Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has had another busy week and has found mixed levels of success on most of their trips. Their full day fluke/sea bass trips have been mostly strong. Saturday’s full-day trip was excellent, especially for sea bass. Limits were common across the boat, with many anglers hauling in big knotheads. The fluke bite showed signs of improvement too, with several keeper-sized fish mixed in throughout the day. The half-day trips this past week have seen decent action with a steady pick of fluke and sea bass. Anglers are working hard for their catch, and while the bite isn’t on fire, there are quality fish coming over the rails on each outing. They are currently targeting fluke and sea bass, and trips are heading out daily. Be sure to check their website for updated scheduling and reservations.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that tuna fishing has gone from solid to excellent and is now garnering the most attention for saltwater anglers in the area. Recreational bluefin fishing has been strong off Rhode Island, Mass, and New York at the moment. Trolling directional spreader bars has still been the most successful method for targeting these fish, but they are starting to eat the jig and occasional topwaters this week as well. Back inshore, the striped bass fishing has remained consistent for shore and boat anglers. Fish are still in the bay, most of the reefs and breachways across South County, and at Block Island. A lot of these bass are feeding on the immense amount of rainbait in the area, and that rainbait has also continued to entice the bonito in the area, along with some bluefish. There is still plenty of squid off Newport, Jamestown, and Tiverton, which has resulted in some solid fluke fishing in those areas, especially along the channel edges in the lower bay. Scup fishing has been a bit more irregular so far, but anglers are still catching plenty; with the best results coming from anglers dunking bloodworms. Shellfishing has also started to pick up locally, with a number of anglers looking to the salt ponds and inlets for crabs and clams. Ocean State Tackle will be open from 430 Am to 8 PM daily, until Labor Day.
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Newport, reports that mid-summer fishing is here, but we certainly aren’t in the doldrums just yet. Early morning topwater striped bass and bonito action continues to be a highlight for inshore anglers. During the day your best bet for stripers is trolling tubes or drifting eels/eel plastics. Eric is reporting a bit of a shortage of bluefish locally, but if you are willing to travel to Block Island or the Elizabethan Islands you can scratch that itch. Offshore fishing continues to pick up. You’ll hear a lot of people talking about a trolling bite, but don’t leave those jigs and topwaters at home; just about everything is working right now, you might just have to dial in the tactic to land your fish. Eric also reported that the great black sea bass and fluke year is not letting up yet. For big seabass try dropping unbaited jigs like Hogy Epoxy jigs or small vertical jigs. For fluke, Gulp is king!
Captain Connor at Tall Tailz Charters in Newport, provided the following report for the week; “Fishing this week has been stellar. With the favorable winds for most of the week, I was able to get to the nearshore tuna grounds for several trips. The recreational size tuna have taken over! Nearly every fish we’ve boated has been in the 40-50″ range. Chatter lures side trackers in rainbow and calamari on the long rigger has been by far the most successful in the morning. By late morning the jig bite has been insane. Daiwa SL and FK jigs in pink and silver are out fishing the rest. As usual having a dead sticked Ron Z in pink, white or silver has been nabbing a few each trip as well. The water temps have shot up to the mid 70’s and that’s bringing some pelagic life in tight as well. The highlight for us this week was a big 85″ white marlin that ate the rainbow wingman and tail walked for 100 yards! The inshore bite has been good too BUT… TUNA! Give us a call or message to book asap!”
Dustin, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures, told me that striped bass activity is still going strong. Most outings are resulting in some pretty nice fish so far. Dustin has seen an uptick in bluefish activity over the past few days, which has been an awesome turn for the better. Some days there are a lot of smaller blues however other days are resulting in some decent gator size bluefish. The bottom bite has been mostly lackluster, however most of the bottom fishing that they’ve been doing is the last hour of striped bass trips, so they haven’t been putting in a ton of time. Between fluke and seabass, fluke has been the more reliable bite as far as keepers are concerned. Largemouth fishing has been solid, but no big fish have come up. With a packed summer schedule and an anticipated awesome fall run, reach out to book your kayak fishing trip ASAP!
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Rhode Island.
Ralph, at Crafty One Customs, said that fishing is very good in the bay right now for most species. Bass are still being caught with the most productive times being late at night or early in the mornings. Bluefish are mixed in with the bass and more willing to feed during the day. Black sea bass are all over the place and even though a lot of the fish are short you can pick through them to find some nice keepers. Fluke fishing is holding up well with some 5- to 6-pound fish reported this past week. Scup fishing is excellent with a lot of really nice sized scup being caught.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
If the persistent hot temperatures haven’t convinced you that summer has arrived, hopefully the tuna fever that has swept across the region has done so. The recreational bluefin bite has really exploded and often doesn’t require a crazy long ride offshore. The bulk of these fish are still getting fooled by spreader bars, but the jig and pop bite has picked up quite a bit over the past few days. The warming water is starting to bring in some larger pelagics, like the 80+ inch white marlin landed by Tall Tailz Charters this week. Just a bit further offshore the yellowfin and bigeye bite is picking up as well. Back inshore, striped bass can still be found in the bay around the pogie schools despite the warming water, but as it continues to warm up, don’t be afraid to look outside. Massive schools of rain bait can be found along the south coast, and the striped bass, along with bonito and the occasional bluefish are feeding on them. Bottom fishing has remained steady across the state, with strong scup and sea bass reports from all the rockpiles. The fluke bite has been decent at Block Island and was also reportedly good around the channel edges in the lower bay this week. Squid numbers are reportedly still good around Newport and Tiverton, and as long as the squid hangs around, there should be plenty of bottom fish nearby.