Rhode Island Fishing Report
Freshwater action is on the rise as water temperatures continue to creep higher. Crappie, largemouth bass, and chain pickerel are the prime targets for sweetwater anglers this week, and big baits are already getting looks from prespawn pickerel and bass in shallow ponds. As pickerel fatten up before their unceremonious early-spring spawning event, they can provide fast-paced action which, after this long winter, is welcomed by all but trophy largemouth hunters. Glidebaits, wakebaits, jerkbaits, chatterbaits and swimbaits are all in rotation for the bass crowd as river herring sightings increase across southern New England. While they have yet to arrive in strong numbers, a few scouts is all it takes to kickstart a bite in your local honey hole.
Meanwhile, in the rivers and salt ponds, there has been a noticeable uptick in resident striper activity. Dustin Stevens of Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures said the holdover bite has been pretty consistent for him lately with a fair number of schoolie-class fish. He’s even managed to reel in a few quality white perch. Despite some cold nighttime temps and a brisk forecast this weekend, the backwaters are warming up and the fish are responding well. In just a few weeks, migratory stripers will begin to trickle in on the heels of more river herring and hopefully, by late April or early May, bunker.
In the more immediate future, Rhode Island anglers are gearing up for the spring tautog season. Tog fishing in the early spring is a bit more challenging than during the fall; the fish are lethargic and adjusting to inshore water temperatures after wintering offshore, and often, bites are very subtle. However, spring togging tends to be best in very shallow water, allowing anglers to employ lighter, more sensitive tackle to feel for those delicate pick ups. In other words, April and May are a jig fisherman’s dream. Usually, by mid April, tog can be found in as little as 5 to 10 feet of water which, depending on the amount of current in a given spot, calls for jigs in the 1/4- to 1-ounce range. Contact your neighborhood tackle shops this weekend to load up on jigs and to see if/when they will have green crabs in stock. If they’re unavailable, flipping rocks or scouring your local marshes can yield a decent haul of green crabs, Asian shore crabs, and later in April, fiddler crabs or hermit crabs. Seaworms are also a popular alternative to crab baits early on when water temps are still cold.
The saltwater fishing season in Rhode Island officially kicks off with the tog season opener on Wednesday, April 1. The bites may be scratchy, but every year some respectable blackfish are taken around shallow rocky structure. Get your gear together, make your last-minute purchases, and if you don’t have a boat or kayak, consider contacting a guide or charter captain to kick off the season on a high note. Otherwise, grab a bucket of crabs, strap on your Korkers and hit the rocks.
3/19/2026
This Saturday marks the official start of spring. If you stayed inside all winter instead of capitalizing on Rhode Island’s excellent (and lengthy) ice fishing season, you missed out. But the ice is gone now, and anglers have been quick to strap up their waders and load up their kayaks to enjoy open water season. While trout are off the table until the second Saturday in April, other sweetwater favorites like largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie and the lowly chain pickerel will become more active with each day of 50-degree-plus weather. Water temperatures are very cold, so regardless of your quarry, fishing slow will be the name of the game. Right now, the greatest interest lies in largemouth bass as they will soon begin to fatten up before spawning later this spring.
Start with smaller profiles and finesse baits like 3- to 4-inch swimbaits, jigs, Ned rigs, and suspending jerkbaits for lethargic largemouths. Then, as we head into April and river herring begin to show up in greater numbers, deep-bodied swimbaits and glidebaits, wakebaits, and moving baits like lipless cranks will account for bigger bass and fast-paced action.
It’s not just largemouth bass that anglers are gearing up to target, either. Rhode Island’s resident stripers are becoming active as water temperatures slowly rise in the salt ponds and rivers. Dustin Stevens of Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures is just one of the many anglers who is eager to chase holdovers and he sealed the deal with a healthy local striper this week.
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5-inch paddletails and straight-tail plastics, as well as 13F or 15F SP Minnows with SuspenDots or SuspenStrips, are excellent choices for holdover stripers. They will likely be staging in areas of slow-moving current where alewives are known to show up in the early spring, so keep an eye on your local herring runs. We’ve already received word of scouts in the Middleborough, MA, herring run, so it’s only a matter of time before larger schools of alewives begin to move in.
White perch populate many of the same brackish environments in which resident stripers are found, and by downsizing both your tackle and your offerings, you can dial in the perch with relative ease. Try small paddletails, hair jigs, or 3- to 4-inch curly-tail grubs. Kayak fishermen tend to use their electronics to find schools of white perch and once located, they can provide consistent action. Much like stripers, moving water is key—an outgoing tide will get them chewing. The March new moon just passed, so now is as good a time as ever to intercept both stripers and white perch.
We’ll be back to our regular weekly fishing reports on Thursday, April 2, following opening day of the spring tautog season. Our saltwater season is right around the corner. Hang tight and enjoy a little freshwater fishing before it’s time to start dropping crabs and searching for migratory stripers.
3/12/2026
It appears our ice fishing season has come to an end in Rhode Island. Anglers took their last shots at pike, bass, and panfish on the ice over the weekend, and the results were good with some plump perch and a few pike caught in just 15 to 20 feet of water. Since then, a stretch of mild weather and rain has melted off much the ice—especially around the edges of many smaller ponds in the southern portion of the state. Overnight temperatures have remained mild and above freezing, which led to a rather rapid melting period. Meanwhile, in northern Rhode Island, the ice conditions have depleted at a slightly slower pace. Most of the remaining hardwater is spotty skim ice or porous “honeycombed” layers of ice which, even if there is 10 inches or more, makes it dangerous to fish through.
Now, with less than 10 days until spring, Rhody anglers are looking forward to casting to their favorite freshwater species—besides trout—until the spring tautog season begins in April. The rivers and salt ponds are open, which puts white perch and resident striped bass back in the crosshairs of wading and kayaking fishermen. Finding holdover stripers is no easy task, nor is getting them to bite—and after all this snowmelt and runoff, it will take a while for water temperatures to rise to more comfortable levels for stripers to be active.
The better bet for the coming week or so is to wader up and search for some open water to target largemouth bass, pickerel, pike, and perch. Bass will be lethargic, but pickerel should be rather aggressive and feeding heavily prior to spawning. Suspending jerkbaits, jigs, and small swimbaits or chatterbaits fished low and slow are good choices for bass and will often be intercepted by pickerel.
Take advantage of the extended daylight hours and fish during the late afternoon or early evening. By fishing later in the day, shallow areas have a chance to warm under the sun, and the fish—whether it be largemouth bass, pickerel, perch, or even striped bass—will be more active as a result.
It isn’t exactly “warm” outside yet, but it’s warm compared to the winter weather we experienced. In a few short weeks, river herring will begin to trickle in, ospreys will arrive, and Ocean State fishing opportunities will expand and improve. Good luck out there this week.
3/5/2026
It’s not spring yet, although it’s starting to feel like it—even if it’s only a temporary tease. Rain and mild weather are tricking southern New Englanders into thinking winter is wrapping up, but the extended forecast suggests otherwise.
March is a tough month for fishermen in the Northeast. Beginning this weekend, parts of Rhode Island will see temps in the mid 50s to low 60s through Tuesday. By late next week, however, the weather will stabilize and be on par for early March with overnight lows hovering near or just below freezing. It’s safe to assume that following this weekend, certain ponds—especially those to the south—may have soft or sketchy ice conditions for a few days at least. The inconsistent air temperatures make it difficult to judge whether the ice will last and be safe enough for anglers into the middle of the month; if melted ice doesn’t refreeze solid overnight, we’ll be in for a slow, steady transition to open water season a few weeks from now.
At this time, many Rhody ponds have have anywhere from 12 to nearly 20 inches of ice but with trout waters closed until the second Saturday in April, our options are somewhat limited. Going forward, anglers are encouraged to head north where the ice is generally thicker and safer compared to coastal areas. Bass, chain pickerel, northern pike, and panfish are all in play and will carry us into the end of the ice fishing season. Over the past few days anglers have landed some 20-inch-class pike, largemouths approaching 5 pounds, and piles of plump yellow perch. Bass, in particular, seem to be responding well to the slight warmup.
This weekend, you may be tempted to sport a t-shirt and jeans on the ice, but keep in mind that the water is still frigid and as conditions deteriorate, wearing a float suit or PFD of some sort becomes that much more important. Just steer clear of inflatable PFDs as they are known to fail under frigid conditions at times.
If spud-barring the ice is not in your weekend plans, consider heading to the New England Saltwater Fishing Expo from March 6-8, hosted by the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) at the Providence Convention Center. Tickets are $15 at the door with free admission for kids under age 12. There are hundreds of vendors in the fishing industry and plenty of activities and seminars to entertain the whole family. Swing by the OTW booth to renew your subscription, pick up a new hat or hoodie, or sign up for the 2026 Striper Cup. We’ll see you there!