The great diversity in our New England fisheries provides us with no true off-season, and that is evident right now as we move into the winter months. Temperatures remain on the mild side and striped bass can be found both along our beaches and well inside our tidal rivers. Whether you take your own boat or hop on one of the local charters, tautog, cod and black sea bass remain plentiful along the coast. Many freshwater anglers, myself included, are waiting patiently for first ice, but don’t overlook the last few weeks of open water, which can be the one of the best times of year for northern pike, trout and walleye.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The beautiful holiday weekend resulted in a great weekend of fishing aboard The Frances Fleet in Narragansett. Saturday provided a great multi-species slam, with plenty of cod, tautog and black sea bass coming over the rails on both boats. David from Indian Orchard took home high hook for the weekend, with a beautiful 25-pound cod. That fish may have been an outlier, but 10- to 12-pound fish were common. The sea bass fishing was also excellent aboard the Gail Frances, with most customers easily finding limits. The Lady Frances put together another successful outing on Saturday as well, with tautog limits of fish to 7 pounds, along with some keeper cod to 15 pounds mixed in. The excellent fishing carried over into the early part of this week, and Captain Mike reported their most successful tautog trip of the season on Monday. The crew made short work of a full-boat limit with fish to 9 pounds, and they were back to the dock by 2:30. Monday was also a good day for Roger on the Gail Frances, with a whole mess of nice cod in the 6- to 10-pound range and easy limits of black sea bass to 4 pounds.
The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reported that both recreational and charter boats were having good success with tautog around Newport and along the east side of Block Island. The fish have moved off to deeper water, but if you can find a break in the weather, the fish have been pretty easy to find in both locations. The cod fishing has been good at Sharks Ledge and Coxes Ledge, and most of the cod boats are also reporting good black sea bass catches in both areas. There is still a decent amount of small bait in the area, and some anglers are finding success with schoolies along the beaches. There is also a decent schoolie bite in the bay, and a few fly-fishers cashed in on bass over the holiday weekend. Squid fishing remains very consistent in Newport, and reports indicate it has also picked up along South County.
At Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, Steve reported that tautog fishing remains steady in the deeper water off the Rhode Island coast. The schoolie bite has also been decent along the South County breachways and salt ponds, but with cold weather approaching, anglers are switching gears and starting to think about holdover bass in the Providence River.
Freshwater anglers are reporting great local trout action, specifically from freshly stocked waters. The Wood River from Rt. 165 to Barbersville, Barber Pond in South Kingstown and Silver Spring Pond in North Kingstown are all recently stocked waters that should continue to produce well throughout December.
Fishing Forecast
Striped bass remain plentiful as they transition from our beaches to their holdover haunts in our tidal rivers. Tautog, cod and black sea bass continue to provide good action in the salt, while pre-ice northern pike and trout fishing rules freshwater.