Rhode Island Fishing Report – May 3, 2018

Migratory striped bass are starting to show along the Rhode Island and western Connecticut shorelines, while the warm temperatures have everyone gearing up for the Connecticut fluke opener!

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported that things are continuing to improve, both weather-wise and fishing-wise. The fleet managed to get out on the cod grounds last weekend and found a few fish. Water temperatures are still well below normal, so it has not been lock and load fishing, but things are certainly trending upward. The squid, and the fluke that will be following the squid may be a bit later this year, but the fleet plans to start sailing for fluke the first weekend of May. As always, check with the office ahead of time to double-check the schedule and reserve a spot. They also plan to add some squid fishing trips to the schedule when they show up; which is always a good time. If all goes well they will sail Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights for squid.

At The Seven B’s in Narragansett, the crew has been spending some of their down time getting the boats ready for the arrival of fluke season. They will begin sailing for fluke as soon as the fish start showing up and the bite gets going. Be sure to check with the office for updated sailing schedules.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the break in the weather really helped to improve the fishing in his area. The squid have shown up in Newport, and they have shown up in pretty good numbers, as a few anglers managed to fill up their bucket in pretty short time. Tautog activity has picked up quite a bit along the south coast near the Seekonk River, in the mid-bay and a few keeper fish at Beavertail. A good deal of bait has made its way up to the Hurricane Barrier, and as a results the school striped bass fishing has really gotten going over the past few nights. Trout fishing remains very strong across the state, with the DEM stocking fish as recently as Tuesday. Dave weighed in a few trout in the 3- to 4-pound range and a 6-pound fish this week.

Tony, at Misquamicut Bait and Tackle in Westerly, was happy to report that a good influx of fresh school striped bass have moved into the breachways, with reports coming from both Weekapaug and Quonny this week. It seems the fresh spring arrivals are all around the coast, and we should start seeing some bigger fish any day now. Tautog catches are improving from shore and boat anglers around the rocky South County coast, but short fish continue to dominate the catch.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Andrew, atFishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that the herring runs are continuing to pile up this week, and this burst of warm weather should blow open the spring striper run in central to northern CT. In the meantime, anglers fishing from Enfield to Haddam are reporting great catches of school striped bass on sandworms and chunk bait. The Housatonic is also chock full of herring, and reports from that area have indicated that some bigger fish have moved in. There is still plenty of action in most of the popular trout streams and rivers, including a couple monster rainbows taken in the Salmon River this week. Andrew is running his annual fluke and sea bass tournament, and with fluke opening up this Friday, it’s time to sign up!

Lou, at Hillyers Tackle in Waterford, reports that the flounder reports remain quiet in the Niantic River, but they are starting to hear of a few better catches around Bluff Point. Anglers targeting school striped bass are reporting good numbers around the DEEP Dock and up the CT River; while reports around Millstone have slowed. The shad fishing has also gotten off to a slow start, but these high temperatures may very well kick that into gear by the weekend.

Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that as the water temperatures continue to rise, the action and quality of the striped bass fishing in the river has risen as well. Mike managed some very nice keeper striped bass this week, and also mentioned that the topwater bite really started to blow up this week. The action will continue to improve with the warmer weather, and more fish entering the area should help spread out the action and the angling pressure. Mike still has some openings for light tackle bass action this month, so be sure to take advantage.

At Rivers End Tackle in Old Saybrook, Q reported that the school bass action at the mouth of the river has been very steady this week, and a few keepers have been in the mix the last couple of days. A number of these fish have been covered in sea lice, so there are definitely some new arrivals in the area. There herring runs upriver are loaded up and it shouldn’t be long before some of the bigger fresh bass get on their tail. Flounder reports are quiet, but the fluke opener is this Friday and with these temps we should see some keeper flatties any day now.

Max, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reported that the western part of the state has seen an explosion in striped bass activity over the last few days, with more herring and some larger bass showing up with the big moon tides. Most fish are in the 22-28 inch range, but there are a number of larger keepers to the low 40-inch range. The Housatonic continues to garner the most attention, but there are fish all over the area at this point. Reports have come in from Westport, Southport, Norwalk Harbor and Short Beach. Plugging around the herring runs has produced the most quality fish, but sandworms have been a very steady producer as well. Trout action remains very good throughout the state; the Farmington has been excellent for big fish and action, while the Norwalk River has been very steady as well.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

With the extremely high temperatures this week, expect to see more and more fresh striped bass showing up in both states. The herring runs are loaded with bait and it shouldn’t take long for some of the larger new arrivals to take notice. Connecticut’s fluke opener is Friday and the water temps should be getting in range a bit quicker than most expected. Trout fishing remains excellent across both states and a strong largemouth bass and carp bite seem to be rounding off the freshwater bite.