Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet reported doing well for black sea bass as the storm seems to have pushed some of the smaller fish out of the areas that they were fishing, leaving good numbers of keepers. They had a full boat limit of sea bass on Wednesday and were looking forward to getting back out there over the weekend. They will also be adding tautog trips to the schedule soon. As always, you can view their full schedule on their website, where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the fall run fishing report remains strong across Rhode Island. The bass are still scattered throughout the rivers and the bay, and a strong bite is still set up in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers. The bass aren’t just upriver, they can be found throughout the bay, and topwater blitzes are also noted along the shoreline from Jamestown to Narragansett. The hardtails haven’t left just yet as well, with a mix of false albacore and bonito reported from the Portsmouth area, and a re-appearance along the South Shore. The numbers may have dwindled a bit, but they haven’t completely blown out. Tautog fishermen are starting to focus more on that fishery as the calendar has gone to October. Dave is loaded up with crabs of varying sizes and is offering discounts when buying in bulk. He’s also loaded with Asylum Jigs and offers a bulk deal on them as well. This upcoming weekend, Dave will be open from 5 am to 7 pm Friday and Saturday and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Eric, at The Saltwater Edge, provided the following report for the week, as anglers start to gear up for tautog season: “It’s tautog time here in Rhode Island. With these cooler temps, the blackfish are going to be active and looking to eat some crabs. We are fortunate in Rhode Island that seemingly every rock pile has a nice tog population with plenty of keepers. Just remember, if you want this great tautog fishing to continue, you can opt to not take the full boat/angler limit every day. Keep a fish for dinner and let the other ones grow and breed. There has been some great bass and hardtail action off of Newport the last week. It seems to be the one spot around holding consistent fish. Shore/kayak anglers have the advantage here with the fish tight to the rocks. If you are still looking to check off a hardtail this year, it’s probably your best bet.”
Captain Connor, at Tall Tailz Charters, provided the following post-nor’easter report: “This week has been 90% tog. We sprinkled in a couple hours of casting to busting bass because we couldn’t resist. We were rewarded with quality 30 lb class fish on small metals. The Daiwa zakana jig was deadly. Togging has been very steady. We are getting our full boat limit with ease. No major size yet, with the biggest fish of the week at 11 pounds. We’ve been getting a ton of large seabass as bycatch. The jig has been fishing better than the rig on most drops. Tall Tailz tog jig in crushed crab and yellow belly has been doing best. Tog season is just starting, with the best still to come!”
Captain Rob, at Newport Sportfishing Charters, has continued to stay close to home and fish on shore this week, focusing most of his attention on tautog. The early October tautog bite has continued to improve, with easier limits and some bigger fish showing up on each trip. These fish are still in relatively shallow water, so he’s been able to get the job done on light jigs. There are some bigger sea bass showing up as by-catch, and things should only improve as we make our way through October. When Rob focuses on striped bass, he has still been finding a steady bite from slot class to well over 40 inches. These bass have come on a number of different offerings, including soft plastics, eels, and topwaters, so it’s generally a lighter tackle game. There are a few schools of bonito and false albacore crashing the party as well.
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Jay, at Pamela May Charters, told me that tautog fishing started off pretty well for them. Despite the wind over the weekend, they were able to run their charters and catch some fish in the lee of the ENE wind. The wind finally died down this week, and lo and behold, some of their hardtail friends returned to the party! Bonito and Albies are back, feeding on the huge biomass of bait gathering along the shore. Striped bass are up in the bay and continue to move out front to join the feast. Everything is looking good for October’s final migration push.
Dustin, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures, provided the following report for the week: “The winds have still been an occasional problem, but the fall run moves on. Striper fishing is still going great with fish ranging from slot size to 40+ inchers. We have seen more surface feeds, which has made targeting stripers more visual and fun. However, after the blitzes die off, the subsurface bite is still there. Bluefish have also shown up at least a bit more. A lot of small blues are in the mix, but some larger blues have been caught. We’ve started to hear of a few false albacore re-appearing around Newport and along the South Shore but haven’t encountered them yet. Bonito are still around in solid numbers as well. Tog fishing is going well and will get better going into November. = The action is hot, but the end of the main fishing season is near. With that being said, October dates are very limited, so reach out asap to get your kayak fishing trip on the books.”
Rhode Island Fishing Forecast
Some frosty mornings and strong winds are making things feel more fall-like, while the fishing has felt fall-like for a few weeks now. The bite has rolled on consistently for anglers fishing the southern New England fall run, with strong tautog, sea bass, and striped bass fishing, along with enough hardtails around to keep things interesting. The striped bass are on the food bag heavily, as they prepare for the fall migration. Reports from the Upper Bay have remained steady, and there have also been reports of larger bass working the South Shore rips and reefs. Fueled by larger bait, you’re likely to find some bigger bass where the bait is entering or dumping out of the estuaries. As you move south, you’re apt to continue to find large schools of bass around the mouth of the bay and along the beaches. False albacore pods have reappeared, with some better numbers showing up around Newport and sporadically across South County. These fish have been on very small bait, so most anglers are reporting finicky fish. Think about downsizing your offerings as much as possible or busting out the fly rod. The bonito are still mixed in as well. Tautog fever has started to take over across Rhode Island, with more angling interest translating into more reports of double-digit fish this week. The fish could be had both in the bay and out front, with fish coming from a wide range of depths, although it has mostly been a shallow-water jig bite this week. There are plenty of sea bass in the same areas as well, along with solid sea bass and a few cod reported on the deeper structure. Another staple of October fishing is fall trout fishing, and the DEM has started up their fall stocking program this week.