Rhode Island Fishing Report – May 7, 2015

Summer like weather has equaled a full blown spring striped bass run in both Rhode Island and Connecticut, while settling flows have kept spring trout season going strong.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett announced that full day fluke trips will start this Friday May 8th, and will sail from 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Nighttime squid trips will also kick off this weekend, and will sail from 7 P.M. to 1 A.M. Reservations are highly recommended for all trips, and can be made online or by phone. Both fluke and squid reports are just starting to surface in the area, and should really take off after a few more days of warming.

At The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, schoolie fever has taken over the Newport and Narragansett area, with fishing out front getting steadier each day. 20-24 inch fish have been fairly easy to obtain at the west wall, with on and off action occurring throughout the day. There have been a few keeper class fish mixed in with the schoolies, but for the most part the larger bass are still being found up in the rivers, stalking the local herring runs. Tautog reports remain slow out front, but more and more are showing up in the upper bay as water temperatures rise.

Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, reports that striped bass fishing has really improved in the area this week. School sized bass can be found up and down all of the local beaches, and fish into the mid 30-inch range have started to show up over the past few days. Large schools of bunker have moved into the area, and should provide a steady food supply for the larger bass, when they show up. For now, bigger bass remain keyed in on the herring runs, which are still holding large numbers of bait. Fluke season started off slow, with water temperatures well below 50, but over the past few days some positive reports have come in close to the Harbor of Refuge. Squid is starting to be spotted in the harbor and also in the Newport area, and will certainly help keep the fluke inshore.

Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown also chimed in that school bass can be found on most South County beaches, although the better fishing remains around the Harbor of Refuge. Most fish are under 25-inches, but are getting more aggressive each day, and are starting to eat larger baits such as SP minnows and 9-inch sluggos. Larger plugs will also increase your odds of landing a better fish, as a few bass up to 36 inches have been reported on larger offerings. Tautog and fluke reports are slow locally, but some decent winter flounder catches are now coming in from the salt ponds.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reports that just about everyone in the area is keying in on striped bass, as they can now be found in good numbers throughout the state. The Housatonic remains a hot bed for good bass fishing, with quality keepers in the northern stretches on the tail of river herring, and good concentrations of bass around the river mouth feeding on smaller bait. The Connecticut River is producing similar great results, with Andrew reporting that schoolies can be caught just about everywhere in the river on sandworms. The northern herring runs are seeing more and more bait, which has resulted in some larger bass moving up river and taking large swimming plugs. Bunker reports are excellent for this early in the season, and should equal some tremendous bass fishing when the larger fish show up later this month. In freshwater news, local trout anglers are still hitting the Salmon River and Farmington River hard, and reports have been great on small crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

James, at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, that the bass bite in the Connecticut River is dominated by schoolie catches, however reports of a few better fish are trickling in from up north. Around the mouth, anglers are scoring schoolies on sandworms at the usual locations: Saybrook Point, Baldwin Bridge and the DEEP docks. Boat anglers are also scoring good numbers of fish working light jigs in the channel. Fluke reports have been quiet in Rhode Island, while Connecticut anglers are finding a few winter flounder in the river mouth and in Niantic Bay. The Connecticut River has settled down nicely, which has helped the pike fishing out in the northern coves and backwaters. Trout anglers are still reaping the benefits of a strong stocking year by the DEEP, and good catches are coming in from all the locally stocked rivers and ponds.

Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reported that bunker has shown up in full force in most of the local harbors, but the larger bass haven’t quite made the journey just yet. There are some school-sized bass out front feeding on smaller bait, while the bulk of the bass effort out west is in the Housatonic River. Winter flounder reports have remained steady in the western sound, and the bite has started to move from the shelter of the harbors out to the sound. The Saugatuck Reservoir has started to pick up recently, and is rewarding freshwater anglers with good trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass action.

When I spoke to Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters today, he was out on the boat and reported that he was into a lot of keeper bass on the Housatonic. Mike reported that fish can be found throughout the river, and the water temperatures are now ideal for throwing large topwater offerings. Earlier in the week, Mike was able to boat over a dozen keepers at first light, all on 9-inch sluggos worked quickly across the top. With more herring moving upriver each day, and bunker showing up in the river mouth, the next few weeks should remain red hot throughout the river.

Best bets for the weekend

A couple of 80-degree days was all it took to really blow this spring run wide open. Striped bass fishing is now stellar throughout our region; our rivers tidal are loaded up with fish feeding on herring, and more and more fresh bass are showing up out front on a daily basis. Groundfishing has started off a bit on the slow side and will undoubtedly improve with each warming day, but in the interim take advantage of one of the many striped bass options we now have.