Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith had to take a few days off due to the wind midweek but reported much-improved fishing on the trips that preceded that. Nets were moving all around the boat for most of the trip, with most anglers taking home a nice mix of sea bass and fluke. Captain Cole reports that the action is almost back to normal, with solid sea bass on the deep humps and improved fluking in some shallower water. The weekend looks much improved in terms of the marine forecast. Keep an eye out for upcoming trips posted on their website, where you can also make your reservations directly.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the striped bass fishing remains the focus of attention for inshore anglers, while a nice push of tuna is occupying anglers who make it offshore. In terms of striped bass, there are still slot to over-slot fish being caught in the bay and around the Providence and Seekonk Rivers. It’s much easier to find these fish overnight or while fishing in the early morning or at dusk. The South Shore and out front are very productive on most of the usual reefs, rips, and around the breachways. The biggest glut of bass at the moment is over at Block Island, though, where anglers are scoring big numbers of large fish. These fish can be had on 3-way-rigged eels, bucktails, and soft plastics on jigheads. There has also been a pretty tenacious bass-on-sand-eel topwater bite in the mornings, which has been aided by the recent foggy mornings. Inshore bottom fishing has been strong for scup in the bay and along the South Shore. Sea bass fishing has been improving, while fluke fishing is tough. Most anglers are heading out to Block, Montauk, or the shoals for better fluke fishing. Squid fishing has remained very good but will likely start to slow down as the water warms, so get after it now! Offshore anglers are finding a strong school bluefin bite on the troll and jig at the nearshore grounds, while the canyons are putting up big numbers of yellowfin and bigeye. Freshwater anglers are still finding strong trout action on mealworms, PowerBait, and nightcrawlers, while the largemouth are eating medium shiners and Yamamoto worms. Ocean State Tackle will now be open daily from 4:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. through the end of July.
Captain Rob Taylor, at Newport Sport Fishing Charters, has continued to pound the big stripers in local waters, including a nearly 50-pound fish caught by Liam Smith. Safe to say, the quality of fish continues to improve, and there is no shortage of fish. Block Island is holding a nice slug of big bass, but the local waters in and around the bay have been good enough that there’s no need to steam too far most of the time. Bottom fishing has been strong for scup, while sea bass fishing is improving and fluking has been decent, at least in terms of numbers. Keeper fluke can be hard to come by at times, but the bite is steady for those willing to pick through the shorts. Rob hasn’t started targeting the pelagics just yet, but that will happen any day now. The nearshore bite for school bluefin has started off strong, while the first reports of giant bluefin, big yellowfin, and bigeyes have started to come in for those with the range.
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Jay, at Pamela May Charters, told me that things remain great on the striped bass front. Bass of mixed sizes, from 40-pounders to slot-class fish for the table, can be found out front from Newport, across South County, and out to Block Island. These fish are mostly keyed in on sand eels, so they can be challenging at times, but it’s generally not too difficult to find some willing to eat. They can often be enticed with topwater offerings in the morning hours, but even after they go down, they’ll keep eating. Jay was also happy to report improved bottom fishing this week, as he has seen better results than many in the area. Picking through shorts is still a necessary task while fluke fishing, but he reported a strong uptick in size on the inshore grounds. The same can be said for the sea bass this week. Reports are flowing in from the tuna grounds as well, so it appears we’re fully immersed in summer fishing!
Over at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, they continue to hear reports of very good fishing for striped bass around the mouth of the bay. The fish are feeding heavily on sand eels and squid and are being caught on both shallow and deep pieces of structure. Live eels seem to be the best bet for larger bass right now, but people are still catching them on soft plastics and topwater offerings, especially during the early morning and evening. Bottom fishing for fluke, black sea bass, and scup is producing some nice catches around the islands right now. With an abundance of sand eels and squid still in the area, these fish are feeding aggressively. If you are having trouble locating these fish, they are likely to be under the large clouds of bait you should be seeing on your fish finder. Offshore, the canyon bite has really taken off, with bigeye, yellowfin, and bluefin tuna all being caught along the edge. There have been reports of a few bluefin tuna caught on the inshore grounds, but the main body of fish doesn’t seem to have moved into the area just yet, though that could change any day now.
Dustin Stevens, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures, provided the following report for the week: “Striper activity has been very consistent over the last week. They are still keyed in on small bait and squid, but hitting the right bite window has turned into a few epic days. The bluefish are mixed in with the stripers, but most have been around the 20- to 25-inch size. Fluke fishing has been very consistent as far as action, but we’ve had to work for keepers. Similar to fluke, black sea bass have provided some great action; however, we’ve had to weed through a lot of shorts to find those few keepers. Scup is the most reliable target at the moment, providing great action and table fare. Largemouth bass have been in their summer pattern for a while now, with early mornings and evenings being the best time. The July calendar is filling up, and there will be great fishing opportunities in August and beyond, so reach out ASAP to book your kayak fishing trip!”
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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
As we hit Independence Day weekend, we are starting to see fireworks in the summer fishing across Southern New England. In Rhode Island, striped bass continue to rule the day for inshore anglers, while anglers heading to the “midshore” grounds are finding a strong tuna bite. The inshore bass/offshore tuna bite is likely one that you will hear about across a number of reports in the Northeast this week. Despite the recent heat wave, there is no shortage of striped bass around the South Shore of Rhode Island, up in the bay, and especially around Block Island. The high daytime temperatures have caused the local bite to become more of an early morning and dusk bite, but it is a strong one. Out at Block Island, you’re likely to find bass of mixed sizes blitzing on sand eels in the morning and settling on the reefs during the day. The topwater bites have been lasting longer than usual due to the fog and have been described as incredible! When the topwater bite wanes, these fish still tend to eat, but you may need to 3-way-rig a live eel or a similar artificial presentation to get them to chew.
Bottom fishing seems to be hitting its early summer peak, if you can call it that. It’s getting difficult to find keeper fluke inshore, but there’s enough fish around to pick out a few if you grind. Sea bass also have a tough keeper ratio, but that seems to be improving this week, while the scup fishing has been as consistent as ever.
In offshore news, there is tons of life on the midshore grounds south of Block and Montauk, which includes some strong topwater tuna feeds. Trolling spreader bars is the safest bet for getting meat on the boat, but the fish are also responding to poppers, jigs, plastics, and even flies! Those running a little farther to the canyons are finding great yellowfin and bigeye action. With a decent marine forecast this weekend, it’s all lining up to be a star-spangled “banner” weekend on the water.