Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith once again lost some trips this week due to the weather, but the tautog bite has been solid when they have been out on the grounds. They took advantage of a strong pre-blow bite on Wednesday, and all signs point to it being one of the best tautog bites of the year, despite the minimal weather windows. Their group managed a full boat limit by 10 AM, with high hook landing around 20 keepers! After finding a limit, they spent some time searching for bigger fish and were able to catch and release multiple double-digit tog. They were back to the dock with full coolers and happy faces before the wind really started cranking. There’s no trip this Thursday, but there should be a window on Friday, and while Saturday is booked, they still have room for Sunday’s trip.
Dustin Stevens, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures, provided the following report: “The tautog bite is on fire with lots of solid keeper fish being caught. If you made it out between the gale winds/small craft advisories this week, you were likely rewarded with some of the best fishing of the year in terms of quality. Believe it or not, bonito are still around but in very small pockets. The ocean striped bass bite has quieted down quite a bit, but there is still a pretty reliable bite in the bay on most days, so it hasn’t been hard to salvage a trip. The squid bite is pretty hot right now, which is another species worthy of targeting. The holdover striper bite is already setting up and should be reliable until spring, albeit 90% smaller fish than what we’re dealing with the rest of the fall season. As mentioned before, we never close, so reach out to book your kayak trip any time!”
Captain Rob Taylor, at Newport Sportfishing Charters, told me that tautog season is in full swing in his neighborhood, despite less-than-ideal conditions on some trips. The fish have been chewing across a number of depths, with the bigger girls starting to hold a bit deeper. After getting broken off and dominated multiple times by big fish over the past few days, he had his clients boost their leader strength. This move paid off, with Rob reporting nine fish over 12-pounds just on Wednesday’s trip! While this tautog season has been one of the windier ones in recent memory, it’s helping to keep the fishing pressure down, and the results have been excellent. When you find a window, take advantage of it! Temperatures have started to drop, but they haven’t plummeted yet, so the shallow jig bite is lasting longer than usual. With fish across a range of depths you should have no shortage of structure to work.
Jay, at Pamela May Charters reports that tautog fishing is excellent right now. They had another strong week, despite some wind. Fish are at all depths, with the sweet spot moving a bit deeper to the 25- to 40-foot range. The fish are still all over the place though, so you can still find them on the less pressured pieces of structure, and/or in spots shielded from the wind. The lesser-fished humps are still the best place to find some bigger fish, as well as some bonus keeper sea bass. Striped bass activity has been solid, with strong numbers of mixed-sized fish dumping out of the bays and estuaries. If you can intercept them as they drop out, they should be chewing well as they get set for their big migration. Bonito made another appearance this week as well, and while they aren’t around in crazy numbers, they have been relatively reliable, so make sure you have all your light-tackle gear at the ready. Jay still has some openings for tautog charters over the next few weeks, so give him a shout before it’s too late!
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Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, provided the following report: “We’ve been battling wind and weather here in the Ocean State, but when you can get out there it has been worth the effort. Believe it or not, there’s still a healthy population of albies and bonito out there. These pods are getting picky, so bring the arsenal and more importantly, change up your retrieve speeds and tactics. Try working in a few pauses or letting it drop for a second or two. I always catch myself burning it in every time I see an albie, but honestly, I’ve probably hooked more fish on a slower retrieve. Tautog fishing is lights out—from as shallow as 8 feet to deep water, there’s a ton of tog available. If you are enjoying the abundance of blackfish, consider releasing the females and big males you catch; it’ll pay itself forward. Most of the surfcasters we’ve been talking to are having their best few weeks of the season. There are big, hungry fish in the surf and with the weather, the crowds have been low. Try fishing a teaser ahead of your plug and see which one catches more fish.”
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the fishing across Rhode Island has remained good whenever the weather allows folks to get out. As we all know at this point, battling the weather has been a struggle, but anglers taking advantage of those fishable windows have been met with good results. Striped bass are still plentiful, with anglers reporting plenty of slot and over-slot bass in the Providence and Seekonk rivers, as well as along the rocky South County shoreline. Soft plastics on leadheads or weighted hooks have been accounting for most of the fish, but there have been enough bass willing to take topwater spooks to keep things interesting. Tautog fishing has held up nicely, with a notable improvement in quality of fish over the past few days. Most tautog reports are indicating bigger fish being caught throughout the bay, as far north as the Washington Bridge. The Lower Bay and South Shore are fishing just as well. The key to making it happen is finding a weather window, and the anglers who have taken advantage this week are reporting more fish over 6 pounds all the way up to the high teens! Anglers are still catching tautog on jigs during the weaker tides and in shallower water, but bigger fish are showing up on deeper structure and coming on rigs. Dave will have crabs and everything else you need for some weekend tautog fishing after the wind is out of here. He’ll be open 6-9 AM Monday thru Thursday, 6-6 on Friday and Saturday and from 6 AM – 2 PM on Sunday.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Beginning most reports with complaining about the wind has been the theme for quite some time now, and while that can be discouraging, there have been some extremely encouraging reports in between the bouts of wind. Tautog fishing is as consistent as ever, but with water temps dropping and the fish starting to move deep, it appears we saw a strong transition in the overall quality of the fish being caught. Each year around this time, we start hearing about a sharp increase in the number of double-digit fish, and this year has been no different. Many anglers reported fish over 12-pounds over the past few fishable tides from Narragansett to Newport. If you take advantage of the next weather window, be sure to pack the heavy gear! Regardless of the weather, or the size of your vessel, you should be able to find some fruitful water on most trips, as points inside the bay are still fishing well. You’re likely to find plenty of big sea bass in the mix still, along with a few nice cod for anglers fishing deeper water.
The windy weather hasn’t slowed down the striped bass bite across the state too much, but the fish are generally much smaller. This is a telltale sign of the season winding down, but it can also be a sign of big numbers of bass showing up to make their way to winter holdover haunts. The season truly never ends in Rhode Island, so options will remain plentiful whenever the weather cooperates.
Another option this weekend is trout fishing. Reports have been good from a number of bodies of water after recent stocking by the DEM.