Rhode Island Fishing Report - October 1, 2015

An extreme weather system showed up just in time to put a halt on a strong striped bass and tautog bite. Look to fish protected estuaries for small bass and blues, or head to an inland body of water for an angling fix while we wait out the storms.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Narragansett, found continued success on their full day multi-species trips through the beginning of this week. Black sea bass has now closed in federal waters, but the fleet has found plenty of keeper fish in local waters, where the season remains open. Along with the sea bass, dinner-plate-sized scup remain easy to find, and more keeper cod are appearing on each trip. This end-of-week weather will likely put a halt on most trips, but the bottom fishing should pick up right where it left off after the blow. Starting next week the full day multi-species trips will run from Wednesday through Sunday from 7-4, with private charter trips still available aboard the Jeanie B.

Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, reported that the strong and steady northeast wind has pushed most of the bonito and false albacore offshore. Large schools of bait are still prevalent in the area, and the striped bass fishing had picked up before the heavy winds settled in. Boat anglers reported good catches of keeper bass around the center wall earlier in the week, while local surfcasters found bass to 40 pounds on the rocks after dark. The salt ponds are also loaded with school bass and small keepers, and could provide some protected water to fish during this weather event. Tautog fishing was red hot this past weekend, and no doubt will pick right back up when the weather clears.

At Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, reports from local surfcasters were very good last weekend and into the early part of this week. The breachways, both inside and out, along with most of the other common shore destinations had a steady pick of bass to 25 pounds, and some large bluefish. Live eels produced some of the larger fish, but the fish also seem very eager to hit swimming plugs. This storm system should dirty up the water pretty good, rendering a lot of spots unfishable this weekend, but the insides of the breachways tend to light up with activity during fall storms. Snapper blue fish are very thick inside the breachways, and should also provide a viable fishing option this weekend. Black sea bass, scup and tautog were biting well for shore and boat anglers, and should be easy to find once the water cleans.

Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reported some excellent tautog fishing on the local reefs, whenever the weather has allowed anglers to get out there. There is also a nice steady pick of sea bass mixed in, and solid multi-species days are common. The Watch Hill reefs were also fishing really well for striped bass and bluefish prior to the storm; hopefully this weather system won’t blow the bait and bass out of the area. Surfcasting for striped bass and bluefish has also been good in the same area, with quality fish reported from the lighthouse, Napatree and the breachways. Shore anglers have also been scoring good catches of tautog and scup at the same locations.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Black sea bass has still been garnering the most attention in the eastern sound, according to Hillyers in Waterford. Black Point, Bartletts, The Race and the south side of Fishers are still loaded with keepers, with 60-80 feet being the magic range for larger fish. Gator bluefish are smashing topwater plugs at Millstone, and can be found throughout the water column at The Race. Small keeper bass were being caught around Harkness last weekend, and most anglers are hoping that this storm will get the bass moving and kick the bite into gear. The Niantic River still has a good bite of small snapper bluefish, and the blue crabbing is red hot.

Rivers End in Old Saybrook reports that there has been a whole mess of big bluefish feeding on bunker around the Connecticut River flats, and a few anglers have found some nice keeper bass in the mix. The cooler temperatures and strong winds could move some of those fish upriver, providing a good bite around the Essex area in the coming weeks. Striped bass fishing for smaller keepers was consistent on the eastern and western shorelines adjacent to the river; as long as there is bunker in the river that bite should continue on and off thru October. Blitzing gator blues stretched from Saybrook Point to the Town Beach this week, and again that bite should continue if their food supply doesn’t get blown out of the area. Connecticut tautog season begins on October 10th, and the shop is looking forward to hosting its annual tournament once again.

Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters in Clinton, cashed in on the strong super moon tides and had an excellent weekend of local striped bass fishing. The bass fishing was not only consistent, but also had a good push of some of the larger fish of the year. Bass to 40 pounds came over the rails, along with a mess of heavy bluefish. This storm system should put things on hold for a few days, but TJ believes it is too early in the fall to bring the fishing to an end. Scup and black sea bass still carpet the hard bottom, and will be biting again when the weather clears.

Gary, at Connecticut Outfitters in Wethersfield, chimed in with a freshwater report that could serve as backup plan until the weather clears up out front. The Connecticut River is rising and so is the fishing activity, as local anglers reported a great white perch bite in the Hartford area this week. Good sized schools of perch are thick, with the bait of choice being a basic nightcrawler. Hickory shad have started to show up again in Wethersfield Cove, and are hitting small willow leaf lures. Crappie fishing has been great all over, with small jigs and live pinhead minnows both producing well. The couple cooler nights and water flow has started to kick the fall pike fishing into gear, and anglers are reporting good catches from Wethersfield to Haddam on large spinnerbaits, spoons and large live baits.

Best bets for the weekend

The impending hurricane will put most of our saltwater fishing on hold this weekend, but look for the protected estuaries such as the breachways and tidal rivers to pick up with fish seeking refuge. Saturday and Sunday don’t look to be complete blowouts and it might be time to dust off the freshwater gear and try to find some pike or panfish in our rivers and lakes. It is too early to think that this storm will put an end to the striped bass bite, look for it to pick up when the weather subsides, along with sea bass and tautog; which will remain plentiful.