Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith was happy to report that they were finally able to get back on the water this past weekend and shake off the cabin fever! The water is still very cold, and the fishing proved to be very tough, but it was great to get back out. They will be off until April 24th while their parking lot is under construction, but will be ready to go after that. The fleet is starting to book their spring tautog trips now, while bookings for the squid and fluke trips should start to pop up closer to May. They are also making reservations for private charters for the 2026 season. The full schedule can always be found on their website, where you can also make reservations. Be sure to get on the schedule before they start sailing again!
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, provided the following early season report: “We’ve continued to see increased holdover activity; it’s a great way to get the rust off and get your mindset back to fishing. An influx of herring has led to better holdover striper fishing and should catch the interest of the freshly arriving bass any day now. Classic, reliable spring lures like the Jumpin‘ Minnow and SP Minnow are producing some nice fish. Tautog season has started slow, but things are starting to trend in the right direction. By the end of April/early May, there should be a very strong bite going. We never know what day it’s all going to break open so the best thing you can do is go fish and be the one making the report.”
Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters told me he’s spending most of his time getting the boat ready for the upcoming season. That said, he’s found some time to target big largemouth bass and has had plenty of success. The water is still cold, so the fish want slow presentations—mainly jigs, swimbaits, and wakebaits—but they’re chewing well. He’ll be transitioning to salt soon, so be sure to lock down a date for a trip before it’s too late!
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in Rhode Island
Dustin Stevens at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report after another week of spring fishing: “This nice early spring heatwave has caused a few different bites to fire up. I still haven’t come across my first fresh migratory fish (as I’m writing this report), however, the holdover striper bite is consistent. Bigger fish seem to be being caught in the low-light hours, while the typical schoolie holdover can be caught any time of day. The herring runs are in full bloom, and the fish have responded well to herring imitations. Tautog fishing is still slow but my most recent outing yielded a few more fish than my previous 3 outings. My prediction is that by May 1, the tog bite should be hot. With Rhode Island freshwater Opening Day behind us, all fisheries are open. Largemouth bass fishing and trout fishing are going really well, while the carp bite hasn’t quite fired up yet. We are knocking on the door of the main fishing season, so reach out to book your kayak fishing trip ASAP!”
View this post on Instagram
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that the recent warm-up has kicked the holdover striped bass bite into gear. Holdovers are being taken with some regularity on soft plastics in the rivers near the CT/RI border. There are also reportedly some large schools of bass moving around in the Upper Bay and it should be any day now that these fish put on the feed bags and the bite blows up. Tautog fishing has started off slowly, but with water temperatures starting to steadily climb, there have been reports of some decent fish taken in the rivers. Dave will be getting his first delivery of crabs at the end of the week and should be stocked up through the weekend. Squid reports have been quiet, but Dave expects them to start showing up in Newport over the next week or two. The RIDEM did a great job stocking trout for the season and anglers are reaping the benefits, with some quality 3- to 5-pound trout being landed since the opener. Lincoln Woods, Willet Pond, and Melville Pond are putting up some nice trout, while the Wood and Hunts Rivers have been producing for fly fishermen.
Elisa at Snug Harbor Marina said that things have remained slow on the tautog front, but over the past few days a few, slightly more encouraging reports came in. There were reports of a few winter flounder being caught in the salt ponds and holdover striped bass are becoming more active, especially around the herring runs. It seems to be a good year so far for herring, and there have been reports of some mackerel off of the beaches. The trout bite is steady and freshwater anglers are also having some success with largemouth bass, pike, and panfish. They are not on regular hours at the shop yet, but someone is typically there on Saturday’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can also call ahead and arrange a time to meet someone there. They are still taking in a good amount of gear for their annual Used Tackle Sale, which will be held May 2nd and 3rd.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
A steady improvement in weather over the past few days has it starting to look (and feel) more like spring in Rhode Island. A few reports of fresh striped bass have surfaced over the past few days, and there will likely be a better push over the next ten days. There have been some large schools of bass spotted in the Upper Bay, and that bite is likely to blow up any day now. Holdover striped bass fishing has remained solid in the meantime, with the largest specimens hanging around the herring runs throughout the state, and in the rivers around the RI/CT border. The bait numbers in said herring runs have improved quite a bit this week, so now is a great time to cash in on that bite.
Tautog season has started off slowly, but reports have steadily improved for those putting in the time, and I expect to hear some much-improved reports from Narragansett Bay very soon.
Largemouth bass reports have been steady for the past few weeks and the trout opener was a success, with anglers reporting good numbers and large fish, many in the 3- to 5-pound range, from the usual trout hotspots. While things started off slowly after a long, cold winter, a few 80-degree days in April can really jumpstart our spring fisheries, and it seems to be doing just that!