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. Trips were limited this week due to the strong winds keeping them tied to the dock or making it tough to feel the bite when out on the grounds. Despite the gusty conditions, they were able to put a few strong trips together. It wasn’t a savage bite, but plenty of quality tautog, sea bass, and a few big cod for everyone. They’ll be sailing Friday, and hopefully through the weekend, with the wind starting to settle down. Their full schedule can be viewed on their website where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.
Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown sent over the following report for the week: “We have officially entered the, “if you don’t go you won’t know” phase of the season. Bass fishing has slowed down from surf and shore, but that means there are fewer smaller fish to pick through to get a big one. If you do hook up, there’s a good chance it will be one of your better fish of the season. We’re still seeing plenty of days from the boat where the conditions and fish are cooperative—November is starting to feel like the new October. There are probably another few weeks to get out on the boat and find diving birds and blitzing bass. Tautog fishing shows no signs of slowing down either! Plenty of trips are coming back with easy limits and some nice jumbos mixed in. The past few weeks, togging has been the go-to move; if you can find a nice spot sheltered from the wind, you can catch some quality fish. Hope you all are still getting out there!”
Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs reported another great week of local fishing with anglers doing very well for tautog, striped bass and squid in the bay. The tautog fishing is very good right now with many limit catches reported and a number of fish over the 10-pound mark caught this past week, many of which are being released. Fishing for striped bass is producing a mix of sizes, ranging from schoolies up to the mid-30-pound range. Squid fishing has been quite good at most of the usual spots and both shorebound and boat anglers are catching good numbers.
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Captain Connor at Tall Tailz Charters provided the following report after a solid week of tautog fishing: “Fishing this week has remained top-notch. Temperatures are finally starting to drop closer to their November range, and the tog are really chewing. This is the magic part of the season where you can have great days in depths from 30 to 100 feet, which provides a nearly endless amount of good structure to fish in the area. We’ve continued to get most of our quality fish on the jig, with the Tall Tailz white legger and yellow belly being the most productive jig colors. Each trip we’ve been getting easy limits with some nice donkeys in the mix. I’ve been using an even mix of both green and white crabs. Building the bite appropriately has been paying off well for us. It’s only going to get better as the temps continue to drop!”
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures reported another week of good tautog fishing, despite the wind making it much trickier over the past few days. The last few colder nights have brought on cooler water temperatures, and the bite has changed a bit as a result with the fish starting to chew in deeper water. With all the small bait around the mouth of the bay and along the beaches, you’re apt to find a few striper blitzes while out there, but these blitzes are getting tougher to count on as the fish start to move on. Even if most of the migratory fish start to move on, Dustin expects the holdover bite to fire up soon, and last throughout the winter. The RI DEM did a great job with the latest round of trout stocking. Trout anglers are reporting strong catches of rainbow and brook trout across the state. Even though the main season is starting to wind down, there will still be some nice species to target during the cold months. Head over to Dustin’s website to book your kayak fishing trip!
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Jay at Pamela May Charters provided the following report, following some strong fall fishing last weekend: “We had a great Saturday with tons of birds and fish beneath them. Our guest landed a nice 35-inch striper mixed in with a bunch of smaller stripers. We went to the next pile of birds, and he hooked up with a fat bonito as well as a bunch more smaller ones. Then we set up for a nice mix of tautog and sea bass, and he landed a nice 20-inch tautog, making for a great hat trick. The next day the birds were gone and there were no stripers or bonito to be found. That’s the game this time of year. One day boom, next day bust. The tautog fishing remained steady though, so everyone left with full coolers and had a great day of fishing. Tautog are still spread out on a number of depths and haven’t fully transitioned to the deeper structure that they are usually on in November. I’m hoping to get on some more waves of stripers moving out of the bay. The water is still warm, hovering around 56-58 degrees, so I don’t think it’s over yet.”
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that the main interest for anglers across Rhode Island continues to be hunting for big tautog. Reports have been quieter this week, as angling participation dipped due to the winds. The lower bay and just out front have been hotspots, and tucking up into the bay has provided some cover from the wind, at times. 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 targeting striped bass are still reporting consistent fishing from multiple parts of the state. Some bigger bass are still in the bay and rivers, and are slowly filtering out. The north end of Block Island is holding some large schools of mixed-sized bass, and anglers fishing the beaches and breachways are finding action most days, and especially after dark. The fish seem to be moving around quite a bit, so if you can stay mobile and look for the bait schools along the beaches, you’ll increase your odds. There are still some bonito popping up along the beaches, too, which is great for this late in the season! Freshwater anglers are reporting excellent trout fishing, as the RI DEM has continued with their fall stocking program. The shop is now open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings from 7 am to noon.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
It finally feels like fall across Rhode Island, as heavy winds have made fishing more difficult, and with cooler nights, water temperatures have begun to drop more drastically. Tautog fishing remains red hot whenever anglers have been able to anchor out of the wind or find a weather window. The Rhode Island shoreline is certainly not devoid of hard structure, and right now you can still find quality tautog anywhere from 15 to 100 feet of water, but the better reports are starting to come from 35 to 40 feet of water and deeper. 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.
Striped bass fishing has become more inconsistent, but a plethora of small bait is still firing up a few blitzes. Fish are dropping out of the bays and ponds, so fishing around the mouths of these smaller bodies of water are a safe bet. Running up and down the beaches also provides a good chance to find some bass, and a few bonito, especially if you’re willing to move around as needed. Fall squid fishing has also been good in most of the usual haunts for both shore and boat anglers.
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.