Rhode Island Fishing Report 

The Frances Fleet in Point Judith couldn’t fish much this past week, due to the strong winds keeping them tied to the dock. The spring cod season has produced a mixed results with few good trips and a few that were a bit slower, but they will continue to try and get out to the cod grounds whenever they can. Cod fishing will continue through April and into early May when they might have a chance to start targeting fluke. Reservations continue to be required for cod trips so be sure to book online or call the office before heading to the dock 

Dustin, at Rhode Island Kayak Fishing Adventures told me the fishing has been solid during the early part of April, with a good mix of fishing opportunities across the state. Holdover striped bass are biting well on light tackle offerings, and the white perch have been plentiful for those that have been targeting them.

Spring blackfish has started out a bit slow, but Dustin plans on setting his sights on that fishery very soon. Freshwater anglers are still finding plenty of largemouth on jigs, glides, worms, and even some topwater presentations. Trout fishing has been solid across Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the same should be the case in Rhode Island when the season opens this weekend. Dustin is currently booking kayak and shore fishing trips for the 2022 upcoming season, so be sure to book asap before they all fill up. While trying to get after some tautog, Dustin ran into some familiar friends.

“This past weekend I tried to score some opening weekend tautog. Despite covering a lot of ground, the rock piles showed no sign of life. Knowing that fresh striped bass will be in the area at any moment, I came prepared with tackle that would suffice in case I was lucky enough to cross paths with sea lice striped bass. While seeing marks on the electronics suspended in the water column I was excited to start firing out my 4 inch rapala that immediately got broken off as soon as I connected with a fish. Right away my friend threw out his sp minnow and reeled in the first bluefish of the day! From that point on I casted out jigheads with plastics finishing the day with around 30 bluefish and many lost lures (being that I only had on 12 pound fluorocarbon leader). With water temps hovering around the mid- high 40’s it was pretty awesome to see that type of action in early April.

Dave at Ocean State Tackle in Providence reports that the tautog fishing has gotten off to a slower start due to some sub-optimal water temperatures, but the extended forecast looks good, and we should start to see some improvement. White perch fishing has been picking up the slack, with solid reports from across the state. Spring largemouth fishing has been as consistent as ever, while the long-awaited trout opening day is right around the corner. Dave will be open at 5 am for the opener, and his summer hours are set to be 5 am – 7 pm seven days a week.  

Big Bear Hunting and Fishing has seen an increase in largemouth bass interest from anglers as the weather has warmed up. The warmer days have started to bring fish into the shallows, and they have been willing to take live bait, along with several artificial offerings. Saltwater anglers are starting to find more holdover striped bass in the salt ponds, along with a few encouraging winter flounder reports. Just a reminder, the shop will be teaching a reel cleaning class on Thursday April 14th.  

Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

Some early blooms, circling ospreys, and some much more encouraging forecasts finally have things starting to feel like spring.  Despite the cooler temperatures, the spring fishing across the northeast is steadily improving. Connecticut trout fishing has been excellent, with the lakes and ponds continuing to get hearty stockings, and the same should be the case for Rhode Island when we make it to the opener this coming Saturday. Other freshwater options include panfish, largemouth, pike and carp, all of which should just continue to improve in the coming days/weeks. Holdover striped bass also took a step forward in tidal rivers across Rhode Island and CT this week, with multiple reports of steady action and a few pods of river herring undoubtedly starting to show up. We likely need a small rise in ocean temps before we start seeing better tautog and flounder reports, but that could/should happen pretty quickly this time of year.