The Block Island Sound, RI marine forecast covers live wind speed and gusts, tide predictions, wave conditions, and major and minor solunar feeding times, updated continuously from NOAA and Open-Meteo. The strongest fishing windows usually line up with the moving tide and the solunar periods shown below — check current conditions before you head out.
By Steve Wilson, lifelong angler & founder of My Marine Forecast
Last updated: Aug 25, 2026, 8:00 AM
On Tuesday, August 25, Block Island Sound, RI sees high tide at 6:37 AM (3.1 ft) and 7:00 PM (3.5 ft), low tide at 12:20 AM (0.6 ft) and 12:05 PM (0.5 ft). Winds 4–15 mph from the W gusting to 22 mph. Air temperatures 65–74°F. Current water temperature is about 72°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Station 8452660
| Low tide | 12:20 AM | 0.6 ft |
| High tide | 6:37 AM | 3.1 ft |
| Low tide | 12:05 PM | 0.5 ft |
| High tide | 7:00 PM | 3.5 ft |
Wind
4–15 mph W
Gusts
22 mph
Air Temp
65–74°F
Water Temp
72°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8452660 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Tide data sourced from NOAA Station 8452660
Block Island Sound is the open water between Block Island, Point Judith, and the eastern tip of Long Island, and it ranks among the best big-water striped bass and bluefish grounds on the East Coast. Strong tidal current pours across the Sound between Rhode Island Sound and Long Island Sound, setting up rips and bait concentrations that hold fish from late Spring through the Fall run. It is mostly a boat fishery, with the southwest corner of Block Island, the Point Judith approaches, and the channel between the island and the mainland producing the most consistent action.
Summer brings fluke, scup, and black sea bass over the Sound's sandy bottom and scattered wrecks and ledges, while the dropping water temperatures of Fall trigger one of the Northeast's most famous false albacore and bonito blitzes. Schools of albies and bluefish chase bait across the Sound in September and October, and the same conditions push trophy striped bass through the rips off the island. Offshore of the Sound, the Block Island shipping lanes and nearby canyon edges open the door to bluefin tuna and shark.
The Sound demands respect for weather and sea state. A southwest wind against an ebbing tide stacks up a steep, dangerous chop, and a northeast blow can build big swells across open water with little warning. The crossing from Point Judith or Montauk is exposed, so wind direction, wind speed, and wave height matter bite here.
Timing on Block Island Sound is all about current. The strongest rips and the best feeding windows form on the moving tide, particularly the stage that lines current up with the structure you are fishing. Check the live wind, wave, tide, and solunar forecast above before you commit to the run across open water.
Spring: Striped bass push into the Sound from mid April, schoolies first along the beaches and salt ponds, then keeper fish by mid May as squid stack up on the reefs. Tautog open on the rocks in April. Summer flounder move onto the sandy edges by late May, and the first bluefish usually show around Memorial Day.
Summer: Fluke drifting is the daily program, with the larger fish on deeper edges off Block Island. Striped bass hold on Southwest Ledge and the rips, feeding best at night or on moving tide. Black sea bass and scup are thick on any structure. Bluefish blitz bait schools whenever wind and tide line up.
Fall: The fall run defines this fishery. False albacore arrive in late August and September, chasing bay anchovies along the beaches and breachways. Striped bass and bluefish feed heavily on migrating bait through October, sometimes into November. Tautog fishing peaks on the reefs as the water cools down through the 50s.
Winter: Most of the fishery shuts down once water drops into the 40s. A few cod trips run offshore in calm windows, and some anglers chase holdover striped bass in the salt ponds and river mouths on warm afternoons. Otherwise this is the season for rigging tackle and waiting on April.
Point Judith and its lighthouse rocks anchor the eastern end of the Sound, with the Harbor of Refuge breakwalls fishable from shore. Charlestown Breachway and Weekapaug Breachway funnel bait between the salt ponds and open water on every tide. Watch Hill Reef holds striped bass through the season for boaters working the rips, and Napatree Point gives shore casters a long walkable spit with current on both sides. Around Block Island itself, Southwest Ledge and the North Rip are the marquee striper and fluke grounds.