fished out. Surfcasters who have been waiting patiently for a striped bass bite this season may have finally gotten their wishes granted as the Rhode Island surf has come alive with some keeper bass, and of course, plenty of big bluefish. If you’re on the water this weekend be sure to have your light-action tackle ready as false albacore are bound to pop up no matter where you may be fishing.
Will be going to Block Island the last week of October on vacation would it be worthwhile to bring my fishing pole along?
Absolutely. Give Chris Willi at Block Island Fishworks a call before you go and fins out if anything is happening.
You would be crazy not to…imagine being on Mansion beach watching a blitz and not being able to do anything about it?
going down to Galilee/ point Judith this week, any recommendations on where would give me my best shot at an albie down there?
Albie have been spotty at best, working the shallows in tight. So anywhere up and down the beach all the way to Watch Hill.
Angling from a Boat is a jockey for position situation as many are chasing them and infact running right threw the small pods. If the boat anglers would sit, shut the egg beater down (aka motor). You’d be surprised how many would pop up. I’d like to thank the “Rain Man” in his 26 Regulator with twin Egg Beaters…for running thru many Pods last week at the Hill. Higher dollar boat, less brains.
Yeah you gotta love the run and gun guys, I’ve seen guys run through a pod only to have them pop up behind there boat and they go unnoticed as they sit looking for the fish they just ran through, I have to laugh. I’ve had many a guy pull right in front of where I was casting to fish, I had two guys get caught up in my line that had a nice bonita which they caused to pop off, I wanna scream but you can’t fix stupid.
My Upper Bay report: Lots of schoolies with some Big boys (30#+) mixed in, appear to be on juvie pogies. Hooking up on t&w & surface plugs.
I was down briefly on the 5 and 6th, sick both days, windy as heck, but managed to walk out to Napatree on the 6th during the afternoon low and the boats were parked on bonito or albies, saw some busting fish…if I only had a kayak.