With the arrival of June, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and we at The Fisherman Magazine want to remind the Rhode Island fishing community about a “seasonal shift” coming up this week. Effective June 1, 2026, the spring tautog (blackfish) season will officially close for the months of June and July to protect spawning stocks. Anglers have until the end of the day on May 31 to harvest tautog under the current limit of three fish per person with a minimum size of 16 inches (and don’t forget that only 1 fish in each limit may exceed 21 inches).
While the tog sticks may need to be stowed temporarily, the summer season is just heating up with several popular bottom-fishing species now open for harvest. The tautog season will reopen on August 1, 2026.
Bottom fishers, don’t fret, we have three summer species that will keep the rods bent through the warm months as Rhode Island waters offer excellent opportunities for scup, black sea bass, and fluke. For those seeking the voracious scup, Rhody offers a generous 30-fish bag limit, private and party/charter boat patrons will fish under an 11-inch minimum size, while shore anglers will see a reduction to a 9.5-inch minimum size. The season is open from now through December 31. Black sea bass, known for their aggressive nature and excellent table quality, are open all summer with a minimum size of 16.5 inches. Rhode Island has a tiered system of bag limits, through August 26 anglers may take two fish per day and then from August 27 through the end of the year, the bag limit bumps up to three. Lastly we have fluke, which many would consider to be the most prized summer target for Rhody bottom fishers, the season is open through the end of the year with a 19-inch minimum size and six fish per angler bag limit.
So as you can see, the end of spring togging marks a new beginning for so many Rhode Island inshore anglers, as they switch their focus to the Ocean State’s big three summer bottom fish.
