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Best bluefish lakes in Rhode Island

11 Rhode Island waters hold bluefish, 11 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The yellow-eyed wrecking crew — schools blitz bait on the surface, chop through anything shiny, and pull like fish twice their size.

1. Buzzards Bay — 146 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites
2. Sakonnet River — 89 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
3. East Passage — 200 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
4. West Passage — 96 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
5. Ninigret Pond — 7 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Tautog (Blackfish)Why #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
6. Point Judith Pond — 16 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites
7. Point Judith Harbor of Refuge — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
8. Sachuest Bay — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
9. Easton Bay — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
10. Coddington Cove — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
11. Brenton Cove — 29 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site

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When to fish bluefish in Rhode Island

• Spring 3–20 ft — Racers arrive with the bunker schools — follow birds, cast metal, and check your leader after every fish.
• Summer 5–30 ft — Snappers in the bays, choppers in the rips — wire or heavy mono, poppers when they're up, metal when they're down.
• Fall 3–25 ft — The fall run — mullet and bunker pour out of the bays and the blues go with them; the year's best surface fishing.
• Winter 15–40 ft — Gone south from most coasts; Florida and Gulf fish work the passes on warm winter tides.

Also in Rhode Island: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best striped bass lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best chain pickerel lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best summer flounder (fluke) lakes · best black sea bass lakes · best tautog (blackfish) lakes

Bluefish elsewhere: Maine · New York · Massachusetts · Connecticut · New Jersey