Rhode Island Fishing Report – October 13, 2016

Rhode Island Fishing Report

It was another solid week of cod fishing according to Captain Frank of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett. Except for one trip last weekend, all of trips from the past week or so have resulted in a good pick of cod from 8-15 pounds, along with a handful of nice pollock around 20 pounds. The cod grounds are loaded with scup, and anglers have had no issue loading up on scup to 3 pounds plus! Quite a few black sea bass are still roaming the grounds as well, which should equal some good sea bassing when the season reopens on federal grounds. The majority of all fish species have been coming on fresh bait, but a few of the larger cod have been hitting the jig when conditions were right. The fleet will continue running cod trips Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekends at 6 AM; while fall tautog trips will kick off this Saturday at 6 AM. Those tautog trips will run daily if the weather permits.

Pete, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports that false albacore are still in the area, and they are garnering the attention of most saltwater enthusiasts. There is no shortage of small bait, but it has been scattered. Thus, the false albacore pods have been widely scattered from day to day, but most anglers are locating them. There are good numbers of school striped bass feeding on the small bait out front, along with a few quality keepers popping up here and there. The bay is loaded with peanut and juvenile bunker, and the bass fishing will no doubt improve when they drop out. Tautog anglers are buying up crabs like crazy so they must be catching, but most are reporting more short fish than big keepers in the shallows. As the water temps continue to drop, look for that ratio to improve.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reports that some bigger bass have joined the smaller fish in the Providence and Seekonk rivers. Fish up to 30 pounds were reported this week, and the bite has been consistent. Big bluefish also remain common in the same areas. False albacore are still around in pretty good numbers near the Harbor of Refuge, but reports are that they are finicky. Over the past few days, better albie reports have come from Sakonnet and up into Westport. Black sea bass fishing has been good in the local deepwater, and it remains excellent around Block Island. Tautog fishing is starting to heat up near the mouth of the bay and throughout Newport, with many more quality fish reported this week.

Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that the quality surfcasting in South County has remained top notch. Mullet and peanut bunker are thick, and that has resulted in good catches of striped bass and bluefish at multiple locations throughout the area. Unlike last week, it seems that the bite has been better after dark, and nighttime anglers are reporting plenty of 25-30-pound bass. Boat anglers are cashing on bass and blues just as well as the surf guys, with the Watch Hill reefs being a common hot area. There are still quite a few false albacore around Watch Hill, but most are reporting that they have become increasingly finicky. Tautog fishing is starting to come on strong on the shallow rockpiles, while sea bass are still biting on the deeper reefs. The die-hard fluke anglers are also still cashing in on some nice fish of Block, with 60-70 feet of water being the target depth.

Connecticut Fishing Report

At Hillyers in Waterford, John reports that the fall fishing in eastern Long Island Sound has been as strong as ever this week. The false albacore bite has remained rather steady considering the date, and anglers are still finding them tight to the beaches in eastern CT and just over the border. Surprisingly, there are quite a few large schools of bunker hanging around the eastern Connecticut shoreline, and local striper sharpies have found some nice fish. Most anglers have been tight lipped about locations, but there seems to be no shortage of fish. There are also big bluefish all over the place, just look for the birds. Blackfish reports have improved with the weather improvements this week, and the shop weighed in a 10-pounder yesterday. There seems to be more shorts than keepers in shallow, but if you work multiple depths you can find a limit. A pleasant surprise has been an increased number of triggerfish on the local reefs. More and more of these tasty fish seem to be working their way into the sound each year, and getting a few as bycatch should be no surprise.

At Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reports that this week was full of blackfish anglers loading up on crabs, with most reporting a great bite but a tough short to keeper ratio. That seems to be the norm early in the season, and things will only improve from here. Striped bass fishing seemed to improve again this week, with more fish and bigger fish being landed in the river. Bass to 48-pounds were reported just north of the mouth this week. There has also been no shortage of 20-30-pound bass for boat anglers in Long Island Sound and surfcasters working the Rhode Island shoreline. False albacore remained as consistent as it’s been this season, with strong reports throughout the sound and into South County.

At Rivers End in Old Saybrook, Joe reported that a good slug of striped bass remains schooled up in the Essex area, and they are feeding on adult bunker. There have been a few decent bass caught at The Causeway as well, but most of the lower river is dominated by gator blues. The surf guys have found a few fish around Saybrook, but most are heading to Rhode Island and cashing in on the mullet run. Shore anglers from Groton to Rhode Island also reported a good week of albie action, so it appears they are still running tight to the shore.

Ian, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, reported that the peak fall run for striped bass has not yet gotten going out west, but anglers are finding increased numbers of fish each day. There have been some decent catches at first light around the islands and just inside the harbor. There is no shortage of bait, so things should get going when the temperatures drop a few more degrees. Albie action has remained steady from Norwalk east to Rhode Island, but the action has been insane in northern Long Island. A lot of anglers have chosen to head straight for New York and were rewarded with huge numbers of speedsters. Scup fishing has been excellent in the shallows, sea bass are biting in 50-60 feet of water and tautog reports are improving daily across multiple depths.

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

As we enter mid-October, the fall run shows no signs of slowing down. The weekend is shaping up nicely weather-wise so cash in on some quality striped bass, false albacore and bluefish action, because we all know the winter is right around the corner.