Black sea bass… a great catch for anglers

 Quinn (Squid) Antonacci of West Greenwich, RI with the 22” black sea bass he caught on his grandfather Ken Robinson’s boat in the Brenton Tower area in 75 feet of water.

 All eyes on the bass:  Scott Kiefer of Exeter, RI with 38” striped bass. Scott said, “My dog Rocky was not letting the one out of his site.”

Capt. Dave Monti (left) and Pete Sousa (both of Warwick) took Lester and Alex from Boy Scout troops in Providence fishing.  Over 180 children fished during RISAA’s Take-a-Kid Day Saturday.

“We wouldn’t miss Take-a-Kid Fishing day for anything.” said Capt. Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters, Jamestown.  Shown here are young anglers on his charter vessel the Lacey J.

Members of Jr. Girl Scout Troops 31 and 80 of Narragansett, RI all landed bluefish during the RI Saltwater Anglers Association’s Take-A-Kid fishing event Saturday.  Troop leaders Mel Wathen, Marisa Lonkart and Kristen Maricas in back row.



 

Black sea bass underwater:  This back sea bass (with hook in month) was curious about Mike Laptew when he took this underwater photograph.  Visit Mike Laptew’s website at www.laptewproductions.com for great underwater images.

Chris Bellavance with black sea bass caught off Block Island on Priority Too Charters, Point Judith.

  

Black sea bass… a great catch for anglers

This year, the minimum size for black sea bass in Rhode Island is 13”. There is a shorter season and sub-periods due to a 7% reduction in quota for Rhode Island required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.  The first sub period starts Sunday, June 29 and runs to August 31 with a three fish/person/day limit.  The second sub-period runs from September 1 to December 31 with a seven fish/person/day limit.

 Anglers have been catching keeper size black sea bass since early spring well before the season opens while fishing for tautog and summer flounder.  So this should be a good year for black sea bass.  Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, RI said Monday, “Customers have been catching black sea bass when fishing for summer flounder in the four to five pound range so the season this year should be good.” Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, RI said, “There are a lot of black sea bass out there and we’re getting good reports everyday from customers.”

Black sea bass facts

• Black sea bass are primarily black (sounds odd), but they have the ability to adjust their color to blend in with the bottom with colors ranging from grey, brown, black to a deep indigo hue.
• They spend most of their time around the bottom and can be found near rocky areas, jetties, rips  and like a lot of bottom fish, they like structure.
• Black sea bass are hermaphroditic fish… they begin life as female then turn male.
• Black sea bass put up a good feisty fight but they do not grow to be large fish in the Northeast.
• The largest black sea bass caught was 9 pounds, 8 ounces and about 19.7” long.
• Ideal water temperature for black sea bass is 59 to 64 degrees.

How and where to catch them… rigs and bait Rigs often used to catch black sea bass have two hooks approximately 12” to 16” apart with a bank sinker to hold bottom.  Squid or sea clams are most often used as bait.  Anglers often catch them while fishing for summer flounder (fluke) or tautog because they are on or close to the bottom.  They can also be caught with jigs and many prefer this method. The best time to fish for black sea bass is from May (if legal with an open season) through the summer, when they are closest to shore. Any underwater structures… rocks, wrecks, piers and jetties will attract black sea bass.  The larger males are generally found in deeper water. Capt. Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters charters, Jamestown, RI said “Fish reef edges, deeper structure,  wrecks are best.  Squid strips and small crabs are bait of choice. Hi/low rigs work great.  Fishing for black sea bass is more about location than fancy fishing rigs. Anchor up to target black sea bass specifically, otherwise you will often catch them on a drift when fluke fishing.”   Cooking black sea bass Black sea bass is a delicate, sweet-tasting saltwater fish. The firm, white flesh of this species is a favorite of many. Bass are easy to fillet, especially when chilled, and yield a thick slice of meat. Some fillets are thick enough to slice lengthwise or to cut into nuggets for frying. Larger fish can be cut into steaks and cooked like striped bass. Capt. Robb Roach’s favorite ways to cook black sea bass… “Cook whole!  Gut, scale and cut off fins. Stuff and roast either in the oven or in a tin foil tent on the grill- yummy.” The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries suggests broiling black sea bass fillets. When broiling, fold under the thin section from the tail area to allow more even cooking. Place the fish in a greased pan, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and paprika, and dot with butter or olive oil. Broil 5 to 6 minutes on each side, depending upon thickness, until the fillets are golden-brown. Be careful not to cook too long, as the fillets will dry and become somewhat leathery. Fluke tournament this weekend Kettlebottom Outfitters and Conanicut Marine (both from Jamestown) have created a new summer flounder (fluke) tournament called Flukefest, a one-day fluke tournament that will be held Saturday, June 21, 2014 from sunrise to 3:00 p.m. (weigh in at Conanicut Marine, Jamestown).  The cost of the tournament is $40 for adults, $20 for 12 and under. Capt. Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters said, “It is very easy to register online at www.conanicutmarina.com.” There will be cash prizes for several categories including Heaviest Fluke, Heaviest three Fluke, Heaviest "trash" (non fluke) fish, Heaviest Shore-caught Fluke, and Heaviest Fluke 12 and under.  Boat, shore, and young anglers are all welcome to participate.  Visit www.kettlebottom.com or www.conanicutmarina.com for information and registration.     Trout Unlimited meeting The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (#225 ) will hold its monthly meeting Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 6:00 PM, at the Arcadia Management Area Check Station, Rt. 165, Exeter, R.I.  This will be the chapter’s second Stream-Side Meeting at the Check Station.  Hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages will be available. Members and guests welcome.  Contact Ron Marafioti, president, at (571) 643-1452 for information. Where’s the bite Striped bass fishing picked up a bit on the southwest side of Block Island but the larger fish this week were caught off Point Judith Light with eels at night.  “We weighed in a 57 pound fish and then a 58 pound fish caught by Rich Chappell of Wakefield.” said Al Conti of Sung Harbor Marina, South Kingstown. Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait, Westerly, said, “Striped bass fishing has been better along the  shore with fish starting to get larger.” Bass fishing in the Narragansett and Mt. Hope Bays is fair to good.  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, said “We had some nice fish weighed in this week but not like the 37 pounder we had last week.”   Bass continue to be landed in the Providence River this week. Mel True, Sr. said “Went fishing for stripers in the upper Providence River this morning (this weekend) and we caught three stripers in about one hour. Found a school of menhaden near the I 195 bridge. Snagged some and hooked up right away. Stripers were about 35 inches and had sea lice on them.”  Scott Kiefer of Exeter, RI said Thursday, “Seems like the larger fish are making their way (to RI)… I caught five all in the 35-38 inch class covered in sea lice”.  Angler Kevin Bettencourt of East Providence said, “Didn't get out during the week but fished this past Saturday.  The pogies were by Colts Park in the channel and by Barrington Beach.  Fishing was slow with not many fish being caught.  I was able to pick-up a 20 pounder by snagging a pogy and leaving it in the school.  Also did some chunking and picked up one about 17 lbs.  With the bluefish mixed in it’s a great time to chunk.” Bluefish exploded this week.  I fished in the very successful RI Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) Take-a-kid fishing event Saturday with 55 other vessels… all trolling for bluefish with about 180 children in Greenwich Bay.  The bluefish bite was outstanding with all boats easily catching six to twelve fish in the 20 to 24 plus inch range.  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle said, “The bluefish bite has been very strong with anglers complaining of too many hook ups when targeting bass, but they provide a great fight for anglers and when prepared well are tasty too.” Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait said, “This weekend bluefish were on the surface at Weekapaug Light. There are more bluefish around now.”  Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been good in the Bay.   I fished the Warwick Light red bell last week with Dave, Ed and Richard Jacques (of North Kingstown).  They landed six fluke, three nice keepers, at the end of an outgoing tide fishing the channel banks for about 1 ½ hours.  Mike Cardinal said “Fluke fishing along the coastal shore has been steady with anglers are finding fish in 40 to 55 feet of water.”  Fishing at the mouth of the Sakonnet River has been good too.  “We weighed in a 7 pound, 4 once fluke this weekend that came from the Sakonnet.  And, fishing under the Newport Bridge and off Ft. Adams has been pretty good too.” said Manny Macedo.  Mitch Maloof of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said “The fluke bite is strong right off the beaches in 40 to 50 feet of water.” Roger Simpson of the Francis Fleet said, “There were quite a few limit catches recorded over the past week and quite a few hefty slabs between 7 and 9.5 lbs. On most outings the average keeper is in the 3 lb range.” The minimum size for fluke in RI is 18”, eight fish/person/day. Scup fishing is heating up with large fish now being caught in the Bay at Colt State Park as well as along southern coastal shores. Shore fishing. Mitch Maloof of Breachway Bait said, “Anglers fishing the Charlestown Breachway are landing school bass and bluefish… we still have school bass being taken after five at night in Ninigret Pond with anglers fishing the worm hatch.”  Noted shore angler and author Dave Pickering said, “I have been concentrating on the Cape Cod Canal this week with those big tides. Fished there several times and came away with schoolies. However, I did see some keepers up to 25 lbs. being caught. My son, Matt, landed a decent fish about 20 lbs. on a needlefish fished on top. Occasionally good size stripers are chasing mackerel and are breaking on the surface. However, most regulars would agree that Canal fishing is off compared to past years…”