Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Point Judith was able to get out on the tog grounds a few more times since my last report. They reported much improved fishing on both Friday and over the weekend. The water is still a touch cold, so it hasn’t blown open just yet, but there are plenty of tautog of mixed sizes that are willing to bite. A few more degrees in water temperature should help with the tautog bite and kickstart the squid/fluke season as we enter May. The fleet plans on sailing this weekend, so be sure to check their website for reservations if you’re looking to scratch the itch and put some fish on the table.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that both migratory and holdover striped bass have moved into the upper reaches of the Bay and in the Providence River. Some pogies have shown up in the area, and these bass are starting to school up to feed on those new arrivals, along with the abundant river herring. Local anglers have reported strong fishing in the Upper Bay on topwater presentations, flutter spoons, gliders, and large soft plastics. Anglers fishing bait have had good success with stripers on clams and squid in the Seekonk River. Tautog fishing has improved a bit in the Providence River and Upper Bay, where the water temperatures are a tick higher. Mike Vincent of MV Charters found tautog to 23-inches in the Warwick area this week, while the India Point area has also reportedly seen some nice fish this week. Some squid have started to move in, but they have been holding a bit offshore. Over the next week or so, we should start to see some of these schools push inshore. Anglers have also been gearing up for the opening day of scup season this Friday, May 1, and Dave has all the bait and tackle you need to target them. Freshwater fishing continues to be excellent due to the trout stocking by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. PowerBait, worms, and small/medium shiners have been the best baits for trout. Largemouth bass fishing has been good with live bait and topwater presentations. Ocean State Tackle is now open 4:30 AM – 7:30 PM daily and is now accepting PayPal, CashApp, and Zelle, along with the usual forms of payment.
Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters is starting to transition into his season, with a few scheduled trips right around the corner. While things have been behind schedule, reports have indicated that the tautog bite has started to pick up this past week. This is especially the case for anglers fishing in the upper reaches of the bay. His combo trips should see a strong striped bass bite as well, as the number of migratory fish seems to have gone up exponentially over the past few days. An influx of pogies in the bay has caught the attention of these fresh-arriving bass, along with some of the larger holdovers that have been up in that area chasing herring. Squid reports have been quiet, but word is that there are some large schools in our vicinity, so it shouldn’t be long before they are being spotted in good numbers locally.
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in Rhode Island
Captain Connor MacLeod at Tall Tailz Charters is kicking off his season and provided the following report for the week: “2026 season is officially here! It’s been an odd start to the year. With such a cold winter, the average water temp was about 45°F last week which made the tautog bite a bit slow. We’re up to 50° now and the tog are biting significantly better. We’re keeping it simple, fishing primarily with jigs and green crabs in shallow water. The afternoon bite is consistently better than the mornings. While the focus has been tog, we’ve seen a ton of quality stripers blowing up on topwater. This time of year it is normally all schoolies, but there are tons of 34- to 40-inch-class fish just arriving! Bring your tog jigging rod with a spare Doc ready to rock on your next outing. We just started and the fishing is already awesome!”
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, provided the following report for the week: “The bay and oceanfront are filling up with migratory fish here in Rhode Island. There are some very nice stripers with a healthy coat of sea lice, being caught from both shore and boat. Each tide seems like it’s bringing more fish into our waters, and we couldn’t be happier about it. We have an incredible amount of herring and bunker around at the moment, which is great to see, but can make the fishing difficult as the bass have plenty of options to eat. Make sure you are giving them a good-sized offering, and you’ll hook up to one of these fresh fish. Big glide baits, big top waters, and classic wakebaits like the Red Fin are fish catchers right now. Tautog fishing keeps getting better, and we’re starting to see some consistency to the bites and locations. Shore crabs on jigs seem to be the winning ticket; if you can’t get crabs, try flipping some rocks or hunting around estuaries for fiddlers.
Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report after another week of solid spring fishing: “Striped bass activity is heating up! It seems that there’s a wave of larger fish that has kicked off the spring run. There appears to be a solid mix of fresh fish and holdover fish attacking the herring runs. More tautog are being caught, however, the bite hasn’t really been great. With May and warmer water temps around the corner the tog action will only heat up. While the cool nights have hurt the saltwater bite a bit, it has helped to keep up a strong trout bite. Largemouth activity has slowed down a little, but usually, once the surface temp warms up the bite heats up. A lot of our weekend dates are going fast, and we have limited weekday availability. Reach out to get on the calendar ASAP!”
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Water temperatures continue to climb in Narragansett Bay, and like clockwork, the tautog and striped bass bites have picked up as expected. Better specimens of both species are being caught with regularity in the Bay, providing some excellent multi-species trips without having to travel too far. An influx of pogies and fresh migratory striped bass have collided in and around the Bay. Throw in some herring and large holdover fish, and there is some great striped bass action starting up. Live pogies always work, along with sand worms or clams, but don’t hesitate to throw some large artificials. Anglers are catching well on big topwaters, flutter spoons, glide baits, and soft plastics. As the water continues to warm up, we should start to see some better fishing along the South Shore, but the best action remains in the bay/rivers at the moment.
Tautog fishing is still a bit slower than usual, but reports were encouraging over the past few days. Similar to the bass, the slightly warmer waters of the bay seems to be the best place to look for active tog. Scup season opens on Friday, and I expect to start seeing some solid scup reports by the time of my next forecast. This is especially the case if the squid move in; they are supposedly in the area, but are just a bit offshore.
Freshwater anglers are reporting quality largemouth catches, especially in the herring ponds, and the trout fishing is as strong as ever following increased stocking and cool water temps.