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Fish guide

Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis. Also called Striper, Bass, Linesider, Rockfish, Schoolie, Cow.

A striped bass with its dark lengthwise stripes swimming over a sandy bottom

Showing the fish for Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay, RI.

Season in Rhode Island

Peak months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.

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OTW April 2025: striped bass return in April; OTW May 2025: larger fish arrive each week; OTW June 2026: very large fish around; OTW July 2025: summer fish move to the deep ledges; Snug Harbor Oct 2026: producing well on beaches and breachways; OTW Dec 2025: action confined to salt ponds and backwaters with overwintering fish. (Our inference)

Season by region

Long Island
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Maine
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New Hampshire
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North Shore MA
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Cape Cod
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Rhode Island
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Connecticut
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North Jersey
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South Jersey
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Delmarva
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Virginia Beach
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Outer Banks
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Where to find them

In April: warm backwaters, salt marshes, river mouths and Narragansett Bay; spring and fall: South County beaches and breachways; summer: deep ledges off Narragansett, Jamestown and Newport, with live eels at night; winter: holdovers in the salt ponds and backwaters (OTW, Snug Harbor).

From the wash out past the bar; spring and fall blitzes on bunker, sand eels and small bait.

What to look for

Bunker schools being pushed, birds over sand eels or rainbait, rips and drop-offs where waves make turbulence, inlet current at night.

What to throw

Bucktail or jighead with a 4 to 5 in paddle tail1/2 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in tail. Slow hops along the bottom: lift, drop, let it touch, repeat.
Soft-plastic eel or stickbait (Slug-Go, GT Eel style)Weightless, or 3/8 to 3/4 oz jighead oz, 9 to 13.5 in. Weightless on top when fish are active or at first light; weighted versions drifted through rips, twitched through boulders or dead-sticked near bottom.
Swimming minnow plug (Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow style)3/4 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in. Steady medium retrieve with occasional twitches and pauses.
Pencil popper1 to 5 oz, Sized to the bait, from silversides to adult bunker. Slow and deliberate, speeding up when a fish shows interest; or hold the rod tip and bounce it hard while barely advancing the plug so it churns in place.

Bait

Live eels, Live bunker (menhaden), Live mackerel, Bunker or mackerel chunks, Cut squid, herring, crabs, Live spot (summer, North Shore). Fish-finder with a pyramid sinker and a long leader, with a float near the hook to keep the bait off the bottom away from crabs and skates. Use a circle hook with bait..

Leader

NY Sea Grant: light (6 to 12 lb) to medium (20 lb) line on a spinning rod; heavier surf outfits for big fish around rocks.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving bait on the bottom for crabs and skates (NY Sea Grant floats it up)
  • Using a J hook with bait instead of a circle hook
  • Fishing mid-day flat calm when the fish feed after dark and at dawn

Landing

Let a wave carry it up the beach; release fish should stay in the water.

Handling

  • Sharp dorsal spines
  • Sharp gill cover edges

Keep released fish in the water, support the belly, and use a circle hook with bait. ASMFC estimates about 9 percent of released stripers die, so handle quickly.

Keep or release

Release fish outside the slot quickly. RI rules are in the regulations file.

Recipes for striped bass

Typical: First wave usually 12 to 20 in (April). Large: Schools of very large fish averaging 30 to 40 lb plus (June 2026 charter report).

Limits

FishOS has not checked the RI limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the Rhode Island DEM Division of Marine Fisheries before you keep a fish.

Sources

All the fish of Rhode Island

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Striped Bass: season, lures and limits | FishOS