Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has been able to get out for their Block Island mixed bag trips a couple times this week, in between some bouts of wind. Conditions were generally solid and on most trips they managed a nice mix bag of tautog, cod, scup, sea bass, ling and mackerel. Sea bass limits to 5 pounds have been common, while the cod numbers continue to improve on most trips. There are still some decent tautog chewing as well, for the anglers dunking crabs. For the rest of the month, they will just be running the winter combo boat from 6 AM to 3 PM for tautog, sea bass, and codfish. They will have both clams and crabs on the boats and will do mostly anchoring but also be ready to drift. Their full schedule plus reservations can be found on the website.
Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs said that the few anglers who are still getting out are finding decent fishing for tautog with the potential for a few black sea bass and cod. There are even a few striped bass still holding in the bay. With the holidays approaching, be sure to keep an eye on their website for deals including the “12 rods of Christmas” and their annual “Mystery Box” sale! Their winter hours will continue through Christmas Eve, after which they will be closed until early February.
Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters had been continuing to find some quality tautog, sea bass, and cod chewing on the grounds to the south. The fishing was good right up to when he pulled his boat for the season, so there should be some solid fishing as long as the weather cooperates a bit. Rob will now be transitioning to ice fishing (hopefully) for the winter, and wants to thank all his customers and readers for another great season.
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Matt at Snug Harbor Marina reports that a few boats are still getting out to target black sea bass, cod, and tautog. Water temperatures are getting close to the 50-degree mark and a lot of the fish are deeper now with tautog being caught in 50-plus feet of water and cod and black sea bass deeper (look even deeper after this recent blow). Striper fishing has been spotty, as the bite out front has died off, but anglers are still reporting decent holdover fishing in the salt ponds. They will be keeping pretty regular hours at the shop until Christmas Eve when they will take some time off, closing the store until January 11th.
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that most of the local saltwater anglers who are still getting after it are heading out to the East grounds, or other points around Block Island for combo tautog, sea bass, and cod fishing. Anglers that are still targeting striped bass aren’t finding much out front—it seems that the south shore schoolie bite has died down. Most of the striped bass attention is on holdovers in the rivers and salt ponds, and that bite has been pretty solid, especially on the warmer days. Freshwater anglers are reporting excellent trout fishing, following more fall stocking and improved flows in many of the streams. Dave is closed for the season, and will be focusing his energy on a new website which he will be launching soon. He will be selling custom lures, terminal tackle, etc. Keep an eye on his Facebook page for more updates!
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report for the week: “With quite a few sub-25-degree nights over the past week, a lot of lakes, ponds, and rivers have been frozen over. However, on the warmer days there were definitely fish biting. The holdover bite has settled in and have been pretty consistent. There have been some over-slot fish caught, but 90% of the fish I’ve been catching have been in the schoolie class. I haven’t seen many white perch around in the usual spots but any day that bite could be epic. Relating to the holdover bite, largemouth bass have been on a similar pattern—more lethargic on cold days, but the warmer days have produced some solid fish even in shallow water. We’ll be fishing as long as there is open water, so reach out to book your kayak fishing trip now or in 2025!”
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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Saltwater anglers are still looking to the headboats and charters that are still running to get their bottom fishing fix. On the days when the weather decides to cooperate, anglers sailing south towards Block Island are finding a nice mix of tautog, cod, and black sea bass. The holdover striped bass fishing has continued to garner more attention both in the rivers and salt ponds. These bass have mostly been on the small side, but most anglers are reporting steady enough action, along with some nice white perch in the mix throughout the estuaries. Late season trout fishing has been excellent across the state following the RIDEM fall stocking, and flows should finally be improving.