DEM stocking local waters with trout

Matt Weckbacher holds up the replica mount of his 69-pound striped bass that took first place in Striperfest, a season-long striped bass tournament sponsored by On-the-Water magazine.

DEM stocking local waters with trout

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is stocking ponds across Rhode Island with 10,000 trout in advance of Columbus Day weekend. A select number of waterways will be stocked given current drought conditions and as conditions improve, additional stocking will take place.

As part of a new initiative aimed at making larger, trophy-sized, hatchery-raised brown trout available to anglers, 400 brood stock brown trout with an average weight of 4 to 6 pounds will be stocked at Carbuncle Pond in Coventry beginning this fall.

The following waters will be stocked: Carbuncle Pond, Coventry; Olney Pond, Lincoln; Silver Spring Pond, North Kingstown; Barber Pond, South Kingstown; Round Top Ponds, Burrillville; Meadowbrook Pond, Cronan Landing, Lower Shannock Fishing Area, and Beaver River (Rt. 138), Richmond; Ponagansett Fishing Area, Foster; Wallum Lake, Burrillville; Wood River, Dow Field, Mechanic Street, Barberville, Wyoming Pond, and the Pawcatuck River, Hopkinton; and Potter Hill Landing, Westerly.

A current fishing license and a Trout Conservation Stamp are required to keep or possess a trout or to fish in a catch-and-release or fly-fishing only area. A trout stamp is not required for persons possessing trout taken from a lake or pond that shares a border with Rhode Island.

For stocking information and freshwater fishing regulations visit www.dem.ri.gov.

ASMFC garners angler input on Atlantic menhaden

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) hosted an Atlantic menhaden public hearing at the URI Bay Campus Wednesday night.  About fourty anglers, environmentalist and DEM fish mangers attended.

One of the key issues discussed was establishing Ecological Reference Points (ERP) for the species in Amendment 3 to modify the Atlantic menhaden Fishery Management Plan.  Overwhelming with a 23 to 2 vote those in attendance supported an option that suggested a 75% target for biomass of Atlantic Menhaden to be left in the water as forage fish and ecological purposes. 

Atlantic menhaden serve as a food source for striped bass, bluefish, whales, osprey and other species.  They also serve an ecological purpose.  Atlantic menhaden are filter feeders helping to reduce nutrient levels in the Bay and Ocean.

The second key issue discussed was the reallocation of quota to coastal states.  Virginia’s quota has historically hovered around 85% (with one fish processor Omega Protein landing most of that), New Jersey has been at about 11% and the remaining quota split among all other east coast states (Rhode Island’s quota is 0.02%).

Once again overwhelming (23 to 1) those in attendance supported allocating a minimum of 3% to Rhode Island and other states that have small quotas at this time. 

The rational put forward was that historically states other than Virginia and New Jersey also had active fisheries but they closed due to a lock of fish.  Now that the species is doing well and more fish are in northern waters quota should be reallocated to these states.

Amendment 3 will now go before the ASMFC Atlantic menhaden advisory panel for discussion and then the Atlantic menhaden board for decision and a vote in November.

For information about Atlantic menhaden Amendment 3 visit www.asmfc.org .

Central Falls and DEM host family fishing day at Lincoln Woods

DEM in partnership with the City of Central Falls and Progreso Latino, will host a family fishing event at Lincoln Woods State Park on Saturday, October 7, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The event is part of DEM’s ongoing efforts to promote outdoor recreation and environmental education in communities across the state.

As part of the festivities, instructors from DEM’s Aquatic Resource Education (ARE) program will teach participants how to catch and clean trout. DEM teamed up with the City and Progreso Latino this summer to host a saltwater fishing excursion for residents of the Central Falls community; as part of this earlier event, some 50 people enjoyed a day on Narragansett Bay aboard the Francis Fleet Charter from Galilee, learning about the diversity and abundance of marine life in the Bay.

Where’s the bite

Tautog fishing started to explode this week with fish being caught in the Bay and along the coastal shore.  Angler Richard Reich said, “We caught tautog to our limit off the center wall of the Harbor of Refuge earlier this week but went back the next day and caught one.” “Customers are catching fish but the short to keeper ratio is not very good. One customer fishing in the Ohio Ledge and Rumstick Point areas caught 30 shorts and two keepers and another angler at the Wharf Tavern caught 15 shorts to 1 keeper.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside. Lorraine Dante of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “Tautog fishing was good in the Bay this weekend with customers landing keepers at Stone Bridge, the Mt. Hope Bridge Lighthouse, even at Colt State Park.  Green crabs worked well, Asian crabs are just starting to become available after the tropical storms and high seas that we had.”  I fished off Beavertail this weekend and did pretty good catching eight shorts and two keepers.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Tautog fishing is just starting to pick up we had customers catching keepers at Hope Island, the Codding Cove Jetty and the humps off Beavertail.”

Striped bass,bluefish and false albacore. Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly, said, “It’s like National Geographic out here. We have whales feeding on mature Atlantic menhaden with striped bass, bluefish and large false albacore right behind them close to the beaches. On an outgoing tide the place to be is at the mouth of the Breachways and at high tide they are around Watch Hill Light.”  Bluefish were surfacing in the Bay briefly and then going back down quickly once the bait moved.  No prolonged surface action in the upper and middle Bay.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait said, “Striped bass are being caught out in front off Beavertail and Newport with bluefish surfacing in the Bay.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait said, “Small striped bass are being caught at Rumstick Point, off Barrington Beach and in the Warren River.  Only one report of a 29” keeper bass being caught a Sabin Point by a customer that was bottom fishing for other species.”

The scup bite has been very good in the Bay.  John Littlefield said, “Customers are catching very large scup in the bay once again and some are limiting out.  Angler had said the fish were getting smaller by this week they have been large.  They are catching scup at Colt State Park and Sabin Point.”

Cod fishing. Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “We found a pick of nice green cod to about 15 pounds Saturday. Hi hook boxed four good cod. Fishers also had some big ocean perch, huge sea flounder to four plus pounds, quite a few good size scup and a bluefish. Monday's run way offshore did produce a handful of nice green cod fish to twenty pounds but there was not enough of them and not much else to go with them.”

Fly fishing. Noted local fishing guide and fly fisherman Ed Lombardo said, “The Narrow River has been fishing very good on both the outing and incoming tides. Lots of shad, we believe American shad (18” to 20”). Both the Hickory Shad and American Shad have been very prolific for the past 8 to 10 weeks. Two of the best flies I like using for the shad are tied on a size #1 hook and a simple black over white deer tail streamer with a body of Bill’s body braid. The other fly that always works well is a hot pink streamer tied with hot pink craft fur for a wing with body braid as well. We are getting only a few bass at this time hopefully this October will see more bass.”

Robotic bait lands 340 pound bluefin tuna

 Alex Petrucci Sr (center standing), Alex Jr (kneeling to left) and their crew caught a 340 bluefin tuna using a robotic Zombait.

 Zombait, the first robotic bait of its type, is stuck into the mouth of a dead bait fish larger than 8" to make it wiggle like a live bait.

 Eric Schenk with the 45” pike he caught this weekend while fishing the Blackstone River in Cumberland.

 Kelly Urban from Miami with Connor Sears, Seekonk with the black sea bass and other fish they caught Monday off Block Island when fishing with Conner’s father Steve Sears and Jack Leyden.

 Seven year old Michael Simpson of Narragansett (right) with the 30 pound striped bass he caught in Salt Pond fishing with eels.  Brother Gabe (five) on left.

Brothers Jonah and Neil Ellis (on either end), grandfather Sy Janaowsky and Joe Kaufman of North Kingstown fished for fluke, black sea bass and scup this week on the Bay.

Robotic lure lands 340 pound bluefin

“I’ve caught some pretty big bluefin in my day using all types of baits.  I’ve fished with bluefish, maceral, even a large live skate behind a scallop boat with success.” said Alex Petrucci of the sport fishing vessel Duck Soup out of Pt. Judith, RI.  He was talking about the 340 pound bluefin tuna he,  his son Alex Jr and his crew caught at the 6^th Annual Bluefin Blowout in Gloucester, MA.

The Petrucci’s catching a large bluefin or other large tournament fish is not uncommon.  They have been doing it for years.  Alex and his family are fishing legends in Rhode Island.  Two years ago they took first place in the Bluefin Blowout Tournament.  But what was unusual this year, they caught a fish using a robotic bait called Zombait.  To my knowledge Zombait it is the first robotic fishing lure on the market.

Petrucci said, “It’s a lot better than using dead bait.  These fish come through and are hungry.  They do not stop and analyze things.  If it is moving that attracts them.  I had faith in this bait or I wouldn’t have been using it.  It gave the maceral we were using a nice look on deck and in the water.  It was one of six baits we had out at the same time.”

Zombait creates a realistic, injured swimming fish to attract your prey.  You simply insert this electric toothbrush looking bait into the mouth of a dead bait eight inches or larger; attach a hook and the dead bait wiggles around in the water. 

Zombait lasts about three hours on a battery charge and is good in water up to 200 feet. Visit www.zombait.com for a demonstration video on how the lure works and information about online sales. Individual units cost about $69 with a charger; a three pack with charger is $159.

The Bluefin Blowout is sponsored by the Lyon-Waugh Auto Group with all proceeds from the Bluefin Blowout Auction going to the Alzheimer’s Association. 

Great Outdoors Pursuit finale with vintage baseball games

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will hold its Great Outdoors Pursuit finale this Saturday at Rocky Point State Park starting with a vintage baseball game at 10:30 a.m.  Family activities will run from 12 noon until 3:30 p.m. 

The event includes a Rocky Point-themed scavenger hunt, rock wall, lawn games, and food trucks. Educational activities, including a clamming demonstration, marine touch tank, and gymnastic demonstrations, along with informational exhibits will also be offered. This event is free and open to the public. Only registered families are eligible for prizes and give-a-ways.

In addition, a double-header vintage baseball game between the Providence Grays and the New York Mutuals will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Historically, professional baseball games were held on the grounds of Rocky Point.  The most famous exhibition game took place on September 27, 1914, when the Providence Greys played the Chicago Cubs.  Slugger Babe Ruth pitched for Providence and also hit a triple in that game. 

ASMFC approves Atlantic menhaden amendment 3 for public comment

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden for public comment.

The Draft Amendment seeks to manage the menhaden resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role as a prey species with the needs of all user groups. To this end, the Draft Amendment considers the use of ecosystem reference points (ERPs) to manage the resource and changes to the allocation method.

The amendment also presents a suite of management options for quota transfers, quota rollovers, incidental catch, the episodic events set aside program, and the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap.

States from Maine to Florida will likely hold public hearings on the draft amendment.  Details on hearings are not yet available.  Visit www.asmfc.org  for a copy of amendment 3 and details on the hearings when they become available.  Public comment on the amendment is open until October 20, 2017.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater. Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Last weekend we weighted in a 6.5 pound largemouth bass that the customer is going to have mounted last week.” “Erick Schenck an associated at Ocean State Tackle, Providence caught a 45” pike this weekend on the Blackstone River in Cumberland.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State. The trout bite continues to be slow with warm water and stocked ponds that have been fished out.  However, the largemouth bass bite is fairly strong.

Striped bass. “Bass at the Block Island’s Southwest Ledge is either hot or cold.  Eels continue to work along with umbrella rigs.  And the bite from shore is fair.” said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “The best bet for fishing for stripers in the Bay right now is either tube and worm or umbrella rigs as the fish are dispersed.  From the surf, along the southern coastal shore anglers are doing fairly well.” Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane said, “We have had a good bite with eels off Jamestown and Newport and a great bite with large fish at Block Island.  Customers are also trolling umbrella rigs and tube & worm with success.”

Summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass.  I fished the Newport and Jamestown Bridge areas a couple of times this weekend and the fluke bite was slow.  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor said, “Fluke fishing is good at the Hooter Buoy along the south shore and on Block Island.  Some days the windmill area is hot and other days East Fishing Grounds.  The West Wall of the Harbor of Refuge is yielding fluke for those fishing from shore along with scup and black sea bass.” “Fishing off Newport and Jamestown has been good for anglers, fish are in deep water (80 feet).  However, I’d like to remind anglers that fluke can be caught in very low water this time of year too (15 to 20 feet).”, said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.  Angler Jack Leyden said, “Monday Steve Sears and I took friends and family fishing off Block Island and netted over nine black sea bass, a fluke, scup and bluefish in two hours on a drift from the Southwest Ledge to the wind farm area in 60 to 80 feet of water.”  Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “Limits of sea bass were common this week with some limits of fluke. A lack of good drift on a number of outings put buck tail jigs and gulp products in the lead for top producers. As always these things change from day to day.”

“Offshore fishing exploded this week with a great bluefin tuna bite (the best this year so far). Customers have landed 35” to 45” bluefin from Tuna Ridge to the Northwest comer of the Dump.  Most are taking them on the troll now hooking up with white Marlin as well as mahi mahi.” said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. “We have reports of bluefin as large as 90” to 110” being taken on 18” and 24” spreader bars with green machines working well.  Fish are being landed from the Claw to the Dump.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.  

Expect stripers early

 Omar Curi of Providence caught this pickerel last week on shiners.

Atlantic menhaden are well managed in Narragansett Bay.

Expect stripers early

All signs are pointing an early striped bass season, possibly the earliest season in years. The Bay and ocean water has consistently been warmer than last year.  Spring is shaping up as warmer than normal too and there is a high volume of bait such of herring and peanut bunker (juvenile Atlantic menhaden) in our waters.

Steve McKenna, noted local striped bass shore angler and associate at Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown, said, “Things are going to be early this year.  And that is good because I’ve got the urge to fish.  And, I’m ready to go.”

Dave Pickering, striper expert and publisher of ristripedbass.blogspot.com said, “Last year (a record cold year) the striped bass showed at the very end of April.  That was late by past standards.  If I were a betting man, I would go for the ending days of March into the first week of April, one of the earliest starting times we will ever see.”

So get your gear ready it is going to be an early striped bass season… possibly as early as next week.

Traditionally migrating striped bass in Rhode Island first arrive at the West Wall of the Harbor of Refuge in Pt. Judith.  McKenna said, “I’ll be at the West Wall next weekend.” 

Counting fish from the air

This week I was reminded of the outstanding Atlantic menhaden management program we have in Narragansett Bay.  Monday night George Purmont, a spotter pilot commissioned by the Marine Fisheries Division of the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), spoke about his work of counting schools of Atlantic menhaden (pogies) from the air in Narragansett Bay.

At a RI Saltwater Anglers Association meeting Purmont said, “When the amount of Atlantic menhaden in the Bay goes above the threshold the Bay is open to commercial harvesting.  When it falls below the threshold the Bay is closed to Atlantic menhaden fishing.”

The program is one of the most sophisticated and effective programs of its type in the nation.  Purmont said, “Flights once or twice a week give fish managers up to date data.” The program works well for recreational fishermen to protect this forage fish as well as for the commercial fishery allowing the Bay to be fished when there is an abundance of fish in the Bay.

Pilot Purmont said, “There is a mix of peanut bunker (juvenile Atlantic menhaden) as well as mature fish in the Bay.  The juvenile menhaden present themselves as dark spots or schools whereas mature Atlantic Menhaden present themselves as grey schools from the air as the fish flash as the swim in the water.”

Jason McNamee, chief of the Marine Fisheries Division of DEM said, “We want both peanut bunker and mature fish in the Bay as they serve as a different type of prey for a variety of fish we have in the Bay.”

Coast Guard seeks public input on wind farm safety zone

The Coast Guard is seeking public input on a proposed 500-yard safety zone for the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) by April 17, 201.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a 500-yard safety zone around each of five locations where the BIWF wind turbine generator (WTG) towers, nacelles, blades and subsea cables will be installed in the navigable waters of the Rhode Island Sound, RI, from April 1 to October 31, 2016.

These safety zones are intended to safeguard mariners from the hazards associated with construction of the BIWF. Vessels would be prohibited from entering into, transiting through, mooring, or anchoring within these safety zones while construction vessels and associated equipment are present at any of the BIWF WTG sites.

Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before April 17, 2016. The public may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2016-0026 using the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov .  If you have questions contact Mr. Edward G. LeBlanc, Chief of the Waterways Management Division at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at 401-435-2351, or email Edward.G.LeBlanc@uscg.mil .

  

Wind Farm meeting April 5

The Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) will hold an update meeting on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, 4:00 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, South County Commons, and South Kingstown, RI.  Agenda items will include the 2016 construction schedule, project crew vessels, the U.S.C.G. 500 yard safety zone and gear boundaries. A separate meeting regarding National Grid's sea2shore cable construction will follow with an announcement distributed as soon as the date is finalized.  For information contact Elizabeth Marchetti, Fisheries Liaison at 401.954.2902.

Striper club holds used tackle sale

The Aquidneck Island Striper Team will hold its annual used tackle sale this Saturday, April 2, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Portsmouth VFW, 822 Anthony Road, Portsmouth.  For information contact Capt. Eric Thomas at 401.524.7239.

Annual Kids Day at Addieville East Farms

The 16^th Annual Kids Day at Addieville East Farm will take place Saturday, April 23^rd, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Children ages 10 and over may register but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Children will learn the basics of fly casting, fly tying, fly fishing (in a trout stocked pond) and basic entomology.

The RI Department of Environmental Management, two Trout Unlimited Chapters and the United Fly Tyers of Rhode Island are co-sponsors of the event.  Kid’s Day is free however all are urged to register in advance as space is limited.

Register with Kimberly Sullivan, 401-539-0037 or email  kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov; and Jessica Pena, 401-539-0019 or email Jessica.pena@dem.ri.gov.

Block Island Wind Farm cable construction

Kokosing Industrial will be conducting submarine cable installation work from April 1 through June 5 in support of the sea2shore Renewable Link (BITS) and Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF).

In a statement last week the cabling companies said they “Respectfully request that fishermen remove fishing gear/traps from the selected cable route, and maintain a clear path 300 feet on either side of the center line. Please see the overview chart for BITS and BIWF cable routes. Kokosing will return to fishermen any gear/traps that may get fouled in the cable equipment but is not responsible for replacement of the gear. 

Questions should be directed to Elizabeth Marchetti, fisheries liaison at 401.954.2902 or at

rifisheryliaison@gmail.com . For additional information visit : 

http://dwwind.com/project/block-island-wind-farm/ or http://sea2shoreri.com/.

Where’s the bite

Fresh water fishing slowed a bit with cooler weather last week.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle Warwick said, “With the cooler weather anglers just have not been getting out to fish fresh water.  Things will start to move as trout season opens up in April.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “Omar Curi of Providence caught a nice pickerel on shiners last week.  With cooler temperatures last week the carp bite slowed but crappy and white perch fishing was good.  And, trout fishing in Massachusetts has been excellent.” John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “Anglers are catching largemouth bass and pickerel at Stump Pond, Smithfield with shiners so things are opening up.” Alex Petti of Fin & Feather Outfitters said, “We had a couple of customers fish Farmington River in Connecticut and the did pretty good with trout.”  Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown said, “We had a customer land a five pound largemouth bass last week right here in North Kingstown using shiners.”  Opening Daly of trout season in Rhode Island is next Saturday, April 9 at sunrise.  DEM has stock area ponds dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/troutwaters.htm

Cod fishing has been good when boats have been able to get out due to bad weather.  Dianne Valerien of the Seven B’s party boat said, “Capt. Andy Dangelo has been doing a great job with the cod this year.  Saturday we had twenty anglers on board and returned to the dock with 200 cod (the limit, ten fish per angler).  The fish were mostly males, when we started to fillet them for customers only three out of the first 100 fish were female.  We’d like to think they are going to hang around for a while waiting for the females to arrive.” Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “We absolutely crushed the cod Saturday with over 400 keepers just a handful of cod shy of a boat limit and pool fish just under 15 pounds.  Both bait and jigs worked well.”

Striped bass fishing for hold-over striped bass in the Connecticut rivers is still very good.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “Charlestown Breachway winter over striped bass up to 26 inches taking white bucktails dressed with 3 inch curly tail grubs on the outgoing tide this morning (Saturday).” 

Atlantic menhaden landing bass for anglers

  Jay Ancgil of Coventry with bass to 17 pounds he and friend Mike Swain caught in the East Passage this week live lining pogies (Atlantic menhaden).

 

Frank Travis of North Kingstown with the 24” fluke he caught west of New Harbor, Block Island this week.

Mike Wade (owner of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly) weighs in Braeden Giller’s 7 pound, 8 once summer flounder (fluke) he caught off Misquamicut State Beach this week.

 

Atlantic menhaden landing bass for anglers

Atlantic menhaden or pogies as they are locally refereed to are a great bait fish for striped bass.  This week many of them were eaten by striped bass as anglers throughout the region used this great forage fish as bait.

Menhaden are an important part of the food chain. H. Bruce Franklin, a professor at Rutgers University, is author of The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America said, “This is what the menhaden do best: they get eaten. Game fish and seabirds, sharks and whales all seek out these oily fish as a favorite meal, making menhaden a crucial link in the ocean food chain.”

Atlantic menhaden are also roving filter feeders, converting algae into energy and thus reducing nutrient loads in bays and covers. An adult menhaden, through its unique filtering gills, is able to process up to 4 gallons of water per minute or a million gallons of water every 180 days. Multiply this by the number of menhaden in any given area and this is an amazing amount of water being filtered, a reduction of nutrients means fewer algae blooms and ultimately more oxygen for all fish.

Most (80%) of the anglers reporting they hooked up with a striped bass in the past three weeks said they were using Atlantic menhaden as bait.

 To catch live menhaden to use as bait, anglers cast a net for them or snag them with a weighted treble hook.  They are generally brought back to the boat and a hook is put through the bridge of the nose or back and then the fish is put back into a school of live menhaden. 

You can also use dead menhaden as bait (bought at a bait shop) fresh or frozen.  Some prefer to fish the menhaden whole others cut it in half, yet others chunk it up and use large pieces.  How anglers use dead menhaden as bait largely relies on what the striped bass want.  Some days/seasons they want it chunked, other times they want it whole and sometimes they won’t bite anything but live menhaden.  Some anglers use a weight slide to get the bait down to the striped bass.

Another method working to catch striped bass this spring is trolling with umbrella rigs (mimics a small school of bait fish) or trolling with tube & worm.  However, the larger fish in bays, coves and rivers caught so far this season have been landed using live Atlantic menhaden as bait.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “The bass are getting larger.  Albert Bettencourt of Riverside weighed in a 33 pound striped bass for the Striper Maine Tournament which took second place.  His grandson took second place too in the youth division with a 24 pound striped bass.  The largest fish we heard of from shore at Sabin Point last week was a 38” bass.  They even landed bass from shore at Colt State Park. One customer said there were 40 boats Sunday far up the Providence River.”  Angler Jason Ancgil of Coventry fished with Mike Swain Sunday and they landed bass to 17 pounds using live menhaden in the East Passage.  Mike said, “There were about 20 or 30 boats in the area, we moved a bit to say out of all the congestion.”  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “We weighed in a 42.4 pound striped bass lass week.  The fish are getting large with the smaller fish being caught on umbrella rigs and the large ones with live pogies.  Last week we also heard of fish caught off Poppasquash Point and Colt State Park, Bristol.” Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said, “Anglers are catching the bass with bunker. We have so much of it around.”  Julian Trozzi of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown said yesterday, “We have no large fish from the beach yet but anglers are catching school bass in Ninigret Pond and from the end of the Breachway with keepers mixed in.”

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been improving along the southern coastal shore.  We weighed in a seven pound, eight ounce fish caught by Braeden Biller right off Misquamicut Beach over the weekend.” said Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters.  Frank Travis of Wakefield landed a 24” fluke when fishing on the west side of Block Island in 55 to 70 feet of water.  “Fishing at the mouth of the Sakonnet, and in the Newport Bridge/Ft. Adams area was good last week.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.  Littlefield from Archie’s Bait said, “Hot places for fluke include the Sakonnet and Newport areas but also we had reports of fish being taken at Warwick Light as well.  Capt. Frank Blount, owner of the Frances Fleet, said, “Much improved fluke fishing this week with better numbers along with some real nice quality slabs hitting the deck of the Gail Frances (party boat) Wednesday through Saturday. On both Thursday and Saturday's outing nearly one third of the keepers were in the jumbo category (4 lbs or better). Biggest fish of the week was the fine 8 lb. slab.”

Atlantic menhaden (pogies) commonly used for striped bass bait have been spotted in large numbers  in Narragansett Bay, Mt. Hope Bay and in south county area in rivers, coves, salt ponds and sanctuaries.

Scup are just making their presence known with reports of anglers starting to land scup in several areas , not in large numbers yet but few anglers are targeting them at this time.

Offshore fishing is just starting.  Chris Young of North Kingstown said, “We fished the Dump and several other places Sunday and found fish but we could not get them to rise.  About three miles south of Block Island we came across a large school of school bluefin tuna but just could not hook-up.”

“Fresh water trout fishing has slowed; hopes are that DEM restocking will reinvigorate things later this spring.  However, the pickerel bite was very strong this week at the Kickemuit Reservoir and some nice carp have been caught in the Blackstone River.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.  “The bass bite has been good at Echo Lake, Barrington along with a decent catfish bite.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait.

 

 

Mix it up to catch striped bass

 Mix it up:  Mike Imbornone of North Kingstown landed a 38” striped bass while fishing the Poppasquash Point, Bristol area using tube and worm, earlier in the day chucked Atlantic Menhaden was not working. 

 Fluke fishing hot:  Cody Bellavance of Priority Too Charters, Pt. Judith with monster fluke they caught off Block Island.  Capt. Rick Bellavance said, “Sand eels and squid are the bait in the water.”

 The Jacques brothers (Dave, Richard and Ed) with summer flounder they caught off Warwick Light yesterday (Wednesday).

Bass fishing hot: John Martin of Bristol caught his first striped bass at Mt. Hope Bay when fishing with friend Kevin Pellegrino. The  40”, 23.88 striped bass was caught as he was retrieving a snagged pogy. 

Mix it up to catch striped bass

This week I mixed it up and started trolling with tube and worm for striped bass.  The results were good Sunday as the bass did not seem interested in the chucked menhaden where I was fishing, but they jumped at the chance to nail a red rubber tube with a fresh clam worm on the end of it. 

Anglers often use lead line when trolling with tube and worm in the in less than twenty five feet of water.  Wire line is used when water is over 25 or 30 feet, places such as Brenton Reef, Newport or off Block Island.  I often weight the lead line or tube to get it down to the bottom where the big bass are. 

Lead and wire line is designed to sink in the water column (about a foot ever 10 feet of line depending on boat speed, tide, current and wind conditions).

Atlantic Menhaden (commonly called pogies) are also a popular bait used to catch striped bass.  Anglers use them as bait live often hooking them through the bridge above the nose or on the back allowing them to swim (called live lining).  However, just as common, depending on how the striped bass want to dine, they are cut up in chucks and put on a hook (called chunking).  

I am also prepared to fish with jigs too… Diamond Jigs, Deadly Dick colored jigs as well as a variety of squid jigs tipped with real squid.  So the idea is to be ready with a couple of different methods as you never know what the fish will be interested in on any given day.  And, when the bass are not biting switch off to a different species like I did yesterday targeting summer flounder (or fluke). 

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing is starting to pick up along Southern RI coastal shores.  Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said “They are starting to land keeper bass out in front and in Ninigret Pond they are catching school sized bass and an occasional fish in the 28 to 35” range.  Anglers are using a variety of artificial lures.”  “Striped bass fishing is still not strong at Block Island” said Capt. Rich Bellavance of Priority Too Charters, Pt. Judith.  “Tuesday of last week striped bass were crashing a school of pogies right in from of Fields Point, Providence.  You could see the bass chasing them like tuna just under the surface.  Before we could pull in our snagged pogies a bass would hit it so we snapped off the barbs on our treble hooks so we could safely release most of the fish.” said Greg Bruning of the Tackle Box, Warwick.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, East Providence said, “Striped bass fishing had slowed a bit later in the week in the Providence River, but Sunday things broke wide open again south of Conimicut Light in the Barrington Beach, Nayatt Point and Rocky Point areas.  I think the bass are starting to move down the Bay a bit with the bait.  Three customers limited out in two hours fishing the Barrington Beach area with chucks, live lining and yo-yoing Atlantic Menhaden.”  Saturday angler Mike Imbornone of North Kingstown landed a 38” striped bass while fishing the Poppasquash Point, Bristol area using tube and worm, earlier in the day chucked Atlantic Menhaden was not working. 

Shore fishing.  Charlestown Breachway fishing is improving with one or two anglers catching twenty pound fish nightly.  Anglers targeting scup are staring to land fish too.” said Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle.  Steve McKenna noted striped bass shore fishing expert and an associate at Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown said “Shore anglers seem to be having a mixed bag of experiences.   Those that know how to fish the shore are experiencing a good bite, and those that do not are not landing fish.  I heard of two 40 pound fish being caught from the shore last week.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait said “Colt State Park anglers are catching school bass and just a few scup. The scup just haven’t arrived in large numbers yet.” Dave Pickering, expert shore angler and author said “I’ve been out quite a few times in the last week in the Bay both with the boat and from shore.  And the results are the same.  There are far more blues around than stripers.  The blues seem to be everywhere.”

Bluefish are being caught particularly where you find the pogy schools.  Some are huge.  Greg Bruning of the Tackle Box, Warwick said, one of my customers landed a 18.5 pound blue fish while trolling along the wall at Salter Grove, Warwick last week.”  This weekend, when fishing in the middle of the East Passage the party I was fishing with picked up smaller blue fish in the 20 inch range when trolling tube & worm for bass. However, schools of blue fish on the surface have not been the case yet.

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been improving in shore and is hot off-shore.  Capt. Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters said “Fishing on the south side of Block Island has been great”. Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait & Tackle Westerly said “Fluke fishing along the coastal shore has been improving and Block Island is doing very well.”  Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle said, “There is a ton of bait in the water… squid and sand eels. From Matunuck to Charlestown customers are catching fluke in 35 to 55 feet of water landing 3 to 4 pound fish with 6 to 7 pound fish common too.” John Wunner of John’s Bait, North Kingstown, said, “They are catching summer flounder in the mid Bay area in the West Passage near Warwick Neck. And Austin Hollow Jamestown which usually holds fish this time of year has not been good.” Greg Bruning of the Tackle Box, Warwick said, “This weekend fluke fishing really picked up in the middle of the Bay with some nice fish being landed in the flats of Rocky Point in about 15 to 20 feet of water.  I weighed in a nice 7.5 pound fish for a customer.”

Fishermen vocal on two key issues

 

New England Boating TV show: Co-host Parker Kelly caught this 24” fluke at Austin Hollow, Jamestown last week fishing with Capt. Dave Monti.  Kelly and her co-host Tom Richardson were shooting a Wickford, RI episode that will air on the New England Sports Network. 

 

Restoration perfectionists:  Michael Borrelli of Metan Marine restores vintage boats.  Seen here this past weekend at the Newport Boat Show with a 21 foot 1969 Boston Whaler Sakonnet.

 

Fish of a lifetime:  Bret Bokelkamp (in photo) of Marion, MA and Bill Dzilenski of Warwick, RI caught this seven foot white marlin west of the Acid Barge in view of Block Island.  Bill said, “The hook-up was followed by an extended series of leaps and bounds by the fish.” 

Capt. Dave Monti and co-hosts Tom Richardson and Parker Kelly fished for summer flounder off Jamestown. They filmed a Wickford, RI episode of New England Boating to air in October on NESN.

 

Fishermen vocal on two key issues

Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) members at the September 9, 2013 meeting voiced concern about Atlantic Menhaden quotas and minimum sizes on commercial ground fish regulations being reduced on haddock, yellowtail flounder, witch flounder and American Plaice.

Mark Gibson, Deputy Chief of the Marine Fisheries Division of DEM, commented on the minimum sizes being reduced.  He said, “The Division recommends adoption of these measures as the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has requested that states complement federal (commercial) groundfish management actions which have reduced minimum sizes on these species in hopes of reducing discard rates.”

 Discards are fish thrown back in the water as they are below the minimum size allowed; they often die due to the trauma of being dragged in a net and brought up on deck. Changing RI regulations to dovetail with federal regulation would avoid enforcement challenges when fishermen travel in state waters with smaller fish.   Mark Gibson said that Rhode Island NEFMC participants will monitor developments regarding discard minimization and recommended a one-year sunset provision so minimum sizes can be reevaluated next year.

Minimum sizes were established on these species based on best available science i.e. establishing sizes that would allow female fish to mature and reproduce.  Members argued that moving minimum sizes below current levels goes against the science ie.. taking female fish before they spawn which could eventually lead to a fisheries failure.

Council members argued that the solution to reducing discard rates is not to take smaller fish but to make the webbing in fishing nets larger so small fish can escape.  Most agreed, however, the majority felt with no time to change net regulations, the Council should recommend to Director Janet Coit that she approve the new minimum sizes.

Where’s the bite

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing is surprisingly good.  Normally, at this time of year they move offshore. Matt Conti of Sung Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, said “Charter boats are still hitting fluke just south of the southeast corner off Block Island.  And, fishing east of Point Judith is pretty good too.”  Last Wednesday I fished with Parker Kelly and Tom Richardson at Austin Hollow, Jamestown.  The duo caught fluke to 24”, they are co-hosts of the television show New England Boating and were shooting an episode in Wickford, RI that will air in October on NESN. 

Tautog fishing is just starting to pick up.  Tautog minimum size is 16”, three fish/person/day with a boat limit of ten fish.  Limit increases to six/person/day on October 19 through December 15 but the ten fish boat limit still in effect.  Charter and party boats not subject to ten fish boat limit.

Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “This is the first weekend that customers are landing keepers.  Most Bay fish are short, but out in front… off Beavertail, Narragansett and Brenton Reef (and around other rock clusters) customers are catching keepers.”  I was at Seal Ledge off Newport Sunday and twenty boats were southwest of the Ledge and ten boats north of the Seal Ledge bell, all were tautog and catching tautog. “Anglers are landing keeper tautog at the Breachway in Charlestown.” said Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle.  Tautog fishing has been good in the Sakonnet too, Kurt Rivard landed a nine pound tautog this weekend as part of the Aquidneck Island Striper Team’s Sergeant Christopher Potts Tournament .” 

Striped bass fishing slowed this week.  David Sanford of East Greenwich fished in the Lumbermen Striped Bass Tournament out of Champlin Marina, Block Island and said, “Fishing was slow.  We managed to land two bass, in two days.  The winning tournament fish was 38 pounds.”  Dave Henault of Ocean Sate Tackle said, “Pogies are moving into the Providence and Seekonk River and customers are catching blues and striped bass.”  Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle said, “Anglers are catching 15” to 33” bass off the wall with eels at night and sliver baits like Deadly Dicks during the day.  The fish are larger out in front with boat anglers landing bass to 35 pounds.”    Matt Conti of Sung Harbor said, “Fishing was slow this week at Block Island with a lot of bluefish.” Matt’s father Al said, “Those getting to the Southwest side (of Block Island) before 10 a.m. are catching bass.  We also had a school of stripers come to the surface off the West Wall (at the Harbor of Refuge) both Sunday and Monday, the fish were not very large but were a lot of fun for anglers.” Manny Sousa of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “Customers have caught striped bass off Bullock’s Point, East Providence.  There have been keepers but nothing big yet… my son caught a 29” and 32” fish using clam tongues.”  “We fished from 2:00 a.m. until about 10:00 a.m. Saturday and couldn’t hook up with striped bass.  We were using both eels and chucked menhaden fishing the Hope and Gould Island areas.” said angler Mike Swain of Coventry.

Scup anglers continue to catch large scup along coastal shores and in Narragansett Bay having no trouble landing keepers (10 inch minimum).

Offshore fishing slowed last week. Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Shark fishing is still good.  Three were caught this weekend, we weighed in a 149 pound Mako Sunday but few tuna are being caught.” Bret Bokelkamp of Marion, MA and Bill Dzilenski of Warwick, RI caught a seven foot white marlin west of the Acid Barge in view of Block Island last week.  Bill said, “The hook-up was followed by an extended series of leaps and bounds by the fish. We came up empty on tuna, but were grinning ear-to ear and we still are.” 

More to a vote than meets the eye

More to a vote than meets the eye

I spoke with Bob Ballou, assistant to the director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and Rick Bellavance, president of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association about the December 14, 2012 Atlantic Slates Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) deliberations and votes on Amendment 2 concerning the management of Atlantic Menhaden coastwide.  Ballou and Bellavance along with Bill McElroy, treasure of the RI Lobstermen’s Association, represented Rhode Island at the ASMFC meeting.

Captain Bellavance said, “The Rhode Island delegation has one vote… so the three of us deliberate, come to a consensus and then cast our vote.”  Bellavance continued, “There were diverse opinions and proposals on the issue… industry processors of Atlantic Menhaden (primarily Omega Protein that catch 80% of all Atlantic Menhaden) were advocating for a 10% reduction and on the other extreme some environmental groups were advocating for a 50% reduction.  We came to a consensus at 20% and ultimately cast our vote in favor of this reduction percentage.”  Throughout the course of the meeting many voters were taken, some Bellavance said to facilitate discussion on the issue to ensure all points of view at the table were heard.

Many in the recreational fishing community in Rhode Island were disappointed at the 20% reduction approved by the ASMFC.  Don Smith, representing the Rhode Island Salt Water Association said, “We were advocating for a 30% reduction and could not understand why the Rhode Island delegation was settling for less."

Robert Ballou of DEM took the time last week to outline in detail what happened at the ASMFC meeting and its impact on the Rhode Island Atlantic Menhaden fishery.  Here is what he had to say.

“The meeting was noteworthy for a number of reasons:   

                                          

1.       It resulted in the adoption of a first-ever coastwide quota (total allowable catch, or TAC) for menhaden, reflecting the ASMFC’s commitment to end overfishing and achieve long-term protection and sustainability for this ecologically important species, and the people who depend on it.

2.       It resulted in a new coastwide quota set at 80% of the average coastwide landings of menhaden over the three-year period 2008-2011 – i.e., 80% of 470 million pounds = 376 million pounds.

3.       It resulted in a state-based allocation program, which allocates the new coastwide quota according to the average percentage of each state’s landings over the three-year period 2008-2011.

1. Virginia will be allocated 85.3% of the coastwide quota (317 million pounds)
2. NJ will receive 11.2% of the coastwide quota (42 million pounds)
3. The other 13 states will receive shares ranging from 0% (NH, SC, and GA) to 1.37% (MD)
4. RI will receive 0.02% (about 75,000 pounds)

4. It involved a multi-faceted management program proposal, and an unprecedented level of public involvement:
1. In September, the ASMFC approved for public comment a 143-page Draft Amendment, which addressed a range of issues, including new biological reference points, stock rebuilding and fishing mortality reduction schedules, the establishment of a TAC, the process for allocating the TAC, reporting requirements, and various other provisions
2. The Draft Amendment was subject to 13 public hearings in 10 states, including one in RI; over 500 people attended the hearings;
3. The Board received a total of 128,333 written comments on the Draft Amendment
4. Several hundred people attended last Friday’s Board meeting in Baltimore

5. At the day-long Board meeting, the Board decided upon the various issues via a series of 40 separate votes.

6. The upshots of the ASMFC’s final approval of Amendment 2 to the ASMFC’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Menhaden, as it relates to Rhode Island’s interests, are:

1. Menhaden migrate in and out of RI waters on a regular basis, and are an important component of the RI marine ecosystem. The adoption of new coastwide measures aimed at increasing protection of menhaden, with particular recognition of the important role they play as forage fish, is consistent with RI’s long-standing interests vis-à-vis sound conservation of marine fishery resources.
2. RI’s landings over the past ten years have generally ranged from about 5,000 pounds to about 100,000 pounds. In 2008 -- a banner year, and an anomaly – 269,000 pounds were landed. RI’s average annual landings over the past three years have been about 87,000 pounds. The vast majority of RI’s landings are taken by a handful of fish trap operators operating in RI waters in the lower Bay and along the southern coast.
3. RI has had a very progressive state-waters menhaden protection program in place for a number of years. The program, which primarily guards against localized depletion, involves a number of components, the most significant being that mobile gear (namely, purse-seine) operations in the Bay are only allowed to target menhaden when they occur in the Bay in relatively large numbers, exceeding a 2 million pound biomass threshold, or floor. This RI program is not affected by the new ASMFC action, and is slated to remain in place in 2013 and thereafter. {Note: In recent years, there has been just a single purse-seine vessel that has fished for menhaden in Narragansett Bay, with all landings taking place in Fall River, MA.}
4. RI will need to adopt new state regulations for 2013 to manage its new 75,000 pound state allocation. While this will likely involve the imposition of constraints on the fish trap operators, the constraints will likely be modest, since the State’s allocation is only slightly less than average annual landings over the past few years. Moreover, the adoption by ASMFC of a 6,000 pound menhaden bycatch allowance for non-directed fisheries, not to be counted against the state quotas, will provide considerable flexibility to the fish-trap operators, and will help to minimize discard mortality.
5. The ASMFC’s new menhaden plan includes an “episodic event set aside” totaling 1% of the new coastwide quota (i.e., about 3.76 million pounds), which is available to nine states, including RI, that have relatively low allocations (less than 2% of bait landings, averaged over the past three years). While it remains to be seen how this set-aside will be managed, it is evident that RI will be able to tap into it, to some degree, if/when large numbers of menhaden show up in RI waters.”

Here is a link to the ASMFC website that summaries meeting deliberations:  http://www.asmfc.org/press_releases/meetingWkSummaries/2012/dec14_2012AtlMenhadenBoardPR_Motions.pdf .