Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith continues to offer customers fall tautog trips as well as trips targeting cod and black sea bass. Fishing has been very good on the tautog trips, including some great trips with Captain Cole over the past few days, which saw limit catches everywhere. There have been plenty of big fish, with most keepers not even needing a measurement. Captain Rich has had a great turn out on the cod boat. They had a nice mix of cod and black sea bass along with hubcap scup. Couldn’t not ask for a better early tautog week, especially when you can tog in a t-shirt! They’ll be sailing all weekend for tog at 6 AM on the Gail Frances. Their full schedule can be viewed on their website where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that while things are still in fall run mode in his area, it’s no surprise that tautog fishing has taken center stage. The word across Rhode Island over the past ten days has been the activity of big tautog, including the big story—the new state record taken by Newport Sportfishing Charters. The lower bay and just out front have been hotspots, but the fishing has been good across multiple depths and on just about all the rockpiles across the state. Per usual, after a few weeks into the season, finding smaller pieces of structure that aren’t as heavily fished is a good strategy. Anglers are still reporting big sea bass and scup in the mix as well, so coolers have been as full as ever. The striped bass fishing has remained solid locally, with increased action being reported from the Providence and Seekonk rivers. Anglers fishing the South Shore surf are reporting better action as well, on big needlefish plugs, darters, and metal lips, along with large eels. For the fall squid enthusiasts, there has been another uptick in reports this week, and things should only improve as the water temps drop a few more degrees. Freshwater anglers are reporting excellent trout fishing since the recent stockings, with PowerBait and worms working equally well. Silver Spring in North Kingston and Olney Pond at Lincoln Woods have been hotspots, but a number of other trout ponds are fishing good as well. Dave is now back to work a few hours a day, and the shop is open seven mornings a week. Check his Facebook page for schedule updates.
Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs said that fishing for striped bass in the Bay and along the South Shore has been holding up well with bass chasing bait on the reefs and in tight to the beaches. The bait and bass are on the move this time of year and the bite can be inconsistent but, overall, people are doing well. There are still a few bluefish mixed in, but they are definitely starting to thin out. False albacore never really moved inshore in big numbers this year but there are still some bonito being caught. The tautog fishing is excellent with a lot of limit catches being reported. There have also been some nice-sized black sea bass mixed in with the tautog, which is always a nice bonus!
Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports that fishing in Rhode Island is as good as it gets. If you go out a couple days in a row you might find yourself scratching your head wondering where the fish from yesterday went. Inconsistency has been a common theme this season, but if you spend some time exploring, you’ll find the fish again. They still have plenty of bonito around and some very active bass lately. There have even been some good-sized bluefish making a late-season appearance and slashing lines whenever they get a chance. There hasn’t been a standout lure this past week, it seems like you have to bring the whole kit with you and do your best to match up when you find fish. Tautog fishing has been the highlight of the week, per usual this time of year. Deep-water structure seems to be the key for bigger tautog right now, including the new state record, but fish can still be caught across a variety of depths. They’re still hoping for a late season push of albies willing to eat but for now most of the focus is on the excellent bass and tog fishing while waiting for a weather window to get out to the tuna grounds again.
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Captain Connor at Tall Tailz Charters provided the following report after a strong week of tautog fishing; “Fishing this week has been great. We’re togging and loving every second of it! The water is a few degrees warmer than it usually is this time of year, and that trend hasn’t changed over the past few days. We’re fishing relatively shallow still and getting easy limits each day, and the fish keep getting bigger every day, including a few hitting the 13-15-pound range this week. The jig fishing has been a bit more consistent on most of our drops, and the fish are still shallow enough that it’s not too difficult. The Tall Tailz tog jig in white and yellow have been producing the best. There hasn’t been many trash fish or shorts in the mix, so the going is pretty good right now for those looking for big tautog! As temps continue to drop the fishing will only get better, and fishing pressure will lessen. Let’s go!
Captain Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters didn’t have to provide much of a report this week, as I think most of you reading this know he not only found a 17-pound tog this week, but also got his client, Vinny Simms Jr, on the new state-record tautog—a monster specimen of a fish, coming in at over 22-pounds. That has obviously been the highlight of the week, but besides that, the tautog fishing has been consistent all week. The fish have been chewing across a number of depths, with the bigger girls still holding a bit deeper. Per usual this time of year, the fishing pressure is still relatively high, so look to get off the beaten path and find some “untouched” structure for your best chance at some big whitechins.
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures sent over the following report for the week: “With October slowly winding down there are still some great fishing opportunities ahead. Tautog has been the most reliable bite by far. Some days are leading to a lot of keepers, while other days we’ve had some pretty nice sized fish landed. Stripers are still in the mix, however, most of the fish that have been caught on our trips are schoolies. When fishing for stripers, I’ve also ran across a few snapper bluefish schools, which is another great light-tackle option right now. In addition to tautog being a reliable target, black sea bass and scup are still being caught but the scup are thinning out little by little. Tog fishing won’t be slowing down for a while, and holdover stripers should pick up in the next few weeks. Head over to our site and book your fishing trip today.”
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Jay at Pamela May Charters reports that tautog season is in full swing. They did really well over the weekend. Fish are at all depths, but sweet spot was in the 25-foot depth area. They tried some less-pressured humps and were rewarded with some bigger fish, as well as the bonus keeper sea bass. Stripers have been hard to come by off Narragansett, but word is there are still been some nice blitzes up in the Bay. That said, there have been no shortages of small bait out front, so we should have some big school bass blitzes in our near future.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
In recent years, it seems like tradition to hear about multiple 15-pound-plus tautog being taken in Rhode Island as the days wind down in October and we approach November. The tradition continued this week, as a load of big tautog hit the scales, including the new Rhode Island state record! Tog fishing has been strong across the state, and the fish are still coming from a wide range of depths. Some of the bigger fish seem to be coming from slightly deeper water this week, but focusing on spots that haven’t been hit too hard, as opposed to worrying about depth, has been fruitful. You’re likely to find plenty of big sea bass in the mix still, along with a few nice cod for anglers fishing deeper water.
The warmer weather has likely slowed down the striped bass migration, and reports have been steady this week, especially in the Upper Bay, Providence River, and Seekonk River. A few bonito are still hanging around, while anglers reported seeing more snapper to tailor bluefish from Narragansett to Newport this week.
Another staple of October fishing is fall trout fishing—the DEM has continued their fall stocking program this week, and reports have been good from a number of bodies of water.