Tug of war season on with tautog

 

First tautog: Josh McElwee of Boston, MA caught this 19 ½” tautog, his first ever, using a single hook rig with egg sinker on top.  He used green crabs and was at General Rock, North Kingstown.

 

Big striped bass:  Russ Weymouth of Charlton, MA caught this 48 lbs., 49” striped bass while drifting eels in the morning on the southwest side of Block Island.  The fall run/migration of striped bass has started.

Tournament winners:

  on the beach in front of the Ocean Mist in South Kingstown, RI are winners of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Tournament that attended the awards ceremony Saturday.

Sharking experience:  Ken Montigny (Fairhaven, MA), John Starakas (Wakefield, RI) and Jeff Montigny (Fall River, MA) landed this 500 pound mako shark when fishing at the Mudhole (15 miles east of Block Island) last past Friday.



Tug of war season on with tautog

 

The fall tug of war season with tautog is on.  Tautog (or blackfish) is a great eating fish with a white dense meat.  Their bulldog like fight (similar to grouper) is very exciting and much like a tug of war between you and the tautog.  Once a tautog is hooked it will try to bulldog its way back down into rock or structure.  So when the fish bites, it becomes the angler’s job not to let it bury itself in the structure. 

 

From shore or boat

Tautog can be fished from shore or boat.  The common thread is structure.  From shore it is a matter of trial and error to find a sweet spot or hole that holds big fish.  You want to be near, next to or over structure. 

 From a boat locate the structure you want to fish (on sonar if you have it).   Estimate wind and current and then anchor up current so that as the anchor line pays out the vessel is over structure or slightly before it.  Tie off the anchor line and fish.  Tautog is very territorial so it is important to fish all sides of the boat, even cast a bit covering as much area as you can from different positions in the boat.  If still no bites pay out a little more anchor line to reposition the boat, repeat the process until you are totally off the structure and if still no bites it is time to move to another spot.

Rigs and Bait

Tautog rigs should be kept simple.  My favorite rig is homemade. I use one tautog hook connected to a swivel with a two or three once egg sinker on top sliding on a small three to four inch piece of monofilament line.  Another swivel above the egg sinker connects the monofilament and the braid line (30 lbs.) coming from the rod/reel. Since I have started using this rig bottom hook ups have been cut in half. Braid line does not stretch, so this is my preference, whereas monofilament line may stretch allowing the tautog to reach structure.

 I use green crabs and Asian crabs (when available).  When using green crabs, break off claws and legs and cut the crab in half.  Hook the crab though one leg socket and out another.  This exposes most of the crab and makes it easy for the tautog to put its mouth on the bait.

Standard premade tautog rigs usually have two hooks and a loop below to tie on a bank sinker.  I usually cut the upper hook off. Captain John Rainone of L’il Toot Charters said, “One hook saves rigs and fish… waiting for another fish to jump on makes no sense… I tie rigs with a lighter sinker line so it breaks and hook/fish is retrieved.” The idea is to have less on the rig to get tied up in structure.

 Pabst Blue Ribbon tournament winners

The 2012 second annual Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) striped bass and fluke tournament concluded this past Sunday, September 22 with an awards ceremony at the Ocean Mist in South Kingstown, RI.  The tournament is one of the largest bass and fluke tournaments in the Northeast. 

This year the $10,000 first place striped bass boat division prize went to Jeff Thibodeau of Wallingford, CT with a 60 lbs. 11 oz. fish.  Robert Ferraro of Narragansett, RI took second place ($5,000) with a 58 lbs. 8 oz. striper; and third place ($3,000) went to Joseph Bartnicki of Hackettstown, NJ for a 54 lbs 9 oz. fish.

Shore division striped bass fist place winner was Michael Coppola of New York, NY; John Hanecak of Rock Hill, CT second place; and Thomas McGuire of Narragansett, RI was third place shore division winner with a 34 lbs. 7 oz. striper.

The first place summer flounder (fluke) prize ($5,000) went to Samuel Dibner of Woodbury, CT for an 11 lbs. fluke; second place ($3,000) went to Joseph Giuliano, Niantic, CT; and third place fluke price ($2,000) went to Matt McDermott of Plainview, NY.

 Junior winners include Andrew McGarry, Block Island, RI (bass winner) and Fin Howat, Southport, CT (fluke winner).

The PBR tournament ran from June 1^st to September 15^th and took place in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Visit www.pbrfishing.com for photos.

Where’s the bite

Tautog. John Wunner of John’s Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Tautog fishing is just starting to pick up with anglers now catching keepers.” Angler Dave Fewster said, “I tried for an hour last Sunday and got a bunch of shorts, one keeper tog…it will get better every day with lower temps and shorter days.” I fished with Joshua McElwee Saturday and he caught his first tautog (and keeper sized fish over 16”) at General Rock, North Kingstown, RI.  Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait & Tackle, Westerly said, “Anglers are catching tautog at Watch Hill reef and Ragged Ledge.  Most are using green crabs.”

 

Striped bass.  Russ Weymouth fished the southwest side of Block Island Thursday and said, “Drifting slightly north from the Peanut, (we) caught the biggest fish on my boat One Iota… a  49" striped bass at 48 pounds (using eels).  We continued to repeat the drift and caught as many keeper stripers as we had eels…” John Wunner of John’s Bait said, “I had three customers leave Allen’s Harbor, North Kingstown at 6:00 p.m. Friday night for Block Island and returned at 1:00 a.m. Saturday.  They left with 40 eels and could have caught as many bass, all were in 30 to 40 pound range.”  Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait, Westerly, said, “Fishing improved Tuesday night with anglers catching keeper bass mixed in with a lot of school size bass fishing from shore at Misquamicut and Charlestown beaches.” No reports of a strong bass or blue fish bite starting yet in Narragansett Bay.

 

Shore fishing picked up but is still slow as anglers are having difficulty hooking up with fish consistently.  Dave Pickering, noted local shore angler authority and author said, “Today (Saturday) I went down and checked out places that had been producing earlier in the week.  I found no bait, no birds diving, no fish and no fishermen. I fished a lot of white water and rocky drop-offs today but could not even find a schoolie or a bluefish…”  Visit Dave’s striper blog at www.ristripedbass.blogspot.com.

 

Offshore. John Starakas of Wakefield, RI, said, “(I) took two friends, Jeff Montigny of Fall River, and Ken Montigny of Fairhaven, MA on their first shark fishing trip Friday.  Fished the Mudhole (about 15 miles east of Block Island) all day, no luck trolling for tuna, after chumming for sharks for almost four hours… (we) landed a large mako,  8’ 10” fork length which makes it approximately 500 lbs.”  Jeff was on the rod and fought the fish, Ken wired the fish and John ran the boat and harpooned the shark.

Fresh water fishing.  Dave Pickering fished for carp at night this weekend in the Blackstone River. Dave said, “I noticed a fish grubbing at night right in front of me in about a foot of water.  From experience I know that carp will come in very close to feed under cover of darkness.  So, I put out a flip cast of about 10-15 feet with both outfits.  That did it as the alarm went off about 10 minutes later.  A good fight ensued in total darkness and soon I flipped on my headlight to see a big mirror carp at my feet. Yes, they do hit at night.”  Visit www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com.

 

 

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.” 

Galilee Tournament of Hope and Seafood Festival

 

Big striped bass:  Fred Lewie of Bolton, CT took the Galilee Fishing for Hope Tournament striped bass boat division with this 44.85 pound fish.

 

  Nice weakfish:  Kevin Pellegrino with the 24” weakfish (squeteague) he caught while anchored off Hog Island scup fishing Saturday.

Top bluefish and scup:  Nathaniel Ambrad of Wakefield, RI with the bluefish and scup that took first place in the Junior Boat Division at the Galilee Fishing Tournament of Hope this weekend.

 

Galilee Tournament of Hope and Seafood Festival

The Galilee Fishing Tournament of Hope and Seafood Festival were a big success this weekend.  The top striped bass landed in the boat division by Fred Lewie of Bolton, CT weighted in at a whopping 44.85 pounds.  This topped last years’ big fish by about seven and a half pounds. 

Adult anglers competed in boat and shore divisions for the striped bass, summer flounder (fluke) and bluefish.  In addition to these species, the Junior Division anglers fished for black sea bass and scup.  Steve Anderson took first place in the adult fluke division with a 4.55 pound fish and Kathy Hardy of Warwick took the Junior Boat division with a 3.60 pound fluke.  See complete listing of winners below.

The Seafood Festival was a huge hit too with over 65 venders (last year about 22 exhibitors participated).  Director Janet Coit of the Department of Environmental Management, co-sponsors of the event said, “It was very exciting walking the exhibits, children got to walk through a fishing net that was on display, tour a fishing boat, fish on the dock and much more.  Our staff did a great job working the event.” 

Steve Medeiros, president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA), said, “Traffic both Saturday and Sunday were excellent.  We estimate that several thousand people attended.”  Medeiros continued, “We had bad sea conditions Saturday.  Many anglers said they had to deal with five to six foot seas coming into the Port of Galilee.  But overall it was a very good event.”

Tournament proceeds will go to the Narragansett Parks & Recreation Financial Aid Program, the Pt. Judith Fisherman’s Memorial Scholarship Fund and the RI Saltwater Anglers Foundation.  RISAA took a leading role organizing the tournament and Seafood Festival.  Photos of tournament winners can be seen at www.galileetourney.com .

Galilee Fishing for Hope Tournament winners

Black sea bass (Juniors only) Junior Boat Division winners were 1^st place Kathryn Hardy (3.25 lbs.), 2^nd Nathaniel Ambrad and 3^rd Jillian LeBlanc.

Bluefish Junior Boat Division winner was 1^st Nathaniel Ambrad. Junior Shore Division winners were Sophia Garzoli (.39 lbs.), 2^nd Alex Greenberg and 3^rd Michael Cohen. Adult Boat Division winners were 1^st place Glen Corsetti (11.90 lbs.), 2^nd Donald Smith and 3^rd Peter Vican.  Bluefish Adult Shore Division 1^st place winner was Thomas McGuire (5.25 lbs), 2^nd Rick Boyd and 3^rd Rich Clarke.

Fluke Junior Boat Division winners Kathryn Hardy (3.60 lbs.), 2^nd Noah Roebuck. Adult Boat Division winners were 1^st place Steve Anderson (4.55 lbs.), 2^nd Travis Barao and 3^rd Gilbert Barao.  Fluke Shore Division 1^st place Priscilla Bogdan (2.20 lbs.).

Scup (Juniors only) Junior Boat Division winners were 1^st Nate Ambrad (2.05 lbs.), 2^nd Joey Scrofani, 3^rd Robinson Hoopes.  Junior Shore Division 1^st place Alex Greenberg (.90 lbs.), 2^nd Sophia Garzoli.

Striped bass Adult Boat Division winners were 1^st place Fred Lewie (44.85 lbs), 2^nd Corey Smith (36.70 lbs.) and 3^rd Rich Carroll (35.80 lbs.).  Adult Shore Division 1^st place Kevin Brignole (17.80 lbs.), 2^nd Rick Boyd and 3^rd Rich Clarke.

Newport International Boat Show

So you want to buy a boat. You are in luck.  It is the perfect time of year as sellers of both new and used boats are anxious to sell.  And, this is the perfect week to look at a lot of boats, all at one time, at the 43^rd Annual Newport International Boat Show Thursday, September 12^th through Sunday, September 15^th .The show features boats of all types from 15 to 85 feet and it takes place on the Newport waterfront along American’s Cup Avenue.  Show hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Visit www.newportboatshow.com for details.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing continued to be slow from shore and boats.  Mike Gill of Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown, said, “Shore anglers are tossing eels and all types of artificial baits with very few bumps.”  I fished the Pine Hill Prudence Island area Saturday and managed to catch three small school bass.  Mike Wake of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly, said, “Bass are being picked up with both small and large baits along Watch Hill reef but shore anglers are having a very tough time landing fish.”  Sam Busenbark of Bucko’s Tackle & Bait, Fall River, MA said the striped bass have just not arrived yet in our bays.”

Summer flounder (fluke) bite is still good at Block Island and fair in other places said Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters.  Angler John Graydon of Warwick and his party managed to land some nice keeper fluke fishing around Block Island Saturday.  “Fluke seem to have moved to deeper water in the fifty foot range.” said Mike Gill of Quaker Lane.  Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said, “Our full day boat had the best week of the entire season...with a tremendous amount of anglers limiting out…our biggest fish of the week was taken by … Connie Tu of Warwick, RI who boated a 10.8 pound fluke.”

Weakfish and Northern Kingfish continue to make their presence known in our waters.  Sam Busenbark of Bucko’s Tackle said, “Customers have been hitting some good sized Kingfish and in good numbers near the battleship on the river in Fall River.  Kevin Pellegrino caught a 24" weakfish Saturday while anchored at Hog Island scup fishing with a jig tipped with squid. Kevin said, “It was a beautiful fish.”.

Scup has been good all summer, however, this week it slowed a bit with anglers still catching large fish but in fewer numbers. Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said porgy (scup) fishing was only fair this week.

Tautog fishing is still slow, however, Sam Busenbark of Bucko’s Tackle said, “Anglers are landing keeper tautog in the 16 to 18” range in good number from the Sakonnet River to off Brenton Reef, Newport.”

Black sea bass fishing has been good, however, a lot of shorts are being caught.  Angler Rick Sustello fished the Clay Head Block Island area Saturday and said, “We worked … our way south (of the red can) in about 35 to 70 feet of water… We continued repeating the drift… As the wind speed picked up, so did the action… We caught countess shorts and two short fluke but limited out on black sea.”

Offshore fishing was slow this week with the Frances Fleet they reported catching a mix of yellow fine tuna and albacore, a Wahoo and a few Mahi.

 

 

 

Warm water fish in Bay and global warming

Warm water fish:  Mason Sherman of North Kingstown with the 32 pound, 46” cobia he caught while fluke fishing just south of the Jamestown Bridge.  Several of the warm water fish have been caught in Narragansett Bay and along coastal shores this year.

Priscilla Bogdan of Lincoln, RI landed this cobia off Point Judith, Narragansett last month.  One of several cobia caught this year off coastal shores and in the Bay.

Warm water fish in Bay and global warming

“There is no longer any credible scientific debate about the basic facts: our world continues to warm, with the last decade the hottest in modern records, and the deep ocean warming faster than the earth’s atmosphere. Sea level is rising. Arctic Sea ice is melting years faster than projected.”

This quote is not from liberal environmentalist but rather from four Republican E.P.A. administrators that served under Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush.  It came from an opinion letter they published in the August 1, 2013 issue of the New York Times.

The letter goes on to urge we support initiatives such as “reductions in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the nation’s power plants and spur increased investment in clean energy technology, which is inarguably the path we must follow to ensure a strong economy along with a livable climate.” 

The dialogue on global warming has changed from a bipartisan issue on whether or not it is occurring to what should be done about it now as a nation, and I might add as fishermen.

Local evidence of climate change includes Narragansett Bay and near coastal water temperatures heating up for nearly forty years.  How warm you ask? Well it used to be very cold.  The crew of the Brenton Reef lightship measured water temperature at the mouth of Narragansett Bay every day from July 1878 through January 1942.

 In the coldest winter recorded (1917-18) the water temperature from December through February was 33.2 F. The average for the whole period of their record (64 years) is 39.1 F. This temperature is far from the warmer water temperatures recorded in February, 2012… Conimicut Point, 45 F; Newport, 42 F; and Block Island, 46 F.

OK, so we have a warming Bay (URI Bay temperature studies confirm this too, the Bay has warmed 2 to 3 degrees depending on time of year in past 45 years), and evidence of a rising ocean in New England (and Rhode Island) with beach erosion occurring all along our coastal shore.

Now what about the fish?  What seems to be happening is that the cold water fish (like cod) are moving out of the area, away from coastal shores and out into deeper waters. Last year my brother-in-law and I traveled to Cox’s Ledge (over 18 miles offshore) to catch them.  And, for the past few years we have had warm water fish (and manuals) being sited or caught in the area.  Dolphin sightings in Narragansett Bay in the fall for the past couple of years, blue fin tuna at the mouth of the Bay in January and cobia being caught in the Bay this summer are some examples.

Last week Mason Sherman, a URI engineering student from North Kingstown, RI, caught a 32 pound, 46 inch cobia when he was bottom fishing for fluke (summer flounder) just south of the Jamestown Bridge.  Mason said, “I was using very light tackle... 20 lb test monofilament line and a plastic squid rig tipped with a fresh piece of squid.  Every time I would get the fish close to the boat it would dive.  I mean dive deep below the boat… it took about 25 minutes to land the fish.”

Last month Greg Vespe of Tiverton landed a 17 pound cobia fishing north of the Newport Bridge when fishing with Atlantic Menhaden chunks for striped bass. Bait shop owners have reported an additional three to four cobia being caught in the Bay this year.

Cobia (a warm water fish) migrate along the Atlantic coast on a seasonal basis. In spring, they move from southern Florida, to the Carolinas as water temperatures rise. That’s right, I said the Carolinas… not Rhode Island.

As fishermen, we know the water is warming and we need to do everything we can to curb climate change.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with catching warm water fish here, I would love to catch a cobia, but it would be nice if some fish were left for my great grand children.  And I don’t mean fried fish.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing at Block Island is still good with smaller fish (28”-32” keeper size) being taken at the North Rip and larger fish on the South West Ledge. Umbrella rigs still seem to be the bait of choice during the day. Last week striped bass were between Gould Island and the Newport Bridge and all along southern coastal shores, this week that action slowed down a bit.

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing remained good but spotty this week with fish being taken (for the first time in years) in the upper Bay.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Customers are catching fluke at Fields Point and in other places in the upper Bay… in eight to fourteen feet of water if you can believe that.  The fluke are feeding on skipjacks (baby blue fish) in coves and along shoreline areas.” John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “Customers are catching fluke in places where they have not been for years.  Last week anglers caught keeper sized fluke at Sabin Point.” The fluke bite off Newport and Jamestown remained good but spotty with fish being taken in good numbers depending on the day under the Newport and Jamestown bridges, at Austin Hollow, Dutch Island,  Hull and Mackerel Coves off Jamestown.  Some days anglers have found fluke in numbers off Newport beyond Seal Ledge and the Brenton Reef areas.  John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Customers have been catching fluke everywhere including the entrance of Allen’s Harbor, in Wickford Harbor.”  The fluke bite in Greenwich Bay continued to be slow as the western portion of the Bay is recovering from hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) at the lower levels of the water column.

Scup fishing remains strong throughout the Bay at the usually place… Colt State , Bristol, the bridges, Providence Point, Ohio Ledge, etc

.

Blue crabs have been plentiful in coves and estuaries.

Skipjacks (or baby blue fish) have invaded coves, ponds and inlets.  Anglers have been catching them in volume.

RI Fish for the Future… first cooperative of its type in the nation

Fluke fishing:  Lorna Russell of Providence with the fluke she caught off the Beavertail area of Jamestown.  Her son Liam (right) and friend Mathew look on.

Researcher even when off duty:  Jon Hare (center), Narragansett Laboratory Director and Oceanography Branch Chief for NOAA Fisheries Service, fished with Capt. Dave Monti on Angel Light, a RI Fish for the Future cooperative member this Saturday.  Jon lives in East Greenwich and by chance his wife booked the charter on the cooperative vessel for him, his son John (far right) and friend Elliot Emperor of Orleans, France.

RI Fish for the Future… first cooperative of its type in the nation

There is a new fishing cooperative in Rhode Island… the first of its type in the nation, it is called Rhode Island Fish for the Future and I am one of its founding members.  It is a charter captains’ summer founder (fluke) cooperative consisting of nine vessels.  The captains are voluntarily testing an innovative fishing approach to improve accountability and conservation of the summer flounder (fluke) population while increasing business flexibility and stability for the Rhode Island charter boat industry.

The cooperative is also testing innovative new software they developed that records catch in real time.  Each of the captains in the program has a computer tablet on board loaded with the software.  The software (called Fish Net) allows captains to record species type and fish length (the software converts length to approximate weight).  All of this is recorded in real time in the location that they catch/record the fish through a GPS capability.  It is hoped that software like this will provide a rich data source for fish mangers in the future as charter boats and recreational fishers are presently not required to report their catch the way that commercial fishermen do. 

The cooperative received a grant to develop the software and is operating under proposed guidelines as they fish off a Research Set Aside (RSA) fish allocation they purchased at a federal auction.

The mission of the pilot project includes reducing discards (and mortality rate… or the number of fish that die after release) and increased flexibility and predictability so charter captains can better serve customers.  Captains have been able to improve customer experience by allowing them to take more fish and smaller sizes than normally allowed.  This sounds great… more fish for customers, smaller sizes allowed, however, there is a catch.

Captains participating in the program agree to live within a rigid set of rules.  Rules such as counting all fish caught toward their quota or allowable catch for the season… even the ones too small to keep.  Their cumulative total of allowable catch is smaller than they would be able to take under normal recreational fishing regulations, however, the program gives them the flexibility to catch the fish and use them with customers when it is best from a business perspective.

For example they can fish for striped bass or tautog when they are in season and available and save the fluke fishing for when other species are not available.  Captain Joe Pagano of Stuff-It Charters (a program participant) said “The pilot program will allow my customers to keep more fish and plan their vacations ahead of time which will ultimately provide more stability for my business.”

Capt. Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters, one of the organizers of Rhode Island Fish for the Future said, “The catch cooperative program is the best option I've seen to date, one that with the appropriate implementation, will let our industry continue to thrive for years to come.”

For information about Rhode Island Fish for the Future visit www.rifishforthefutue.org. 

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing has been fair this past week at Block Island and in the Bay.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait Tackle, East Providence said, “Sunday small bass in the 22” to 24” range were caught at Sabin Point.”  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marine, South Kingstown said, “The Bass bite at Block Island has been with eels at night and customer are catching them during the day trolling umbrella rigs.”  Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Some nice bass were caught at the Newport Bridge this week with Atlantic Menhaden which have been plentiful in that area and around Gould Island.  Some customers have been doing well with bass in the Breton Reef, Newport area.”

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been spotty with warm water in Narragansett Bay and rough water off shore.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait said, “I had a customer catch a small keeper sized fluke off Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick and then he landed a nice squeteague.”  I fished in the Beavertail, Jamestown area with Jon Hare and his son John and friend Elliott this Saturday and landed about a dozen fish including six nice keeper fluke but they were hard to come by.  “Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait said, “Fluke are from Warwick Neck to the bridges and beyond but they were very spotty and hard to catch this week.  Some days anglers were hitting them and some days they were not.”  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marine said, “Fluke fishing was slow this week for customers both at Block Island and along southern coastal shores.”

Black sea bass fishing has been OK with anglers catching them while fluke fishing.  Some nice sized black sea bass were taken off the wall at the Harbor of Refuge and off Narragansett Beach.

Scup fishing continues to be strong all over Narragansett Bay, off coastal shores and in the Newport and Jamestown bridge areas.  Angler Mike Swain of Coventry said, “I saw a number of boats at Warwick Light landing scup while fluke fishing this Sunday.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “Scup fishing continues to be very strong with large scup common.  Anglers continue to experience a good scup bite at Colt Sate Park, Bristol.”

Offshore fishing had been pretty good this week at the Dump with blue fin tuna, mahi-mahi, and  yellow fin  being taken by a number of customers said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor.

Fish need to breathe too

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing good. Peter and Holly Sousa landed summer fluke to 21” while fishing off Dutch Island and Jamestown, RI Sunday night.

Fish need to breathe too

Dr. Chris Deacutis of the University of Rhode Island sent me an email this week.  Dr. Deacutis and his team have measured temperature, nutrient and oxygen levels in Narragansett Bay for years. Oxygen levels in the lower part of the water column in the west passage of Narragansett Bay are very low.  These low levels of oxygen may explain why fluke fishing in Greenwich Bay slowed this week.  

Dr. Deacutis said, “Just wanted to give you a heads up. We (URI and Brown University) ran an oxygen survey today and there is extreme low DO (dissolved oxygen), 0.1- 0.6 mg/L in western Greenwich Bay below 10' , and very low DO, 1 - 2mg/L= no fish, in the upper Bay and ~ 2 mg/L in upper West Passage below ~ 15-20' all the way down to Quonset Point. Probably explains why the Bay fishing is so dead. Fish leave when DO is < 2-3 mg/L . I wouldn't bother going for any flatfish (summer flounder) above Quonset.

 The decrease in nutrients at the sewer plants does seem to be helping since we used to see DO < 1 all the way to Quonset a few years back during these nasty spells. The rainstorms and hot weather has stratified the Bay and is keeping the bottom water from getting new oxygen. We'll need a good storm w/ heavy winds to get things right again on the bottom.”

DEM to host events in conjunction with Bay Day

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will host the third event of the 2013 Rhode Island Great Outdoors Pursuit on Sunday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in conjunction with Governor Lincoln Chafee’s Bay Day at Colt State Park in Bristol.  Additionally, there will be free parking at all State beaches on July 28 in celebration of Bay Day.

The Pursuit event is open to the public and will feature a host of activities such as a tide pool touch tank, healthy cooking demonstration and farmers' market, electronics recycling drop-off, and hula-hooping. There is no cost to register and all activities are either free or low-cost. The general public who do not wish to register are also invited to participate in all activities. More information is available online at www.riparks.com.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing remained very strong in the lower Bay, along coastal shores and around Block Island.  Angler Steve Jucknick reports a good bass bite at the east fishing grounds off Block Island last week with six keepers bass taken on top water plugs at night.  Mary Dangelo of Maridee Bait &
Canvas, Narragansett said, “Gus Ludietti (eight years old) of Killingworth, CT caugth a 32 pound striped Bass (fishing with his mother) off the wall in Narragansett this weekend while fishing with squid for scup.” Dangelo said, “ I told Gus when he was in the shop that he had light gear so he would have to play the fish and not pull hard on the line or it would break… he followed instructions well and landed the 40” fish.”  Captain Rick Bellavance of the charter vessel Priority Too our of Pt. Judith, Narragansett said, “The bass bite around Block Island has been strong but the seas have been rough this week and have prohibited fishing some days.”  Noted local angler Don Smith reports on fishing Block Island last week at night.  Don said, “The water temps were unusually warm, ranging anywhere from 76.4 to 78.5.  Capt. Matt King told me he's marked water temps during the day of 80 so the bass will be moving further north if this keeps up. The bass are moving up in the water column feeding on the surface early in the morning and at the tide changes. Using Lemiere wooden surface plugs and spinning gear we had bass on the surface to 40 lbs. early Wednesday morning. Lots of blues mixed in with them.”  Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & Tackle Warwick said, “The striped bass bite around the Newport Bridge (and Jamestown Bridge) was very strong this weekend.  Several customers caught nice sized bass while using chucks of Atlantic Menhaden.” Schools of Atlantic Menhaden were reported in the lower East Passage of the Bay between the Newport Bridge and north to Prudence Island.

Offshore.  Captain Rick Bellavance of Priority Too charters said, “We landed our first albacore tuna (west of the horns) this week.  Three nice fish in the 25 pound range.”

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing remained strong in the lower Bay, along coastal shores and out at Block Island. Mike Swain of Coventry, RI landed a 24.5 inch fluke while fishing off Jamestown. Holly and Peter Sousa fished the west passage off Dutch Island and landed keeper fluke this Sunday fishing the incoming tide.  Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “The water in the Bay has warmed up a lot this past week and consequently fishing for fluke in the West Passage and in Greenwich Bay has slowed down a lot.  Fishing in the lower Bay for fluke remains strong.” Captain Rick Bellavance reports, ”We had a fluke trip last week and fished the East side of Block Island with success landing 35 keepers.” 

How to catch bonito and albacore… and take great photos of your catch

 First fluke… first fish:  Durjoy Maitra of Brookline, MA caught his first fish ever on his very first cast off the DEM pier on Salt Pond.  The fluke was twenty inches and weighted two pounds.

 Fluke fishing is good:  Josh Olczak of Maryland, Marchello and Tony Carulli of Pennsylvania enjoyed a mourning of summer flounder fishing (fluke) in Greenwich Bay last week.  Fluke fishing has been good in  Narragansett Bay, along coastal shores and Block Island.

How to catch bonito and albacore… and take great photos of your catch

Learn how to fish for bonito and false albacore and how to take better fishing photos at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association’s (RISAA) monthly meeting Monday, July 29, 7:00 p.m. at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick, RI.   Captain Eric Thomas will speak about how to catch bonito and false albacore.  Thomas specializes in fly fishing… light tackle and often fishes the Aquidneck Island coastline for striped bass, false albacore, bonito, fluke and many other species.  Steve Medeiros, editor of RISAA’s newsletter has had many photos published in the RISAA newsletter.   "I can't tell you how many times someone has sent in a photo of their prized catch, only to reject it because the angler's head was cut off, or the photo is out of focus, or too dark and unrecognizable," he said. His mini-seminar will provide you with a few simple tips to make your photos more impressive, and will show examples of good and bad photos and how to easily correct them.  Non-members invited to attend and are requested to make a $10 donation to the RISAA Marine Fisheries College Scholarship Fund.  The West Valley Inn will be serving dinner starting at 5:30 p.m.

Rhody Fly Rodders summer fishing meeting, Thursday, July 18th

The Rhody Fly Rodders will hold their summer fishing meeting Thursday, July 18 at Seapowet Marsh, Tiverton, RI.  High tide on July 18 is at approximately 4:30 p.m. and the group will fish the out-going tide, from whenever anglers arrive until dark.  A small grill for anglers to cook their own hot dogs, burgers, etc. will be available but participants are asked to bring their own beverages. Water and chips are provided. Directions: Take RI. Rt. 77 South from Rt. 24 (Sakonnet Bridge), take right on Seapowet Avenue, and follow to you get to a small bridge. Parking lot on right at bridge.   For information contact Peter Nilsen at pdfish@fullchannel.net.

New England Fishery Management Council seeks fishermen for Electronic Monitoring (EM) Group

The New England Fishery Management Council is forming an ad hoc Electronic Monitoring (EM) Working Group. Its members will be asked to identify any existing barriers or necessary steps that would enhance groundfish sector operations plan(s), in particular those plans that rely on electronic monitoring as a primary mechanism to achieve their stated compliance and catch attribution goals. 

The Council will appoint two fishermen, who participate in the Northeast Multispecies Sector Management Program and who are not currently on Council advisory panels, to serve on the working group. The working group also will include representatives of the Council and its staff, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office and Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff and fishermen.

Please indicate your interest in participating on the Working Group by mail, email or fax and include information about the gear type you use, the areas you currently fish and any other information you think may be relevant. If you have questions or need additional information about the EM Working Group, please contact Chris Kellogg at 978.465.0492, ext. 112 or ckellogg@nefmc.org.

Where’s the bite

Off-Shore.  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, “This weekend we had customers landing tuna.  Four yellowfin tuna, albacore and even some mahi-mahi were caught Saturday and Sunday just on the south side of the Dump.

Striped bass fishing remains strong around Block Island.  Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle landed striped bass to 41 pounds fishing with eels on the southwest side of the Block Island this past weekend said Patti Ferrara.  Matt Conti of Sung Harbor said, “Customers are landing bass with eels during the day and night on the southwest side of the Island.  Some are using umbrella rigs with success too.”  Mike Gill of Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown said bass fishing for customers is good at Block Island with customers using eels and umbrella rigs with success.

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been very good with fluke being caught in Greenwich Bay in numbers that haven’t been seen in ten years.  Fluke have been caught at the mouth of the Sakonnet River, around Newport and Jamestown, along the southern coastal shores, and out to Block Island. Wednesday I had three anglers on board and we had good luck fishing the Greenwich Bay area from the can at Round Rock to the Warwick County Club.  Many anglers fished the edges of the trough that runs between Warwick Light and the Country Club. “Fluke fishing has been great.  People are catching them everywhere.” said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor.

Black sea bass fishing is good.  Anglers are often catching their limit… three fish/angler/day with a minimums size of 13” until August 31.  The catch limit increases to seven fish per anglers from September 1 to December 31.