The cold has scared some anglers away from the water over the past few days, but those who have gotten out are still seeing good catches of tautog and school-sized striped bass along the coastline. Inland, trout, pike and panfishing are all in full swing.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Some tough winds have kept the Frances Fleet in Narragansett at port over the past few days, but Roger reported some excellent fall fishing late last week and through the weekend. The tautog fishing has been red-hot with full boat limits being taken on most trips. The biggest fish of the weekend tipped the scales at 11 pounds, and there were numerous fish in the 9- to 10-pound range. It has not been unusual to have as many as 8 fish hitting the scale to compete for high hook on any given trip. Along with the tautog, many customers were able to manage some keeper black sea bass, which are still plentiful in the deeper water along the Rhode Island coast. Tautog and sea bass weren’t the only fish biting over the weekend, as Roger reported a great upswing in the cod fishery. This past Sunday was the best day of cod fishing this season, with nearly everyone on the boat taking home a few keepers. The pool fish for the weekend eclipsed the 20-pound mark, and fish in the 8- to 10-pound range were common. With the “polar vortex” coming to an end just in time for this weekend, the settled weather will equate into some great fall fishing aboard the fleet. Be sure to keep an eye on their sailing schedule for openings up to, and following, the Thanksgiving holiday.
The crew at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown has been busy with their move to a new location at 1037 Aquidneck Avenue, but they were able to provide a quick report, which consisted of excellent tautog fishing in the Newport area. The Newport and Narragansett rockpiles are still holding plenty of quality fish, including a few pushing the 10-pound mark, that were weighed in by some shop regulars. The fish have started to move to slightly deeper water and looking at depths of 30 feet or more has been a key to success. Surfcasters are still finding large schools of small stripers up to about 30 inches on the Newport shoreline, and with only a few reports of gannets locally, there is some hope that one last push of bait and big fish still may come through the area.
At Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, Steve reported that saltwater anglers who have braved the cold are still finding plenty of quality tautog on rockpiles in 30 to 45 feet of water. Along with the tautog, a few keeper sea bass and cod are also showing up in similar areas. Local surfcasters who have not yet packed away the gear took a few decent bass around Matunuck and Watch Hill over the weekend, but overall, schoolie fish dominate the catch.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The cold weather had a lot of Northeast anglers thinking about packing away the summer gear and busting out the ice-fishing gear, but a warming trend for the holiday week will provide plenty of opportunities to wet a line before the hardwater arrives. In the salt; tautog, black sea bass and cod are biting well and provide a chance to get some good eats for the holiday dinner. Inland fishing has been solid despite the cold and will only improve with some near-60-degree days.
“HardWater” What has it been all of November and most of October? Calm, Soft and Pleasant?
NOT………….