Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has seen a steady pick of fluke and black sea bass on recent full and half day trips. They have found some areas holding good numbers of fluke and black sea bass and many customers have been limiting out on at least one species. The biggest fluke of the week tipped the scales at 10-pounds and ate a spoon rig. Half-day trips will sail from 8 to 12 in the mornings, and from 1 to 5 in the afternoons. Full day trips leave the dock at 7 a.m. You can get a look at their full schedule and make reservations on their website, or you can call the office.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that the tuna bite has stayed consistent, with anglers finding success on spreader bars, daisy chains and jigs. Some seriously large striped bass are patrolling the waters around Block Island and are also garnering a lot of attention from anglers. Those bass have been pretty easy to find for shore and boat anglers, while the bass bite in the Bay is now better for those working after dark. Bottom fishermen are reporting better sea bass action throughout the state, and it seems that a glut of larger fluke settled in around Block Island. Blue crabbing is reported as very good in the salt ponds for those looking for a different option.
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Newport reports that summer fishing is in full swing across Rhode Island. Anglers aren’t necessarily finding the same quantity of bass as earlier in the season, but there are some huge fish around. If you are a surf angler, break out the GT Eels, live eels, and other eel imitations to fool a cow striper. Metal lips and glide baits are other go-to’s right now. Concentrate your time at night on deep water and check your logbook for which tides performed last year. For the boat and kayak bass anglers, the tube and worm continues to be the ticket. You’ll lose some worms to bluefish right now but if you put the time in trolling the tubes there’ll be a big bass eventually. Fluking has been a surprise hit recently. After a few years of mediocre to bad fluking, it’s great to see some nice fish being caught. Berkeley Fusion Bucktails with gulp grubs seems the most productive, but you may end up with some large scup bycatch. Those silver snappers aren’t bad bait for fluke either! Plenty of black sea bass are still in the mix as well and are easily caught on epoxy jigs.
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Rob, at Newport Sportfishing Charters has been spending most of his time either hunting big bass or pelagics. The big bass have been holding in deeper water since the recent heatwave, but he is finding plenty. The inshore waters are still holding good numbers of linesiders, along with the glut of big fish around Block Island. The tuna bite has been holding up well south of Block, around the Dump, with a nice pick of yellowfin and mixed sized bluefin. Rob has also been finding some bonus cobia not too far from home, which is always a nice bonus.
Ralph, at Crafty One Customs reports that the fishing inside the bay has held up well even with the water temperatures on the rise. There are some nice sized striped bass being caught around the islands at the mouth of the bay, along with some big bluefish. Fluke fishing has been producing a mix of keepers and shorts with a few nice fish in the 7-to-8-pound range reported this past week. Black sea bass fishing seems to be producing well and there are plenty of scup around. Offshore reports continue to be very good with boats that are running out south of Block Island doing well for yellowfin and bluefin tuna.
Connor, at Tail Tailz Charters reports that the bite this week has been nothing short of amazing. They‘ve managed to sneak out to the tuna grounds in between inshore trips with success. The bass fishing has been excellent with tons of quality fish to well over 40 pounds. They’re seeing a big push of fish over 40 inches all over the southern reefs. The top water bite has been the best it’s been all season with large gator blues and big bass putting on a show. Vertical jigging for sea bass has been very productive around the slack tides or on the freezer filling trips. The nearshore tuna bite is getting better and better as the water continues to warm. Yellowfin tuna have worked their way inside and are crushing top water and trolled offerings. The bluefin bite has been more consistent on jigs and soft plastics closer to the bottom. Inshore or offshore… it’s on!
Jay, at Pamela May Charters is still finding monster striped bass on eels in the waters around Block Island. When they haven’t sailed to the island, they are finding schoolie to slot class bass on the beaches and along the passages in Narragansett Bay. Fluking has been solid at the island, but they are also finding some smaller keepers on the hard bottom around Point Judith. Sea bass and scup are all over the area right now and can be caught across most depths.
Dustin at, Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures told me that summer fishing has been great recently! Striped bass action is still hot with plenty of big fish in the mix. The big bluefish haven’t left the area yet either, as they continue to be plentiful. Most mornings and afternoons recently have offered many topwater opportunities for stripers and bluefish which is always a blast. Bottom fishing is still holding solid. Black Sea bass are holding deep on most days, but they’ve had a few outings where they are finding keepers in 25 or less feet of water. Fluke is pretty hit or miss so boat/kayak fisherman should be very patient to find the right drift while shore fishermen should move around a decent bit to find the keepers. While jigging or fishing with bait don’t be surprised to land a summer favorite, triggerfish. As we inch closer to August more and more chub mackerel are popping up which means that the fall run favorite False Albacore should be arriving shortly. With the summer moving right along a lot of anglers have their sights set on fall run fishing. While dates are available check out at rikfa.com to book your kayak and/or shore fishing adventure today.
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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Rhode Island anglers have plenty of options, whether it’s staying close to home or heading to the land of the giants around Block Island. The Block Island big striped bass bite is in full swing and anglers are smashing their personal bests daily. South County still has stripers moving all over the area on the tail of sand eels, but it’s getting tougher to find them during daylight hours. Anglers fishing low light or after dark are finding the best results locally. Fluke reports have been up and down, but generally some good catches are being reported for anglers that have gotten away from the crowds/commonly fished areas. No surprise, but the Block Island area has recently seen a nice influx of big flatfish as well. The sea bass season has been strong since the opener and is seemingly improving throughout the state on a daily basis. Scup has been rounding out the catch nicely, with plenty of keepers for shore and boat anglers. The offshore bite has continued to improve, and once again Block Island is involved. Anglers are finding a steady pick of bluefin and yellowfin in the waters south of Island. Freshwater anglers have no shortage of opportunities, with strong reports for post-spawn largemouth, crappie, pike, carp, and trout.
Nice report