This 16 pound striped bass was caught by Capt. Rob Taylor's friend Matt (show in picture) just south for the Hurricane Barrier in the Providence River Basin. "The herring were on the surface and the hold-over bass were feeding on them.", said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.
Get ready… Opening Day is Saturday, April 8th
Opening day of the freshwater fishing and trout season is Saturday, April 8th. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) plans to stock 80,000 trout into 100 Rhode Island waterways. New this year, Carbuncle Pond in Coventry will be stocked with brown and rainbow trout.
Lake
Tiogue in Coventry will not be stocked this year due to low water issues, and
St. Mary’s Pond in Portsmouth will not be stocked. Beginning next fall
and into the future, large brown trout will be stocked at Carbuncle Pond in
Coventry with the goal of developing this location into a brown trout angling
destination.
On Saturday, April 8, a children’s
fishing derby will be held at Pondarosa Park Pond in Little Compton. And
on Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and April 9, fishing in Cass Pond in
Woonsocket, Slater Park Pond in Pawtucket, and Ponderosa Park Pond in Little
Compton will be reserved for children 14 years and under.
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. The daily creel and possession limit for trout is five from April
8, 2017 through November 30, 2017, and two from December 1, 2017 through February
28, 2018.
Visit
www.dem.ri.gov for licensing information, a
list of waterways that will be stocked and regulations.
Saltwater fishing from shore
The more I learn about fishing, the
more I realize that to be successful at it, you need to do your homework. Monday night I was taught how to do my
homework to be a successful shore fisherman by two local experts…Peter Jenkins,
owner of the Saltwater Edge, Middletown and Capt. Chris Aubut of Aubut Rod
Company. Peter is also the Lead Instructor at the Orvis Saltwater Fly Fishing
School and an avid surfcaster and fly rod fisherman as the situation dictates
“What we look for from shore are
edges. What I mean by edges is the
change between hi and low water, shadow lines of docks (and bridges) at night,
edges of sand bars and banks, and edges of moving and standing water” said
Peter Jenkins at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association meeting to a
group of about 180 anglers at the West Warwick Elks Lodge.
Most gamefish, like striped bass
for example, set themselves up on edges or near edges to ambush and take advantage
of prey (bait) that may be feeding or may be getting tossed or pushed along by
moving water, currant and tide.
“You can learn a lot from the
birds… like what type of bait might be in the water that the fish are feeding
on. If they are seagulls they can eat
large baits, like herring and Atlantic menhaden, if small birds are on bait, such
as terns you know they are after smaller bait possibly Bay anchovies as they
could not lift large baits. Knowing what
bait is in the water helps you target fish with the correct lure." said
Jenkins.
Another key tip is to remember that
hard structure such as cliffs, rock formations and boulder fields hold bait
such as cunner (choggies), black fish (tautog) and scup in the structure at both
high and low tides. So these areas can
be fished anytime.
One last tip suggested by Jenkins
and Aubut is check out the location you plan to fish during a moon low tide so
you can see the contour, where the edges, pools and sand bars are located. “I surf and fish from shore but I got a whole
different perspective of what was really under the water where I fish by
putting a mask, snorkel and fins on and taking a dip to see what the bottom was
like where I fish. I quickly learned why
this particular stop usually held fish.
The bottom was loaded with an active mussel bed that smaller fish and
striped bass would feed on.” said Capt. Aubut.
Pre-owned Hinckley Yachts can now be guaranteed
Hinckley Yachts of Portsmouth, RI
introduced there first Certified Pre-Owned Program last week at an owners
rendezvous in Key Largo, Florida. I
always stop by the Hinckleys at boat shows as they are the gold standard of
luxury yachts.
The new program offers buyers of
previously owned Hinckley Yachts a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program that
includes extended warranties and the assurance that their purchase bas been
factory maintained.
Peter O’Connell, Hinckley CEO said,
"Many Hinckleys that reach the used boat market have not only been
built by Hinckley, but they have been maintained throughout their life by our
own staff. We know these boats, we know that they've been properly serviced, we
represent them in the marketplace, so our confidence in them is very high."
To qualify for CPO status a
Hinckley must have been serviced in the company’s seven service operations, or
in a yard authorized to service Hinckley products. Boats then undergo inspection and must be listed
for sale with a Hinckley-owned sales office.
There is no program cost to the sellers or buyers.
The first pre-owned Hinckleys are expected
to be available this month. For
information visit www.hinckleyyachts.com.
Where’s the bite
Striped bass. “Fishing was off a couple of weeks ago when
the water cooled but in February and January we had some good striped bass hold
over fishing in the Providence River.
One of my customers fishes the Providence River and has caught 40 to 50
school striped bass this winter.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait &
Tackle, Riverside. Dave Henault of Ocean
State Tackle, Providence said, “Capt. Rob Taylor and his friend Matt targeted
striped bass one warm night earlier this week in the Providence River
Basin. The herring were active and so
were the striped bass. They landed a
34”, 16 pound striped bass along with a number of fish in the 26” to 31”
range.”
Freshwater fishing. Carp fishing continues to remain strong and
with the start of spring carp fishing is getting better. Jacob Ayotte landed a 26 pound carp in a
Rhode Island pond using pop-up baits and then he landed a second 23.9 pound
fish. He is a carp expert who caught three 30 pound fish last year and is
scheduled to start working at Ocean State Tackle next week as our in-house carp
expert.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Ayotte said, “Very special fish for me last evening (Sunday) maybe my most
significant of the season. I have been home rolling boilies (boiled paste
fishing balls) all winter and started baiting them a week and a half ago but
the weather has not been cooperating. I had been sticking with a pop-up over
the bed (of leaves) as I felt it was my best bet for a bite, however, this
weekend showed some more mild weather with light rain. I decided now was a good
time to give them a go. Just under two
hours in on my second short session using a pineapple soluble my right rod was
off and I landed a beautiful 23 pound, 9 once fish. Very, very happy with this one!”
“With no ice to speak of in January and February we have had
very little ice fishing.” said Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick.
John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait said, “We had some customers ice fish in
Rhode Island early in March as the water was colder then than in winter, but it
is all over now. We did have a couple of anglers see DEM stocking area ponds
with trout for Opening Day, April 8th, but nothing at Willett Avenue
Pond in Riverside yet.”
Cod fishing. Make sure vessels are fishing the day you want to
go. Dianne Valerien of the Seven B’s
party boat said, “Cod fishing this week as been spotty.” Party boats sailing for cod fish at this time
include the Frances Fleet at www.francesfleet.com
, the Seven B’s (with Capt. Andy Dangelo at the helm) at www.sevenbs.com, and the Island Current at www.islandcurrent.com .
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