New England - Rhode Island Fishing Reports

I caught up with Capt. Tom Logan of Fish Trap Sportfishing on Saturday as he was on his way down to the boat to continue preparations for the season ahead. The boat is now in the water and Capt. Tom thinks they should be ready to start taking a few trips to look around for tautog or cod locally or possibly even run offshore for tilefish within the next couple of weeks. Charter fishing is likely to start up around mid-May when the striped bass and groundfish typically start to show up in better numbers. Capt. Tom has some dates available for inshore and offshore trips so give him a call if you would like to reserve a date.

Mike Wade at Watch Hill Outfitters said that things were a little slow this past week around the shop primary due to the weather. There have been a few good reports from anglers targeting winter flounder and striped bass. Herring continue to run upriver to spawn. Water temperatures out front is still relatedly low ranging from mid to high 40 degrees. As soon as temperatures start to reach 50 degrees on a consistent basis the tautog fishing should start to pick up. Commercial boats have been finding squid south of Block Island so they should start moving in along the beaches in a few weeks. Quite a few anglers were out for trout over the weekend and fishing was reported to be very good.

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle said that the shop is now open for the season, and they will be keeping regular hours so stop on down if you still need gear for the season ahead. The weather hasn’t been very cooperative so far this spring, but a few customers have been getting out for winter flounder and holdover striped bass and doing pretty well. There have not been reports of any migratory striped bass showing up along the beaches yet, but they could move in any day now.

Capt. Tony Guarino of Booked Off Charters reported that they have been making good progress on getting things ready for the upcoming season. They will begin fishing in mid-May and will be targeting cod, fluke, striped bass, and black sea bass early in the season as availability and seasons permit. A lot of dates have already been booked so call soon if you would like to make a reservation.

Matt at Snug Harbor Marina said the weather kept things pretty quiet around the shop this past week, but a few customers reported catching holdover striped bass and winter flounder. Tautog fishing has been open for a couple of weeks, but fishing remains slow locally with water temperatures still in the mid-40s. Once the water warms up a few more degrees the tautog bite should start to pick up. Customers did get out for trout over the weekend fishing the local rivers and ponds stocked by the DEM and reports were generally very good. There have not been any confirmed reports of migratory striped bass showing up along the beaches yet, but they should arrive any day. They are in the shop most days but aren’t keeping set hours yet so it’s a good idea to call ahead before stopping in. The annual used tackle sale is coming up on April 27th and 28th and they have been taking in a lot of gear for the sale. They will be opening full time following the sale.

Over at the Frances Fleet they are eagerly waiting on the return of nicer weather with plans to start fishing for tautog and cod around mid-April and then add in squid trips as soon as the bite starts to come together. Fishing for fluke and black sea bass will start up in May as the seasons open for both species. Their full schedule can be viewed on their website where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.

Capt. Russ Benn of the Seven B’s said that they plan on kicking things off for the 2024 sometime around early May depending on the arrival of the squid and fluke. This season will see the new Jeannie B II, a 36-foot sportfisher, which will be used for private charters of up to 6 anglers, joining the fleet.

Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs still isn’t hearing too much for fishing reports but expects that to change quickly over the next few weeks. The water just needs to warm up a few degrees for the tautog bite to take off and migratory striped bass should be showing up around the islands fairly soon. There haven’t been any reports of squid showing up yet locally and it’s probably going to be a few weeks before that bite really starts to pick up. A few guys have been out togging in the bay and finding some fish, it seems like the blackfish bite is starting off a littler hotter than usual which is great to see.