Fall run builds in Narragansett Bay as albies, tautog turn on

What's biting

What's next

Saltwater Edge expects striper action to turn on as nights get colder and northerly winds move in this week, pushing peanut bunker, silversides, and bay anchovies out of the salt ponds and estuaries toward the oceanfront where albies are already staged.

Both CO-OPS stations point to a high tide around 6:20-6:30pm ET tonight (station 8452660 at 6:19pm, station 8452944 at 6:28pm). With the moon waxing toward full, evening high-tide windows through the weekend should give the best current and low-light opportunity for tautog around structure and albies working bait on top.

Context

Late September sits at the heart of Narragansett Bay's fall run, the annual push when baitfish clear out of the salt ponds and estuaries and trigger the season's best mixed-species action. This year's albie and tautog activity lines up with that normal calendar.

Striped bass typically lag the baitfish push until water temperatures drop further and nights turn consistently cold, so the slower striper bite right now fits the usual pattern for this stage of the transition rather than signaling a weak season. Check state regs before harvesting.