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Stafford Pond Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Stafford Pond: a Tiverton pond on Rhode Island's list of designated trout waters, with statewide limits for bass, pickerel and pike.

Seasonal closure: The whole water, as a Rhode Island designated trout water. Next closed from March 1, 2027 until 6 a.m. on April 10, 2027. Rhode Island closes all designated trout waters to fishing from midnight on the last day of February until 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April. Source, read October 12, 2026.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~51 F est.
Air / High
46 / 53 F
Wind
W 5 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Stafford Pond is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1006 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 51 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:09 PM-1:09 AM and 10:45 AM-12:45 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Rainbow troutGood

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Smallmouth bassFair

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bassFair

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Rhode Island requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $24.00 for residents. What a Rhode Island licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with RI DEM before you keep anything. The season dates for Rhode Island, read off the agency, are on the Rhode Island seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~51 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp46 F
High / Low53 / 44 F
WindW 5-15 mph
Pressure1005.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 10%
Sunrise / Sunset06:26 / 16:30
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~51 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Stafford Pond this week

The best day on Stafford Pond this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
11:09 PM-1:09 AM and 10:45 AM-12:45 PM
Minor period
6:37 AM-7:37 AM
Sun
06:26 to 16:30
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
10%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Stafford Pond: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

When to come: the Stafford Pond calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Northern pike
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 51 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~51 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Stafford Pond today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Northern pike led the card at good. High of 57 F, wind to 14 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Northern pike led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 11 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Northern pike led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Rhode Island requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Rhode Island freshwater license; trout and landlocked salmon rules per DEM's 2026 guide (updated Sept. 23, 2026). Stafford Pond is a designated trout water and is closed to all fishing from March 1 until 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April.

Access

See Rhode Island DEM's public boat launch list for the pond's state access and any motor restrictions.

About this water

A pond in Tiverton, Newport County, Rhode Island, on DEM's list of designated trout waters.

Fishing Stafford Pond: the full guide

A designated trout water

Rhode Island DEM's freshwater guide lists Stafford Pond in Tiverton among its designated trout waters. That matters in late winter: all designated trout waters close to fishing from the end of February until 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April, which was April 11 in 2026.

Statewide limits

Trout may be kept at 5 a day from opening day through November 30 and 2 a day from December 1 through the end of February, with an 8-inch minimum. Black bass, chain pickerel and northern pike have no closed season, with limits of 5 bass of 12 inches, 5 pickerel of 14 inches and 2 pike of 24 inches.

Common questions

When can I fish Stafford Pond in spring?

From 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April; as a designated trout water it is closed from March 1 until then.

How many trout can I keep?

Five a day from opening day through November 30 and two a day from December 1 through February, all at least 8 inches.

Is fishing good at Stafford Pond right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Sakonnet River9 miWickford Harbor15 miGreenwich Bay15 miBuzzards Bay16 miPawtuxet River16 miNarragansett21 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.6417, -71.1564 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.