Rhode Island Fishing Report- November 3, 2022

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports:

“Fall fishing in the bay and oceanfront around Newport remains great. If you are looking to chase down some striped bass no early mornings are needed. The daytime bass bite in Narragansett Bay seems to heat up mid-morning and can last until sunset. If you find fish and can’t get them to bite, don’t get discouraged. Play around with your retrieve speed and you’ll be hooking up in no time. Keep an eye on the bait and match it up with soft plastics like Zoom Flukes and No Live Bait Needed.Surf anglers headed out after dark may have to put in more time finding the fish, but when they do, they are rewarded with steady slot and over slot size bass.

Tautog fishing is another highlight this season. We are very lucky to have the tog fishery we do these days. Tog jigs like Tall Tailz are finding success with anglers getting limits and trophies every day. If you find the tog bite slowing down don’t hesitate to switch to black sea bass, another plentiful fish this fall.”

The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has been making trips for tautog, as well as cod/sea bass, and recent reports have been strong for both. The tautog trips have been seeing quite a few limit catches, including fish up to around 10-pounds. Some sea bass and scup are still mixed in with the tautog, so coolers are filling up pretty well. The cod and sea bass trips are seeing many boat limits of black sea bass, some big scup, and improved numbers of quality cod.  Reservations for both trips can be made on their website or by calling the office. 

When I spoke to Jay, at Pamela May Charters, he told me he’s continuing to find some strong results on the tautog grounds, and also has no shortage of striped bass when his clients are looking for light-tackle action. The tautog fishing was as steady as ever over the weekend, and we are getting spoiled with some very mild and peaceful days for the tog grounds this upcoming weekend. There is still a huge biomass of migrating striped bass along the South County beaches that are blitzing on peanut bunker just about everywhere. Most of the fish were in the 24- to 32-inch range, however, there were some bigger fish mixed in, and they were all willing to hit topwater offerings. There has also been some big bluefish and false albacore in the mix, so you never know what you will come across out there. 

Captain Connor, at Tall Tailz Charters was away for a few days this week, but whenever he has been able to get out on the grounds, the fishing has remained steady. They are still seeing easy boat limits of tautog on all trips, with some solid numbers of double-digit fish. Tall tailz tog jigz in super glow and blue crab have been killer and have been outfishing the rigs. Big knuckle head sea bass have been in the mix, along with some quality cod. The bay is still loaded with bait, including a nice recent push of squid. This has resulted in albies, bullet mackerel, and bass blitzing consistently all over the area.  

Dustin, at RI Kayak Fishing Adventures, told me that fall tautog fishing has been going strong from both the kayak and shore. The fish are still biting across a wide range of depths, so bouncing around and covering some ground is usually a strong tactic. There are still strong numbers of black sea bass in the mix as well, so full coolers have been commonplace! Striped bass fishing has also been solid, although the regularity of blitzes seems to be starting to slow down just a bit. Fall freshwater fishing is strong, with bass, trout, and panfish starting to put on the pre-winter feed bag. With another mild week ahead of us, there is still plenty of time to book your kayak and/or shore fishing adventure before it’s too late! 

Ralph, at Crafty One Customs reported that the local tautog fishing continues to produce well, with many limit catches of fish to 10 pounds plus being reported. Based on where we are with water temperatures right now, Ralph believes that the tautog fishing should remain productive right through November. Those targeting big sea bass are finding them out by Block Island, along with a few nice cod. Striped bass fishing has remained consistent around the islands and in the mouth of the bay, along with some nice bluefish catches. The false albacore fishing has slowed over the past week, but anglers are still seeing some sporadic schools popping up inside the bay.  

Captain Rob, at Newport Sportfishing Charters, told me that the tautog fishing continues to go strong in his neck of the woods. His trips continue to see full boat limits, along with some giant whitechinners on most trips. The fishing should only get better from here, as the keeper ratio has been steadily improving. Rob has been focusing most of his attention on tog, but for those looking for striped bass, there has been no shortage of mixed size fish across the area. The false albacore pods seem to have thinned out a bit, but they are still showing up from day to day.

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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

The fall run action remains steady across Southern New England, and with some temperatures that will be more late summer-like than late fall-like this weekend, the fishing should remain at its peak. 

Anglers heading out in Rhode Island that are looking for blitzing fish will likely bump into them, so keep your topwater plugs readily available. The majority of the blitzes have been mixed sizes of striped bass, which are assaulting bait all over the surface from Westerly to Newport. Tautog action has been consistent, with quality fish and better keeper- to short-fish ratios being reported across the board. Sea bass and cod action has been decent around Block Island, and there are still some tuna in the area, so fall fishing options remain abundant.