Tautog and striper action builds across Narragansett Bay

What's biting

What's next

Plan around the tide. Predicted high tide at station 8452660 lands near 11:35 AM local, with low around 5:04 PM. Station 8452944 shows high near 11:51 AM and low near 5:09 PM. Moving water around those turns is the time to work breachways and bait-filled points, when bass tend to stack up on the current edges.

Per The Saltwater Edge, light tackle and fly rods are doing very well on the small bait, so match the hatch with slim profiles. The same schools are holding false albacore, green bonito and some bluefish, so keep a metal or epoxy jig ready for a surprise feeding frenzy.

Tautog should keep improving as the water cools. Booked Off Charters calls October into November prime time for tog in Rhode Island, and says the best fishing of the year is likely still to come. Snug Harbor Marina also heard of weakfish caught along the south shore this past week, an unusual bonus worth a few casts.

With the moon a waxing crescent, expect good early and late light. Dawn and dusk should be the strongest windows for striped bass on the beaches.

Context

This is on schedule for mid-October in Narragansett Bay. Bait leaves the salt ponds, stripers and blitzing fish follow it along the shore, and tautog move onto structure as the water cools. Black sea bass are still around but many are short of legal size, so check state regs before harvesting. The next few weeks are typically the peak of the fall transition.