Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith continued to find fish on their full-day fluke trips, with some customers limiting out on nice-sized fluke while also catching quality black sea bass. They plan to run full-day fluke trips through the end of September before switching over to targeting tautog in October, but keep an eye on their website, as dates can change based on the fishing. You can view the full schedule and make reservations for upcoming trips on their website.
Captain Rob Taylor, at Newport Sportfishing Charters, has also had a few days off due to the weather, but he believes this nor’easter is going to make the fall run fully erupt. The recent blow has helped kick-start the mullet run, and Rob has cashed in with plenty of local bass to 40 pounds, most of which have been caught on topwaters. There are also a few schools of bonito and false albacore crashing the party. Rob also used his time inshore to get on his early-fall tautog spots, and the fishing has been very strong. He’s had limits on most trips, with fish approaching the double-digit mark. There are some bigger sea bass showing up as bycatch, and things should only improve as we make our way through September and into October.
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Captain Connor MacLeod, at Tall Tailz Charters, said things have been a bit of a roller coaster on the inshore grounds this week, with a number of trips being canceled or modified. With nonstop northeast winds, getting offshore wasn’t an option this week. Thankfully, the inshore bite has picked up the slack, and we’re seeing some fall fishing at its finest. They’ve been casting to blitzing bass, bluefish, and bonito every day and seeing 40-plus fish each trip. Slot-sized bass to fish over 45 inches, and everything in between, have been the norm. There has also been a nice mix of bluefish, from cocktails to gators. All of the aforementioned species are mainly feeding on silversides and peanut bunker. When they’ve had enough run-and-gun fishing, Connor has been doing some “casual togging,” which has been very good. The jig bite has been consistent, with easy limits of fish to 8 pounds.
Jay, at Pamela May Charters, told me that the false albacore were still abundant this week, and he put together some excellent full-day trips before the storm. The striped bass action had improved as well, with an uptick in topwater activity right up to the nor’easter conditions settling in. The sea bass were biting well underneath the bass and hardtails, and the overall size had seen a bit of improvement. The bait remains thick, with plenty still in the harbors and bays, so it should still be around after the blow to support a strong fall run going forward.
Dustin Stevens, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures, provided the following report for the week: “Unfortunately, the big storm is keeping a lot of anglers on the couch. However, sometimes after a storm comes great fishing. The albie run pre-storm was pretty good, so I’m expecting that once the dust settles, albies will be back in the mix. Stripers are usually around in good numbers until the end of October, so I’m not expecting too much of a drop-off. Bluefish have been hard to figure out all year, so I don’t really have many expectations. Tautog is what I’m most looking forward to post-storm. Spring and summer togging is fun, but fall blackfish are the best. The keeper limit is generous, and it’s the best opportunity for good action and big fish. I will be partnering with Jim’s Dock Blackfish Blowout to create a kayak division for their annual Tog Tourney on October 3-4. Reach out with any questions you have. Availability in early October is slim; however, we have some dates on the back half of the month through November. Reach out ASAP to get on the schedule for your kayak fishing trip!”
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Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, sent me an update on the fall-run fishing prior to the recent blow. The false albacore and bonito had started moving well up the bay, with reports of fish as far up as the upper reaches. Here’s hoping they use the shelter of the bay to hang around and aren’t blown out by the northeast winds. Stripers and bluefish are also prevalent throughout the bay and have been feeding on adult and peanut bunker up in the Providence River. These fish weren’t just in the bay; there was no shortage of hardtails, striped bass, and small bluefish out front prior to the blow. Snapper bluefish (skipjack) have also been hanging around inshore and feeding aggressively on small bait. Tautog fishing has been steadily improving, and with the recent drop in temperatures, Dave expects the fishing and keeper-to-short ratio to improve as well. Scup fishing has been strong on the rock piles for anglers fishing green crabs, squid, and clam tongues. As far as sea bass, weeding through shorts has been the norm, but a few anglers have reported some better fish starting to show up on the tautog grounds. Dave is expecting to have abbreviated hours this week due to the weather, so check his website or Facebook page for updates.
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, provided the following report for the week: “This blow is shaking things up a little bit on what has been a pretty stable and predictable September. As usual this time of year, bad weather can mean great fishing. Make sure you have the right gear and knowledge, and you can get some great fish. The striped bass fishing from the surf is showing signs of a great fall run. We have mullet and a variety of other baitfish stacked up and ready to be blitzed on. Topwaters like pencil poppers have been working great locally. If they seem picky, try out the float and fly. Don’t worry, this storm almost certainly isn’t ending hardtail season early. It appears as though we have some fish taking shelter inside the bay, and open-water action should resume soon. For the shore anglers, take advantage of this weather and hit the jetties and piers for some fun, windy action.”
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
A trend you’ll notice in all the reports this week is that we preface them with “this was before the blow” and end with “hopefully the blow doesn’t end it.” As the Northeast prepares for a storm that’s going to keep most anglers inside this weekend, all I can report is how things were before and what we’re looking forward to afterward. The false albacore fishing was very good when the weather allowed, and a lot of these fish had pushed well into the bay, so many anglers are hoping they’re taking shelter up there and will be around afterward. These fish weren’t just confined to the bay; both false albacore and bonito were spread out and feeding nicely throughout South County.
Striped bass and some schools of smaller bluefish can still be found in all their usual haunts out front and in the bay, and remain prevalent on topwater during the morning hours. While large bluefish have been hard to find, an influx of snapper- and skipjack-sized blues have been all over the state and feeding voraciously. Anglers looking for larger striped bass are still finding them around Block Island, but have also reported some strong fishing along the South County shoreline during the nighttime hours.
Bottom fishing has remained steady across the state, with easy scup fishing and improved numbers of keeper sea bass. Interest in tautog has started to pick up as well, and the results have been strong across a range of depths, with most anglers fishing jigs relatively shallow. This is a great time to cash in on some strong tautog and sea bass fishing before the fishing pressure really starts to accelerate. While we’re not sure about the hardtails or how the striped bass will move with the storm, it’s a given that the bottom fishing will only get better once things settle.