Rhode Island Fishing Report- July 11, 2019

Pictured Above: Another huge bass caught aboard Diorio Guide Service.

Striped bass action continues to heat up at the island, while big sea bass are providing a nice haul for anglers struggling to find keeper fluke.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Greg, of the Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported another good day on the full day fluke boat on Tuesday. They had a great drift all morning, and anglers stocked up with fluke to 8.5-pounds. A full boat limit of sea bass was also attained after the tide started slowing down. That has pretty much been the story all week, as they had fluke to 10-pounds and some bomber sea bass to 5-pounds on Monday. The half day trips have also gone well, with quality keepers on most drifts and plenty of good sea bass to go around. The fleet will be sailing on a cod marathon trip this Sunday at 5 am, reports have been strong, and they still have plenty of space, so be sure to check in!

Captain Brian of, Big Game Sportfishing told me that the offshore bite remains strong and diverse. They continue to hit some quality fish on the spinning gear, including a few big makos this week. They will continue to run offshore trips daily, if the weather permits, and there are still some available dates. The inshore bite also remains strong, with quick limits of nice striped bass on the troll.

Captain Wade, of Booked Off Charters told me that he is still running bass and fluke trips, and results have been varied since the dogfish have moved back in. The bass fishing hasn’t been as affected, and they have been able to take fish to 49-inches this week. As has been the case in most places, the bass sizes seem good, but the numbers aren’t quite what they should be. The same can be said for the fluke; they have found some very nice fish this week, but numbers have been tougher after the influx of dogfish. The sea bass bite has been very strong, and for what it’s worth the bite seems to have improved as the week went on, so the weekend should be a strong one.

Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly reports that the striped bass fishing has been pretty good on the local reefs and out around the island. The Watch Hill reefs and the south side of Fishers are producing well, along with the usual haunts around Block. Fluke action has been steady, due in large part to quite a few shorts, but there are enough keepers around to grind for a nice limit. The sea bassing is excellent and is a nice pivot off fluking if you aren’t finding enough keepers.

Captain Kelly, of C-Devil II Sportfishing in Narragansett told me that this week was a productive one for stripers, catching their limit each day in a range from 30″ to 48″. They seemed to prefer the jigs this week over everything. There are quite a few bluefish around at this point, and the scup bite remains rock solid. The dogfish continue to make fluking rather difficult, but there were still some nice flatties to 8-pounds caught this week. Seabass are biting well, and the bigger fish have moved in; plenty of fish to 22-inches were taken this week on jigs. Sharking has been very good off the island this week, and the amount of life and bait out there is a good sign that the tuna shouldn’t be too far away.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the striped bass action has been very good at Block Island, and some big fish are still being taken closer to home; including some 40+ pound fish in the Narragansett area. The fluke action has also been strong at Block if you can avoid the doggies, and the sea bass bite is strong throughout the state.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown told me that his annual massive increase in eel sales has hit, which is a telltale sign that the Block bass bite is officially on. Fish to the 50-pound class are being reported daily, and inshore reports from around Rhode Island have been pretty good as well. The same can’t be said for eastern CT, where things are either way off or way behind schedule. Fluking is inconsistent but is also very good at times. There have been some strong reports and nice limit catches, but the next day the bite is non-existent in the same areas. Finding small pieces of structure off the beaten path seems to be the ticket, and the eastern sound seems to be producing better than Rhode Island and Fishers on most days. Sea bass action slowed locally but is firing up nicely in RI and BI. Scup action is red hot all over the area, and they are eating just about everything.

Chris, at Black Hall Outfitters told me that the reefs to the west of the CT river seem to be holding the best striped bass in local waters at this point. Livelined bunker and fresh chunks are great as always, but umbrella rigs are starting to produce now as well. The eastern sound is inundated with small bluefish that are eager to destroy your eels, but they’re fun on light tackle. Summer blackfish season is here, and those who put some time in are finding good fish in shallow water. Fluke reports have slowed a bit, but it seems a lot of people have transitioned to striped bass or sea bass.

Black Hawk Sportfishing reports that the big bass night trips continue to be a success, with full boat limits and consistent catches from 30-50 pounds. They will be posting more trips in the coming days, after checking on tides and conditions. The scup trips also remain excellent, with easy limits of nice hubcap scup. There have been some nice fluke and sea bass mixed in, and the bluefish are very slowly starting to trickle in.

Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that bass fishing has continued its upswing with an improvement in quality and quantity each week. Things should only get better as the fish start to settle on the reefs, and we are seeing much more bluefish action than last year. There are small bluefish all over that are eager to hit a topwater, and a few bigger fish to 10-pounds in the mix. Sea bass action remains very consistent, and there are plenty of big scup in the mix as well.

Joe, from Diorio Guide Service, told me that the striped bass bite remains pretty consistent at Block and around Montauk. He’s had no problem getting his clients on big fish this week on live eels and soft plastics. The Connecticut River is still producing, but it is a bit slower, and a nice slug of big bluefish have moved in and made bass fishing difficult. The Race and the eastern sound are full of smaller, schoolie type bass that have provided some great light tackle action.

Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that the striped bass fishing continues to be a bit better out west than it is out east. There has been some great schoolie action around the islands at dawn and dusk, while Middle Ground is starting to produce fish to the 40-pound range. Big fluke also continue to be taken in the area, including a 10-pounder taken by Anthony Balenti this week. Scup action is great just about everywhere, while the deeper structure is holding both scup and sea bass.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Outside of eastern Connecticut, the striped bass action seems pretty encouraging from the Rhode Island shoreline, The Race and the central to western sound. On top of that, Montauk and Block have hit their summer stride, with consistent catches of big bass at both locations. Keeper fluke have gotten a bit tougher to find and it may be time to start looking a little deeper, but there is plenty of action and limits are being taken if you grind it out. Nice thing about the summer….if you’re struggling with keeper fluke, you shouldn’t have a problem finding some slammer sea bass and scup for the cooler.