Bay bass feeding tight to structure as the fall run builds

What's biting

What's next

Buoy 44097 still shows 6.2 ft seas, so the outer beaches will stay sloppy until the swell lays down. Once it does, Snug Harbor Marina reports green bonito and false albacore around the north rip and the Block Island windmills, and that is the water to watch.

Tautog are the species to plan around for the coming weeks. The Rhode Island report says the bite is improving and should keep getting better into October, though Snug Harbor is still seeing a lot of short fish. Black sea bass are producing keepers now, with Frances Fleet reporting a full boat limit, and the smaller fish that crowded the grounds appear to have moved off since the storm.

For timing, stations 8452660 and 8452944 both show a low near 10:20 to 11:00 AM EDT and a high near 5:15 to 5:20 PM EDT. The late-afternoon flood into the breachways is the window worth planning around.

Context

Early October is when the fall run typically builds, with baitfish moving out of the salt ponds and estuaries toward the oceanfront and rips, and striped bass following them. Water in the low 60s is about what you would expect for this stretch of the bay, so the bite looks on schedule rather than early or late. Tautog and sea bass seasons and size limits change through the year, so check state regs before harvesting.