Rhode Island Fishing Report – September 29, 2016

Albies, bass and blues have been feeding heavily on top, while scup and sea bass remain as consistent as ever on the bottom.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Narragansett reported a very strong start to the fall cod season. Results were very good for all of the trips last week, with Wednesday being the best. The bulk of the fish landed were gaffers in the 7-15 pound range, with quite a few in the upper teens to mid-twenties. On Saturday’s trip, Nick from Jamestown took the pool fish with a 25-pound beauty, and Lisa Loprenzo managed a 22-pound cod. Most anglers have been taking home 4-6 fish, so there has been no shortage of action. Fresh-shucked clams have accounted for the majority of the cod, and there has been a nice mix of scup, red hake, ocean perch, triggerfish and bluefish in the mix. Cod trips will continue to sail on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekends at 7 AM for the rest of September. Once the calendar turns to October the trips will set sail at 6 AM. Daily tautog trips are right around the corner as well, and will be sailing daily at 6 AM. Be sure to check ahead with the office, as all trips are weather dependent and some wind is forecasted for the end of the week.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that the fall fishing patterns are starting to take shape in his neck of the woods. Increased numbers of striped bass have moved into the upper stretches of the Seekonk River, and they are actively feeding on menhaden alongside some big bluefish. Drifting live menhaden is always a safe bet for bass and blues, and anglers are reporting good bass catches on topwater plugs and shallow swimmers. Bottom fishing has been strong throughout Rhode Island, including an excellent bite of cod and scup at Coxes. False albacore fishing has been very consistent in Newport and Narragansett. Captain Rene Letourneau is reporting 8-12 albies on most trips, along with a bunch of small bass and bluefish in the mix.

At The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, local albie enthusiasts continue to report good catches at all of the usual locations around Newport, Jamestown, Point Judith and along the South County beaches. There have been quite a few schoolie to small keeper striped bass in the mix as well. Bass fishing at the ledge woke back up this week, with quite a few 30- to 40-pound fish reported. Sea bass, scup and tautog reports have been minimal, with most anglers focusing on albies, but those who have been hitting the bottom are seeing good results.

Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports another strong push of striped bass activity over the past few days. Fish from 20 inches to the mid-30s have been feeding in large schools from Weakapaug to Watch Hill. Often times these schools are tight to the shore and surf-casters have had as much success as boat anglers. False albacore also continue to garner a good amount of attention, and can be found mixed with the bass and blues throughout most of South County. Fishing at Block Island picked back up this week, with bass to 40-pounds at the ledge and great fluke and sea bass fishing around the wind farm. The cod bite remains red hot at Coxes and there are a great deal of big scup mixed in.

Connecticut Fishing Report

At Hillyers in Waterford, bottom fishing remains top notch throughout the eastern sound. Sea bass is very strong at spots like the Bloody Grounds, Bartletts Spindle and Black Point, with 60-80 feet being the target depth. Squid and clams are producing equally well, along with GULP baits. Scup are all over the hard bottom at all depths, and 17-inch fish have been common. Bluefish are pretty easy to find at The Race, Plum Gut and The Sluiceway, with most being of the 10-12 pound variety. As of Wednesday, false albacore numbers remained very good locally, but most have reported that they have gotten a bit finicky. The snapper bluefish bite is probably approaching its finale, but the Niantic River is still producing good numbers right now. Striped bass reports have been quiet, outside of a few large schools of small fish from Harkness to the Thames.

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reports that false albacore numbers were strong from Rhode Island to Norwalk earlier this week, and he hopes that the approaching nor’easter isn’t enough to blow them all out just yet. Topwater striped bass fishing has been good around the river mouth, and as far north as Essex. Large bluefish are also all over the river mouth and just outside along the Old Saybrook shore. Scup and sea bass fishing remain consistent, while quite a few anglers have been gearing up for the tautog opener. Snapper fishing has slowed in the river, but there are still quite a few blue crabs.

At Rivers End in Old Saybrook, James reports that while the false albacore accounted for the most angling attention this week, those targeting bass found good catches around the mouth and up to Essex. The fish are still on bunker, so a fresh offering or large swimming plugs has done the most damage. Numbers of school bass are also good, with albie anglers reporting quite a few bass in the mix at most locations. Big bluefish are blitzing at The Race, Plum Gut, The Sluiceway, Pigeon Rip, Long Sand Shoal and the river mouth, just to name a few locations.

Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters, reported that the striped bass fishing was probably the best it’s been all season this past week. The fish are not huge, but there are good numbers of school fish, with enough keepers to make everyone happy. No surprise but the bluefishing remains lights out. There are huge numbers of 3-8 pound fish, along with quite a few in the low to mid teens. Most trips have seen a dozen or so bass, 30+ bluefish and limits of big scup. Fishing should remain red hot through October and TJ will be sailing until November 20th!

Ian, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reports that the false albacore moved into the western sound pretty good at the tail end of last week, and anglers were on the water in their typical albie hysteria. Fingers are crossed that the late week winds will send more fish out west, as opposed to blowing most of the fish out of the sound. Striped bass fishing has also picked up out west, with anglers finding some small keepers on eels and chunks. There are some bass hanging around the bluefish schools during the day, but the best bass bite has been after dark around the islands. The Saugatuck River remains extremely low, so access has been pretty good. Freshwater anglers reported a very strong week of bass and trout fishing at the Res.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

The fall run was starting to take shape nicely when this latest nor’easter decided to pound Southern New England. Conditions look tough on Friday and early Saturday, but there should be some good fishing options later in the weekend. The storm should not affect the increasing striped bass and bluefish activity, if anything it could help it out; while we will all pray that it doesn’t bring an abbreviated end to the albie season.