Size, bag and season for recreational tautog in Rhode Island waters, as published by Rhode Island DEM Division of Marine Fisheries.
Also on the agency page: Max 10 fish per vessel per day for private vessels; licensed party/charter vessels have same per-person limits but are not subject to the 10-fish vessel cap (250-RICR-90-00-3 §3.10.1).
This rule has area, mode or permit conditions that do not fit in a summary. Read the agency page before you keep a fish.
Stale: this row was last checked Oct 8, 2026, past our 30-day limit. Treat it as history and go to the agency page.
Rules change in season, sometimes by emergency notice. This page summarizes the agency page on the date shown. If this summary and the agency page disagree, the agency page controls.
Tautog seasons are commonly split into windows around the spring spawn, and the bag limit can change from one window to the next. Check the window that covers your trip date.
Rhode Island rules apply in state waters, generally out to 3 nautical miles. Tautog are managed by the states through ASMFC. Most of the fishery takes place on structure inside state waters. ASMFC · tautog ↗
Rules for the same fish change at the state line. If you run across it or land in the next state, those rules apply.
| State | Size | Bag | Status as of Oct 13, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | No minimum size | No bag limit | Openas of Oct 13 |
| Massachusetts | 16" minimum; only 1 fish per person per day may exceed 21" | 3 fish (Apr 1 – May 31); 1 fish (Jun 1 – Jul 31); 3 fish (Aug 1 – Oct 14); 5 fish (Oct 15 – Dec 31) | Openas of Oct 13 |
| Rhode Island | 16" minimum; only one fish may be greater than 21" | 3 fish per person per day (Apr 1 – May 31 and Aug 1 – Oct 14); 5 fish per person per day (Oct 15 – Dec 31) | Openas of Oct 13 |
| Connecticut | 16" minimum | 2 fish (Apr 1–30); 2 fish (Jul 1–Aug 31); 3 fish (Oct 10–Nov 28) per angler | Openas of Oct 13 · Open through Nov 28 |
| New York | 16" minimum | Long Island Sound: 2 (Apr 1–30), 3 (Oct 11–Dec 9); NY Bight: 2 (Apr 1–30), 4 (Oct 15–Dec 22) | Open in partas of Oct 13 · Opens Oct 15 |
Attributed operator claims, not verified catches. The full Bite Wire →
Will Sirotnak's October 1 report noted false albacore and bonito still present in the mid-bay and Narragansett area after the storm, though numbers had dropped from the late-September peak. Stripers and bluefish were the main show, with surface feeds from Providence down to the ocean side.
