5 Great RI Fishing Spots
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Deep summer is fishing season, and we checked in with local experts who've been fishing around RI shores for years for their favorite, most-productive spots. See if you don't come up with fresh, local catch for dinner.
Dunes Park Beach
Only 5 miles from Westerly, Dunes Park Beach offers one of the nation’s best fishing locations. Not only is there fantastic boat fishing off the shore but this beach is also a perfect area for saltwater fly fishing in the shallows. Many of Rhode Island’s fishing veterans continually visit Dunes Park Beach due to its positive yields. Some of the more prized fish you can expect are stripers and bluefish.
Beaver Tail State Park
Located in Jamestown, Beaver Tail State Park is one of Rhode Island’s premier saltwater fishing destinations and offers a stunning view of Narragansett Bay. The park is riddled with steep drop-offs making it a prime cliff fishing area. These drop-offs allow for deep water, which is prime habitat for large sea bass. Spear fishing is popular in the outcrops as well. If fishing off a boat an angler can expect fluke, blackfish, and stripers. In the summer months, bonito and false albacore are present as well.
Drop off at the Jamestown Bridge
The scenic Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge is supported by numerous sets of pillars which plunge into the water. If you are on a boat and place your vessel near the biggest pillar closer to the mainland and let your boat drift with the current towards Dutch Island, you can expect fishing galore. Fishing two to three hours before high tide is best. Some of the keep fish include fluke, black sea bass, and striper.
By Fox Island and Rome Point
Southwest of Fox Island and northeast of Rome Point lies an outcrop of rock where seals love to harbor and relax in the colder months. Fish also love to hide and take shelter among these rocky outcrops, making it a perfect place for boat fishing. Blackfish reside in abundance here and stripers reside here seasonally. There is also the occasional squeteague, a relative of the weakfish.
Whale Rock
Located right at the mouth of Narragansett Bay between Beavertail State Park and the Narragansett mainland lies Whale Rock, the former home of Whale Lighthouse before it was destroyed by a massive hurricane in 1938. Take a boat and view the remnants of the lighthouse while also fishing for the marine life that resides near the rock. One can expect blackfish, black sea bass, fluke and stripers.
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