The waters south of Rhode Island have long been a hidden gem for Northeast anglers hoping to target hard-fighting pelagics. Each year, as spring turns to summer, the waters south of the Ocean State ignite with life, becoming a premier destination for tuna fishermen.
From the dynamic waters South of Block Island, moving east toward the Dump to the midshore humps and wrecks around the Shipping Lanes and beyond, anglers chase epic runs of bluefin and yellowfin. Tuna fishing here is as much about reading the ocean as it is about presentation and gear.
In this article, we dive into the methods, locations, gear, and tactics that make tuna fishing south of Rhode Island one of the most thrilling adventures in the Northeast saltwater scene.
Metal jigs dominate the vertical game on the midshore tuna grounds. (Photo by Joey Manansala)
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The tuna season off Rhode Island typically kicks into gear in late May or early June and can run well into October, depending on water temperatures and bait concentrations. These waters are influenced by the gulf stream and a series of eddies, temperature breaks, and underwater structure that act like highways for migrating tuna.
Any areas where you find whales or dolphins are worth exploring, as tuna are often nearby. (Photo by Joey Manansala)
Early in the season, bluefin dominate the midshore tuna grounds, with fish ranging from schoolies to giants. The midshore zone, typically defined as 20 to 60 miles offshore, includes productive waters south of Montauk, New York, south of Block Island, and around Martha’s Vineyard. These areas often hold favorable temperature breaks, bait concentrations, and structures that attract migratory tuna. South of Rhode Island, in particular, is where the convergence of gulf stream eddies and inshore water creates a buffet line for pelagics.
When it comes to tuna fishing, few techniques get the blood pumping like vertical jigging. The thrill of dropping a lure hundreds of feet into the deep, feeling the strike, having the fish take off with long screaming runs, and battling a powerful tuna to the surface is unmatched. While trolling has been the traditional approach for tuna, jigging allows you to put your bait right in the zone where the fish are feeding. When the sun gets high in the sky, sea surface temperatures rise, and the fish go deep, it’s time to jig.
Tuna tend to hang out deeper in the water column during the middle of the day. Jigging or fishing live bait is often the best way to get their attention. (Photo by Joey Manansala)
Jigging is all about reading the sonar and working the water column where you’re marking fish. Start by locating bait balls and tuna marks. It’s common to mark fish between 50 and 100 feet, though these depths may vary depending on how deep you’re fishing and the water temperature. Drop your jig just below the school and retrieve in fast, erratic motions. Don’t count out the marks on the bottom. The fish you get in the deep are usually larger fish.
Keep a close eye on the fishfinder and try to present your jigs in the zone where the tuna are feeding. (Photo by Capt. Brian Bacon)
On my boat, we usually start with five guys jigging and one rod dead-sticking a RonZ. I’ll have a couple of anglers jigging with a very fast retrieve—jig, reel, jig, reel, and repeat.Others employ a slower retrieve with bigger swings of the rod, which allows the jig to fall more on the drop.
It’s important to vary your speed and rhythm, as certain presentations will entice more bites. Once you figure out which presentation is getting all the action, have the rest of the crew do the same. Tuna often strike on the pause or the fall of the jig—many days are made just by adjusting your cadence and jig retrieve.
Choosing a Jig
The weight of the jig should be determined based on the speed of the drift. A jig presents well and has the best action when it is moving straight up and down. If your line is too scoped out away from the boat, you need a heavier jig. The faster the drift, the heavier the jig.
Depth also comes into play when choosing jig weights. If you’re fishing in deeper water, use a heavier jig to get down quickly. On my boat, we fish jigs from 110 to 250 grams, depending on the sea conditions and depth.
Colors are important as well. Hands down, the Daiwa Saltiga SK blue/pink/silver jig and Nomad Streaker Sand Eel jig catch every day we jig for tuna. We’ve caught bluefin, yellowfin, big eye, and albacore, all on these jigs.
Although we’ve had great success with these color combos, we always start each day fishing multiple color patterns since every day is different, and certain colors get more bites than others. Green/silver combos, pink/silver, blue/silver, and glow are other colors we fish.
The Mighty RonZ
While metal jigs dominate the vertical game, a RonZ lure, a long, tapered soft-plastic bait with a leadhead, is another proven option in our arsenal while targeting midshore tuna, especially when fish are keyed in on sand eels, squid, or smaller baitfish.
Long, slender soft plastics that imitate sand eels are a good option, and can be both casted and jigged. (Photo by Matt Haeffner)
What sets the RonZ apart is its realistic swimming motion and the ability to fish it at a variety of depths and retrieve speeds. The tail action mimics injured baitfish, while the hydrodynamic head design enables the lure to move with a natural swimming motion. The RonZ can be cast, dropped vertically, and dead-sticked.
“Dead-sticking” a 10-inch RonZ is always a good idea when jigging tuna, especially if they are being finicky.
To dead-stick a RonZ, simply drop the lure down, stick the rod in the rod holder, and let the natural rocking of the boat do the jigging for you. We catch fish every day on a dead-sticked RonZ. These soft-plastic lures shine in situations when the tuna are finicky or are ignoring metal jigs. Cast into surface feeds or slow-drop them near bait balls to trigger bites from fish that are otherwise lock-jawed.
Jigging Tackle
Advances in tackle technology have made it possible to target and land these fish using spinning gear. Even the most novice angler can get the mechanics down to present the jigs correctly and enjoy fighting the fish, instead of fighting heavy tackle.
Advances in tackle technology have made it possible to land tuna on relatively light spinning gear. (Photo by Joey Manansala)
Fishing live baits while jigging can add another dynamic to your day on the midshore tuna grounds. Live bait is very productive and often produces bites from larger tuna. Understanding what’s on your sounder and being able to use live baits caught on the fishing grounds is a game-changer. The choice of bait depends on what’s available and what the tuna are feeding on. Baits such as squid, mackerel, and whiting have been putting large “over” bluefin on the deck daily.
Always have a rod ready for catching live bait on the fishing grounds. You can drop a Sabiki rig down to load up on mackerel, add some squid strips to the hooks, and drop it to the bottom to catch whiting, or rig up with squid jigs to catch squid. Note: Whiting are not the hardiest of baits—use them right away because they don’t last very long in your livewell.
Using live bait isn’t just about catching more fish, it’s also about improving your chances of hooking bigger ones. Larger tuna often hang below a school, waiting for injured or isolated baitfish. A well-presented live bait frequently draws out these deep predators when they ignore jigs.
When you can mark tuna but can’t get them to commit to your jigs, consider deploying some live baits. (Photo by Capt. Brian Bacon)
Penning Baits for Tuna
While live bait can be a day-saver on the tuna grounds, filling the well can be time consuming, and can chew up valuable prime time windows, like first light. Anglers who keep their boats in the water can work around this by penning bait, and deploy their tuna baits, and not their Sabiki rigs, at false dawn.
Bait pens come in a variety of sizes and constructions. For storing tuna baits like mackerel, menhaden, spot, and even live bluefish, you’ll want a larger, circular pen that allows lots of water flow.
Mackerel are the most sensitive of these baits, requiring cool temperatures and lots of current—most harbors south of Cape Cod aren’t well suited for keeping live mackerel in bait pens.
Menhaden, however, are more tolerant of higher water temperatures and lower flows, but it’s still wise to keep the pen in the shade, if possible, and to ensure the pen is relatively free of vegetation. Excess algae growth will clog the holes and suffocate the baits.
Regardless of what baitfish is in the pen, avoid overcrowding. Too many fish confined in a small area will lead to die-offs.
Bait pens can be constructed of mesh cages, collapsible netting, or rigid plastic or fiberglass deigns. For larger tuna baits, rigid designs with large holes to provide maximum water flow are the best option, especially for longer term bait storage. For overnight or shorter-term storage, mesh or portable bait pens are fine. A circular design is essential, especially for baits like menhaden and mackerel that must keep swimming to stay alive. In rectangular bait wells, these baits can get trapped in corners and perish.
My crew uses a 25-foot, 80-pound fluorocarbon leader connected to the main line with a SPRO Power swivel while fishing live baits for midshore tuna. Right behind the swivel is a sinker attached to the main line with a rubber band. Weights range between 12 and 24 ounces, depending on the drift speed and depth. We use 6/0 or 7/0 circle hooks, depending on the bait. We fish both our spinning setups and conventional gear while live-lining baits.
When you’re ready to fish, place the bait at the depth where you’ve marked fish on the sounder, and tie a balloon to the main line—it acts as a float to hold the bait at the desired depth. We usually fish two live baits at different depths (about 20 yards apart) while jigging.
Jigging and fishing live baits for tuna south of Rhode Island is a full-on adventure that blends skill, timing, and respect for the ocean. Whether you’re working a jig in 200 feet of water or watching your live-bait balloon disappear in a surface explosion, few experiences match the thrill of connecting with a hard-charging tuna. So, load up the ice, grab your gear, and head south. The tuna are calling.
