Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet In Point Judith has resumed her full day trips with mixed baggage and has had a pretty successful week on the water. These trips depart from the dock at 7am and see a nice mix of black sea bass, cod, scup and some leeches. The weather forecast looks much better after Thursday and the rides were solid whenever they were able to be there. Lately most anglers have seen limited numbers of black sea bass, plenty of scup, some nice cod and hake. These trips offer anglers a great opportunity to come home with a nice bag of fillets for the dinner table. They are also looking forward to starting their Tautog season in about 10 days and have already done some scouting preparation for the season. Their full schedule can be viewed online, and you can also make reservations for upcoming trips on their website or by calling the office.

Ralph Craft under Crafty One Customs said customers are still finding bonito in the bay and on the beaches of the south coast, but compared to recent weeks, the number of bonito has decreased. There were also a few false albacore, but they are still sparse. Striped bass fishing continues to be very good and there is plenty of topwater action during the day, especially on the cloudy, windy days of last week. Tautog reports are improving and more anglers are beginning to turn their attention to targeted fishing. So we should continue to see an increase in reports. Most anglers also report solid sea bass stocks mixed with the tautog. Registration is still open for the Rhode Island Tog Classic, scheduled for October 13thTh. For more information, visit ritogclassic.com.

Dustin at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventure told me things have changed a bit as the new month begins, but overall the bite has been similar to mid-September. There was a lot more activity in the upper bay due to the massive influx of bait. The striped bass bite has been great up there at first light, and since the area is protected, they are there almost every day, regardless of the weather. As you move further south, you can see schools of striped bass, bluefish and/or bonito on most trips. So far, Dustin has only had one good trip with faux albacore, but there's still time for the bite to catch fire. While the gamefish activity was great, the tautog bite was incredible. Dustin has had several days with easy limits in the last few weeks. Although the weather is a little cooler, there is still plenty of time for a kayak fishing trip before the “peak season” is over. Visit Dustin's website to book!

Jay at Pamela May Certificates reports that his week was full of strippers, strippers and more strippers! Newport Bay and the South County coast are ablaze with striped bass of all sizes. Most days they can be found on the surface as bait, which is what most customers are interested in. The shallower and late season reefs also still hold large bass and these can usually be caught with the tube and worm or with live eels. The bite of the bonito has also remained the same, and they appear at some point on almost every trip. The false albacore have still not reached the area in full force, but fortunately these bass/bonito attacks have kept the fire burning throughout the fall. There are large schools of bait all over the state. So if you don't see anything right away, just move around and you're sure to find a few fish in one of the usual spots. The Tautog also wake up. Jay caught quality tog, sea bass and large bass using the same jigs he used to throw skipjack and stripers. All signs point to the gamefish bite continuing along with another huge fall tautog bite.

Captain Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters I saw some better weather this week and took advantage of it to get back on the inshore bluefin bite. Most outings were successful, with a nice mix of unders and just overs using jigs and relatively light tackle. While the focus has been on tuna in recent days, Rob also mentioned that the striped bass bite is on the rise along the coast and is still fueled primarily by mullet hunting. Mullet and some big piles of peanut bunker continued to produce some nice topwater flashes. Rob will be turning his attention to Tautog shortly as reports from other local anglers have been very positive this week. Rob also commented that the sea bass fishing was “great” with a nice mix of fish in the same areas as the tautog as well as the deeper structure/cod beds.

Newport Sportfishing Charters was able to return to the tuna fishing grounds this week and was rewarded with some nice bluefin tuna.

Eric at The saltwater edge In Middle town reports that most local anglers either benefit from hunting game fish or get into fall tautog mode. The hardtail season remains strange locally, with large quantities of skipjack and a severe shortage of false albacore. They've had one of the best bonito seasons in years, and after a bit of a lull in the weather, the bite seems to be picking up nicely again. These fish are hitting various cans/soft plastics and the bite should continue for a few weeks. Hoaxes about albacore remain rare, but there is still time for a late arrival. Striped bass blitzes were most common, with huge schools of bars varying in size from Watch Hill to Little Compton. These fish tend to eat smaller baits, so pairing the hatch with small offerings like a fly on a throwing egg was the right thing to do. There are some larger bass pushing into the bay and these fish can be caught on a variety of large fishing spots, from soft plastics to swim plugs and topwaters. The tautog fishery is in full swing and anglers are starting to spend more time targeting them. Good reports are coming from depths of up to 5 feet and from depths of 65 to 80 feet with both jigs and rigs. Fishing for sea bass is also great, and similar to tautog, you can find them at various depths using bait or jigs.

Dave at Ocean State Tackle In providence reports that striped bass fishing was a big draw in the area this week. The fish feed heavily as they prepare to migrate and are found in large numbers throughout the bay and just off the beaches. There are also some sizable schools of bluefish, skipjack and a few albacore tuna along the Newport coast and South County beaches. This offers good action on light tackle for boat, kayak and surf anglers. There have also been some confirmed reports of weak fish in the bay this week, which is a nice fall surprise! Coastal anglers have also been paying more attention to tautog lately and early reports from the bay, rivers and offshore cairns are good. These fish are found at a wide range of depths, but most anglers currently prefer jigging to 30 feet or less. Anglers still reeling from tuna fever are reporting a good giant bite southwest of Block and around Montauk, and there have been enough small fish to keep recreational anglers busy as well. Rhode Island DEM began stocking trout for freshwater anglers in the fall. The storage areas and schedule can be found on the DEM website. Dave is still recovering and the store will be open with some limited, fixed and pop-up hours. Be sure to check the OST Facebook page for updates.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

When the calendar turned to October last week, the full transition to southern New England occurred fall Fishing season seems to be on us. With the exception of the bad false Albacore numbers, everything else is on time. Striped bass are feeding heavily as they prepare for fall migration. Reports from the upper bay have improved very week, with morning flashes of quality fish being the order of the day. Some larger baits in the area have attracted some larger bass and provide a nice refuge on bad weather days. If you move south, You are It is likely that large schools of bass will continue to be found around the mouth of the bay and along the beaches. A nice mullet run has resulted in some schools of larger fish in these areas as well, along with some huge schools of smaller bass feeding on small baits.

The bonito reports have calmed down a bit, but You will generally come about a few chances on a given day. The same goes for bluefish, which are also scattered throughout the area. Now that it is October, many anglers have realized it It is Time to focus on Tautog. Early reports have been good in the bay and offshore, with fish from a wide range of depths. Sea bass are also plentiful in the same areas, along with solid sea bass and cod results in the deeper structure.

The tuna bite has also picked up again as the weather has calmed down, with most anglers going after bluefin tuna reporting giant balls and footballs.

Another staple of October fishing is fall Trout fishing, and the DEM started its fall stocking program this week.

Rhode Island Fishing Report – October 3, 2024