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Wickford Harbor Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Wickford Harbor on Narragansett Bay's west shore, fished under Rhode Island's saltwater rules for striped bass, tautog, scup and fluke.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 6:43 PM
Air / High
52 / 55 F
Wind
NNE 14 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8454538, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Wickford Harbor rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 55. Tides: high 6:21 AM and 6:43 PM, low 11:59 AM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 64 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:48 PM-11:48 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 60 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Rhode Island requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $24.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Rhode Island licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing striped 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.

Tides

NOAA station 8454538 (Wickford, Narragansett Bay). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH6:21 AM4.1 ft
LOW11:59 AM0.3 ft
HIGH6:43 PM3.7 ft
Sat
LOW12:02 AM0.1 ft
HIGH7:02 AM4.4 ft
LOW12:44 PM0.1 ft
HIGH7:24 PM3.8 ft

Jamestown tide chart: the week and the month →

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp52 F
High / Low55 / 42 F
WindNNE 14-22 mph
Pressure1026.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:07 / 17:52
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~64 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Wickford Harbor this week

The best day on Wickford Harbor this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:48 PM-11:48 PM
Minor period
3:40 AM-4:40 AM
Sun
07:07 to 17:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 15 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

When to come: the Wickford Harbor 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
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 64 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~64 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 Wickford Harbor today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 19 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 18 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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 saltwater license, federal registration, or a NY, CT, MA or ME license. RI DEM limits (updated Oct 5, 2026): striped bass 28 to under 31 in., 1; fluke 19 in., 6, Apr 1–Dec 31; scup 9.5 in. shore / 11 in. private boat, 30, May 1–Dec 31; tautog 16 in., 3 (Apr 1–May 31, Aug 1–Oct 14) or 5 (Oct 15–Dec 31), closed Jun 1–Jul 31; bluefish 5; winter flounder may not be kept in Narragansett Bay north of the COLREGS line.

Access

DEM lists a state boat ramp at Wilson Park, North Kingstown (east end of Intrepid Drive off Post Road/Route 1, near the fire station; linked concrete plank, moderately steep, about 3 ft at mean low water).

About this water

Wickford Harbor, North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, on the west shore of Narragansett Bay.

Fishing Wickford Harbor: the full guide

Rhode Island's saltwater rules

Wickford Harbor is a North Kingstown harbor on the west side of Narragansett Bay, so Rhode Island's marine limits apply (DEM table updated October 5, 2026). Striped bass are open all year in a 28-inch to under-31-inch slot, 1 a day. Summer flounder (fluke) must be 19 inches, 6 a day, from April 1 to December 31. Scup must be 9.5 inches from shore or 11 inches from a private boat, 30 a day, May 1 to December 31. Bluefish have no minimum size and a limit of 5 a day from shore or a private boat.

Tautog seasons and winter flounder

Tautog must be 16 inches, with no more than 1 over 21 inches. They may be kept 3 a day from April 1 to May 31 and August 1 to October 14, and 5 a day from October 15 to December 31; the season is closed June 1 to July 31. Winter flounder may not be kept anywhere in Narragansett Bay north of the COLREGS line, which includes Wickford.

Licenses

Anglers 16 and older need a Rhode Island Recreational Saltwater Fishing License, a federal registration or a license from a reciprocal state (New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts or Maine). It is free for Rhode Island residents over 65, and party and charter boat anglers need none.

Common questions

What is the striped bass limit at Wickford?

One fish a day in Rhode Island's 28-inch to under-31-inch slot, open all year.

When is tautog season?

Open April 1–May 31 and August 1–October 14 at 3 fish a day, and October 15–December 31 at 5 a day; closed June 1 to July 31. Fish must be at least 16 inches, with only one over 21 inches.

Do I need a license from Massachusetts or Connecticut to fish here?

No. A saltwater license from New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts or Maine is accepted in Rhode Island, as is a Rhode Island license or a federal registration.

Is fishing good at Wickford Harbor right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Greenwich Bay7 miNarragansett10 miWorden Pond11 miPawtuxet River12 miSakonnet River13 miFlat River Reservoir14 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8454538 — Wickford, Narragansett Bay
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 11 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.5700, -71.4400 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 6, 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 6, 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.