Striped bass off Newport means more fish coming soon

It’s beginning to look like fishing season out there.

“Anglers are hooking up with striped bass off Newport. They are not big fish, in the 18” to 24” size, but the larger fish will be close behind. Things are pretty much on schedule,” said Jeff Sullivan of Sam’s Bait & Tackle, Middletown.

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said, “The warm temperatures last week have things moving. We are right on the doorstep of seeing our first wave of fresh migratory fish. And, last week we saw the first worm hatches of the season. Gulls were actively picking, and there were even signs of white perch feeding. For now, those worms are getting a pass without heavy striper pressure — but not for long.”

So, things are moving fast, with fish arriving daily and great fishing for us all just around the corner. The smaller ‘school’ size bass first arrive at our jetties from Westerly to the West Wall of the Harbor of Refuge in South Kingstown and off Jamestown, Newport, and Middletown. The larger fish come into Narragansett Bay following Atlantic menhaden (a type of herring) up the Bay into rivers and estuaries where the Atlantic menhaden spawn.

The striped bass are here in our bays for about eight to ten weeks before moving to the lower Bay and further north, but often remain out in front of Middletown, Newport, Jamestown, Beavertail and Pt. Judith.

However, it is important to know that striped bass are in tough shape as a species and continue to be overfished, with a female spawning stock biomass (SSB) estimated to be below the target, and we have low recruitment, low numbers of striped bass being born to support the species. So, great care should be taken to catch and release fish safely to reduce fish mortality.

Using one single hook rather than multiple treble hooks on lures helps. Keep the fight short and try to keep the fish in the water when dehooking and releasing. Inline circle hooks are the law when using bait and no use of gaffs.

Take your time when releasing the fish once the hook is out, holding it by its tail (caudal) fin, moving it forward and backward so water flows over their gills to revive them.

The striped bass limit is one fish/person/day between 28” to less than 31.” But remember we now have to pinch the tail to measure striped bass, the full-length measure if from the snout to the end of the pinched tail.

Here are some of my favorite places to fish for striped bass. In early spring we often fish in water 6 to 12 feet, adjacent to deeper water, up on a ledge or fishing the transition area of a channel.

• Jetties or breachways along the Rhode Island southern coastal shore, such as the Charlestown Breachway and the West Wall of the Harbor of Refuge, South Kingstown. These areas provide shore anglers (and boat anglers) with one of the best first striped bass opportunities as the bass make their run past the Connecticut coastline to Rhode Island. Lures of all types work, with eels being a popular choice, particularly at night.

• Coves, ponds, rivers and along the ocean shore. Salt Pond and Narrow River, Narragansett; Green River, North Kingstown; Warren River; and Greenwich Cove are all spring bass hot spots. You can catch bass from shore and boat at the end, middle and mouth of Greenwich Cove at Chepiwanoxet Point, Warwick, to the East Greenwich Town Dock and Scallop Town Park. My favorite baits are hard and soft plastic lures (both surface and swimming lures).

• The East Passage of Narragansett Bay from the Seekonk River at Festival Pier, Pawtucket, down to the T-Wharf on the southern tip of Prudence Island. This 15-plus-mile stretch is a great place to catch larger spring striped bass (20 to 40 pounds), which have been caught in this area trolling tube and worm and fishing the channel pads and edges with Atlantic menhaden (live or cut up in chunks).

Flashy flutter spoons that mimic wounded herring and Atlantic menhaden floating down the water column work well, too. The East Bay channel pads are great places to fish, as they hold bait and stripers acting as a bait conduit, pushing bait up and down the East Passage with stripers holding on the channel edges.

You can fish from shore at Sabin Point, Fields Point, Barrington Beach, Conimicut, Rocky Point and Colt State Park fishing piers. Other hot spots include Sabin Point, East Providence; Field Point, Providence (where the Save the Bay headquarters is located); the shoreline in Cranston and Warwick; and Nayatt Point, Barrington Beach areas; as well as in and at the mouth of the Warren River. One of my favorite places to fish (if the fish are there) is the area between Bear Point Prudence Island and Poppasquash Point, Bristol.

Free Fishing Weekend

Free Freshwater Fishing Weekend is May 2 and 3. This weekend allows anglers to fish for all freshwater species, without the need for a fishing license or trout conservation stamp. It provides anglers, families, and friends with the opportunity to try fishing.

However, all freshwater fishing regulations on size and possession limits apply and anglers should put safety first, particularly if fishing around waterways for the first time.

Information about stocked freshwaters, size and creel limits for all freshwater fish species is available in the 2026-2027 Freshwater Fishing Abstract.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater: Jeff Miller of Canal Bait & Tackle, Sagamore, said, “Anglers are targeting largemouth bass and are having great success.” Jeff Sullivan, of Sam’s Bait & Tackle, Middletown, said, “The trout bite is on and off, a warm day of two and it will turn on. We still have a great largemouth bite.”

Striped bass

Fishing for holdover striped bass in our estuaries is good. “Anglers are catching the first wave of migrating fish in the 18” to 24” school bass range off Newport. Anglers are using soft and hard lures, with pencil poppers working well. The larger fish should be right behind,” said Jeff Sullivan of Sam’s Bait.

Jeff Miller of Canal Bait & Tackle, Sagamore, said, “The holdover striped bass bite is good in our estuaries, however, this weekend our customers will start to target striped bass on the West End of the Cape Cod Canal.”

“Tautog fishing season opened April 1, and customers are catching keepers in the bay, where the water is warmer, 51 degrees compared to ocean temperatures in the 40’s,” said Jeff Sullivan of Sam’s Bait & Tackle.

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net  or visit www.noflukefishing.com .