If you ever wanted to learn how to fly fish now is your opportunity. An all-Women’s Fly-Fishing School sponsored by Rhode Island DEM’s Fish & Wildlife Division and RI Trout Unlimited is being held Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the RI Carolina Trout Hatchery. 

And, a Fly-Fishing School for adults will be held Saturday, September 27. This program is sponsored by Rhode Island DEM’s Fish & Wildlife Division and RI fly-fishing and fly-tying organizations. The program will be held Saturday, September 27 at Narrow River, Narragansett, RI from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

All students need to be 16 years and older, and all need to register ASAP. E-mail  kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov or call 401-539-0037 to register for both programs.

All Fly-Fishing equipment will be provided, fly rods, reels, line, flies and more. The cost is $30.00 per/person, lunch included.

Please bring waders to the adult program at Narrow River.  If you do not have them the program may have waders for you. When you register, please mention this to Kimberly Sullivan.

Tautog tips and rigs 

Minimum size for tautog is 16” and a three fish/person/day limit until Oct. 15 when the limit changes to five fish. Only one of the fish can be over 21” and there is a ten fish boat limit that does not apply to charter/party boats. Here are some tips.

Tautog rigs should have as little hardware as possible to avoid bottom tie-ups. I make single hook rigs with about seven or eight feet of monofilament line and attach it to the main braid line directly with a dropper loop for a pre-snelled “Lazar Sharp” brand hook (you need sharp hooks to get through tough tautog lips). The loop is about five inches above the sinker.

To reduce bottom tie ups by 50 percent I use an egg sinker rig when in heavy structure. The egg sinker slides on a small piece of monofilament adorned with red and white beads which has a two-way swivel on each end, a pre-snelled lazar sharp hook is attached to the end of the swivel and hangs down about 8 inches. 

Anglers are also more commonly using tautog jigs tipped with crab with good success. The jigs are made in a variety of colors mimicking Asian crabs, baby lobsters, green crabs (whole or cut in half).

The idea is to be ready with a number of bait & tackle arrangements on any given day.

Tautog tips. Find structure to find tautog. Tautog can be fished from shore or boat and in both cases they like structure (rocks, wrecks, bridge piers, dock pilings, mussel beds, ledges holes and humps along the coast). So, no structure, no tautog.

Boat placement is important. Find structure, estimate wind/drift direction and anchor up current from where you want to fish and drift back to the spot as the anchor is setting. Once in position fish all sides of the boat. Cast a bit to cover as much area as you can. If still no bites let some anchor line out to change your position, if still no bites it is time to move the vessel.

Tautog baits. Green crabs or Asian crabs are the baits of choice in the fall. When using green crabs make it easy for the tautog to bite and take the bait. I like to break off most of the legs and claws leaving one per side on the end, cut the crab in half and hook it through one leg socket and out another. 

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass, bluefish. Samuel Costa of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown, said, “There is more and more peanut bunker around, so the bass bite is improving with fish being taken down deep at Brenton Reef, Newport and off Beavertail, Jamestown. Some bonito are being caught with no reports of false albacore except at Martha’s Vineyard. 

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said, “Striped bass action has been consistent at Block Island. Fish are still ranging from 20-40 lbs., with some larger ones up to 50 lbs. The best bites were early in the morning and late in the evening, with soft plastics and eel imitations.”  

Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, said, “The striped bass bite has been good off Newport with live eels and top water too with an influx of snapper blues in our coves.”

Bonito. “The bonito bite was excellent this past week around Block Island, these large schools seem to come and go. They should be around for a while and will start pushing closer to shore once bait leaves the ponds,” said O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle. Samuel Costa of Quaker Lane said, “Anglers are catching bonito but no reports of false albacore except out at Martha’s Vineyard.”

“Fluke fishing has been good both at 60 feet and then at 25 feet, the bait is here so the fluke fishing has actually improved,” said Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle.

Tautog. Angler Gary Vandemoortele and his daughter Shaina Boyle caught tautog to 21” when fishing in Narragansett Bay this past weekend. Gary said, “A single hook egg sinker rig tipped with green crab worked best.” 

O’Donnell said, “Tautog fishing has been consistent around shallow rocky structures and wrecks in waters less than 30 feet. Keeper fish are averaging 3-5 lbs.”  

“Tautog fishing is getting better every day. Anglers continue to catch fish in the lower Ban and off Narragansett off Pt. Judith and in nearby bolder field,” said Tom Olson of Ponaug Bait & Tackle, Warwick. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, said, “Tautog anglers are having to fish though a lot of shorts to get a keeper but that is the case early on in the season. In Narragansett Bay Ohio Ledge, the Barrington and Warren River areas are producing for customers with bigger fish being taken further down the Bay.”

“Freshwater fishing for largemouth bass and pickerel remains strong. Ponds producing for angler include Ryan Park, North Kingstown,” said Samuel Costa of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle. 

Henault of Ocean State Tacke, said, “Only Pond at Lincoln Woods and Stump Pond, Smithfield and areas of the Blackstone River are producing largemouth bass for customers using shiners.”

Dave Monti holds a captain’s master 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. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net, visit www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com or www.noflukefishing.com