Rhode Island Fishing Report – November 23, 2017

The blackfish action has moved to slightly deeper water, but hasn’t quit; while the freshwater fishing in our local rivers is heating up as the temperatures drop.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The blackfish action stayed steady for The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, whenever they were able to get out. Conditions made things tough, so action was far from lock and load, but after a little work Captain Matt was able to get his customers on some nice fish to 11-pounds over the weekend. 4 fish battled it out closely for the pool spot, so quality was there, and there were a couple nice cod fish in the mix as well. Trips stalled mid-week, but look much better for the weekend. A lot of people are asking about the Friday trips, and the Fleet said they will be taking reservations after 3 PM on Thursday.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the squid bite he mentioned last week in Jamestown and Newport has really taken off, and is better than usual for late fall. The tautog bite has been excellent, but the trick is staying out of the wind. Luckily, the fish are still on most of the local rockpiles, so you can usually keep moving until you find some shelter and be productive. The fall schoolie bite is starting to get the attention of quite a few anglers, and there are quite a few fish in the breachway salt ponds and the Narrow River. The Providence River is also holding some fish, and that late fall bite should be taking off in the next couple of weeks. Freshwater guys are still reporting some excellent carp action throughout the state, and reports from the TMA’s are good flows and quality fishing.

As of early this week, Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly reported that the word from local surfcasters was that they were still finding some good numbers of striped bass along the South County beaches. Fish to 30-inches seem to be pretty common, and they have been widespread, so they should be around for a few more days at least. There have been some nice schools of hickory shad running with the bass, and a number of anglers are running a teaser in front of their plugs and hooking up with the hickories. Tautog fishing has been excellent on the local reefs and around Fishers, the fish have started to move to slightly deeper water, but they remain common and some big ones were landed this week. Latimers has been strong this week, and it seems the smaller rockpiles from there to Watch Hill have also been very good.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Rock n Roll Charters

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that the water temperature has dropped down at least 6 degrees to around 55 or lower in the Eastern Sound. The quick drop pushed the last of the albies out of the sound, and moved the blackfish to deeper water, but it certainly didn’t kill the blackfish bite. Rockpiles in 20-25 feet of water that were so productive last week seem to be overrun with shorts, but dropping down to 32 or so is still producing some great fish. Reports from a long time customer and tautog hunter reported some pig blackfish from 60 feet of water this week, so be willing to change depth until you find them. Striped bass fishing has slowed down out east, but there are still some decent bass in the western sound, and the Housatonic regulars are starting to find some better fish. The pike bite is starting to pick up in the CT River, and a few local regulars scored some nice fish on large shiners and spinnerbaits.

At Hillyers in Waterford, Lou reported that the weather limited the blackfish hunters this week, but the few that got out reported good fishing on the humps just outside Niantic Bay. The fish have transitioned to slightly deeper water, but you can still find them anywhere from 30 to 80 feet of water. The black sea bass bite was very good late last week, and that shouldn’t have changed; but you may need to look to very deep water at this point. Schoolie striped bass action has been decent in the Niantic and Connecticut Rivers, but has slowed down a bit out front.

James, at Norwalk Islands Fishing, told me that while last weekend was a frigid one, the fishing was certainly exciting. There were stripers blitzing on peanut bunker quite literally everywhere on the Fairfield County coastline. Action could be had from those on shore too. Sub surface plastics and swimmers seemed to work best, but the biggest fish came on topwater lures if you can be patient enough. The new moon this weekend has the potential to get some bigger fish biting, fingers crossed that the weather holds off. Blackfishing remains good to great, and fish are still on both shallow and deep rockpiles. The end is near for sound fishing, but this is one of the best times of the year to be out.

Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in New Hartford, reported that the November Blue Wing Olive hatch has started, and while it remains light, it should be ramping up any day now. Tan Caddis are about done, but Caddis Larva fished deep remain a great “year round” choice on the Farmington. Egg Flies have been deadly lately, and will continue to catch trout through the winter and into the early spring. Yellow, brown and/or white combinations are all working well; while fall staples like olive, black and brown are never bad choices. Total flow is about normal, at 310 cfs in the permanent Catch and Release area, and is very clean! Skim ice has yet to be an issue and fishing has been excellent in most of the TMAs. The shop will be closed on Thanksgiving, but will be open from 8-5 on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

One of the best times of year for outdoor enthusiasts in the northeast is Thanksgiving weekend, where things start to slow down in the sound and we all get ready to transition to our respective winter fisheries. Luckily, the diversity of New England provides ample opportunity to find some fish over the long weekend. The blackfish bite is still excellent for those who haven’t packed the gear away just yet; while freshwater options such as pike and trout in the TMA’s are hitting their fall peak. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and I hope you can not only cash in on some quality time with the family, but also cash in on some great fall fishing.