Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith reported strong fishing on both the full- and half-day trips with customers catching a mix of fluke, black sea bass, and scup. The action has been very good for fluke and sea bass; it seems when one species is slower to chew, the other picks up the slack. Sometimes it may take a great deal of short fish before you get a keeper, but that is all part of the fun. That said, there are plenty of keepers fluke and sea bass to go around, with fluke in the 6- to 7-pound range on nearly every trip. Unfortunately, all trips were cancelled from Wednesday thru Friday due to the hurricane, but they anticipate being back out there this weekend. Spots do go quickly, so book yours soon! Their full schedule can be viewed online, and you can also make reservations on their website.
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures told me that striper fishing has cooled off considerably over the past week, which typically happens around mid-August, although this little cold snap and the big storm swell should kick things back into gear. Smaller bluefish are around in good numbers which has been a pretty fun bite, but tautog fishing is the most reliable bite at the moment. Bonito are a solid secondary option, as they are still getting them pretty consistently while blind casting. Black sea bass and fluke fishing has been decent, but getting keepers takes a lot of patience. With the storm on the horizon, it’ll be tough to get out on the kayak consistently over the next few days. The great thing about these mid-late August storms is that they usually fire up the fall run. Albies, bonito, and epic striper/bluefish blitzes is what Dustin and his charters will be looking for post storm. The fall run is just about here! Book your kayak fishing trip ASAP.
Jay at Pamela May Charters continued to spend most of his time inshore and is still working at some big schools of striped bass off of Newport. These fish continue to be taken on topwaters/light tackle, but we have entered a bit of a summer doldrum period, as the best fishing is right around dawn and dusk. Anglers working the reefs/rips or surfcasting overnight are also reportedly doing well. Bluefishing remains sporadic inshore, but it’s showing some signs of improvement over the past few weeks. Big schools of bluefish, along with bonito, can be found around Block Island. They seem to be working the large schools of sand eels out there and will hopefully move further inshore following this storm. Small mahi are also very prevalent without having to travel too far from Block Island. Fluke fishing is in the summer doldrums, but there are still some keepers moving out of the bay. Sea bass and scup are the ticket for bottom fishing right now and are much more consistent. Offshore reports have still been strong, with plenty of recreational bluefin in the area still for those who aren’t averse to catch and release. There is also word that the yellowfin have started to move in, and Jay is thinking the swell from Hurricane Erin could bring them in even closer.
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Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters was still playing with the tunas quite a bit heading into the week, but he has started to transition back to the inshore grounds for a few days. The striped bass bite seemingly improved quite a bit around Newport this week and will hopefully only be better after the swell pushes through and the water cleans up. Bass are taking topwater plugs throughout the day and when that shuts off, they can be caught on live bait and jigs. Rob has started to focus on tautog fishing a bit as well, and his first few trips were successful. He’s finding plenty of keepers both inside and outside the bay. This provides some opportunity so stay close to home and find some fish when the weather isn’t ideal. Hard to say how the storm will affect the offshore fishing, but there’s a chance it’ll blow the bigeye, yellowfin, and even more mahi in closer!
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that the recent cooler weather has resulted in a lot more local fish activity over the last few days. Striped bass are once again feeding aggressively in the Providence River, and some larger bass have been taken on eels in the upper Bay. Bottom fishermen are still finding a few fluke and sea bass, but the better bottom fishing is coming from anglers targeting late-summer blackfish and scup—both of which have seen an uptick in activity this week and can be found on hard bottom across a range of depths. The tuna bite was still hot before the blow, and anglers are finding some better mahi without traveling too far from Block. Freshwater anglers are also taking advantage of the cooler temperatures, with improved largemouth fishing, especially for those fishing live shiners.
Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports that the bluefin bite was still going strong before the swell, and anglers were taking advantage of good catch-and-release action despite the season closure. There has been a nice sprinkle of yellowfin as well, and those numbers can certainly multiply in the coming weeks. The jig bite has been king, and the chunk bite should start to get going in September, which is another way to potentially find more yellowfin. Mahi fishing continues to be great, with plenty of fish in the 5-pound-plus range and a good amount of really solid fish pushing over 10 pounds. The mahi bite usually doesn’t peak until a few weeks from now, so it should just keep getting better as we approach September. Back inshore, the second half of August usually means that hardtail season is upon us. The bonito bite was red hot in June this year before it hit a bit of a lull—they’ve been around, but not necessarily easy to target. That has been improving recently and should only get better as we move into September. There have also been a small handful of local albies caught in the last week or so. That hasn’t taken off yet, but it should very soon, so it’s time to get out there and start looking! The striped bass bite is probably as tough as it’ll get right now. That said, as small bait flushes out and the water temperatures are starting to turn the corner, the bite should pick right back up. There are some big numbers of peanut bunker around, which should fuel some nice feeds of schoolie bass with some cows in the mix. Don’t forget: elephants eat peanuts!
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
While this is far from the end of the summer, the recent cooler weather and first hurricane swell of the year has reminded anglers of fall. Recent fishing activity has been positive and is providing the same reminder of autumn around the corner. An influx of small bait, including a big mass of peanut bunker, has moved into Rhode Island. As a result, striped bass fishing took a turn for the better in the Providence River and the upper Bay, which is a staple of the early fall run. There are still plenty of bass out front as well, with anglers finding fish on the deeper reefs during the day on live baits. Anglers getting out around dawn and dusk have been scoring more topwater bass on the shallower rips. Surfcasters are still scoring good catches across the state, especially after dark. The swell from Hurricane Erin will dirty things up for a few days, but as is often the case, it could really kick the fall run into full gear.
Bonito are still around most of the state, but generally, you have to blind cast for them. What’s more exciting are the rumors of a few local false albacore to the east, another bite that could blow open after this storm. Fluke fishing has been difficult once again, but anglers targeting tautog are reporting much better results this week.
Tuna reports remain steady in all the usual areas, with bluefin of mixed sizes coming on the jig, troll, and occasionally topwaters. Hopefully they’re still here after the storm, and perhaps we’ll have the yellowfin and bigeye move a little closer to Rhody. Mahi fishing has been solid this week as well and often doesn’t require too long of a haul. We might not be in full-blown fall mode yet, but we may actually be in a better spot, with the inshore summer fishing remaining strong and the early fall patterns simultaneously falling into place.