Trout bite picks up with fall stocking

Fall is a great time to fish freshwater. The fishing is good and a bit more bearable than saltwater fishing as fall storms, high winds and seas often prevent saltwater angles from fishing.

In Massachusetts the fall stocking of 60,000 rainbow and 4,000 brown trout started in September. Area ponds stocked with rainbow trout this fall include Whiting Pond and Falls Pond, North Attleboro as well as Houghton’s Pond, Milton and Wallum Lake, Douglas. For a complete list of stocked ponds visit www.mass.gov/service-details/trout-stocking-report.

In Rhode Island the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will begin stocking trout this week in freshwaters. Stocked Rhode Island waterways for the fall include: Round Top Ponds, Burrillville; Carbuncle Pond, Coventry; Breakheart Pond and Browning Mill Pond, Exeter; Spring Grove Pond, Gloucester; Olney Pond (Lincoln Woods State Park), Lincoln; Eight Rod Pond, Little Compton; Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown;  and Stafford Pond, Tiverton.

Water levels at these locations will be reassessed at the time of stocking. Please note that due to low water conditions and Cyanobacteria algae alerts, several areas normally stocked with trout are not on this list. When conditions improve later on in the season, other areas may be considered for trout stocking.

Daily trout stocking updates will be available each afternoon on the Rhode Island DEM Facebook page at  www.facebook.com/rifishwildlife or by calling 401/789-0281.
 
Some epic saltwater fishing this week

Fishing this week has been outstanding. Angler Dareus Diaz Boragine of Cranston caught a 19 plus pound tautog when fishing with Billy Lee of Lincoln. And, Capt. BJ Silvia, Flippin-Out-Charters of Portsmouth, had a customer from Avery, NY catch a 14 pound tautog this week. 

Tautog fishing was good throughout the region with most anglers able to catch their three fish limit. We had a slow pick at General Rock in North Kingstown this week but the bite off Newport in the Seal Ledge and Fountain area was very good with the best bite coming in 45 feet of water. It took about two and half hours to catch our limit there as well as a 25” cod and a frigate mackerel that hit a crab knuckle on a tautog rig that was being reeled up.

The minimum size of tautog in Massachusetts and Rhode Island is 16 inches, with a three fish/person/day limit until October 14. On October 15 the per person limit increased to five fish. A ten fish/boat limit is in effect in both states, however, it does not apply to charter and party boats.

The surface action was good all along the coastal shore of Rhode Island and in Massachusetts too. East End Eddie Doherty, who fished the Cape Cod Canal, said, “Fished the incoming west tide in the east end, hoping to catch part of the migration, which produced a couple of slot fish and a few good eating size bluefish on FishLab soft plastic green mack patterns.” Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “It was an epic day of fishing for anglers Gary Renchan of South County and fishing partner JL. This weekend they landed sixty fish in twelve hours of fishing from Westerly to Point Judith. They landed striped bass, false albacore and a few bluefish. The duo said, “The lure that worked the best for us was a purple Hogy Epoxy Jig.”
 
Angler Dave Gordon reports a good striped bass and bluefish bite at the mouth of Greenwich Bay from Green River to Warwick Light.  Gordon said, “I caught school striped bass from 18” to 28”. Small Kastmaster lures and small white jigs with a white plastic tail worked well.” And, striped bass fishing expert angler Mike Swain of Coventry, said, “I have been plugging for striped bass and bluefish in the Providence River. There are a lot of fish in the River. This weekend I fished with grandchildren Andrea and Eli Swain and to their and my delight they caught multiple school bass.”
 
Where’s the bite?
 
False albacore, bluefish and striped bass fishing is good for school bass all along our coastal shore. Bluefish and false albacore are mixed in. Fish are crashing small bait trapping them close to shore or on the surface. Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown said, “The Point Judith area was on fire this weekend. Anglers were catching albies (false albacore), striped bass and bluefish on the surface.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside, said, “The striped bass and bluefish bite continues to build in the bay. Soft plastic lures such as Al Gag’s Whip-It Eel in white and green are working well. From shore anglers are doing well at Kettle Point, Riverside and Lavin’s Marina, Barrington.”
 
Offshore cod and tuna. “Cod fishing was good this weekend on the south side of Cox Ledge but anglers found them closer too at Sharks Ledge and the East Grounds with some fish being caught in the Block Island Wind Farm area. Offshore fishing for bluefin seems to have moved to the cape but we had a boat full of yellowfin tuna caught at the Atlantis Canyon with a number of mako sharks caught 15 miles south of Block Island,” said Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor.
 
Tautog, scup and black sea bass fishing. “Tautog fishing at Pt. Judith was very good this weekend for three days. Even the black sea bass bite was good at the Hooter Buoy and any rocky bottom in about 50 to 60 feet of water,” said Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina. Tautog fishing in the upper bay has not been good. A lot of shorts being caught at Conimicut Point and Ohio Ledge. However, the bite has been good for tautog and large black sea bass in the Brenton Reef area off Newport. The scup bite continues to be very strong with anglers catching their limit (30 fish, 9” minimum size). It has been so good anglers are throwing back 11 and 12 inch fish,” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait.
 
Freshwater fishing for largemouth bass was the focus last week and early this week. However, with the restocking of trout in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ponds this month (see above article on stocking) the trout fishing is expected to pick up. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “Anglers have been targeting largemouth but we have had some white perch being caught too.”
 
Dave Monti holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. He is a RISAA board member, a member of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association, the American Saltwater Guides Association and the RI Marine Fisheries Council. Forward fishing news and photos to Capt. Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com and his blog at www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com.