Squid Run Holds Strong as Stripers Cruise Narragansett Bay

What's Biting

What's Next

The new moon this week is generating amplified tidal ranges and strong rip currents through the bay's passages and inlets. On The Water's June 12 striper migration update notes that new moon and big tides should continue to move bass and bait toward summer haunts, conditions that translate directly to Narragansett Bay. Plan your outings around the outgoing tide, when bait sweeps through structured water and stripers stack up on the downcurrent edge of rips and rocky points. The strongest feeding windows are likely to fall one to two hours either side of the tide change.

The squid bite has a closing window coming, and this is the week to take advantage of it. Saltwater Edge Blog's June new moon forecast says plainly that in about two weeks, the squid fishing will have wound down as water temperatures continue to climb. Frances Fleet is still sending anglers home with plenty for meals and fresh bait, though they note the pace is easing as mid-50s temps nudge upward. Fish it hard this week and next if you want squid, both for calamari and as live and cut bait under your striper rigs.

Stripers are feeding heavily on the convergence of squid and sand eels. Surface action is a real possibility during low-light windows at dawn and dusk, so watch for birds working over boils as your tip-off. Below the surface, eel-like soft plastics have been producing quality bass for anglers across southern New England, and The Fisherman Rhode Island correspondents confirm stripers spread across the bay and out around the islands. Blues are present in the mix as well, per The Saltwater Edge.

Fluke remain the weak link for the near term. Both Booked Off Charters and Frances Fleet expect the flatfish to come around as bait continues to build on the grounds. The forage base is clearly there; the fish just need the water to warm. A sustained push into the upper 50s should be the trigger. Black sea bass are filling the bottom-fishing void in the meantime, with Booked Off Charters reporting consistent action on rocky structure.

Context

Mid-June in Narragansett Bay typically marks the hand-off between the spring squid run and summer striper-and-fluke season. In a normal year, the squid bite has already begun to wind down by the second week of June as surface temperatures climb through the low-to-mid 60s. This season is running behind that pattern. Frances Fleet puts bay water temperatures in the mid-50s, well below the 60 to 65 degree range that tends to disperse squid schools and trigger consistent fluke arrivals. The Saltwater Edge Blog's June new moon forecast made this explicit: cooler-than-normal water is the reason both the squid and the striper fishing have stayed outstanding longer than usual.

The fluke delay is the flip side of that same dynamic. Booked Off Charters called it a very slow start, and Frances Fleet noted fluke are behind where they should be for this time of year. Narragansett Bay fluke fishing typically hits its stride when temperatures push consistently above 60 degrees and fish migrate onto shallower bay grounds from offshore. That transition has not fully arrived yet, though the bait abundance on the bottom grounds suggests conditions will be favorable when it does.

The striper fishery is performing on or above the seasonal average. Big fish working the bay interior in mid-June aligns with historical patterns, as this is when larger fish spread throughout the bay after the initial May push. The simultaneous presence of squid and sand eels as bait sources is making for particularly favorable feeding conditions this year. On The Water's June 12 striper migration map confirms fish spread widely from New Jersey to Maine, with Rhode Island sitting squarely within the active zone. The overall picture reads as an on-schedule striper season paired with a late-developing fluke season, both tied to the slower-than-normal temperature ramp.