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Fishing Southern New England

The species you'll find in these waters — when they run, how they're caught, what bait, and where. Facts drawn from NOAA Fisheries and the state agencies; regulations change yearly, so we point you to the official pages rather than quote limits.

Apr–Nov

Striped Bass

striper · linesider
Live-lining eels or menhadenAll grounds
Jun–Oct

Bluefish

blues · choppers
Casting poppers / topwaterAll grounds
Aug–Oct

False Albacore

little tunny · albies
Sight-casting to surface schools with light spinning tackleAll grounds
Jul–Oct

Atlantic Bonito

bonito
Sight-casting to feeding schoolsAll grounds
May–Jun

Weakfish

squeteague · gray seatrout
Casting/jigging soft plastics5 grounds
Aug–Sep

Spanish Mackerel

Spanish
Casting and fast-retrieving small metalsAll grounds
Apr–Oct

Atlantic Mackerel

Boston mackerel · tinker mackerel (small)
Casting and jigging small metalsAll grounds
May–Oct

Summer Flounder (Fluke)

fluke
Drifting bait/jigs along the bottom (the 'fluke drift')All grounds
May–Oct

Scup (Porgy)

porgy
Bottom / still-fishing with small hooksAll grounds
May–Sep

Black Sea Bass

sea bass
Bottom fishing over hard structureAll grounds
Apr–Dec

Tautog (Blackfish)

blackfish · tog
Bottom fishing tight to structure with tog rigsAll grounds
Dec–Mar

Atlantic Cod

cod · codfish
Deep bottom fishing at anchor or drift1 grounds
Apr–Jun

Longfin Squid

loligo · winter squid
Squid jigging with weighted multi-barb jigsAll grounds

🎣 Season and method are a starting point, not a guarantee — fish move with the water and the year. Sizes, bag limits and open seasons are set by RI DEM, CT DEEP, MA DMF and NY DEC and change annually; always check the current official regulations before you keep a fish.