Rhode Island Fishing Report- September 12, 2024

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has started to run their fall mixed big trips, leaving the dock at 7 A.M. These trips generally see a nice mix of black sea bass, cod, scup, and some fluke. The weather is starting to cooperate nicely, and the last few trips have been great. Most anglers have seen a limit of black sea bass, along with strong numbers of cod and a few quality late-season fluke. These trips offer a great opportunity for anglers to come home with a nice bag of filets for the dinner table. The schedule for the coming week looks as good as it has all season, so be sure to book before the they fill up. Their full schedule can be viewed online, and you can also make reservations for upcoming trips on their website of by calling the office. 

Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures had another solid week of striped bass fishing, with topwater blitzes fueling some great morning fishing. Bonito fishing is still going strong, but it seems to be coming at the cost of the false albacore fishing. The albies haven’t arrived in full force yet, perhaps due to competition with the bonito. There has been some increased albie activity across the eastern part of the state over the last 24 hours, so hopefully it’s ready to fire up this weekend! Tautog fishing is getting better and better and should continue to improve as the cooler weather rolls in. Black Sea bass and scup are a solid option for bottom fishermen, if the tautog aren’t cooperating. With the morning blitzes of stripers, blues, and bonito, Dustin is expecting an awesome fall run. He has limited September spots available if you’re interested in trying for albies from the kayak. Check out his website for details! 

Jay at Pamela May Charters told me that the bonito are back in full force and have been feeding heavily on peanut bunker. They’re still waiting for the arrival of false albacore, but they’re likely right around the corner. In the meantime, the bonito, along with slot class stripers and some big bluefish have been providing some excellent topwater feeds. Bottom fishing was also strong over the past week, including some nice keeper sea bass if you can get through the shorts, plenty of scup, and a few straggler fluke. 

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Captain Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters reported that he spent some time targeting giant bluefin once again this week, with high success rates. The bluefin fishing has been awesome for anglers looking for giants, as well as unders for the table. An increased number of yellowfins have shown up as well, although they are still a bit further out range-wise than the bluefin. Between tuna trips, Rob has been bottom fishing, and has been finding great success for black sea bass and cod just south of Block Island. Rob hasn’t spent much time striper fishing recently but told me that he is marking massive schools of big fish around Block and is also seeing increased striped bass activity when he’s leaving port in Newport. Rob also mentioned that he’s been seeing a good deal of inshore hardtail activity. There are some scant false albacore pods showing up around Newport, along with Spanish mackerel. The big story though, has been the bonito. There are more bonito in the area than Rob has ever remembered seeing. The fish definitely vary in size, but the Newport to Sakonnet area, along with Block Island seems to be holding some big bones. They may be holding up the arrival of the false albacore, but they are certainly a fun species to target at the moment.  

Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown was happy to report that fall fishing is on here in Rhode Island! Some lower water temps have the bass fired up and ready to feed. Surf fishing and shore fishing for stripers is improving, but you need to find the bait. The boat fishing for striped bass is fantastic at the moment and you don’t even need to be an early riser, just pay attention to the tides and check your usual honey hole. Inshore togging is beginning to get good with keeper fish being found throughout the bay and out front. Fluking has slowed, but plenty of black sea bass are around if you want to fill the cooler. Bonito is a definite highlight this fall. They seem to be here to stay which no one is complaining about. Most bonito are being taken on small minnow plugs and epoxy jigs. If you are on a boat don’t just chase them, if you see them up and down in an area give jigging some epoxies a try, you’ll be amazing at how fun it is. False albacore sightings have been rare in Rhode Island, but reports have intensified the last few days, and if you find one you can bet it’s going to be a big one. As the temperature cools down a little more we can expect a push of inshore albies. The offshore bluefin bite is one of the most consistent parts of this season, as long as you get a weather window to fish for them. It has been primarily a jig bite, but we have had some recent reports of bluefin taking poppers. 

Captain Connor at Tall Tailz Charters provided the following report: “The weather has cooperated for the most part this week, and we’ve been able to get offshore for most of our trips. The nearshore bluefin bite has still been good but is just starting to show signs of slowing. The jig bite is producing best, along with the early morning troll bite. There are also good groups of larger oversize bluefin as well as some yellowfin mixed in. Whenever we have fished inshore, the bite has been stellar, and we will start focusing more on that as the offshore bite slows. Big bass and blues are on the move, along with tons of bait flushing out of the bay. This has equated so some epic topwater blitzes of bass and blues, along with some big fish of each species feasting on bait on the inshore reefs. The loads of small bait have also resulted in a solid push of bonito, chub mackerel and some albies. False albacore are prevalent just offshore, and we’re starting to see them inshore, so it should blow up any day now. It’s hardtail season inshore and offshore! 

Captain Ian at Ranger Charters in Newport told me that things have been solid lately in his neck of the wood. The sea bass have started to chew voraciously, and Ian has been finding limits across multiple depth ranges. While bottom fishing has been garnered most of the attention, Ian has also found some nice topwater blitzes of mixed sized stripers and some bigger bluefish this week. Ian also reported an uptick in hardtail activity from Narragansett to Newport, although most of that action has been bonito, as the albies haven’t made a full-blown appearance yet. 

Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that things remained pretty similar to last week, with continued strong fishing. There are still bass in all their usual late-summer haunts out front, but there’s also been a few more bass in the bay and rivers, along with some reported blitzes around Colt Park and Ohio Ledge. Bottom fishermen are reporting a few nice fluke catches before the move out, sea bass and scup fishing is consistent, while tautog reports continue to improve each week. Mixed sizes of tuna are still being caught with regularity, with the majority coming on the jig and pop. There has also been a few more yellowfin in the mix this week as well. As many of you know, Dave has a medical procedure upcoming and will be shut down for a few weeks. He’ll be back in full force, but on limited hours when he’s back. Keep an eye on his Facebook page for updates on the store hours! 

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

The false albacore bite hasn’t quite materialized as we all hoped in Rhode Island this week, but some encouraging reports from the last 24 hours has things looking up for the weekend. In the meantime, bonito are still plentiful across the state, and there has been more Spanish mackerel in the mix this week. There’s no shortage of small bait in the area, and the number of blitzes of mixed species has multiplied like crazy this week. Striped bass and bluefish can still be found in all their usual haunts out front, and in the bay, and remain prevalent on topwaters during the morning hours. Bottom fishing has remained steady across the state, with strong scup and improved sea bassing this week. The sea bass really seem to be putting on the fall food bag, with reports of big keepers across multiple depths. Fluke fishing is probably in its latter stages, but this is usually a time where you have one more chance for a doormat before they migrate. Tautog interested doesn’t usually peak until October, but those that are targeting them are being rewarded for getting the early jump on things. Tuna reports have started to slow down a bit, but most anglers that are targeting them are at least finding a few. There has been a nice influx of yellowfin this week as well, which is always a nice late-summer effort before the fall really settles in. The next few weeks are very promising, with real tuna biting consistently, false tuna ready to bust the door down, striped bass and bluefish entering fall mode, and tautog taking another step towards the fall bite.