Rhode Island Echo Newspaper November  2019 Published Article

Rhode Island waters have experienced two major coastal storms in the first two weeks of October with winds up to 50 mph and seas at Block Island to 16 feet high with even the Block Island Ferry shutting service down at times. However, when the dust settled, or in this case the sea conditions, sharpie anglers got a taste of what this great Rhode Island fishery has to offer!

On a recent fishing charter that was designed to target Tautog, a last-minute change in plans due to an injured missing crew member sent the charter in a different direction…A southwest direction.

The last-minute plans had the charter party going southwest out of Galilee to Block Island’s  miles to North Rip which is approximately seven miles for part one of the 6-hour excursion.

Upon our approach, we were greeted by flocks of seagulls diving on bait that was forced to the surface from actively feeding Bluefish with a few Striped Bass mixed in. This is always a good sign! 

The party caught Bluefish by wire line jigging initially then we moved on to vertical jigging to raise the adrenaline levels a bit with light tackle. Besides catching bluefish, there were a few nice size keeper Seabass and a Striped Bass as well. For the anglers on-board who were not seasoned  at the vertical jigging fishing prior to the charter successfully completed their internship at the North Rip.

Although the bite was still solid at the Rip, the anglers had their share of catching Bluefish, so we decided to move in a Southeasterly direction to Block Island’s fertile East Grounds.

As we approached the East Grounds, the fish finder echoed back so many marks from actively feeding fish that it lit-up like a Christmas tree. What were initially thought to be Bluefish marks on the graph turned out to be Cod, Bonito, False Albacore and of course, Seabass and Scup near the bottom. Once the anglers dropped their metal offerings down into the depths, action was nonstop for several hours. Seabass took center stage initially and then some Cod came to the party. The pic below shows one of several nice cod that were caught by Bill Donnelly of Western  MA.

While Bonito and False Albacore are typically targeted by throwing jigs near the surface, the pic below is a nice Atlantic Bonito that took a jig in the upper portion of the water column by local sharpie angler and R.I.S.A.A. member, Tom Houde while vertical jigging

November Fishing Expectations

While the air is getting cold, Tautog action is hot right now. Anglers are having success while anchored up on local reefs with green crabs. Tautog action should continue through December when season ends. Cod action is improving each year as there is some action with a few miles of shore. There is Striped Bass and Bluefish and activity in the Bay and along the Rhode Island shoreline. The Albies are on the way out and this action will soon be over for this year.

Fish On II will be wrapping up the fishing charter season by the end of November as well!

Till next time, tight lines and Fish On!

Captain Sheriff