Rhode Island Fishing Report – October 26, 2017

Some tough weather hasn’t stopped the tautog die-hards from finding some nice fish in shallow water; while false albacore and striped bass don’t seem to be ready to move out just yet.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Narragansett spent last weekend putting a hurting on the ground fish, as both the weather and the fish cooperated for the most part. On Saturday, Captain Matt reported an improved day on the blackfish grounds. The bite was dominated by short fish early one, but they saw increased numbers of keepers as the day moved on, and they managed the largest fish of the season at just over 10-pounds. Starting on Thursday the 26th and every Thursday after that, the fleet will be running a “High Stakes” blackfish trip. This trip will leave at 5 AM and return around 4 PM, so there will be plenty of fishing time and opportunity to take home some pool money. The fare will be $100 with a pool of $25, and reservations are a must on these trips. Sunday and Monday’s trips resulted in some excellent sea bass and cod action, with nearly full boat limits of sea bass to 5-pounds on Sunday and a bunch of big cod in the mix with the pool fish coming in at 25-pounds!

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, had a number of good reports for me this week. A steady population of striped bass set up in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers this year, and a number of them are still there. Anglers are catching quality fish on shallow diving plugs and darters. There are 20-30 pound bass on the beaches from South County to Newport, and they are taking eels and plugs, with the best bite after dark. The tautog bite has been strong all over the state; the recent dirty water has slowed things down a bit, but it should clean up enough for the weekend. Scup fishing remains productive and the sea bass season has been strong since it reopened. Keeper sea bass are being found on deep structure of 80+ feet, on flatfall jigs and Gulp. Regular customer Cody Trostel reported a decent tuna bite in Mass this week, and Omar Curi said the golden trout fishing has been strong at Lincoln Woods.

At The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, Pete told me that not much has changed since last week, as patterns have stayed the same and the dirty water has quieted reports a bit. Anglers who have got out during a small weather window are still finding albies in all sorts of places, such as Barrington Beach and the Warren River; along with all the usual hotspots. Bass fishing has been on the slow side, but things seem to be trending in the right direction for surfcasters since the new moon. Tautog fishing has been excellent, and a number of captains are recommending switching to lighter jigs for a better hook-up rate.

At Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, Mike reported that the false albacore bite had not subsided as of the early part of this week. These fish are still feeding on peanuts, but they have also located the big schools of small bay anchovies that moved in recently. The fish that are feeding on anchovies are much more selective than those on peanuts, so you may need to downsize leaders and offerings. Black sea bass has reopened, and anglers that have targeted them are still reporting quick limits. Surf fishing along the local beaches and breachways was consistent this week, with plenty of bass from 20-30 pounds and some big blues in the mix.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that the water temperatures remain warmer than usual, with all the humidity at night keeping the water cooling after the sun goes down. This has thrown some of the blackfish guys for a loop, as their usual late-October spots aren’t producing as well right now. The general consensus seems to be to stick in shallower water (5-15 ft) for the best results. The larger striped bass that were residing in the lower river have followed the bunker out, and anglers fishing the reefs and points in the area are finding some big bass, although it isn’t quite lock and load. School striped bass have taken the place of the larger bass in the river, and are providing easy light tackle action for shore and boat anglers. Albies were all over the place last weekend, and it seems that the central to western sound has the best numbers right now. Reports were quieter this week due to the weather, but there are fish to the west and east, so it is a safe assumption that CT anglers should have one last good shot at em this weekend. Sea bass anglers are finding fish all over the deeper structure, but to find some big fish look to depths of 120-140.

Gene, over at Black Hall Outfitters in Old Lyme, told me that things were quiet this week due to the weather, but last weekend albie, tautog and striped bass fishing were all going strong. The weather seems to be clearing for the weekend and is still relatively warm, so the shallow water blackfish bite should be in full swing. The albies may have spread out a bit, but there is likely still some nice pods working the New London to Niantic area. Striped bass anglers have reported some large blitzes of smaller fish in the eastern sound, and some bigger bass are being taken after dark in the reefs and rockpiles around the CT River.

Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters said blackfish mania has made trolling for bass and blues into a game of Whack-A-Mole. Despite that, the striper fishing just keeps getting a little better every day. This week they had great catches of bass from schoolies to 30 pounds. Bluefish seem to be scattered, but there is no consistency to the bite; when they do show it’s usually a decent blitz. Porgies are still red hot and they haven’t even moved off their summer spots—warm water may be the culprit. Blackfishing seems to be starting out decent, but it should really come to life in the next two weeks. TJ is booking trips through November 19th.

James, at Norwalk Islands Fishing, reported that as of today, the albies are still being spotted and caught from Milford west all the way to Stamford. If this continues, it may be the longest into the season we have had these funny fish stick around in years. The striped bass bite has been good to excellent at night, or the day after a cold night. The fishing quality in general has been very dependent on the colder temps, and the lows in the 40s Thursday and Friday night should set us up well for the weekend. Blackfish has been hit or miss, the general consensus is that there are a lot of shorts. However the tog sharpies are pulling out plenty of big whitechins into 7-8 lb. range on shallow structure. It should improve as more fish move in shallow.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

Once again the bulk of us anglers who have to fish on the weekends appear to be lucking out, with better weather on the weekend than during the week. Sunday may be on the rough side, but Friday through Saturday looks great. Water temperatures seem to be starting to trend back down to a more normal level, but right now you should expect more early to mid-October fishing trends as opposed to late-October. Shallow tautog should be the main draw, along with some quality striped bass fishing and some strong opportunities for a few more false albacore.