Landry lands monster bass in Bay

Monster bass: Ken Landry of Cranston landed this 52.25 pound striped bass Monday afternoon live lining Atlantic menhaden (pogies) in Narragansett Bay.

VIP Tournament: Jamie Legare of North Kingstown with a black sea bass he caught on last year Lion’s Club Visually Impaired Persons fishing trip aboard the Frances Fleet.

East End Eddie Doherty (formerly of Attleboro) with the 27 pound striped bass he caught on the Cape Cod Canal Wednesday.

VIP Tournament: Neil McCauley of Johnston with a scup he caught on last year’s Lions Club Visually Impaired Persons fishing trip on the Frances Fleet.

Landry lands monster bass in Bay

Ken Landry of Cranston, RI caught a 52.25 pound striped bass Monday afternoon when fishing the upper part of Narragansett Bay.  Landry a long time recreational and commercial fisherman caught the fish live lining Atlantic Menhaden (pogies).  Large striped bass over 50 pounds are sometimes caught at Block Island and along the coastal shore in the summer, however, this fish is a very large fish for a spring striped bass caught in Narragansett Bay.

Ken Ferrara, his father, owner of Ray Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “I said to Kenny, remember when you were a kid and I caught a 50 pound bass in the Bay?  You son of gun, you beat me by 2 pounds”.  Landry said, “Dad I beat you by 2.25 pounds.”

Fishing tournament for visually impaired

The RI Lions Sight Foundation (RILSF) will be hosting their 12th Annual Fishing Tournament for Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) on Sunday, June 23 aboard the Frances Fleet party boat in Galilee, RI.

The Tournament is a half-day fishing trip with participants competing for one of several trophies and an opportunity to represent Rhode Island at the “North Carolina Lions National VIP Tournament” in October.  Also included during the Nationals trip is a New England Lions Tourney which currently includes teams from RI, CT and MA.

The event is free to the VIP’s and their Guides and includes a continental breakfast, fishing, followed by a lunch and presentation of prizes and awards at Dan’s Carriage Inn, North Kingstown.  The VIP Tournament is available to any legally blind Rhode Island resident (minimum age is 17). 

There are over 2,500 visually impaired persons in Rhode Island so organizers are urging readers to pass along information about this opportunity. Information and applications on the RI VIP Tourney are available at www.lions4sight.org/fish.htm  or call Ken Barthelemy at 401.447.4228.

Fluke experts share tips

Monday night I attended a RI Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) summer flounder (fluke) seminar with four great fluke experts.  The experts at the seminar were Kathy and Peter Lewis, RISAA Team Fluke Challenge tournament winners; Capt. Shamus Mara of Big Game Sport Fishing; and Michael Tilelli, the 2017 and 2018 RISAA Angler of the Year.

Here are some highlights:

When do you start fluke fishing?  Peter Lewis said, “I start when the Connecticut season opens, this year it was May 4.  However, the fish are generally offshore at this time so we fish the Montauk, NY area until the fish get a little closer.” Mid-May is a good time to start fluke fishing, however, we do not real numbers of keeper fluke until June.

At what depth do you find the fish?  Kathy Lewis said, “This time of year (May) we find them in sallower water about 30 to 50 feet  and as things warm up (June and summer) in the deeper water 80 to 100 feet.”  Capt. Mara agreed and added, “It all relates to bait.  Wherever the bait is, that is where the fluke will be.”

What type of bottom do you like for fluke fishing?  Michael Tilelli said, “I fish from shore so it is usually a matter of casting as far as I can and then work the lure back to shore.  The biggest factor is bait in the water, if I see no bait I generally move.”  Capt. Mara said “I like fishing humps and bumps and line up my drift so I can take advantage of as much structure as possible.” Peter Lewis said, “I like a sandy bottom, ideally that leads to a mussel bed and then falls off to sand.  I like to drift from shallow to deep water.”

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass.  Lorraine Danti of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “One of our customers fishing Narragansett Bay was having a blast catching school striped bass fishing and all of a sudden his line started to pay out quickly and it was a big fish, actually a 42” fish mixed in with the school bass. He was using a soft plastic lure.  Other customers are doing will with school bass too and like I said with an occasional keeper mixed in.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Capt. B.J. Silvia of Flippin Out Charters is landing some nice fish in the 30 inch range in the East Passage on the channel pad.  His customers are successfully jigging with Al Gag’s soft plastics.  From shore anglers are landing bass using claim worms sea worms, clams and soft plastics.”  Ken Landry of Cranston caught a 52.25 pound striped bass Monday afternoon in the upper part of Narragansett Bay.  Ken Ferrara, his father, of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “He caught the fish when live lining pogies (Atlantic menhaden).”

Tautog fishing has been very good.  Lorraine Danti said, “The tautog bite is very good from boats and shore.  Customers are catching their limit at the Stone Bridge and Bristol Narrows.”  I fished the General Rock, North Kingstown area Saturday with angler Steve Brustein of West Warwick in water 12 to 22 feet deep and caught short tautog only.  “Fishing for tautog from boat and shore has been good. Customers are catching fish 25” primarily south of the bridges.  Narragansett has been very good for customers.” said Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Freshwater fishing continues to be very strong.  Mark Adler of Tiverton said, “We have been hitting the trout pretty good.  This weekend I fished Wallum Lake (Douglas, MA and Burrillville, RI) and landed rainbow trout using garlic PowerBait.  The trout were quality fish and there were a lot of them.”  “The trout bite is still good but the largemouth bass bite at Lincoln Woods Olney Pond, the Tiverton Reservoir and the Woonasquatucket River, North Providence has been very good.  Anglers are using shiners.  The bite in the North Cove of the Olney Pond is particularly good because of all the structure and bait there.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been improving offshore.    Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “It was a good week for fluke fishing and it is getting better with the warming weather. Every trip we are catching more and more fish covered in sea lice. This is a very good sign with more fish moving in to the area. The water is still in the upper 40s and fishing should only continue to improve as it warms.”

Squid fishing was good this week.  Capt. Frank Blount said, “Anglers who fish all night have been going home with a solid five gallon bucket full. The size of the squid is amazing as well. Wednesday night did have the best quality with tubes the size of your arm.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “Ethane Phouthakoun of Providence and his father caught a half-bucket of squid Sunday night and then limit out on scup Monday morning.”