Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith reported some good action on a variety of species south of Block. Unfortunately, the wind, which has been a hinderance all fall, continued to blow this week. There appears to be a break on Thursday, then a few other potentially solid sailing days after the storm event on Friday. The togging has been solid when the weather has allowed and water temperatures haven’t dropped too much, so there should be solid fishing right up to the end of the season. They are catching some big cunners— big enough to fillet and eat—an underappreciated fish for the table! They’ve had some ling in the mix too, and this is a great time of year for knothead sea bass. They’ve also had the occasional throwback codfish. Give them a call if you’d like to get in on the action; every day that weather looks fishable, they sail.
Dustin Stevens at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report: “With winter weather doing its thing, it has been tough to find consistent action. Some days local waters are iced over while other days we get open water. On the open water days, the holdover striper and white perch bite has been solid. Largemouth and trout are also biting pretty good on the freshwater side. This is shaping up to be a cold winter, so hopefully great ice fishing is on the horizon. Head over to our site and get on the calendar for 2026!”
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Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that most of the local saltwater anglers who are still getting after it are heading out to the East Grounds, or other points around Block Island for combo tautog and sea bass fishing. Anglers that are still targeting striped bass aren’t finding much out front; it seems that the south shore schoolie bite has died down. Most of the striped bass attention is on holdovers in the rivers and salt ponds, and that bite has been solid, especially on the warmer days. Freshwater anglers are reporting excellent trout fishing, following more fall stocking and improved flows in many of the streams. Dave is closed for the season, but will be back at it full time for the kickoff of spring trout fishing. Keep an eye on his Facebook page for more updates!
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown provided the following report as winter weather patterns start to take over in Rhode Island: “Winter fishing continues to settle in across the Ocean State. There are still tautog to be caught but the weather windows are getting harder to find and the fish are going to be deeper. No reason not to go when the weather opens up though! Holdover striped bass fishing in the usual spots has been as productive, if not more so than usual, with solid reports from all the anglers who are braving the cold. These fish can be found in the larger rivers, estuaries and salt ponds. Just a reminder to be mindful of the extremely cold days. On those days, it may make more sense to avoid hooking and taking these fish out of the water, or at least be extra careful with handling them in the extreme temperatures. That said, you should be able to find some big holdovers all over the state, especially on the warmer days/evenings.”
Elisa at Snug Harbor Marina said one of her customers reported catching striped bass ranging from 23 to 31 inches along the beaches back on Saturday the 13th. It’s not unusual for a few schools of bass to still be passing through the area this time of year, but fishing along the beaches will be very hit or miss. Locally, holdover striped bass are settling into their usual winter haunts, and the bite has been a bit more reliable than the beaches over the last couple of days. Boats running south of Block Island are still doing well for tautog and fishing will likely hold up out there through the end of the year. There have also been reports of some mackerel around the north end of the island. They will be open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m through Christmas and then will take some time off.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Saltwater anglers are looking to the headboats and charters that are still running to get their bottom fishing fix. On the days when the weather is cooperative, anglers sailing south towards Block Island are finding a nice mix of tautog, black sea bass, ling, and throwback cod.
The holdover striped bass fishing has continued to garner more attention both in the rivers and salt ponds, and seems to have started off stronger than it has in quite some time. Most of these bass have been on the small side, but anglers are reporting steady enough action, along with some nice white perch in the mix throughout the estuaries.
Late season trout fishing has been excellent across the state following the RIDEM fall stocking, and most of the skim ice should be off the larger lakes and all of the streams/rivers after this Friday’s rain.
This will be our final weekly Rhode Island Fishing Report of the season. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!