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. They continue to dodge the weather, but when they get out, they’ve been doing work on the tautog grounds. Just yesterday, they got it done with a full boat limit of tautog, with high-hook anglers coming in with easy limits. Rigs were the key as they transition to fishing deeper water. Water temps are still in the 50s and they haven’t ventured to the island yet, so it appears we are still in the thick of it. When you think it’s starting to wind down, you hit a rock pile and pull 50 keepers off of it. There won’t be any trips on Thursday or Friday with this brutal wind, but it looks like they will be back out on Saturday. Also, please note for the rest of the month they will just be running winter combo trips from 6 AM to 3 PM for tautog, sea bass, and codfish. They will have both clams and crabs on the boats and will mostly be fishing on anchor, but will also be ready to drift. Their full schedule and reservations can be found on the website.
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence is now closed for the season and wanted to thank everyone for another great season. You can keep an eye on his Facebook page for reopening updates. As far as fishing, the main interest for anglers across Rhode Island continues to be hunting for big tautog. The weather, wind, and temperatures presented challenges this week, but when anglers got out, they’ve been successful. Hard structures in the usual areas are all producing as they should, and the fish are still transitioning to deeper water. There has been a nice push of cod, which has been a bonus for tautog anglers. Tuna anglers were surprisingly reporting strong catches close to home this week, although that should start to wind down as water temperatures continue to cool. The squid bite shows no signs of dying though, with good reports from local anglers off Newport and anglers heading out toward Block. Anglers that are still targeting striped bass are finding a few small fish out front, but most of the striped bass attention is on holdovers in the rivers and salt ponds. Freshwater anglers are reporting excellent trout fishing, following more fall stocking and improved flows in many of the streams.
Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs said that tautog fishing is still going strong in waters ranging from 30 to 80 feet out off of Newport and Jamestown. Guys heading to Block are seeing some sea bass and cod along with tuna sightings off the south side of the island. Striper activity is cooling off, but a few fish are still being caught up inside the Bay; the Barrington area has seen some fish, and there have been some reports from up around Providence as well.
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Captain Connor of Tall Tailz Charters provided the following report as he continues his late fall tautog season: “December is here, and the fishing is still very good. With water temps hovering around 53 degrees, we’re still seeing consistent action on many of our inshore drops. We’ve been fishing deeper for bigger fish but still getting most of our box fish in less than 70 feet of water. Jigs and rigs have been good in the deep. Tall Tailz tog jigs in white legger and blue mussel are outperforming every other color and jig style. The further south we go, the more cod we’re seeing as bycatch as well. Hoping this big blow doesn’t shut down this killer inshore bite! With water temps still this warm, it’s like mid-November fishing!”
Captain Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters continues to get after it on the fall bottom fishing grounds. No surprise, but tautog fishing is still the main show in town. The weather was a bit more difficult this week, but it hasn’t stopped Captain Taylor from breaking double-digits on a few trips. Rob also mentioned that he has continued to see encouraging cod results, along with keeper sea bass. With the tautog transitioning deeper, we should continue to see a nice mix of cod and sea bass.
Lisa at Snug Harbor Marina said togging has been solid with fish still holding in waters as shallow as 30 feet. There have been good catches along local stretches of rock structure, including inside the mouth of the bay, but the best fishing has been out by Block Island. There have also been numbers of bluefin tuna around Southwest Ledge this week, which has garnered some attention from local commercial and rec. fishermen. Word is that the fish have been finicky, but trolling and jigging have been producing some bites. The shop has also been selling a lot of butterfish, so that might tell you something about a chunk bite, too. Sea bass fishing has been good around Sharks Ledge and the East Grounds. Striper fishing has been spotty, but there was a push of fish at Point Judith Light one day last week.
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report for the week: “The good news is, the tautog are still around in deep water; the bad news is the bite is very slow. Those that have been patient have been rewarded with keepers. Don’t be surprised if you land a few cod while targeting tog. Squid fishing was really good around Thanksgiving, however, with the cooler water temperatures it has slowed down quite a bit as well. Holdover striped bass are probably the more practical fish to target for us kayak anglers. Most holdovers are in the schoolie class, however, slot and over-slot fish hold over as well. On the freshwater side, cooler temperatures have most ponds slightly iced over. If you can find a lake or pond that’s accessible, trout would be the best fish to target this time of year, especially with continued winter trout stockings on the horizon. Largemouth are being caught as well on slow presentations and/or live bait. We will be fishing throughout the winter, so brave the cold weather and book your kayak fishing trip today. Also, we are taking bookings for spring and beyond—reach out to us to book your kayak fishing trip in 2025!”
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
A recent break from the wind machine brought continued strong tautog results across Rhode Island. There are still some fish to be had in the bay, if you have to get away from the wind, but the better fishing is starting to come from the more southern reefs and rockpiles. Bigger fish are starting to transition to deeper water, but a majority of the quality keeper fish reported this week were still coming from less than 70 feet of water. As anglers start working their way south, they are seeing better numbers of quality cod as by-catch.
There was also a nice late-season push of tuna recently, which extended the season, but that will likely wrap up after this next blow. The same can be said for squid fishing, which was strong around Thanksgiving, but is starting to slow down. Holdover striped bass fishing has started to garner more attention this week, both in the rivers and salt ponds.
Late season trout fishing has been excellent across the state following the RIDEM fall stocking, and flows should finally be improving after more rain.