Petrucci and crew take Bluefin Blowout

Alex Petrucci (knelling to left) and the crew of Duck Soup that won the Bluefin Blowout Tournament.

The Kovolyan family (Kurt, Heather, Trey and Genevieve) of Millville, RI took the Grand Prize (a Kayak Package) in the Great Outdoors Pursuit finals at Burlingame State Park, Charlestown.  

Jeff Shepherd of North Kingstown caught this 8.7 pound summer flounder in 16 feet of water on a chole squid under the Newport Bridge.  Wife Mary said, “This fish did not want to go in the net.”

 Angler Charlie Prisco of Warwick (center) along with fishing partners Joe Servant (left) and Joe Prisco caught multiple bass at Block Island trolling tube & worm and jigging aboard Patty J Charters.

   Jason Salley from Durham CT with the jumbo sea bass he caught on the Frances Fleet.

Petrucci and crew take Bluefin Blowout

Wicked Tuna is the National Geographic Network program that features commercial fishermen vying for and competing for large bluefin tuna.  It takes place in Gloucester, MA.  The same place the 4^th Annual Bluefin Blowout sponsored by Lyon-Waugh Auto Group was held last month.

The competition in this tournament is very intense.  45 boats, the best of the best you might say as giant bluefin tuna fishermen competed for the top prize of $17,000 and a brand new Audi. 

And guess what happened, the sport fishing vessel Duck Soup from Rhode Island, captained by Alex Petrucci of Narragansett and a crew including his son Alex took the tournament with a 324 pound giant bluefin.

“We were fishing off the coast of Maine using live bait (small pollock) when the fish hit.  It took an hour and a half to bring it in.  It was a lot of work for the crew.” said Alex Petrucci.

This was a very gratifying win for Alex, his crew and Rhode Island. Duck Soup travelled to the giant bluefin capital on the east coast and won.  Congratulations Alex and crew.  You make us very proud.

Learn how to land stripers with lures

Capt. Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters will the guest speaker Monday night, August 31, 7:00 p.m. at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) meeting at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick.  Capt. Rob will discuss using artificial lures to catch striped bass with a top water focus, when to choose/use different plugs, and how to approach different conditions.  RISAA members attend free, non-members asked for a $10 donation to the RISAA Scholarship Fund. Separate dinner (starting at $6.25) served by the West Valley Inn from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Great Outdoors Pursuit

Earlier this month the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) hosted the final 2015 RI Great Outdoors Pursuit event at Burlingame Stare Park, Charlestown. 

The Great Outdoors Pursuit program is designed to encourage the use of state parks in an effort to move toward a healthier lifestyle.  Throughout the summer (primarily family) teams earned credit for taking part in outdoor adventures.

This year’s grand prize winner was team “Cannonball” with four members of the Kovolyan family (Kurt, Heather, Trey and Genevieve) from Millville, RI.  Team Cannonball won a family pack of four kayaks and supplies which was the top prize.

Now is the time to provide input on tautog

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) makes regulations for many of the commercial and recreational fish species caught in Rhode Island.. Tautog is one of these species and the results of a recent stock assessment will likely bring changes in tautog regulations so now is the time to offer input on proposed regulation options.

The ASMFC Tautog Management Board is seeking public comment on the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Tautog.

The PID responds to the findings of the 2015 benchmark stock assessment which evaluated stock status regionally to reflect differences in life history characteristics and harvest patterns. Based on its endorsed regional approach, the assessment also recommended associated biological reference points to guide management at the regional scale. Since tautog are currently managed on a coastwide basis, the Board initiated the PID to consider a new regional management approach.

As the first step in the development of an amendment, the PID seeks to gather information concerning the tautog fishery and to provide an opportunity for the public to identify major issues and alternatives relative to the management of this species. Input received at the start of the amendment development process can have a major influence on the final outcome of the amendment. Issues presented in the PID include FMP goals and objectives, adaptive management, monitoring requirements and illegal fishing of tautog. 

The PID also seeks specific input on the selection of regional stock areas for management use.  The following hearings have been scheduled for Rhode Island and Massachusetts:

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Wednesday, September 30th from 6 - 9 PM, University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island. For information contact Jason McNamee at jason.mcnamee@DEM.RI.GOV  or at 401.423.1943.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Tuesday, September 29th at 6:30 PM, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Vineyard Conference Room, 185 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Contact: David Pierce at david.pierce@state.ma.us or at 617.626.1532.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing on Block Island remains good with a number of large fish now being caught from southern coastal shores and in Narragansett Bay.  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said, “Shore angler Bob Celico of Westerly caught a 36 pound bass this week from the beaches and the bass and bluefish bite has been great at Block Island.”  “We weighed in a 46.5 pound striped bass this weekend that was caught from the beach at Narragansett at 10:00 p.m. and this weekend a kayak fisherman caught a 34” striped bass at Mt. Hope Bridge using and eel.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, RI.  Bluefish blitzes are occurring in the Bay and along coastal shores for the first time in a number of years. Angler Charlie Prisco of Warwick along with fishing partners Joe Servant and Joe Prisco caught multiple bass trolling tube and work and jigging aboard the Patty J Charters out of Galilee last Sunday.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Eels see to be working well.  Several customers have caught keeper bass at the Newport Bridge this week using eels.”

Bonito/false albacore.  The bonito bite remains very strong with fish being caught from Westport, MA to Westerly, RI.  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters said, “We have a surprisingly large number of bonito in the area.  They are not very large but there are a lot of them being caught with no false albacore.  Usually we see false albacore after the bonito but none have arrived yet to my knowledge.”  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait said, “A customer spotted a school of bonito 30 yards off Westport Beach this weekend.  He made several casts with a Deadly Dick lure but did not connect with the fish.”

Summer flounder (fluke). Capt. Frank Blount of the France Fleet said, “Fluke fishing has been excellent, particularly this past weekend with many anglers catching their limit with pool winning fish being in the six to eight pound range.”  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle said, “Fluke fishing has been very good off Newport under the bridge and at the Sakonnet.  One of or commercial customers boated 30 fish at the mouth of the Sakonnet River all nice fish.”  Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said, “The days on which anglers experience the better drifting conditions generally produce the best. Big six inch gulp worms of various colors and buck tail jigs (hi lo) have generally been the way to go although on occasion bait rigs/whole squid light up as well.”  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters said, “Fluke fishing is great.  We took a family trip last week and boated fish on the south side of Block Island in the eight to seven pound range with are largest fish about nine pounds. They are also doing well with fluke along the southern coastal shore in 60 to 70 feet of water catching 25” fish.”  

Worm hatch strong, bass can be elusive

 

Squid are in:  John Migliori of Newport with a squid he caught on the Goat Island Bridge in Newport last week.  Migliori said, “Squidding at Goat Island is better than it has been in a few years.”

VIP fishing:  Visually impaired persons fish aboard the Frances Fleet party boat.   The 7^th Annual VIP Tournament will be held on June 22 this year.

Where’s the bite

With warmer weather and a lot of bait (Atlantic Menhaden and squid) in Narragansett Bay and along coastal shores fishing broke wide open this week with tautog, fluke and striped bass.  Here’s what is going on.

Striped bass bite for smaller school bass was very strong all along coastal shores and in Narragansett Bay.  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said, “Many fish were caught in the River (Pawcatuck) this week with s 28” keeper caught from shore at Weekapaug.”  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “There were more striped bass in Greenwich Bay this week than in years.  Everyone was catching school bass with an occasional keeper (one in fifty fish).”  Last week’s warming water combined with bait fish (Atlantic Menhaden) being in the Bay in large numbers seemed to be the combination of conditions needed to activate the bass.  Dave Pickering, noted author and shore striped bass fisherman said, “The hot artificial combination that has been scoring big time has been a Red Gill teaser set up on a leader along with a white, 7 1/2 inch Slug-Go at the terminal end.  The leader that holds this all  together is made with 30 lb. test mono and is about 2 1/2 feet long.  The teaser (Red Gill) dangles about 6 inches off the leader's swivel.  This is cast out and twitched along with short pulls of the rod tip as you retrieve at a slow to moderate speed.  The Slug-Go moves erratically in the water and stripers simply cannot resist slamming it.”  Several anglers have reported worm hatches in coves and rivers in both the east and west passages of the Bay with striped bass feeding on the surface.  Reports have been from Allen Harbor, East Greenwich Cove and areas in the Mt. Hope Bay area.  A few warm days have created ripe conditions for worm hatches. Fly fisherman Ed Lombardo said, “Fished the Barrington and Warren Rivers last week… we did very well in the Warren River with dark olive streamers and black colored streamers as well. A lot of mummy chubs showing in the river. The bass we caught had sea lice and where in the 12" to 18" class, lots of fish and lots of fun!”

Tautog fishing was heated up this week too.  Angler Larry Norin said he fishied off shore this week for tautog, “Left Point Judith at 7:00 a.m. Three guyes fished for two and a half hours and we caught eleven fish, nine keepers to six pounds, all on crabs in 30-40 feet of water.” Ken Landry and friend caught tautog to 11 ½ pounds using both clam worms and green crabs. “They fished at Plum Point Light, General Rock and Ohio Ledge.” said Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait.  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters said the tautog bite has been slow as not many anglers are targeting them this spring.

Fluke fishing is heating up with commercial fishermen starting to land fish along the southern coastal beaches.  Noted fluke angler Cathy Muli said, “Got the word there's small fluke on the beach  here, draggers are working out front.”  So Cathy and her husband Pat gave it a try this weekend. “There were only three boats out (ours being one of them) from Watch Hill to Weakapaug Breachway.” They picked up a few fish, all under 18” (recreational minimum size is 18” this year, 8 fish/angler/day).  Cathy said, “I used the Jackpot Digger Jig with a new addition to the line… a fluorescent squid skirt on a glow jig head. That's what I was using tipped with a strip of squid.  Pat, on the other hand, was using the white/red bucktail jig. We got out late 12:30 p.m. stayed 2 hours… Nothing to write home about but at least we know they're moving in.”  Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet reports that, “(Last week) hi hook took home six fine keepers with everyone on board getting at least 2- 3 fish apiece to take home. Pool fish was 5 lbs…. This past Saturday's fluke fishing was also pretty good with a nice pull of keepers... From mid week on they have been marking increasing amounts of bait as well.”

Squid fishing has blown wide open with the Frances Fleet reporting great squid trips, “Patrons are landing a half of bucket (five gallon pail) each which is equal to last year’s best trip,” said Roger Simpson.  John Migliori of Newport said, “Squidding at Goat Island is better than it has been in a few years.”

Worm hatch strong, bass can be elusive

Several anglers reported worm hatches in rivers and coves in Narragansett Bay this week. All it took was a few days of warm weather. Reports are from both the East and West Passages of the Bay and we can expect worm hatches in such places as Salt Pond in Narragansett, East Greenwich Cove, Allen Harbor, Wickford Cove, the Barrington and Warren Rivers in the West Passage as well as areas in Mt. Hope Bay.

As related in an earlier column this year, fishing worm hatches for striped bass can be exciting and frustrating at the same time. Cinder worms are small spawning worms almost tadpole like in their movements.  They have a wormlike body up top with a tail that wags through the water propelling them in an erratic fashion at fast speeds in circles through the water.

Striped bass (bluefish too) key in on the spawning worms (often in May and June) and feed actively on the surface, close enough to the shore to be well in range of anglers casting with spinning reels or wading fly rod fishermen.  They are also fished from boats on saltwater ponds, coves and in saltwater estuaries of all types.

When the worm hatch is at its peak using a fly or bait that resembles a cinder worm may not be a good idea.  If there is too much bait around the bass may not bite, however, if you present something different to the bass, to gain their interest, you could hook up with some nice striped bass.  It’s all about getting the bass interested in what you have to offer and they can be finicky and difficult to catch during a hatch.  However, when the hatch starts to slow down it may be a good idea to present bait that looks like a cinder worm as the bass may be hunting for the worms as they are getting scarce. 

Fluke fishing seminar this Friday at Watch Hill Outfitters

Watch Hill Outfitters, 157 Main Street, Westerly, will hold a free seminar on summer flounder (fluke fishing) Friday, May 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Mike Wade, owner of Watch Hill Outfitters, said quest speakers will be Capt. Tom Logan of Fish-On-Charters and Cathy Muli of Jackpot Digger Jigs. Fishing gear and rig manufactures will be on hand as well.  Call 401.207.4952 for reservations and information.

Fluke fishing and cooking seminar May 19

A RI Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) summer flounder (fluke) fishing and cooking seminar will be held Monday, May 19.  Captains Ron Hartman and Rich Hittinger along with local fluke expert Bob Murray will share tips from over their combined sixty years of fluke fishing experience.  Chef Ralph Battista, executive chef and owner of Luigi’s Restaurant & Gourmet Express, Johnston, will talk about cooking fluke.  Chef Battista is an avid angler who also loves to fish aboard his vessel Hook’n & Cook’n.  Seminar at 7:00 p.m., West Valley Inn, Blossom Street, West Warwick.  Non-members are asked to make a $10 donation, RISAA members attend free.

Fishing Tournament for visually impaired adults

The RI Lions Sight Foundation (RILSF) will host their 7th Annual VIP Fishing Tournament for Visually Impaired Persons (VIP’s) of Rhode Island on June 22, 2014.

The Tournament, which takes place on a party fishing boat out of Galilee, RI, is supported through donations from RI Lions Clubs and individual donors. This year, the Tournament will also receive support from the Pabst Brewing Company through the Pabst Blue Ribbon Northeastern Fishing Tournament held from June through September (visit www.pbrfishing.com).

The event includes breakfast and a half-day of fluke fishing followed by lunch and an awards presentation.  Participants vie for the opportunity to represent Rhode Island at the Lions National VIP Tourney being held in October in North Carolina. 

The event is free of charge to all VIP’s and their guides. To be eligible participants are must be legally blind, at least 17 years old, are physically able to fish from a party boat, and must be accompanied by a guide (transportation and/or guides will be provided if needed).

VIP’s and guides must fill out an application to participate.  Visit http://www.lions4sight.org/index.htm or call Ken Barthelemy at 401-529-6173 for information.

DEM and DOH to Kick off Great Outdoors Pursuit this Sunday

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the RI Department of Health (DOH) will kick off their Great Outdoors Pursuit (Pursuit #1) Sunday, May 18, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Lincoln Woods State Park.  Subsequent “Pursuit” events will take place the same time of day on June 22 and July 27 with the final “Pursuit #4” taking place Saturday, August 9.   The aim of the program is to encourage Rhode Islanders to reconnect with the great outdoors, get active and have fun.

“Our Great Outdoors Pursuit gets families outdoors, where they can enjoy nature, get fit and have fun.  Reconnecting children and families with the natural world will ensure a healthy future for our children and for our planet.” said DEM Director Janet Coit.

Four of the Pursuits take place on specific dates in set locations and are guided by DEM staff and their partners. Guided Pursuits include free outdoor adventures such as biking, hiking, nature walks, fitness challenges, kayaking, fishing and rock climbing. They also include music, environmental and health-related exhibits and free raffles, give-a-ways and samples.

Teams of children and adults will be challenged to visit different facilities and take part in outdoor adventures and learn about environmental and health issues over a 12-week period. They earn points for each “Pursuit” event they attend and can win prizes valued up to $1,000 at the Grand Finale. Each team must include a minimum of two people – one member over age 18 and one member under age 18. There is no limit on the number of members that each team may have.

This year program partners include United Healthcare, Verizon, Clivus New England, Fort Adams Trust, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the YMCA, and Coast 93.3.

For more information contact Robert Paquette at (401) 667-6200 (robert.paquette@dem.ri.gov) or Terri Bisson at (401) 222-2776, ext. 4402 (terri.bisson@dem.ri.gov).