New England - Rhode Island Fishing Reports

Mike Wade at Watch Hill Outfitters said that he has been hearing reports of some nice sized striped bass still moving through the area with boaters doing well on the reefs and along the south side of Fishers Island, and surfcasters finding some fish at the breachways and along the beaches. Anglers targeting tautog are reporting a lot of short fish tautog and black sea bass and while there have been some limit catches reported, other anglers are struggling to find keeper sized tautog. It can often pay to move around while tautog fishing until you find some larger fish. Mike hadn’t heard any recent reports about false albacore or green bonito so they might have left the area but it’s still not a bad idea to have a rod rigged and ready in case there are still a few around.

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle reported that local anglers are seeing fewer striped bass around now compared with earlier in the season but there are still some big girls moving through. The breachways at night have been fishing well as have some rocky areas along the beaches. During the day, there are still blitzes popping up along the beaches, but they are happening less frequently as baitfish and stripers are moving south. Tautog fishing is a highlight of the fall season for many anglers and fishing has been relatively good this year with quite a few limit catches reported. As the water continues to cool off, the tautog will start to move deeper so if you start having trouble finding keepers in shallow water, it might be time to look a little further out. Reports of green bonito and false albacore seem to have dried up so it’s likely that they have moved out of the area. There also seems to be a lack of bluefish around this fall.

Abbie at Quonnie Bait and Tackle said that a lot of customers took advantage of the nice weather this past week to get out on the water. Surfcasters driving along the beaches are still reporting surface feeds most mornings and evenings close to shore. Mostly smaller striped bass chasing bait with some shad and bluefish mixed in. At night, some larger bass are being caught at the breachways and along the beaches with swimming plugs, bucktails and live eels. Tautog reports have been mixed with some anglers limiting out quickly while others are finding mostly short fish. Along with tautog, there are still some black seabass and scup being caught on the reefs and rock piles.

Tony Guarino of Booked Off Charters reported a productive week of tautog fishing. They are starting to see some larger fish, including two over 10 pounds this past week. The bite has generally been steady with lots of action from short tautog and black seabass, along with some big scup, filling the gaps between keeper tautog. Full boat limits have been rare, but most trips have been seeing 20 plus keeper tautog along with some nice sized seabass and scup. They plan to keep fishing for tautog through November and potentially into December depending on the weather and bite.

Elisa at Snug Harbor Marina said that fishing for tautog has been very good especially up in the bay where anglers are finding fish on structure in 20- to 50-feet of water. Tautog to around 11 pounds have been reported along with some nice sized black sea bass and scup. They have plenty of green crabs in stock along with everything else you need to get in on tautog fishing. Striped bass continue to move through the area and there have been reports of some nice fish out around Block and along the south county beaches. The bass are on the move this time of year, so it pays to stay mobile and not get tied to one spot. There were reports of some mackerel off of Charlestown during the week along with talk of some false albacore off of Narragansett.

The Frances Fleet took advantage of the great weather this past week, running multiple trips for tautog. The bite has generally been very good with those anglers that stick it out at the rail often limiting out on tautog. There have also been some nice sized black sea bass and scup mixed in with the tog. Some trips are selling out so be sure to reserve if you would like to get out with them. As always, you can view the full schedule on their website where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.

Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 said he’s hearing about blackfish, striped bass and freshwater action from customers passing through the shop. The majority of folks they’ve seen during the week have come to buy green crabs and are headed out in search of tog. Action has been steady but not exactly lights out according to most reports. Customers report catching from both shore and boats as the fish are still shallow as water temperatures have been slow to drop. They’ve weighed a few nice fish and right now, the leading fish in the shop tournament is sitting at 11.49 pounds. The tournament runs the full six week tog season and the heaviest fish will take the total pot at the end in the form a Fishin’ Factory III gift card. There will also be weekly prize winners each week of the season from different sponsors so keep an eye on their social media to see what’s up for grabs each week. Fish can be weighed at the shop or at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle and you must sign up in person in Middletown to get in. Last year they had over 75 participants and at $30 a head to get in the payout should be a good one. Striper fishing has been good for the customers they heard from who are still plugging away. The bite they hear about most at the shop is from the Connecticut River but the Housatonic and Thames Rivers have good fishing as well. Freshwater anglers have been in stocking up on bait and lures and word is there are good bites at stocked trout streams and for panfish in the coves. The shop is currently open seven days a week.

Over at The Saltwater Edge they have been hearing reports of some good tautog fishing inside the bay with a few fish over the 10-pound mark caught this past week. Fish can be found from 20- to 60-plus-feet of water right now but as the water continues to cool, tautog will start to head for deeper water. There are also some keeper sized black sea bass and scup on the tautog grounds. Fishing for striped bass is still producing well with bass feeding on bait throughout the bay and along the south shore beaches. Green bonito and false albacore seem to moved out of the area and bluefish numbers are very low.