New England - Rhode Island Fishing Reports

Mike Wade at Watch Hill Outfitters reported that the local reefs have been fishing very well for striped bass along with some bluefish. Surfcasters are also doing well targeting bass from the beaches and breachways. There have also been false albacore and green bonito showing on the reefs and along the beaches. Tautog fishing is heading up with quite a few limit catches reported this past week. They have been having trouble keeping enough crabs in stock with an apparent shortage from multiple suppliers but that will hopefully resolve itself soon. There has been a lot of bait moving along the beaches including schools of 4-to-5-inch bunker which are fueling some impressive topwater feeds when the predatory fish like striped bass and bluefish find them. There have been reports of a few recreational sized tuna caught south of Block and Montauk, but fishing seems to be very hit or miss with no real concentration of bait of tuna right now.

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle has been hearing reports of some very good fishing for striped bass from those anglers that are working around the beaches and breachways. There is a lot of bait moving along the beaches right now, and anglers are doing well for bass along with some bluefish, false albacore and green bonito fishing around the schools of bait. At times, the fish can be boiling on the surface, but a few birds hovering over a nervous patch of water can also been a good indicate of fish below so be sure to pay attending to the water and the skies as you work along the beaches this time of year. It’s getting to be about prime time for tautog fishing, and some larger fish were reported this past week. The fish are still relatively shallow but will move deeper as temperatures start to fall and we still have what should be several weeks of very good fishing to look forward to. Several anglers reported catching weakfish this past week along the beaches which is great to see. They have been showing up around this time of year for the last several seasons and hopefully that trend will continue. With the water cleaning back up this past week, we did see false albacore and some green bonito returning to the area. These fish will probably start to move out soon so if you enjoy targeting them, get after it while you can!

Abbie at Quonnie Bait and Tackle reported that local anglers did well targeting striped bass from the beaches and breachways this past week. There has been a lot of bait moving along the beaches and exiting the salt ponds leading to some aggressive feeds in and around the breachways. Fishing for tautog has been picking up with reports of more keeper sized fish being caught from shore and by boat. There are plenty of black sea bass still around, most of them are short of legal size but there are some good-sized fish mixed in. False albacore and green bonito move back into the area as conditions improved following the nor’easter and with some luck they will stick around for a couple more weeks. There really hasn’t been much to report for tuna since the nor’easter, but there are still fish to the north of us so we could see a bite sometime this fall.

Tony Guarino of Booked Off Charters reported that fishing for black sea bass on recent trips has produced some nice catches. They will be transitioning over to mostly tautog fishing soon but will keep a few dates open for potential seabass and offshore (tuna) charters. October into November are prime time for tautog fishing in Rhode Island and some of the best fishing of the year is yet to come.

Matt at Snug Harbor Marina said that false albacore and green bonito were caught locally this past week with good numbers of fish reported from areas along the beaches as well as around the north end of Block Island. Fishing for striped bass is producing well locally with the beaches and breachways both holding bait and fish. There were also reports of some nice sized bass caught out at Southwest Ledge and Block Island. Multiple anglers reported catching weakfish this past week along the south shore beaches and up inside of the bay. Tautog reports are improving with more keeper sized fish caught this past week. The best bite is still in relatively shallow water with areas in 20 to 30 feet seeing good action. There were reports of some larger black sea bass showing up on some of the reefs and rock piles and there are still plenty of shorts around. Offshore, a few commercial boats have been catching both commercial and recreational sized tuna on live bait not too far south of Block but there doesn’t really seem to be a concentration of recreational fish around right now.

The Frances Fleet reported a good week of fishing on their mixed bag trips where they saw good numbers of black seabass coming over the rails. They will be running mixed bag trips along with tautog trips in the weeks ahead and some of the best fishing of the years is likely to take place in the next few weeks. As always, you can view their full schedule on their website where you can also make reservations for upcoming trips.

Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 told me the blackfish opener was top of mind for most folks passing through this weekend though striped bass fishing and some sporadic hardtail activity were also the subject of conversation. The blackfish opener was a busy one with it falling on a weekend and a holiday weekend at that. Word from customers he’d heard from was that a three fish limit was attainable though picking through fish to get there was common. The largest fish they heard of over the weekend was 9.5 pounds though, it wasn’t caught by an angler who signed up for the shop tournament. As of when we’d talked, a 6-plus-pound tog was leading the daily and weekly category. The shop will run their fall blackfish tournament again this year. 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 is reportedly good from the river and to the east. Bass are being caught from both boat and shore at all times of the day as fall run style action had picked up from the mouth of the river and to the east. The bass ranged from 20 inches to 20 pounds and larger on both live eels and artificial lures. A few boaters mentioned seeing schools of bonito from black point to the east and schools of albies have been showing sporadically around Watch Hill. The shop is open seven days a week for the season.

Chris at The Saltwater Edge reported that there have been large schools of striped bass feeding on bait around the island. The bass are mixed in size and one cast might produce a 25-pounder while the next fish will be 25 inches. A lot of the bait that the bass are feeding on is relatively and small anglers using light tackle and fly rods are doing very well. Along with the bass, anglers are seeing false albacore, green bonito and some bluefish feeding on the same schools of bait. Tautog fishing is starting to take off with some good-sized fish reported this week along with many limit catches. There are still a lot of black sea bass around with most of them being short of keeper size but some of the deeper pieces of structure seem to be holding keepers. Offshore, there hasn’t been much for reports outside of a few commercial sized bluefin being caught south of Block Island.