Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith took a few days off last week due to the storm, but they were back out there over the weekend and reported good fishing for sea bass, scup, ling, and bluefish. The fluke fishing has been a bit more challenging, but a few late season doormats will likely show up soon. They will continue to run both full- and half-day trips for fluke and sea bass through early September. Their full schedule can be viewed online.
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures told me that the striped bass fishing has improved post-storm, and he is seeing better action and quality fish. Smaller bluefish are around in good numbers, which has been a pretty fun bite. Tautog fishing is the most reliable bite at the moment. Bonito are a solid secondary option, and since the storm, anglers are reporting more pods of bonito instead of just relying on the blind cast. Black sea bass and fluke fishing has been decent, but getting keepers takes a lot of patience. The fall run is just about here! Albies, bonito, and epic striper/bluefish blitzes are right around the corner. Book your kayak fishing trip ASAP!
View this post on Instagram
Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters told me that the bluefin bite wasn’t negatively affected by the storm. Tuna fishing was very good this week, with plenty of bluefin caught and released on jigs, and some giants in the area for commercial anglers. Rob hasn’t tried for yellowfin this week, but the word is that they aren’t too far away. The same can be said for mahi, which are reportedly still being caught with regularity around the midshore pots. The striped bass bite has continued to improve quite a bit around Newport; bass are still hitting topwater, live bait, and jigs. He has started to focus on tautog fishing a bit as well, and his first few trips were successful. He’s finding plenty of keeper tog both inside and outside the bay, which is a good opportunity stay close to home and bend a rod when the weather and seas are less than ideal. That said, the weekend weather ahead looks fantastic.
Jay at Pamela May Charters told me that things certainly started to pick up after the storm. Topwater striped bass can be found firing off all around Point Judith and Narragansett. Most of these fish are of quality size, to 40 inches plus. Schoolies can be found around the West Passage on small bait, which has been nice for light-tackle/fly action. There have been more bluefish mixed in with these smaller bass as well. Shad numbers have increased quite a bit since the estuaries opened up during the storm. Bonito are back in better numbers, and they are starting to hear more reports of albies to the east, so the hardtail season should be heating up. The bait is thick all over the place, so these hardtails should hang around. Jay hasn’t done much bottom fishing this week, as the bass/bonito action has been so good, but the tog bite should continue to improve as the weather and water cools. He has some dates available for September, including Labor Day morning, which he is trying to fill, so be sure to reach out before it’s too late!
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Rhode Island
Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown provided the following report: “We wait all year for times like this. Whether targeting bass from boat or shore, you are bound to find some nice fish post storm. The bait varies, but most of it is all around 4 to 6 inches, so keep your epoxy jigs handy. Speaking of epoxy jigs, we are patiently (not really) waiting for the arrival of the albies. The conditions are right so it’s just a matter of time. While we wait, we are taking advantage of the excellent bonito and chub mackerel fishing. These are both great fish for the table even if they aren’t as much fun as the albies. If you find bonito being picky, try throwing a small swimming plug or vertically jigging your epoxy jigs. Tautog fishing is steadily getting better but we are waiting until it gets a little cooler to focus on them; the good news is larger black sea bass have moved closer to shore and are ready to eat rigs and jigs. Offshore, the tuna bite is going strong with the jig and topwater being your best bet. They still pull the same even if you can’t keep them!”
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that the continued cool weather has resulted in some better striped bass fishing. Stripers are once again feeding aggressively in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers, with a good number of them hitting the 40-inch mark. The usual live bait offerings are getting the job done, along with large topwater and swimming plugs. The water has cleared up quite a bit since the storm, and that has resulted in better bottom fishing over the past few days. Bottom fishermen are still finding a few fluke and sea bass, but the better action is for anglers targeting late-summer blackfish and scup. The scup bite has been the most consistent, with the best results coming from the lower Bay and the South Shore, while upper Bay activity is starting to improve. Offshore action has started to pick up after the blow as well, with anglers reporting good shark fishing and improved bigeye tuna fishing this week. Freshwater anglers are also taking advantage of the cooler temperatures, with good largemouth fishing, especially for anglers fishing live shiners.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
As I usually say around Labor Day, I’m hoping that by the time I’m writing to all of you next week, we have seen a massive hardtail invasion. The results aren’t there yet, but they’re trending in the right direction. Post storm, the bonito numbers have increased quite a bit across Rhode Island, and there are enough reports of a few false albacore to the east to provide hope of things taking off.
Striped bass and bluefish can still be found in all their usual haunts out front, no surprise for the last week of August, but once again, we saw a better push of bait and predatory fish up the bay and into the rivers. Smaller bait is also firing off some huge topwater feeds around Point Judith and parts of Newport. Bottom fishing has remained steady across the state, with strong scup and slightly better sea bass results from the deeper wrecks and rockpiles. Fluke fishing has been difficult once again in terms of numbers, so anglers looking for table fare have started to transition to tautog. That bite is solid and will only improve as we approach true fall.
Tuna reports have picked back up post-storm. Bluefin of all sizes are still biting, and there seem to be a few more bigeye being caught “locally”. Sharks and mahi are rounding off the midshore bite not too far from home. The next few weeks look very promising, with tuna biting consistently, false albacore knocking on the door, striped bass and bluefish entering fall feeding mode, and tautog taking another step towards the steady fall bite.