Rhode Island Fishing Report | October 23, 2014

Tautog catches continue to be excellent across southern New England, while false albacore just don’t seem to want to leave Long Island Sound. It’s a great time to target a fall mixed bag in the salt.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

With water temperatures holding steady in the mid-60s, there remained plenty of great fishing opportunities in the Newport and Jamestown area. According to The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, false albacore, bonito and schoolie striped bass blitzes are still prevalent in the area. Bluefish also remain common in the area, with the biggest concentrations following the schools of peanut bunker around the Sakonnet River and in Narragansett Bay. A few heavy striped bass have also been picked off locally, but that bite remains spotty. Tautog fishing has been excellent on the shallow reefs and rockpiles out front and also up inside the Bay, which provides some shelter from the almost constant rough conditions.

Not a whole lot has changed at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown this week. Tautog continue to dominate the attention of most anglers in the area, who are getting plenty of keepers on the boat and along the rocky Narragansett shoreline. Some daytime schoolie striped bass and bluefish blitzes continue to show along the South County beaches and the surfcasting remains much better after dark for those who braved the wind and surf.

Howard at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett reported that a few very heavy striped bass fell to local surfcasters around the Narragansett area late last week and into the weekend. Smaller fish have been around during the daylight hours, but the big girls are coming well after dark on live and rigged eels. Blackfishing has been consistent when anglers have been able to get out, and shore anglers have reported good catches of keepers at the West Wall. Some squid has recently shown up in the harbor and are now starting to be caught around the docks after dark.

Fishing Forecast

Strong winds are once again forecasted for the next couple of days, making tautog fishing a top option in the salt. Setting up for tog in the wind can be challenging, but doesn’t require much travel and can now be done in some sheltered areas.