Breachway Bait and Tackle

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle reported that fishing for striped bass is picking up locally especially in the salt ponds where smaller fish have been feeding aggressively on schools of baitfish. These bass are being caught on soft plastics and topwater offerings like spooks and poppers. For those looking for larger bass, live bait during the day and eels at night fishing around the local reefs and rock piles should produce some nice sized specimens. Fluke are starting to thin out but customers continue to find some nice sized fish out in deeper water and while you might not have steady action for fluke this time of year there is a good chance of catching your largest of the season right now. Tautog fishing has been a little hit or miss with reports of a lot of short tautog, sea bass and scup on the tog grounds. There are still good numbers of green bonito around and everyone is still waiting for the false albacore to show up. Offshore, the recreational bluefin tuna bite has been producing both unders and overs on the jig and trolling. Tuna anglers that have been avoiding the fleet of boats and finding their own life and fish seem to be doing the best especially after the early morning bite has shut down.

Declan at Breachway Bait and Tackle said that they have been starting to see more small striped bass along the local beaches which is typical as we start the transition to fall fishing in Rhode Island. These bass, along with some bluefish and green bonito are feeding on smaller baits along the beaches. Fluke reports have started to taper off as the fluke begin to move out into deeper water. Keepers are still being caught by diehard fluke anglers but fishing for them is likely to continue to slow down in the weeks ahead. Early season tautog reports have been fairly good with some customers reporting limit catches, and there seem to be plenty of black sea bass and scup around. Offshore, there are recreational bluefin tuna being caught south of Block Island and Montauk. The fish haven’t really been concentrated in just one area and those anglers having the most success are looking for the bait along with birds and mammals.