New England - Rhode Island Fishing Reports

Capt. Tom Logan of Fish Trap Sportfishing said that he probably has another week or so before the boat will be ready to start fishing. From the few reports that Capt. Tom has been hearing, striped bass are just starting to show up along the beaches and tautog are starting to get more active locally. Once the boat is ready, they will likely take a look around for some cod or tautog or maybe even take a run offshore to get some tilefish if the weather cooperates.

Mike Wade at Watch Hill Outfitters heard a few reports from customers of striped bass showing up along the beaches and in the breachways this past week. These seem to be migratory fish and ranged in size from schoolies on up to fish there were around 20 pounds. Tautog reports haven’t really started to pick up yet but as soon as the water warms up a couple of degrees the bite should turn on. A few customers have been doing well targeting winter flounder. There are still a lot of herring in the river along with holdover striped bass. No local reports for squid yet and it’s a bit early still for them off of the beaches but they should start showing up around Newport soon.

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle said that fishing has still been a little slow in the salt due to the water temperature struggling to reach 50 degrees. As soon as the weather starts to cooperate, and the water warms up a few more degrees, the tautog bite should really start to pick up. There has been talk of the first migratory striped bass showing up along the beaches, but conditions were tough late last week. With a little better forecast this week, we should start to hear more about bass being caught along the beaches. There have not been any reports of squid showing up quite yet, but they should be arriving very soon.

Abbie at Quonnie Bait and Tackle let know that the shop is now open for the season, and they have been keeping regular hours from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Starting in May, they will be open at 5 a.m. and will close at around 6 p.m. There hasn’t been too much going on in the salt just yet, a few people have been catching holdover striped bass and there have been reports of a few migratory bass showing up, but overall, the level of effort has been pretty low. The opposite applies to the freshwater fisheries which have been getting a lot of attention since trout season opened and customers have been reporting some great catches from local areas.

Capt. Tony Guarino of Booked Off Charters reported that they have been making good progress on getting this 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.

Elisa at Snug Harbor Marina did hear reports of migratory striped bass caught locally early last week when conditions were favorable with warm sun and a southwest wind. The bite seemed to shut down later in the week with the cold and rain but the good news is that the bass have arrived! One customers reported getting into a couple of tautog up to 5 pounds off of the beaches. The tautog bite is still slow but will improve as the water temperatures continue their slow climb towards 50 degrees which seems to be the magic number for tautog. A few boats have made the run out around Block Island in search of cod, but reports have been pretty poor so far this spring. There have not been any reports of squid showing up locally yet, but they should arrive within the new few weeks. The annual used tackle sale is coming up this weekend on April 27th and 28th and they will have a wide variety of both inshore and offshore used gear available for 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 as soon as the weather decides to stabilize and then add in squid trips as soon as that 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. Call their office for updates on planned sailing times as spring fishing is often weather dependent.

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 sport fisher, which will be used for private charters of up to 6 anglers, joining the fleet.

Ralph Craft at Crafty One Customs has been hearing reports of schools of pogies/bunker showing up in the bay along with striped bass ranging in size from schoolies up to around 35 inches. Tautog fishing has been a little slow, but a few customers are catching them up in shallow water and the fishing will continue to improve as water temperatures rise. So far, there haven’t been any reliable reports of squid showing up around the islands, but they could start showing up at any time.