Rhode Island fishing reports
128 reports for Rhode Island — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Fall Run Builds in Narragansett Bay as Albies Push Inshore
Water temperatures read 64.4°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8452660 and 63.3°F at station 8452944 as of this afternoon, marking the cooldown that's been triggering the region's fall bait exodus. Per Saltwater Edge (RI), false albacore have moved onto the oceanfront chasing peanut bunker and silversides pushing out of the salt ponds, while striped bass have been slower for most anglers on the open coast. The Fisherman — Rhode Island's shop roundup tells a different story closer to shore: Snug Harbor Marina and Quonnie Bait and Tackle both reported striped bass and some bluefish coming from the salt ponds, breachways, and beaches, with surfcasters finding fish tucked into areas sheltered from wind and swell.
False Albacore Hold Steady as Striper Bite Turns in Narragansett Bay
Newport's NOAA CO-OPS gauge (station 8452660) read 64°F this morning, with offshore buoys 44097 and 44085 showing a lingering 3-5 ft wind swell. The fall run has settled into Narragansett Bay: Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports false albacore holding over the oceanfront and around the islands, and The Fisherman — Rhode Island's Quonnie Bait and Tackle report describes daytime surface feeds mixing striped bass, bluefish, and false albacore along local beaches and breachways after dark. Fluke numbers have thinned but quality fish remain, per Snug Harbor Marina, while Frances Fleet is still limiting out on black sea bass on full-day trips.
Fall Run Builds in Narragansett Bay as Albies, Stripers Mix
NOAA's Narragansett Bay tide stations read 63.7°F and 64.4°F this morning, with both approaching high tide near 8 AM. Saltwater Edge reports false albacore have taken over the oceanfront and the tautog bite is picking up, while striped bass, lackluster most of the summer, are picking back up, per The Fisherman's Rhode Island report. Quonnie Bait and Tackle has surfcasters finding bass along the beaches and breachways after dark, working live eels, swimming plugs and soft plastics through mixed surface feeds of striped bass, bluefish and false albacore.
Full Moon tides set the pace on Narragansett Bay this week
Narragansett Bay water held at 65.1°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8452660 and 65.5°F at station 8452944 this morning, squarely in range for the region's early-fall shift. Tonight's Full Moon pushes bigger tidal swings and stronger current through the bay, the kind of push that typically gets the fall bite moving in Rhode Island waters. High tide rolls through around 7:19-7:30 AM with the low following near 1:08-1:09 PM, giving a clean early-morning window before the sun climbs.
Striped bass push back to life as Narragansett Bay's fall run ramps up
Bay water temps held at 66.4°F and 66.9°F at the two Narragansett Bay CO-OPS stations overnight, still mild enough to keep the fall transition moving without shutting anything down. Per The Fisherman — Rhode Island, anglers working the islands and the Narragansett shoreline are finding good false albacore action, and striped bass fishing is picking back up after a slower stretch. The same report has fluke numbers thinning at Snug Harbor Marina, though a 12.2-pound flattie still crossed the scale over the weekend, while Frances Fleet is still limiting out on full-day fluke trips with black sea bass mixed in.
Fall run builds in Narragansett Bay as albies, tautog turn on
NOAA CO-OPS readings show Narragansett Bay water in the mid-to-upper 60s this afternoon — 67.5°F at station 8452944 and 66.2°F at station 8452660. Per Saltwater Edge Blog (RI), the fall run has "kicked off in a big way" over the past couple of weeks: false albacore have taken over the oceanfront and the tautog bite is picking up, while striped bass have stayed comparatively lackluster for most anglers so far.
False albacore hold strong as Narragansett stripers wake up
Narragansett Bay water sits at 67°F this morning, per NOAA CO-OPS readings from Newport and Conimicut Light, still carrying late-summer warmth into the equinox week. False albacore are the story right now: The Fisherman — Rhode Island reports anglers finding albies and green bonito around the islands and in Newport Harbor with good results, and Saltwater Edge says albies have taken over the oceanfront. Striped bass are waking back up too. Saltwater Edge and The Fisherman — Rhode Island both note the bite picking up, and Quonnie Bait and Tackle reports nice bass in the surf and breachways after dark on live eels, swimming plugs, and soft plastics. Bottom fishing holds steady, with Frances Fleet limiting out on fluke and black sea bass.
Fall run takes hold as stripers return to Narragansett Bay
Water held in the upper 60s this week — 66.9°F at Newport and 68.4°F at Conimicut Light per NOAA CO-OPS — as the fall run keeps building across Narragansett Bay. Striped bass are stirring back to life along the beaches and breachways, with surfcasters at Quonnie Bait and Tackle finding fish after dark on live eels, swimming plugs and soft plastics, mixed with bluefish and false albacore during daytime surface feeds. Saltwater Edge reports false albacore working the oceanfront in solid numbers, with the strongest action around the islands and Newport Harbor, though the bite has turned finicky at times. Fluke are still producing: Frances Fleet keeps limiting out on full-day trips, and Snug Harbor Marina weighed in a 12.2-pound fish over the weekend even as overall numbers thin, with the biggest fluke typically the last to leave.
Albies Take Over as Fall Run Hits Narragansett Bay
Bay water temps are holding near 67°F at Rhode Island's CO-OPS tide stations, and per Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) the fall run has kicked off in a big way over the past couple of weeks. False albacore and bonito have taken over the oceanfront, and the tautog bite is picking up. Striped bass have been comparatively lackluster, though the shop expects that to change with cooling nights and forecast northerly winds. Offshore, NOAA buoy 44097 logged 5.2-foot seas this morning against a calmer 2.6 feet at buoy 44085 closer to the Bay mouth.
Fall run turns on for albies as tautog bite builds in Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay water temperatures held near 70°F at the Newport station and 72°F at Conimicut Light this morning, still warm enough to hold onto the late-summer species mix as the fall run gets underway. Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports albies and bonito have taken over the oceanfront the last couple weeks, with the tautog bite starting to pick up. Striped bass fishing has been lackluster for most anglers, but the shop expects that to change with the chilly nights and northerly winds forecast this week.
False albacore blitz hits Narragansett Bay as striper bite reawakens
False albacore have moved into Narragansett Bay in force, with Quonnie Bait and Tackle reporting anglers connecting with albies best in early mornings before boat traffic and fishing pressure put the schools down, while green bonito mixed in are starting to thin out. Snug Harbor Marina and Saltwater Edge both confirm strong albie and bonito reports around the Harbor of Refuge and the Narragansett shoreline this week, though an east wind stalled the bite over the weekend. Striped bass, which Saltwater Edge called lackluster through the summer, are picking back up as bait pushes into the bay — Quonnie notes surfcasters working breachways and rocky shoreline at night with live eels, and The Fisherman's regional forecast puts central Rhode Island at the epicenter of this fall's albie run. Tautog fishing is producing a mix of keepers and shorts per Saltwater Edge, and fluke continue to hold in deeper water off the beaches.
Bonito arrive off Rhode Island as fall bait push builds toward albies
Bonito and a handful of Spanish mackerel have shown up along the Rhode Island oceanfront over the past couple of weeks, per Saltwater Edge's late-August forecast, with the Middletown shop saying albies shouldn't be far behind. Their September New Moon report describes the seasonal trigger now underway: as days shorten and nights cool, peanut bunker, silversides, and bay anchovies are pushing out of the salt ponds and estuaries and mixing with sandeels, herring, and squid along the open coast. That baitfish exodus is the signal Rhode Island surf and boat anglers wait for all summer, and it's arriving on schedule for mid-September. We're not seeing hard temperature or flow data on our instruments today, so lean on shop reports and moving-bait sign at the beaches rather than a single number. Striped bass should be working the same bait pushes, and bluefish typically aren't far off bunker schools once they concentrate along the beachfront.