Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith lost most of the week to the weather, but fishing was strong before the blow, and the weather for the weekend is certainly trending better. The fleet has been doing well targeting a mixed bag of black sea bass, tautog, and scup on recent trips. Prior to the storm, Captain Cole reported a pile of quality sea bass to 5-pounds, so it certainly seems like the sea bass bite should hold up. Tautog fishing is going strong as well, and the fleet will start to dedicate more time to specifically targeting tog as we move further into fall. Their full schedule can be viewed online, and you can also make reservations on their website.
Dustin Stevens at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report: “It seems that we’ve been hit with some type of storm every week for the last few weeks, which is relatively typical for October. The pre-storm bite was awesome for striped bass with some big fish still in the mix. Also, the pre-storm false albacore and bonito bite was arguably the best of the season. On the tautog grounds, nothing has really changed since the storm blew through. The majority of our outings produce quality fish and limits for most clients. Most of our trips going forward will be backwater stripers or tautog. After that, we will target holdover striped bass and freshwater fish until next spring. As mentioned numerous times, we only stop kayak fishing when bodies of water are iced over, so with that being said, there’s still plenty of time to book your kayak fishing trip!”
Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters continued to fish inshore this week, focusing just about all of his attention on tautog. The early October tautog bite has continued to improve, with easier limits and some bigger fish showing up on each trip. These fish are still in relatively shallow water, so he’s been able to get the job done on light jigs. They can be found on the usual piles out front, but there are plenty of fish up in the bay as well, which provided some refuge from the weather this week. There are some bigger sea bass showing up as bycatch, and things should only improve as we make our way through October. Rob also mentioned that the nor’easter got the striped bass all hot and bothered, and he was able to manage a nice topwater bite of big fish in the rough weather last weekend. There were plenty of false albacore and bonito to play with before the blow as well, but it’s yet to be seen if they hung around.
When I spoke to Jay at Pamela May Charters, he hadn’t been out since the blow but reported that things were going strong right up to the nor’easter. There were some sizeable schools of albies, bonito and stripers along the coast from Point Judith to the West Passage, and they were a little more willing to chew than they have been in recent weeks. It is still easy to get the striped bass to chew, and that bite has been consistent, with fish from schoolie-size to a little over slot. Striper fishing has remained strong in the backwaters and estuaries, which has provided a good bite with some shelter from the big swells. Giant schools of small bait are prevalent throughout the area, both out front and in the estuaries, so there’s no signs of slowing down just yet. Jay’s early returns on this tautog season have been very good, with the shallow rockpiles producing a bunch of keepers, along with a few quality sea bass. He’s currently booking tog trips for October and November, so reach out before it’s too late!
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Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that the fishing across Rhode Island has remained good whenever the weather allowed, which unfortunately, wasn’t the case most of the week. Striped bass, bluefish, and a mix of hardtails have been found chasing bait throughout the bay with some consistency. Anglers are reporting plenty of slot and over-slot bass in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers, which has also provided a little bit of shelter from the weather. You may also run across a school of false albacore or bonito anywhere along the south shore, although it is yet to be seen if the nor’easter helped or hurt the bite. Tautog fishing has really started to pick up steam, with good reports also coming from the Providence and Seekonk River areas. The Lower Bay and South Shore should provide some good tautog fishing as well, but the weather hasn’t been conducive to fishing there this week. At least the fish haven’t been too pressured; they are generally still shallow, so jigs have been getting the job done. Dave is having his end of season tackle sale from now through Monday evening. They have some close out deals on Gags Whip-It fish with savings up to 50%. There are a number of other great deals such as spending $100 getting 10% back, spending $200 getting 15% back. There are also discounts and free goods throughout their entire inventory of rods, reels and lures. Check out his store page or Facebook page for more details and exclusions.
Eric at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown provided the following report: “The fall run is here! Bass rafts from the top of the bay to Block Island are the best evidence of fish feeling the seasonal shift. Fishing these rafts isn’t hard; poppers and soft plastics will get the job done. Culling a big one out of the feed can take a little more skill, though. Try fishing bigger and deeper, or better yet, off to the side on the edges of the school. It can be tempting to dive right into the main feed, but if you’re after quality rather than quantity, it’s your best bet to switch tactics. As bait starts to flush out of the bay, we’ll see those south-facing beaches and shorelines fish better and better. Tautog fishing continues to be amazing. Both shallow and deeper water rock piles are producing some really nice fish. We often say it, but we are very fortunate to have such a strong tog population here in RI.”
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Some frosty mornings and strong winds are making things feel more like late fall. Fishing reports were a little harder to come by this week, due to the extreme wind just about every day. That said, the fishing was red hot prior to the blow and those who made it out this week saw indications that the latest nor’easter didn’t put the brakes on the fall run. Tautog fishing will be the top draw across Rhode Island as we get deeper into fall, and the recent drop in water temperatures has started to kick up their activity level. Strong tautog reports have come in from the Upper Bay around the Providence and Seekonk Rivers, which has provided some refuge from the weather. The Lower Bay and South Shore rockpiles should be fishing equally as well, if not better, and the rough weather has at least helped to keep fishing pressure down. There are still plenty of sea bass and scup hanging around as well, so it shouldn’t be too tough to fill the coolers.
Prior to the storm, the false albacore and bonito fishing took a turn for the better, but with reports being minimal the past few days, it’s still unclear if they stuck around. The striped bass seem to have used the nor’easter as a sign to put on the feed bags, with strong reports of big bass coming on topwater for those that braved the weather this week. Reports were good from up in the bay around the Providence River, to the lower bay, the South Shore, and even Block Island. While the storm probably moved some schools around, I’d imagine there are still plenty of bass to be had, especially the fish that are still working bait schools in the rivers.
Another staple of October fishing is the fall trout season, and the DEM has started up their fall stocking program this week. While it doesn’t seem that this latest storm has slowed the fall run, it is an indication that our weeks are numbered, so get out there and cash in before it’s too late!