UTERLittle tunny fishing in Rhode Island and Cape Cod
In Rhode Island and Cape Cod, little tunny peak September–October and are around August–November, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. September: Albies blitz the Rhode Island beaches, Watch Hill, Point Judith, the Vineyard and Nantucket Sound — Derby season.
The fall feed; tog season and the last albies. Stripers stage on Block Island and the Rhode Island beaches; green crabs for tog on the breakwaters and Buzzards Bay rocks; albies until a storm ends it.
Little tunny in Rhode Island and Cape Cod, month by month
- JanuaryNot here
- FebruaryNot here
- MarchNot here
- AprilNot here
- MayNot here
- JuneNot here
- JulyNot here
- AugustArrivingFirst albies around Martha's Vineyard — usually the first place they show in the Northeast.
- SeptemberPeakAlbies blitz the Rhode Island beaches, Watch Hill, Point Judith, the Vineyard and Nantucket Sound — Derby season.
- OctoberPeakThe fall feed; tog season and the last albies. Stripers stage on Block Island and the Rhode Island beaches; green crabs for tog on the breakwaters and Buzzards Bay rocks; albies until a storm ends it.
- NovemberLeaving
- DecemberNot here
Where to fish little tunny near Point Judith, Newport, Block Island
Rhode Island's rocky south coast and salt ponds, Narragansett Bay, Block Island, Buzzards Bay and the Elizabeth Islands, Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds with their shoals and rips, the Cape Cod Canal, Cape Cod Bay's sand flats, and the Monomoy rips and outer Cape beaches; offshore Coxes Ledge and the southern New England canyons (Block, Atlantis, Veatch).
Fish Scouter charts 350 wreck, 4 artificial reef spots in the Southern New England map area — the kinds little tunny hold on.
What to use for little tunny
- Glass minnows (bay anchovies)Thrown by the handful as chum for Spanish, trout and ladyfish, or several on a tiny hook.
- Pilchards (whitebait)Free-lined or under a cork, hooked through the nose on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook. The one bait that catches everything inshore.
- Leader40–60 lb fluorocarbon
- Hook4/0–8/0
- Braid50–100 lb
Feeds in 66–86°F water, best at 70–82°F.
Questions anglers ask
When is the best time to catch little tunny in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Peak season is September–October. Little tunny are in Rhode Island and Cape Cod August–November. September: Albies blitz the Rhode Island beaches, Watch Hill, Point Judith, the Vineyard and Nantucket Sound — Derby season.
Where do little tunny hold in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Look on artificial reef, pass / inlet, beach / surf, wreck — around Point Judith, Newport, Block Island, Westport, Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard.
What is the best bait for little tunny in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Live bait: glass minnows (bay anchovies), pilchards (whitebait). Glass minnows (bay anchovies): Thrown by the handful as chum for Spanish, trout and ladyfish, or several on a tiny hook. Tackle: leader 40–60 lb fluorocarbon, hook 4/0–8/0, braid 50–100 lb.
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