Listen to the experts… tautog fishing outstanding

October 18,2010

Captain John Sheriff, with a Narragansett Bay tautog he caught last week, advises using a grapping hook anchor made with rebar so if caught in rock it will bend and free itself.



Anthony Resta of North Chelmsford, MA with a 42” striped bass he caught with his friend Alan Stewart. The pair caught six bass in the high 30” to low 40” range using surface plugs in the Westport River.



Tautog fishing exploded this week with shore and boat anglers catching some great fish. Many anglers caught their limit in fairly short time in Narragansett Bay as well as off southern coastal shores in Newport, Beavertail (Jamestown) and Narragansett.

And, as of October 16 the catch limit for private recreational anglers increased from three fish/person/day to six fish/person/day. However, new this year, is a ten fish per boat limit. The boat limit does not apply to charter and party boats (visit DEM’s website at www.dem.ri.gov for complete salt and freshwater fishing regulations).

With the tautog season in full swing, it’s the perfect time to hear from some “tautog experts”. Over the past month I asked expert tautog anglers, fishing guides, charter captains and bait shop owners for tautog fishing tips. The tips below are the second installment of what they had to say (tips appears in last week’s column which can be found on this publication’s website or by visiting my blog at www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com ).

Positioning over structure
Positioning over structure is important when tautog fishing. You have to be over or near structure (rocks, piers, wrecks, ledge, humps or holes, etc.) to catch tautog. Anglers use a number of strategies to ensure their vessel is properly positioned and stays in position. The trick is positioning the vessel without getting your anchor stuck in rock. Two years ago I lost an anchor on the northern side of Hope Island that got stuck in rock... ouch!!! It cost over $200 for a new anchor and line. I now often use a $1.49 cinder block as an anchor when fishing areas that require anchoring on rocky bottoms. The cinder block holds if current is moderate. Captain Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters, Jamestown, said, “I use two anchors to get proper positioning over structure.” Robb said that he stays away from crowds and finds his own fish, it also gives him plenty of room to make sure he is properly positioned. Captain John Sheriff of Captain Sheriff’s Charters suggests using a grappling hook anchor make of rebar. The soft rods allow the anchor to bend if it should get caught in structure. Captain Sherriff said, “Many anglers tie a line to the end of their Danforth or grappling hook anchor (opposite the chain end) and attach a float to the other end of the line”. When ready to leave they pick up the float and line which pulls the anchor out of the structure the same way it went in. Captain Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters, Galilee, RI said if it takes several times to position yourself properly over structure then so be it. Remember no structure, no tautog.

Rod and rigs
I use a rod with a flexible tip so I can feel the tautog’s first bite, but yet a rod with a lot of background to muscle the fish away from structure. My personal chose is a one piece Penn medium action spinning rod with 30 lb. test brad line. The braid line does not stretch like monofilament line which could allow the tautog to move more easily back to structure. The tautog experts I spoke with all seem to agree. The simpler the tautog rig the better, less hardware means less chance of getting caught in structure. This year my favorite rig was suggested by John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown. It is a very simple rig consisting of an egg sinker, a two-way swivel and a single hook. The egg sinker slides on the main braid line which has a two-way swivel attached to it, the hook with 12" to 15” of line is attached to the other end of the swivel. Bottom snags seldom occur, I have used this rig a few times this year without losing any rigs. Captain John Rainone of L’il Toot Charters, Narragansett, has developed a special tautog rig with a sinker line that breaks if the singer gets caught in structure. You can retrieve the hook (and/or the fish) if the sinker gets stuck. Captain John said, “One hook saves rigs and fish… waiting for a second fish to jump on that second hook makes no sense.” Angler/Captain Kevin Bettencourt of the East Bay Anglers likes to use a three-way swivel rig. The main line is attached to the swivel and then a sinker is attached to the second swivel loop and the third swivel loop has a 24” fluorocarbon (30 to 40 lbs) line attached with either a 3/0 to 4/0 Gamakatus Octopus Hook.

Last week a number of tautog tips were covered in this column, however, one is worth repeating… where to fish for tautog.

Where to fish for tautog
John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, East Providence said, “It may take some looking and experimenting but shore anglers should find a spot that works for them... off wharfs, rocky shoreline and docks”. Popular places anglers have been catching tautog this fall include reefs/humps/holes off Newport; rock piles off Narragansett beach; Beavertail Point, Jamestown (from shore or boat); Whale Rock off Narragansett; Plum Point Light in North Kingstown next to the Jamestown Bridge; Conimicut Light, Warwick; Colt State Park, Bristol; Coddington Cove, Middletown; General Rock, North Kingstown; from shore at Quonset Point, North Kingstown; Ohio Ledge (in the East Passage); Hope Island; and the wharfs along the Providence River.

East Bay Anglers
The East Bay Anglers’ Fishing Expo will be held Sunday, January 30, 2011 (more information to come). I spoke about tautog fishing at their October meeting last week and had a great time. They are a great group. Contact Will Barbeau if you are interested in joining at wbarbo@cox.net .

Where’s the bite
Striped bass fishing continues to improve in Narragansett Bay. Fly fisherman Peter Nilsen of Barrington said, “Finally the bass are moving up into the beaches in the upper bay. Caught two keepers along Barrington Beach and missed a few others. Not much bait showing, just a few very small pods here and there.” Angler Alan Stewart, a member of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, has been hitting big bass in the Westport River using top water plugs in the morning. Last week he caught six huge bass, the largest was over 40”. The striped bass bite at Block Island continues to be hot too. Angler Eric Appolonia of North Kingstown said, “The bass bite off Block Island is outstanding. I picked up three nice bass in an hour using eels on the southwest side of the Island”. Reports from charter boats fishing the Island have been good too.

Tautog fishing is outstanding (see above column). Captain John Sheriff took three clients tautog fishing Sunday off Newport in the reef area and said, “We fished in the NW gusty winds on an outgoing tide. The group caught 35 tautog and 27 keepers. Most of the fish were released”.

Fish poaching penalties… and a great shark story

August 16, 2010

Thirteen foot, 288 lb. thresher shark caught on Priority Too Charters from Snug Harbor, RI. Captain Rick Bellavance said Jeff Laroque and the crew from UPS were fishing with him Saturday when the fish was caught.

Last week the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) charged Albert Reeves of Rehoboth, MA with poaching striped bass. They said he had eleven illegal fish in a secret compartment in his boat. The story spread like wildfire through the fishing community. For a while it was the only topic at bait shops, on charter boats and on fishing blogs in Rhode Island.

DEM said they had information that Reeves was illegally taking over limits of striped bass in Rhode Island and selling them in Massachusetts and that he had the extra fish in a hidden compartment on his boat. The officers stopped him while driving on Route 1 in Rhode Island after fishing. Officers found a secret compartment that opened hydraulically with eleven (11) illegal fish (in addition to the two legal fish he had in his possession). The state seized Reeves’ boat and eqipment. His arraignment is scheduled for September 1.
RIDEM officers are familiar with Reeves. He was arrested, charged and pleaded NOLO in July of 2003 for the same offense. He was fined $450.00.

Poaching by anyone, recreational fishermen or commercial fishermen can have a negative impact on a fishery and fishing community. I asked a couple of anglers, charter captains and fishing authorities their thoughts on this poaching incident and if in general penalties should stay the same or be enhanced. Here’s what they had to say.

Captain George Cioe, Narragansett, RI…“I believe that when a vessel is designed to conceal criminal activity that it is a sure indication of habitual offense. Therefore the vessel should be seized and the funds given to DEM for future enforcement efforts or equipment.”
Steve Medeiros, president, Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Association…“We hope that this time the court will agree to seize his boat and equipment. A day's illegal catch can be valued at hundreds of dollars, and many poachers do this EVERY DAY! It is time for the fines for such violations be increased. It is time for the General Assembly to change the fisheries laws and allow for the increase of such fines.”

Captain Rick Bellavance, Priority Too Charters, president of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association… “I favor a modest fine for first time offenders.( I would suggest a temporary suspension of their commercial fishing license and a fine.) Repeat offenders should be subject to an increasing fine structure, to include forfeiture of their State Commercial Fishing License... Recreational fishing fine structure should also be reviewed with the possibility of loss of Salt Water License. According to MRFSS, Non-Compliance among many species is in double digit percentage of recorded intercepts. Due to the number of private anglers, this equates to a much larger number of illegal fish than are illegally harvested commercially.”


Grand opening for new Mt. Hope boat launch.
DEM held opening ceremonies for the Mount Hope Boat Launch Improvement Project in Bristol on Monday, August 16. The old boat launch located behind the RI Veterans’ Home has been replaced with a new, 60-foot wide concrete ramp and two floating courtesy docks. The new Mount Hope facility is accessible to boaters with disabilities.
DEM said a dredged channel from the new boat ramp location, which is north of the old Mount Hope boat ramp, into deep water will accommodate larger boats brought in by trailer to the new facility. This new ramp is the only public boat launching ramp of its size in the Rhode Island portion of Mount Hope Bay.

Menhaden advisory panel meeting
A meeting of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council Menhaden Advisory Panel has bee scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 6:00 P.M. at the URI Bay Campus, Coastal Institute, Hazard Room which off South Ferry Road in Narragansett, RI. Agenda items include the most up to date stock status and a review of current regulations and proposals for any changes to current regulations. Anglers interested in expressing their thoughts about menhaden regulations are urged to attend the meeting.

Clam regulations change back to the way they were
DEM filed new emergency regulations with the Secretary of State while rescinding emergency regulations that were filed the week before relating to the harvest of soft-shell clams from the newly opened shell fishing area near Conimicut Point. Effective immediately, time restrictions on the harvest of soft-shell clams in the shell fishing area near Conimicut Point have been eliminated. The area will be open from sunrise to sunset, as are other shellfish harvesting areas. The emergency regulations filed on August 5 limited the harvesting hours from sunrise to noon. The regulatory change was made after it became apparent that the time restriction had an unfair impact on clam diggers as they claim they usually can only harvest product during periods of low tide.

Where’s the bite
Striped bass fishing off Block Island remains good with blue fish mixed in. Anglers taking fish jigging (Diamond Jigs), with eels and tube and worm. Reports for several anglers and charter captains related that this week the best fishing has been on the south and southwest sides of the Island with the north rip still holding fish too. Fishing off Newport has produced fish too. For the second week in a room I caught a keeper bass under the Newport Bridge while fluking close to the swirling water around bridge piers.
Fluke (summer flounder) fishing has slowed down this past week due to the odd wind direction and juxtaposing tide, high seas. Fish still holding near coastal shores with no major reports of catches in the Bay. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said reports of fluke off Newport (Brenton Reef, the Inn at Castle Hill), off Jamestown (Beavertail and in front of Mackerel and Hull Coves). Tom of Erickson’s Bait &Tackle said the sand bar off the south side of Gould Island had been good too. Block Island fluke fishing is expected to improve this week with favorable winds and tides.
A great shark story
Off Shore fishing reports have not included bluefin tuna. Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters said, “…I would say tuna is slow and sharking is good. I did see some encouraging signs near Coxes, so the action will soon begin.” Captain Bellavance continued, Saturday “We hooked a Blue Shark which had a NMFS tag in him. After retagging the shark, I removed the old tag and let him go in good shape. … A couple hours go by with nothing, then the short line goes off. .. a 13 foot Thresher Shark comes flying out of the water.. The guys did a great job listening and fought the fish perfectly… the fish jumped a couple more times and after an hour, I stuck it with a harpoon, sunk a flying gaff into it and had a tail rope in place. Done. We packed it in and headed for Snug Harbor, where the fish weighed in at 288 pounds.” Captain Bellavance said, “Thresher Sharks are delicious food (like swordfish) and my customers wanted to eat it … If the shark was not good to eat, we would have tagged it for research and let it go.”