Rhode Island

Fishing in Rhode Island

Rhode Island, the tiniest state of USA, has got ample opportunities of saltwater and freshwater fishing. The Ocean State has many in-shore destinations to surf and rock casting, bottom fishing in protected bay and shoreline, along with excellent off-shore recreational fishing.

Saltwater Fishing

Narragansett Bay

The bay forms the largest estuary of New England and offers an expansive natural harbor. Most part of the bay comes into Rhode Island, except a small part which extends to Massachusetts. The water of the bay is calm and presents wonderful fisheries giant bluefin tuna, martin and swordfish round the year.

Block Island

Block Island Sound

Block Island is a part of the Ocean State situated in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 13 miles south of the Rhode Island coast, separated from the state by the Block Island Sound. Anglers can find year round fishing opportunities in the surfs of the Block Island Sound.

The Fishes

Striped bass, bluefish and blackfish (Tautog) are the most popular saltwater fishes of the Rhodes Islands.

Hot Spots

For stripped bass and bluefish, Colt State Park in Bristol, Barrington Beach, East Providence Bike Path shoreline, Fort Adams Seawall in Newport, Fogland Point in Tiverton, and Warren River in Warren, all consisted in the East Bay, and Conimicut Point in Warwick, Goddard State Park in Potowomut, Allen Harbor in North Kingstown, Wickford Harbor and Town Beach in Wickford, the Narrangansett beaches, the West Wall in Jerusalem, Matunuck Beach in South Kingsotown, Charlestown Beach, Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, all consisted in the West and South shores, are the best points for new anglers while for experienced anglers, Ocean Drive in Newport, Sakonnet Point in Little Compton, Sachuest Point in Middletown, Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, all in the East Bay and the rocky Narrangansett Shoreline, Charlestown and Quonochontaug Breachways in Charlestown, Weekpaug Breachway and Wathc Hill Lighthouse and Napatree Point in Westerly, all consisted in the West and South shores are best. And for blackfish, rocky areas are best, because the tautog feed on mollusks, crabs and crustaceans hiding in rocks.

Best Methods for Fishing: Swimming, darting and popping plugs, jigs, plastic baits, live and chunk baits are best for stripped bass, while popping plugs, metal lures, swimming plugs or bait are best for bluefish, and blackfish (tautog) are best caught on fresh bait on bottom.

Freshwater

Lakes and Ponds

Lakes Tiogue and Wallum, and Ponds Stafford, Wyoming, and Watchaug are major for fisheries of rainbow, brook and brown trout. Ponds Barber, Shetucket, and Beach are important for fishing of the 5 members of the Pacific salmon, namely Chinook, chum, pink, sockeye and coho and the Atlantic salmon. Watchaug Pond is the only major pond with remarkable crappie population. Tiogue Lake is the only lake with catfish population. Panfish can be caught in many waters throughout the state. Beach and Johnson Ponds, Indian, Echo and Tiogue Lakes and Pascoag Reservoir are major for all sorts of panfish fishing. All these water bodies give a good catch of largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Rivers

the Pawchatuck River produced RI state record rainbow trout. River Naugatuck gives good catches of salmon.

Best Baits: Use wet flies which mimic the local natural baitfish, while fishing for large brown trout. For catching salmon, fly fishing with dry or wet flies, depending on the activity level, is the best. Best baits for crappie are imitation of minnows, insects, worms or small crustaceans. Catfish are attracted towards anything which resembles food and gives out odor. Thus a mixture of chicken, shrimp, liver and stink baits will work the best. Catch the white bass using light tackle with jigs, spoons, and minnow-imitation lures and live baits like worms and minnows. Yellow perch are caught with ultra light tackle with worms, small jigs, minnows, spinners or cut bait. Jigs and jigging spoons work best for stripped bass when they are in deep water, and live and cut bait when they are in medium to deeper water. Trolling with flashy lures of bigger size is also an excellent method for fishing stripers. Hybrid, wiper or whiterock bass are caught with light to medium tackle using jigs, live minnows, spoons, and most lures imitating bait fish.

License

No license is required for saltwater fishing in RI; however if you want to sell your catch, you will require a commercial license; to sell fish caught by rod or reel or a multipurpose icense is necessary. You can obtain this license from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Boat Registration and Licensing. For freshwater fishing, resident license costs $9.50, while non-resident license for 3 consecutive days costs $16.

With this information in your hand, you must have been surely excited to go for fishing in Rhode Island… You will be welcomed any time of the year!