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FISHING CALENDAR · RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Fishing Calendar
Rhode Island packs Narragansett Bay, the South County beaches, Block Island and offshore grounds into a small state, with trout, bass and pike in its fresh waters. Seasons are from RI DEM's 2026 tables; RI DEM gives almost no best-month notes, so most rows show closed seasons only.
Government fish & wildlife updates
- RI DEM marine sizes and limits — Current 2026 marine table
- NOAA Fisheries — bluefin tuna actions — Federal openings, closures, limits
- Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission — Coastwide rules
Month by month
| Fish | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshwater | |||||||||||||
| Trout | Opens the second Saturday of April; 8 in min; 5/day to Nov 30, 2/day Dec 1 - Feb 28; closed March 1 to opening day. Trout stamp needed to keep trout. No official best months found.[2][3] | ||||||||||||
| Largemouth & smallmouth bass | No closed season, 12 in, 5/day combined. No official best months found.[2] | ||||||||||||
| Northern pike | No closed season, 24 in, 2/day. No official best months found.[2] | ||||||||||||
| Inshore saltwater | |||||||||||||
| Striped bass | Open all year, 28 to <31 in, 1/day; circle hooks with bait. No official best months found.[1][7] | ||||||||||||
| Bluefish | Open all year, 5/day (7 party/charter). No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Summer flounder (fluke) | April 1 - Dec 31, 19 in. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Black sea bass | May 16 - Dec 31, 16 in, 3/day. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Scup | May 1 - Dec 31, 30/day; 9.5 in shore, 11 in boat. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Tautog | 16 in. Apr 1 - May 31: 3/day; June 1 - July 31: CLOSED; Aug 1 - Oct 14: 3/day; Oct 15 - Dec 31: 5/day. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Weakfish (squeteague) | Open all year, 16 in, 1/day. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Winter flounder | March 1 - Dec 31, 12 in, 2/day. Not allowed in upper Narragansett Bay, Potter Pond, Point Judith Pond and the Harbor of Refuge.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Offshore | |||||||||||||
| Atlantic bluefin tuna (federal) | HMS permit required. Southern New England trophy (73 in+) closed July 3 - Dec 31, 2026. No official best months found.[5][6] | ||||||||||||
| Haddock | Open all year, 18 in. No official best months found.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic cod | Possession prohibited all of 2026 (RI DEM).[1] | ||||||||||||
Never keep: Never keep: Atlantic cod (all of 2026); river herring, shad and smelt in fresh water; wild Atlantic salmon.[1][2]
Bait & rig for each fish
Trout
Bait: Worms and minnows where legal.
Lures: Streamers, nymphs, dry flies, spinners, spoons and stickbaits.
Leader: 3X–5X tippet (4–8 lb), 7½–9 ft.
Northern pike
Bait: Whole dead herring, smelt or cisco under a float or on the bottom where bait is legal.
Lures: Red-and-white spoons, big inline spinners, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and topwater baits.
Leader: Wire or 60–80 lb fluorocarbon leader, 12–18 in — pike teeth cut regular line.
Striped bass
Bait: Live shad and shiners.
Lures: Bucktail jigs, swimbaits and topwater plugs.
Leader: Usually none; add a short fluorocarbon leader with braid.
Bluefish
Bait: Cut mullet and live finger mullet.
Lures: Metal spoons, Gotcha plugs and topwater poppers.
Leader: 30–40 lb fluorocarbon (add light wire for mackerel and bluefish).
Summer flounder (fluke)
Bait: Live minnows (killies), squid strips, fresh fluke-belly or sea-robin strips, and live spot or snapper blues for big fish.
Lures: White or pink bucktails tipped with a soft-plastic grub or squid strip, and a teaser hook above the bucktail.
Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 2–3 ft.
Black sea bass
Bait: Squid, cut fish and shrimp.
Lures: Small vertical jigs and bucktails.
Leader: 50–80 lb fluorocarbon.
Scup
Bait: Clam strips, squid strips and sandworms on small hooks.
Lures: Small jigs or a hi-lo rig with a strip of squid.
Leader: 30–50 lb fluorocarbon, short.
Tautog
Bait: Green crabs, Asian crabs, fiddler crabs and clams; cut crabs in half for big fish.
Lures: Tautog jigs (1–2 oz) tipped with a piece of crab.
Leader: 30–50 lb fluorocarbon, short.
Weakfish (squeteague)
Bait: Live shrimp, peeler crab and strip baits.
Lures: Bucktail jigs, soft plastics and small metal spoons.
Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 2–3 ft.
Winter flounder
Bait: Sandworms, bloodworms, clams and mussels on small long-shank hooks, with a chum pot of crushed mussels on the bottom.
Lures: Not usually caught on lures.
Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 2–3 ft.
Atlantic bluefin tuna (federal)
Bait: Live or dead mackerel, herring and squid.
Lures: Large spreader bars and big topwater plugs.
Leader: 40–100 lb mono or fluorocarbon.
Haddock
Bait: Clams and squid on a two-hook bottom rig.
Lures: Small jigs or teasers with clam; haddock have small mouths.
Leader: 50–60 lb mono.
Atlantic cod
Bait: Fresh clams, herring and squid.
Lures: Diamond and butterfly jigs (8–16 oz) with a red or green teaser fly above.
Leader: 50–60 lb mono.
Local fishing reports — what’s biting now
- On The Water — Rhode Island fishing report — Weekly report with shop and charter input
- The Fisherman — New England fishing forecast — Weekly CT/RI/MA forecast
- Viking Fleet fishing report — Montauk party boats incl. Block Island trips
Sources
- RI DEM Recreational Marine Minimum Sizes and Possession Limits, 2026
- RI DEM Freshwater Fishing Minimum Sizes and Limits
- RI DEM press release: fall trout stocking
- RI DEM Saltwater Regulation Guide
- NOAA Fisheries / Federal Register 2026-10816: Bluefin tuna retention limits
- NOAA Fisheries / Federal Register 2026-13630: Southern New England trophy bluefin closure 2026
- On The Water – The Fall Striper Migration Road Map
Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every month on this calendar comes from the sources above. Empty boxes mean no official source gives those months. Rules change — check the agency page before you keep a fish.
On the bay, in the mangroves or on the ocean, the everyday struggles get left at the dock — for those few hours it’s just you, the water and peace.