The Rhode Island surf has come alive for striped bass anglers, while false albacore are keeping drags squeeling throughout New England.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, was happy to hear the latest weather reports, which are calling for close to now residual effects from Hurricane Matthew in the northeast. The Lady Frances turned a relatively slow trip into an excellent one on Wednesday, when they were able to boat a great number of nice cod during the last hour of the trip. Nick and Bob from Milford, CT boxed nearly 20 cod, with the majority in the low-teen class. A number of other customers saw similar results, with many landing 4-6 fish into the low-teens in short order. Limits of scup in the 2-3 pound class have been common, and a good deal of pollock have also been in the mix. One angler this week actually landed a pollock that was pushing 20-pounds, one of the biggest in years. All of the trips that sailed earlier in the week saw similar results, and with the improved forecast, the fleet should be sailing all weekend.
Pete, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports the local striped bass fishing in the Newport area, as well as along the South County beaches has been producing some nice fish for surfcasters. The mullet run hit with a vengeance and shore bound anglers are cashing on with some great catches. The mullet are often fast movers and don’t stick around long, so be sure to cash in on the bite now while you still can. False albacore are around in good numbers and are often tight to the shoreline; which has also been advantageous for surfcasters. They should stick around a bit longer, as it appears they won’t be pushed out by the hurricane. Tautog fishing is going strong on all the local structure, with some quality fish in 15 feet of water or less.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that as fall settles in, the local tautog fishing is really starting to improve. Most of Rhode Island’s shallow rockpiles are holding fish, with Brenton Reef in Newport and the breakwalls in Point Judith being common hotspots. Shore anglers are landing keepers at Beavertail and Stone Bridge. Anglers out of the Providence area are also finding some keepers at India Point Park and along the rocky bottom in the Providence River. Fishing for bass and bluefish remains very strong in the Seekonk and Providence Rivers. False albacore have been tight to the rocky shoreline in Newport and were also seen driving bait around the Point Judith breakwalls. Sea bass and scup remain very consistent on all of the local hard-bottom.
Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that there are loads of striped bass and bluefish along the South County beaches and Watch Hill. The fish have been tight to shore and surfcasters are scoring better catches than boat anglers. Fish have been seen blitzing on anchovies during the day, and some bigger fish have been feeding on mullet after dark. Bass to 35-inches and bigger have been common, while many of the bluefish are pushing the mid-teens. False albacore remain throughout South County and are also being reported in good numbers along the eastern Connecticut shoreline.
Connecticut Fishing Report
At Hillyers in Waterford, John reports that the striped bass bite took a turn for the better during the new moon tide period. Good catches have been reported at Black Point, Bartletts, Plum Gut, The Race and Montauk Point. 3-wayed eels and fresh bunker have accounted for most of the larger fish, but some quality fish have also been taken by anglers casting plugs into shallow boulder fields. Black sea bass remains steady in deep water, while the scup bite is red hot on all the rocky reefs. Big bluefish have also been easy to locate throughout the sound, and false albacore were still being spotted tight to shore during the early part of the week.
At Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, Andrew told me that most of his surfcasting customers have reported some great fishing over the last week or so. Word is that the mullet run in Rhode Island has been a strong one, and anglers have been scoring good bass both day and night. Watch Hill has also had a steady bite and Harkness has provided some good fish for Connecticut anglers. Andy was out Monday and reported good pods of albies just about wherever he went. The Rhode Island beaches had quite a few albies working anchovies right in the surf line, Fishers Island sound had a good bite and even the eastern to central sound had plenty of albies; although they were more skittish than the Rhode Island fish. There seems to be a direct correlation to how skittish the albies are based on how many boats are working the pods. Luckily, there are a good number of fish so keep moving if you have to. Scup, sea bass and blue crabs are all easy to locate and with the tautog opener slated for Monday, Andy has stocked up on all the gear and crabs you will need.
At Rivers End in Old Saybrook, the guys also reported a strong bite for most surfcasters, even amidst the tough conditions of last weekend. The Rhode Island mullet run has caused some excellent blitzes both day and night, while word from Montauk was that things are kicking off nicely as well. Bluefish are abundant in Connecticut, and they are getting big! Fish to 16-pounds have been common in the lower Connecticut River, throughout Waterford, Plum Gut and the Sluiceway. Scup are easy to find and also seem to be increasing in size, while sea bass catches have been steady in 100+ feet of water. As mentioned earlier, if you do some searching, you are likely to find some small pods of albies just about anywhere from Milford to Narragansett.
Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters, reported the best bass bite of the season, and no surprise, it coincided with the October new moon. Not only were fish pretty easy to locate, the majority were 25-35 pounds. That is quite an improvement earlier in the season, where it was tough to find fish over 30-inches. Bluefishing is still very steady, and nearly all of them were over 10-pounds this week. Scup is also going very strong, and putting a limit on the boat is taking no time at all.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
It looks like we may have dodged a hurricane sized bullet this weekend, and that should be music to the ears of local surfcasters. We are in the peak of the fall striped bass run, and it should not be difficult to locate some nice bass during the day or after dark this weekend. The lack of a hurricane blow should also keep the false albacore around for at least another week, and possibly quite longer. Bottom fishing for scup and sea bass is going strong, while tautog, the fall staple; is red hot in Rhode Island and should kick off nicely in Connecticut on Monday.