Rhode Island Fishing Report- September 22, 2022

Rhode Island Fishing Report 

The Frances Fleet in Point Judith has seen continued success on the full day trips, whenever the wind has allowed them to get out to the grounds. The fluke bite has started to slow down, but they’ve still been finding plenty of sea bass and scup. They are also seeing better numbers of cod on the grounds, and they will be starting to transition to more cod focused trips as we roll into fall.  

When I spoke to Jay, at Pamela May Charters, he told me that things have remained consistent on the inshore side. Another push of false albacore moved into the area this week, so most trips are seeing strong results. Bass and bluefish continue to be in the mix, and some larger fish are coming for the guys chucking plugs and live eels in the low light hours. Bottom fishermen are finding plenty of sea bass all over the area, but you must start looking into deeper water to find some better fish. Jay has heard that the tautog fishing has also been strong, but he has been focusing most of his attention on false albacore this week.  

Rick, at Priority Charters told me that he’s preparing to take a few days off with the upcoming storm but had another strong week fishing Rhode Island waters. Rick has been focusing on sea bass and scup on most of his trips this week and has seen steady boat limits on all trips. The striped bass fishing has slowed down a bit, as the water is still warm and the fish have retreated to deeper water, but you can still find some solid fish during the low light hours. The offshore bite has remained very good, and hopefully that is still the case after the upcoming blow. Rick is also starting to gear up for the upcoming fall tautog season, and early indications are that it should be another banner year.  

Dustin, at RI Kayak Fishing Adventures, reports that the fall run is in full bloom. False albacore and bonito are being caught regularly, and there are still plenty of big stripers and bluefish in the mix. Bottom fishermen are finding plenty of black sea bass, and much more keeper tautog this week, as we work our way towards the fall patterns. Freshwater fishing is also going strong, with plenty of healthy largemouth being caught on a number of different presentations, as the fish start to feed heavily before the winter. Dustin still has some dates on the calendar for kayak and/or shore fishing trips, so be sure to check out www.rikfa.com to book a trip! 

Ralph, at Crafty One Customs reports that the striped bass fishing has started to pick up once again, with the temperatures starting to drop. There have been large schools of mixed size bass and bluefish chasing bait balls all over the bay. Some better numbers of false albacore have also trickled in over the past few days and are being caught around the island and the mouth of the bay. Tautog fishing is slowly but surely improving with the water cooling, and some better black sea bass are being caught on deep pieces of structure. Signups remain open for the Rhode Island Tog Classic, which is scheduled for October 9th, you can sign up and browse some auction items at www.ritogclassic.com. 

Rob at Newport Sportfishing Charters told me things have continued to go strong for anglers around Newport, and hopefully this weekend’s weather doesn’t do anything to change that negatively. Another push of false albacore has moved into the area and is providing a chance for light-tackle action on most trips. The striped bass fishing has been stellar, with some nice topwater blitzes around the false albacore, and some big fish still patrolling the reefs and rips in and around the bay. Bottom fishing trips have seen better numbers of large tautog, as the water temperatures drop, and there have been some bigger black sea bass taking over the deeper inshore structure. Offshore anglers continue to capitalize on a strong yellowfin and bluefin bite whenever they can make it to the grounds.  

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Rhode Island Fishing Forecast

Some sporty weather over the next couple days should finalize the arrival of the fall run.  

Rhode Island anglers saw another nice push of false albacore move into the area over the past week. Some days have been stronger than others, but overall, the bite has been pretty consistent on most trips. There is also no shortage of big bass, regardless of if you’re staying close to home or if you want to run to the island. There’s plenty of big bass and bluefish blitzing on bait outside of the Bay, and across the South County shoreline, and for the first time this year there has been some signs of life in the hardtail chase. Bottom fishermen are starting to see an improved tautog bite, along with a much more consistent sea bass bite.