The arctic blast doesn’t seem to have affected the blackfishing and with some milder weather in the forecast we should have a few more good weeks left.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Mike, of the Frances Fleet in Narragansett, continues to report strong fishing on both the cod and tautog trips, whenever the weather has allowed them to leave the dock. Early in the week he was able to find a full boat limits of keeper blackfish to 9-pounds, in rather short time. They will continue to sail at 6 AM whenever the weather allows, and still have one more 50/50 blackfish trip on 11/21. Captain Rich reported continued success on the cod trips this week, with quality cod to 25-pounds on all trips, along with some bomber sea bass to 6-pounds!
Captain Brian, of Big Game Sportfishing, reported another solid week of fishing with boat limits of tautog and strong numbers of sea bass on most trips. Some nice cod have started to show up in the mix and the numbers seem to be slowly and steadily improving. Whenever they have transitioned from targeting tautog to sea bass/cod, they have found quite a few sea bass and bigger cod each trip.
Captain Kelly, from C-Devil II Sportfishing in Narragansett, reports taug, taug and more taug this week. They have been easily hitting their daily limits, with time to spare for some great catch and release action. They have had several fish between 12 and 15-pounds over the past week, so quality appears to be no issue right now. After a bit of a blow this upcoming weekend things should start to clear up, so we should see continued strong fishing next week.
Captain Wade, of Booked Off Charters, told me that the tautog action continues to be strong, as they have been seeing fish to at least 9-pounds or so on each trip. They are still getting a few sea bass in the mix, while the cod numbers are slowly improving. They will continue to focus on tautog over the next few weeks and some cod trips should be on the horizon for late November/early December.
Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly reports and uptick in surf fishing over the past week, with solid numbers of school bass to 30-inches or so. There is a good supply of herring in the area, but it has not attracted the attention of any larger sized fish. The tautog fishing remains strong, but with the dropping temperatures the fish are starting to transition to deeper water. They can still be caught throughout varying depths, but if you’re not catching shallow, starting shuffling to deeper water. The sea bass numbers are still solid around the island and the cod numbers are improving daily.
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Fishing Report For Connecticut
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown told me that the blackfishing has been very strong this week, with relatively easy limits of quality fish. The recent cold snap has sent them a bit deeper, with fish coming from structure in 25-50 feet of water. School striped bass can be found in and around most of the estuaries, with some of the best fishing coming from the Thames River area; while decent numbers of school bass and hickory shad are also common in the mouth of the CTR. There are still some scant reports of bonito around New London, but that should be winding down soon.
Josh, at Three Belles Outfitters in Niantic, says the local striped bass have started grouping up in and around their wintering grounds in the tidal rivers and estuaries. Anglers in western sound have been enjoying some great feeds over the past week, and fish into the mid 30″ range on flies, plugs, and jigs. Tautog is still the best game in town, and fish can be found from shallow to deep. Hickory shad are still hanging tough in select estuaries, but this last cold snap might be last call. Freshwater fishing has been interesting over the course of the last week. Candlewood, Zoar, and Lilly are putting out some nice smallmouth on paddletail swimbaits and A-rigs, and the Connecticut River coves are full of life. Bass, pike, panfish of all suits, and even a bowfin were caught in the river this weekend by our kayak fishing team. Just about anything that swims in freshwater will eat a small crappie jig, but spinnerbaits, bass jigs, and lipless cranks are still producing too.
Black Hall Outfitters reports that the tautog fishing continues to be very strong, with 40+ feet of water producing easy limits and large fish. There have still been some relatively large schools of small bass along the beaches, pinning small bait tight to shore. Rebel Jumpin Minnows and small SP minnows seem to be the top producers. In the freshwater; Atlantic Salmon continue to be taken in good numbers through the Shetucket. Pheasant tails, stone flies and orange streamers have all produced at one time or another this week.
Black Hawk Sportfishing reports that they have been seeing some very good action on their recent mixed-bag trips. The sea bass fishing has been very strong, with plenty of fish to 5-pounds coming over the rails; along with a nice mix of cod, scup and even a few bluefish. After they have been picking up their limit of sea bass, they have switched over to blackfish and are finding good numbers of fish into the double-digits! They have added some more combo trips for the end of this week and may have some next week as well, so be sure to check their website for scheduling and reservations!
Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters, has been focusing on blackfishing and says it is as good as it gets right now! There has been a nice keeper to short ratio and the quality remains better than in years past. Striper fishing also remains solid, as there is enough bunker hanging in the area to keep some better bass around.
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that bass and blues are still gorging on peanut bunker, up and down the local beaches. Blackfishing has been steady, and the quality of fish is improving daily. Mike will be running trips until November 30th and still has some openings, so if anyone is interested in a great bass/blackfish trip be sure to reach out!
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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
The tautog action continues to be excellent, with the quality of fish improving by the day! Limits have been relatively easy to find, and the average size of the fish seems to be better than recent years. Cod catches are steadily improving, and things are looking very positive for the upcoming winter season. If you can locate some larger bait you have a chance of finding some better stripers, but if you’re just looking for solid action, the tidal rivers and estuaries are holding big numbers of school bass.
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