Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet out of Point Judith reported a good week of fishing on its mixed-bag trips, with good numbers of black sea bass coming over the rails. The fleet will continue running mixed-bag trips along with tautog trips in the weeks ahead, and some of the best fishing of the year is likely to take place over the next few weeks. As always, you can view the full schedule and make reservations for upcoming trips on the fleet’s website.
Captain Connor MacLeod at Tall Tailz Charters provided the following report: “Fishing this week has been great. The tog grind has commenced, and we’ve been fishing hard daily. Easy limits early each day with quality roasters. As usual, we’re trying to harvest primarily males and throwing back all fish over 6 pounds. The water is still warm at 63 degrees, so we’ve found quality bites from as shallow as 20 feet to 50 to 60 feet. Green crabs are fishing strong still, but we have had to utilize whites on certain drops. Big fish of the week was at 12.8 pounds. I’ve seen an even mix of both jig and rig success. The fishing will only improve as the water temps continue to drop.”
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Captain Rob Taylor at Newport Sportfishing Charters continued to fish close to home this week, focusing most of his attention on tautog. The early-October tautog bite is improving, with limits coming more easily and bigger fish showing up on each trip. These fish are still holding in relatively shallow water, allowing him to get the job done with light jigs. Some bigger sea bass are also showing up as bycatch, and the fishing should only improve as October progresses. When Rob targets striped bass, he continues to find a steady bite, with fish ranging from slot-size to well over 40 inches. The bass have been taking a variety of offerings, including soft plastics, eels, and topwaters, making this primarily a light-tackle game. A few schools of bonito and false albacore are crashing the party as well.
Jay at Pamela May Charters told me that tautog fishing got off to a good start for the crew. Despite some challenging winds, they were able to run their charters and put some limits in the boat. False albacore are still around, with solid blitzes popping up along South County since last weekend. Striped bass are also in the mix and can often be seen pushing bait up against the rocks, a great sight this time of year. Another late-season surprise has been the appearance of weakfish along the South Shore beaches. Jigging soft plastics has been working well for them. There are still plenty of sea bass around, too, keeping anglers busy while they wait for the stripers and false albacore to show up.
Dustin Stevens at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures provided the following report for the week: “Fall-run activity continues! Striped bass are definitely still around; however, the bite can be hit or miss since they are more keyed in on chasing bait than hanging out at their spots. Multiple areas are loaded with bait, so on any day, the bass bite could be epic. Bluefish are mixed in with some of the striper blitzes, so be careful with soft plastics. This wasn’t a great weakfish year, but they have been around in big schools over the past week. Tog is hands down the most reliable species to target. We haven’t gotten any giants on our trips, but on 95% of outings, our clients have been catching their limit. Scup are still around, but not in great numbers. Black sea bass have also been biting well and should continue through Thanksgiving. There are a variety of great fishing opportunities ahead. Reach out to book your kayak fishing trip before the end of the year!”
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Chris at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reported that large schools of striped bass have been feeding on bait around the island. The bass are mixed in size, and one cast might produce a 25-pounder while the next brings in a 25-inch fish. Much of the bait the bass are feeding on is relatively small, making light-tackle and fly-rod presentations especially effective. Along with the bass, anglers are seeing false albacore, bonito, and some bluefish feeding on the same schools of bait. Tautog fishing is starting to take off, with some good-sized fish reported this week along with plenty of limit catches. There are still a lot of black sea bass around, although most are below the legal keeper size. Some of the deeper pieces of structure, however, seem to be holding keepers. Offshore, reports have been limited to a few commercial-sized bluefin tuna caught south of Block Island.
Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence told me that the hardtails have made a curtain call across Rhode Island, catching the attention of fall-run anglers. There is a nice mix of bonito and false albacore around Block Island and along the South County beaches, with fish also showing up sporadically throughout the bay. Striped bass remain scattered throughout the rivers and bay, with a strong bite continuing in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers. The bass aren’t just upriver, either; they can be found throughout the bay, and topwater blitzes have also been reported along the shoreline from Jamestown to Narragansett. Tautog anglers are increasingly focused on that fishery as October progresses. The fishing continues to improve by the week, with cooler temperatures bringing more double-digit fish to the boat. Dave has consistently had green crabs in stock, which has been a challenge for tackle shops recently. He’s also well-stocked with Asylum Jigs and offers a bulk deal on them. Squid fishing has picked up locally once again, especially around Newport, and should continue to improve as water temperatures drop. Dave has a huge selection of West Coast and Japanese squid jigs in stock. This upcoming weekend, the shop will be open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
The fall run continues, with slowly but steadily dropping water temperatures improving the tautog bite and kick-starting topwater action for migratory bass. Striped bass are feeding heavily as they prepare for their lengthy migration. Reports from the Upper Bay have remained steady, and larger bass have also been reported around the South Shore rips and reefs. With larger bait in the mix, anglers are likely to find bigger bass where bait is entering or exiting estuaries. Anglers are also reporting big bass pushing small bait right up against the shoreline rocks. This is a clear sign that the fall run is underway, but it’s also a reminder that the season will be winding down before long, so get out there!
False albacore have reappeared in pods, with better numbers showing up around Newport and sporadically along South County. Anglers fishing the beaches around the breachways have reported some good results, and the fish have reportedly been less finicky this week. Bonito are still mixed in as well.
After a much slower weakfish season compared to last year, anglers were happy to report that the fish have finally shown up in good numbers. Working the South Shore beaches with a soft plastic on a jighead has been producing some squeteague.
Tautog fever has taken over for most Rhode Island bottom fishermen, with increased angling interest translating into more reports of double-digit fish this week. Tautog are being caught in both the bay and offshore waters, across a wide range of depths, although the bite has been concentrated in relatively shallow water for anglers fishing jigs this week. Plenty of sea bass are holding in the same areas, while deeper structure has produced solid sea bass action and a few cod.
Another staple of October fishing is fall trout fishing, and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) began its fall stocking program this week.