Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith is still offering both full and half-day fishing trips, where customers target a mixed bag of fluke, black sea bass, and scup. Other species such as bluefish, striped bass, and mackerel will often also make an appearance. They were tied to the docks for a while last week/weekend due to the weather, but they got back after it this week, and results were solid. Both the full and half day trips are producing quality keeper fluke and sea bass. There are loads of short fish around, per usual, but that helps keep the rods bent all day. Their full schedule can be viewed online, and you can also make reservations for upcoming trips on their website of by calling the office.
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence reported that the weather kept a lot of boats home over the weekend, but the tuna bite out by The Gully has been excellent, and tons of anglers are cashing in on that now that the weather has settled. It has also transitioned to more of a jig bite, which tends to be way more fun than the troll! Locally, water temperatures in the upper bay have cooled and the oxygen levels went up since the rain, so there has been another push of striped bass up that way. There are also still a good number of bass out front in their usual summer haunts, as well as around the island. Shore and kayak anglers have been cashing in on a strong bonito run, and the chub mackerel have shown up in full force this week. False albacore reports to the east have been early, so it shouldn’t be long now before they’re in Rhode Island waters consistently. Fluke and sea bass are easy to find, but weeding through shorts is a necessity, while tautog fishing has picked up quite a bit for anglers that are targeting them. The blue crabbing has improved as well, so there are plenty of options for those staying close to home.
Captain Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters has continued to work his way offshore and told me that tuna bite has picked right back up where it left off, after last weekend’s weather. Most of the usual offshore haunts are home to some massive tuna feeds especially if you can find clean water; once you do, there should be no shortage of bait and bluefin tuna from school size and up. And while tuna fishing is catching quite a bit of attention, Rob also noted that the striped bass fishing has remained tremendous whenever he’s targeted them. Bass are taking topwaters during big portions of the day and can be caught all day long on live bait and jigs. Rob hasn’t done much bottom fishing recently, but sea bass reports have greatly improved, while fluke fishing also seems to have seen a slight uptick this week.
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Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures told me the bonito fishing has been hit or miss since the storm, but the striped bass bite hasn’t missed a beat. This has been a good week for consistent large fish and we can only hope that it continues. As we approach the fall, Dustin is also seeing more bluefish landed. The bottom fishing has also remained solid, with quite a few keeper sea bass being taken, along with some decent keeper fluke. The albies will be here in now time, so be sure to book a fall trip with Dustin ASAP!
Jay at Pamela May Charters spent more time inshore this week and told me that the sea bass are plentiful, with a strong ratio of keepers coming in on the deeper wrecks and reefs. Fluke fishing has seen a little uptick in action, as they’re starting to transition out to deeper water as well. The striped bass fishing is still going strong, with the best bite coming on topwater offerings in the morning. Block Island is still loaded with striped bass as well, but the massive number of sharks around has made the bite difficult at times. Bonito have been filtering in pretty well, and the albies shouldn’t be far behind! Jay has some prime weekend spots available for the hardtail run, so check their website (pamerlmaycharters.com) to book before it’s too late!
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
While this is far from the end of the summer, the last few mornings have reminded anglers of fall, and the recent fishing activity is providing a similar reminder. An influx of small bait has moved into Rhode Island and is showing itself nicely. One of the better pushes of bonito in years has found them feeding on these small baitfish from Narragansett to the eastern edge of the state. School bass have also taken notice of the bait influx and can often be found blitzing on the surface early in the morning. False albacore reports are early in Massachusetts, so it’s probably a matter of days, not weeks, that we get the first confirmed reports in eastern Rhode Island. Bigger bass also started working the bay once again, as the water temperatures have cooled enough. The rips and reefs in front of Newport are holding quality fish along with the rest of South County.
Bottom fishing has remained steady across the state, with strong scup action and better sea bass results from the deeper wrecks and rock piles. It appears the fluke are starting to transition to some deeper points as they head out of the area, and with that transition comes a good chance to get a late-season doormat.
Anglers targeting tautog are taking advantage of the shallow-water fishery, and things will only improve from here. Tuna reports were obviously quiet over the weekend due to the weather, but the usual hotspots south of Block were fishing excellent before the blow and earlier this week, the bite picked up right where it left off. We might not be in full-blown fall mode yet, but we may actually be in a better spot—with the inshore summer fishing going strong and the beginning of the fall patterns simultaneously taking place, it’s a great time of year to be out on the water regardless of your quarry.