New England - Rhode Island Fishing Reports

BLOCK ISLAND BOTTOM FISHING STILL HOT
Boats running south and east of Block Island are finding plenty of sea bass and good numbers of codfish as well. This is a phenomenal fishery throughout the month of December, check out the article entitled ‘Sleigh Bells and Sea Bass’ by Tony Salerno in this issue for a detailed look at how to cash in. Closer to the mainland; tautog fishing continues to draw lots of angler attention. Water temps are still hovering around the mid-50’s and the accepted best depth has been about 30 feet, although plenty are still being caught shallower and some are hooking up in deeper waters as well. Striped bass fishing continues to produce fish and many of the shops along the south shore say they expect striper catches to continue into the first two weeks of December. Most of these fish are smaller specimens in the 18- to 24-inch range, but slots and even some fish over 40 inches have been reported—the larger fish are coming after dark for the most part. There seems to be no preference at the time of this writing between the beaches and breachways.