Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith lost a couple days this past week due to weather, but that’s par for the course in the fall. What is also par for the course in fall is some strong fishing when they are able to get out. They’ve had a nice mix of cod, fluke, black sea bass, scup, cunners, and even a few late season flounder when they’ve made it out to the grounds. The winds make thing a bit difficult, but it will continue to be worth it whenever possible. Reservations can be made online or by calling the office, and the trips fill fast, so be sure to book asap!
When I spoke to Jay at Pamela May Charters, he told me that he has continued to pick away on the inshore light tackle bite. Everyday trip to be a little different than the previous, but albies are still showing themselves on most trips, and there has been no shortage of striped bass. Light tackle and fly fishermen have no shortage of action when the weather cooperates, and there are still some big bass willing to take live baits, and/or big plugs along the inshore reefs. Bottom fishermen are finding plenty of sea bass all over the area, but you must start looking into deeper water to find some better fish. The tautog fishing is really starting to fire up, and Jay is going to start focusing his attention that direction this week, so be sure to reach out before the schedule is filled!
Captain Conner, at Tall Tailz Charters was fresh in from a trip when I spoke with him, and he told me that the fall run is fully upon them in the Newport area. Most of his inshore trips have been run and gun, with plenty of albies out front and inside the bay. They are feeding on a variety of bait, so as always you should try to match the hatch, but most of the fish have been on peanuts and/or silversides, which makes things relatively easy. The fish up inside the bay seem to wake up around the slack tide periods in the afternoon, while the fish out front are working the rips during the stronger tide periods. Conner has also been finding plenty of striped bass and bluefish in the mix while they have been on their albie hunts. The Daiwa Zakana jig in 20- to 40-gram weight has been a top producer for the false albacore, and just about anything else you’d want to catch this time of year. His dedicated tautog trips haven’t kicked off just yet, but they couple times he’s dropped a jig down, he’s found fish to 24-inches in shallow water. It has been tough to find a weather window, but when the weather has cooperated, he’s made it offshore and has had no problem jigging and popping bluefin to 60-inches. The October inshore/offshore fishing tends to be the peak of our action in the northeast, and this year seems to be no different, so be sure to get out there before it’s too late.
Dustin, at RI Kayak Fishing Adventures, reports that the fall fishing remains consistent in both the fresh and saltwater. False albacore and bonito are being caught regularly, and there are still plenty of big stripers and bluefish in the mix. Bottom fishermen are finding plenty of black sea bass, and the tautog fishing continues to improve as we work our way into October. Freshwater fishing is also going strong, with plenty of healthy largemouth being caught on a number of different presentations, as the fish start to feed heavily before the winter. Dustin still has some dates on the calendar for kayak and/or shore fishing trips, so be sure to check out www.rikfa.com to book a trip!
Ralph, at Crafty One Customs reports that the waves of false albacore have finally settled in, and the bay has been loaded with both little tunnies, slot stripers, and some big bluefish. It’s been a while since there have been so many false albacore so widespread through the area, so now is one of your best chances to find a nice pile of them! Striped bass fishing has been producing plenty of fish, but most of them are school to slot-class. Tautog reports have started to intensify as the water cools, and it’s just in time for the Rhode Island Tog Classic, which is scheduled for October 9th. You can sign up and browse some items up for auction at www.ritogclassic.com.
Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters told me things have continued to go strong for anglers around Newport, and hopefully this weekend’s weather doesn’t do anything to change that negatively. The giant bluefin season has wound down, but there are still some smaller tunoids to be had if you can make it to the grounds. False albacore have invaded, and fully settled into the bay, so there has been no shortage for anyone who is looking for them. Rob will be targeting some striped bass and false albacore here and there, but he has fully turned his intention to tautog. The bite has intensified over the past couple weeks, and there’s no doubt Rob will be on the meat. His schedule is filling fast, so be sure to reach out asap!
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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
First and foremost, let me start this with thoughts and prayers to everyone that’s dealing with the adverse effects of Hurricane Ian. It’s easy to talk about the increased fishing opportunities we’ll have with the slight surge we’ll see from the south, but this is undoubtedly a tough weekend for all of our southern neighbors, so our thoughts are prayers are with all of them.
On a positive note, anglers across the northeast have seen an influx of false albacore enter the area, and the churned-up water only seems to help, so we should have a great weekend of inshore fishing ahead of us. Rhode Island anglers have no shortage of false albacore and bonito in all of their usual hotspots, and they have the benefit of using downtime during the albie chase to anchor up and take advantage of some strong tautog and sea bass fishing. Bass and bluefish also remain plentiful across the Ocean State, so be sure to head out with your albie gear in hand but have your bass and bottom fish gear stowed away.
False albacore have also invaded Connecticut waters consistently, with excellent reports coming from the Western Sound, and steady reports coming from the Eastern Sound hotspots. There is no shortage of striped bass and bluefish across Connecticut waters as well, so as mentioned earlier, it’s a great weekend to go out and look for albies, while bringing (and being ready to pivot) to striped bass fishing. With the water continuing to cool, we should not only see more false albacore, but we could also see some bigger bass getting on the food bag and doing their best to drive all the large and small bunker out of the area.