Wet start... wild end to Opening Day

Getting ready: Manny Macedo (center) of Lucky Bait, Warren with customers Brenda Ferreira of East Providence and her son Dan Decrescenzo as they stopped by the store to get ready for opening day.

Golden Trout is King: Jaymin Deandrade (center) with a golden trout he caught at Only Pond, Lincoln.  Shown with his brother Henry and uncle Joe Botelhs.

Food and funds donated:  Board and Annual Banquet committee members of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association with food donated to the Johnny Cake Food Pantry in South County. 

Family fun:  Matthew and Linda Terry of Richmond with their daughter Olivia at Frenchtown Pond in East Greenwich on Opening Day.

Wet start and wild end to Opening Day for Jose Lopez

Opening day of the Rhode Island trout and freshwater season had a wet start and a wild end last Saturday, April 13 for Jose Lopez Jr. of Central Falls.  At the start of opening day (6:08 a.m.) only a few anglers braved the pounding rain and wind at Rhode Island waterways to fish. Jose Lopez started his day at Carbuncle Pond in Coventry.  He and those anglers that fished in the morning were rewarded with some of the 75,000 brook, brown and rainbow trout that had been stocked by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

As the day progressed Jose moved to Only Pond, Lincoln during the midafternoon.  The sky had cleared and that is when things got wild for Jose Lopez as he hooked a 27.5 inch golden trout.  Jose said, “This fish kept teasing everyone swimming along the beach but no one could get the fish to bite.  Then I laid out some PowerBait just with a hook and no weight.  I saw the big yellow trout grab the bait and take off. I fought the fish for about 20 minutes and landed landing it at around 5:00 p.m.” The trout, which officially weighed in at 11.36 pounds at Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown, may be a state of Rhode Island record for a golden trout.  At press time Jose was still waiting for the official word from RI DEM.

Henry Deandrade who also fished opening day at Only Pond, Lincoln (with his uncle and older brother), said, “The fishing is great. We caught ten fish so far, I caught the biggest and my brother Jaymin caught a golden trout.” 

Joe Botelhs of East Providence (Henry and Jaymin’s uncle) said, “We caught all our fish using PowerBait because the fish coming out of the hatchery are used to eating artificial food.”  Once hatchery-raised fish acclimate to the natural surroundings (in a week or so) they are likely to enjoy eating natural baits like meal worms or lures that look like natural baits. Hatchery-raised golden rainbow trout were stocked at 16 of Rhode Island’s most popular fishing locations for Opening Day including the largest fish so far caught by Jose Lopez Jr.

So if you plan to fish for trout this week I would suggest taking artificial baits (like PowerBait) as well as natural baits and natural looking lures.  Be ready to fish a number of different ways and then switch to the rig and bait arrangement that seems to be working best.

At Willet Avenue Pond brothers Nick and Ted Crevier of Riverside had landed two and three tout respectively in two hours.  I met Matthew Terry of Richmond, his wife Linda and daughter Olivia at Frenchtown Pond in East Greenwich at about 10 a.m. in a constant rain.  Linda said, “We just got here.  We fish together as a family all the time and thought we would come out and try our luck on opening day.”

Opening day had a wet start but great ending for anglers like Jose Lopez Jr. who landed a monster golden and just about everyone else who fished the weekend.  Once again our Department of Environmental Management did a great job stocking ponds and planning opening day.

Trout season in Massachusetts started April 1.  Visit www.mass.gov/orgs/division-of-fisheries-and-wildlife for a list of stocked ponds and regulations in Massachusetts.  And, for stocked ponds and regulations in Rhode Island visit www.dem.ri.gov . In Rhode Island anglers who catch a golden trout from Opening Day through April 29 can receive a free golden trout pin. Take a picture of your catch and send it to dem.fishri@dem.ri.gov .

Charter Boat annual meeting

Members of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association (RIPCBA) gathered Sunday at Spain Restaurant, Narragansett for their Annual Banquet.  About one hundred captains and guests celebrated last year’s catch.  Capt. Rich Bellavance, president, said “We are thankful for a safe year of fishing last year and look forward to a good and safe year of fishing in 2019.”

Captains and guests donated food and cash raised at the annual banquet to the Johnny Cake Food Pantry in South County as they have done for the past several years.

New Association promotes business through conservation

The American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA) officially launched this month with a mission to promote sustainable business through marine conservation.

Capt. John McMurray, president of the Association, said, “We represent fishing guides and charter captains, small business owners and like-minded anglers to protect marine resources.  Our board of directors is comprised of highly respected small business owners and guides from Maine to North Carolina.  In Rhode Island Peter Jenkins, owner of the Saltwater Edge, Middletown, is our board chairmen and charter Capt. Dave Monti, fishing writer and fisheries advocate, is a board member and chairs our audit committee.”

The ASGA strives to provide a stronger voice and sound representation to the recreational fishing community, and intends to work with lawmakers and various fisheries management bodies by advocating for conservation through science-based management.  It will focus on the positive economic impacts that accrue from management that promotes abundant fish populations and the economic harm that will inevitably result from policies that promote excessive harvest.

The organization has identified striped bass, bluefish, menhaden and the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act as initial management issues that it will focus its efforts on in the near-term. 

Visit www.saltwaterguidesassociation.org for information and as a resource on marine and fisheries management issues. 

Where’s the bite

Freshwater.  Trout fishing at Massachusetts and Rhode Island ponds that have been stocked has been outstanding and is expected to continue to be good this coming week.  Only Pond in Lincoln; Willet Avenue Pond, Riverside; Silver Spring, in North Kingstown; and Frenchtown Pond, East Greenwich were all yielding large brown,  brook and rainbow trout this week.  The largemouth bass bite was good too with angles using shiners as the bait of choice.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “Customers are catching trout with artificial baits (like PowerBait) as the food of choice of these hatchery raised stocked trout is still manufactured food until they acclimate to their natural surroundings.”

Saltwater fishing. Anglers continue to fish for small holdover striped bass in Narrow River, Narragansett, and the Pawcatuck River, Westerly.  A few angles have started to fish for tautog. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “Customers are buying crabs but no reports of high volumes of keeper tautog being caught.”  Some anglers are catching tautog but they are small fish. Tautog season started April 1, the minimum size is 16” and the limit is three fish/person/day.

Fresh water fishing season off to a good start

Three generations of the Doro family fished Opening Day at Willett Avenue Pond, East Providence. Michel Doro with father Joe Doro and his two children Melanie and Michaela.

Fritz Petsch of East Providence with one of the nine trout he caught on Opening Day using a Kastmaster lure.

Angler Ken Neill III with his 24 pound, 3 once Virginian state record tautog caught March 25, 2012. Rhode Island’s record is 21 pounds, 4 ounces caught in 1954 by C.W. Sunquist of Jamestown, RI. (photo from Eastern Shore News).

Nick Woodbine of Warwick fished Frenchtown Pond, North Kingstown on Opening Day with his two brothers and uncle, Chris Choquette. Nick released this rainbow trout back into the water.

Anglers fish Opening Day Saturday, April 14 at Willett Avenue Pond, East Providence, RI.

Fresh water fishing season off to good start

It does not get much better than this… this Saturday I covered opening day, the official start of the freshwater and trout fishing season; I dug and ate my first Rhode Island quahogs of the season; and I caught my first striped bass of the season.
The perfect weather Saturday drove anglers to ponds, lakes and rivers throughout Rhode Island for opening day Saturday, April 14. The Rhode Department of Environmental Management (DEM) had set the stage by stocking over 80,000 rainbow and brown trout in over 100 ponds and rivers throughout the State and then mother nature took over providing a sunny, mild day with temperatures that reached into the 70’s.
John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Success on opening day is very much related to the weather. If it is a good day people go fishing, if the weather is bad they stay home. But Friday night and Saturday were great, we stayed open all night Friday as we have for the past 32 years and business was good.” John’s Bait & Tackle is running a week long trout fishing contest for children fourteen years old and younger. “The rules are simple, no entry forms, simply bring your fish here and we weigh it. Next Sunday we will award $40 in a store merchandise credit to the first place winner, $30 to the second place winner and a $20 merchandise credit for third place.”, said Wunner.
Opening day is steeped in tradition; the desire for fishing opening day is passed from mothers and fathers to sons and daughters. I met the Doro family at 6:15 a.m. at Willett Avenue Pond in East Providence, RI where three generations of Doro’s were fishing. Joe Doro said, “We have been fishing opening day for over 25 years and now my son Michael and his two daughters Michaela and Melanie are fishing the tradition too.”
Nick Woodbine of Warwick and his brothers Jacob and Andrew fished opening day at Frenchtown Pond in North Kingstown. Their uncle Chris Choquette of North Kingstown took them fishing, and was very busy keeping all their lines in the water. Every minute or two one would yell, “I got one or I need more bait.” As I walked away Chris said, “Nick, that one is too small, put it back in the water.”
Harold Felder of Providence and his friend Rocco of East Providence said they had been fishing Willett Avenue Pond, East Providence since sun up and had caught about six fish when I caught up with them. They were using both Power Baits and Thompson lures purchased earlier at Archie’s Bait and Tackle in Riverside.
Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said he and his son Kenny had one of the best opening days in a long time. Business was good both Friday night and Saturday. “People were buying everything… licenses, our special trout rigs made in the store, Power Baits, meal worms and all other types of bait.” said Ferrara.
Plenty of trout remain in ponds and lakes so keep fishing this spring and summer as crowds won’t be around like opening day. Traditionally DEM restocks select ponds and lakes and there should be a lot of good fishing throughout the season.
Congratulations to DEM and their Fish and Wildlife Division for another successful Opening Day. Fresh water fishing licenses and trout stamps are needed to fish in Rhode Island. Visit www.dem.ri.gov or visit participating bait shops and retail outlets for details.

West Bay Anglers host Capt. Dave Monti on April 25
The West Bay Anglers will host Capt. Dave Monti on Wednesday, April 25, 6:00 p.m. at the Warwick FOP Lounge, 95 Tanner Avenue, Warwick, RI. Fluke (or summer flounder) fishing tactics, baits, rigs and fishing locations will be discussed. The presentation will also feature exclusive video interviews with Greg Myerson (striped bass 81.4 pound record holder) and George Poveromo (author and famous TV fishing show host). The event is free to all West Bay Angler members and the general public. Capacity limited to 100 people on fist come, first served basis. Call 401.463.7532 for information.

Commercial striped bass tags and fishing landing permits available in Port of Galilee
Commercial striped bass tags and Rhode Island commercial fishing landing permits are now available at the DEM's Division of Coastal Resources office in the Port of Galilee. State regulations require that no striped bass may be sold unless it has been properly identified with a commercial striped bass tag provided by DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife. In addition to the Galilee office, the tags will continue to be available at DEM's Marine Fisheries section in Jamestown located at 3 Fort Wetherill Road.

Record tautog caught in Virginia
According to the Eastern Shore News, a 24-pound, 3-ounce tautog, caught on March 25 by Ken Neill III of Seaford, has been certified as the new Virginia state record. Neill's catch surpassed the long standing record of 24 pounds, caught by Gregory Bell in 1987. The Rhode Island State tautog record is 21 pounds, 4 ounces. It was caught off Jamestown in 1954 by C.W. Sunquist of Jamestown, RI. The world record for a tautog is 25 lbs. which was caught off New Jersey in 1998.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing continues to build. I caught by first bass of the season in the Green (Potowomut) River this Saturday with a Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow plastic swimming lure drifting up the river on an incoming tide. Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait and Tackle, Warwick, said, “Customers are finding bass at Chepiwonoxet Point in Greenwich Bay.” I tried this area Friday and ran into two seals, as well as one off the northern tip of Prudence Island (they always seem to beat me to the good fishing spots). Anglers fishing the East Passage of Narragansett Bay had mixed results, some catching small bass. The West Wall at the Harbor of Refuge in South County is still being productive for school bass but striped bass action from Galilee to Westerly is slow.

Tautog season opened April 15th. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick was selling worms, clams and green crabs to anglers targeting tautog. “In the spring many anglers believe the tautog prefer softer baits… grass shrimp, worms and clams are often used by these anglers. All these baits and the green crabs have been selling well.” Ken said customers reported a modest tautog bite at General Rock, North Kingstown and Coddington Cove, Middletown, RI.