Hot Reels takes Tournament with 343 pound thresher

 

Sophia Garzoli and her dad Dave fished outside the Harbor of Refuge, South Kingstown where Sophia landed this 27” striped bass using light tackle.

 Capt. Lois DeFusco (left of fish) of ‘Hot Reels’ took first place thresher with a 343 pound fish at the Snug Harbor Shark Tournament this weekend.  Angler Cody Trostel was on the rod when the fish hit.

Block Island striped bass: Josh Barnes (left) with girlfriend Stephanie from Florida, his father Ron (far right) and friend Steve all caught Block Island bass in July.  

 

Hot Reels takes Tournament with 343 pound thresher

The charter fishing vessel ‘Hot Reels’ captained by Louis DeFusco landed a 343 pound thresher shark to take first place in the thresher category in Snug Harbor Marina’s Shark Tournament this weekend. Angler Cody Trostel was on the rod when the fish hit.   Paul Warner on ‘Bull Dog’ took second place with a 225 pound thresher and Ryan Napolitano ‘Knot Reel Teeth’ took first place in the mako category with a 157 pound fish.

Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina said, “We had a great turnout even though the weather was not the greatest.  We had 47 boats participate in the Tournament and everyone had a good time.”  The tournament took place July 9 and 10^th and concluded with a cookout after weigh-in closed at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Proceeds from the tournament go the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

 

DEM Arrests three for failure to fin clip striped bass

 The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Division of Law Enforcement announced the arrest of Chad W. Braga, age 31, of Swansea, Massachusetts and Brandon DeFaria, age 34, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. The two men, charged with failure to fin clip striped bass found in their possession as required by law, were fishing recreationally out of Galilee. Braga and DeFaria are scheduled to be arraigned in 4th Division District Court on Wednesday, July 27. The seized fish were donated to local charity, Amos House.

 

Last month, Michael A. Saviano, age 35, of Warren was arrested at the Independent Park Boat Ramp in Bristol on fin-clipping violations. The arrest was the first since Rhode Island enacted fin-clipping regulations earlier this year. He will be arraigned in 6th Division Court on July 22.

 

"The striped bass fishery is an important one in Rhode Island. And preserving it and all our marine resources are responsibilities we take very seriously," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "These regulations are the latest step in our efforts to thwart illegal fishing practices in Rhode Island. I am extremely proud of our DEM Division of Law Enforcement and the commitment and professionalism our officers demonstrate every day in responding to illegal activity and bringing the people responsible to justice."

 

In April, DEM enacted regulations to help prevent the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic striped bass; the rules require recreational anglers to clip the right pectoral fin of striped bass 34 inches or larger at the time of harvest. Complementary dealer regulations make it unlawful for a licensed dealer to purchase and/or offer for sale any striped bass with the right pectoral fin removed. Braga and DeFaria, who holds a Massachusetts commercial fishing license with a striped bass endorsement, were found with six striped bass meeting the clipping requirement.

 

Saviano, who also holds a Massachusetts commercial fishing license with a striped bass endorsement, was found with two striped bass. All men were apprehended as part of DEM striped bass enforcement patrols.

 

Newport International Boat Show announces partners

Newport Exhibition Group, owners and producers of the Newport International Boat Show which is taking place September 15^th to 18^th on Newport Harbor, announced today its sponsorship program for this year’s show.

“Our attendees come from all over the globe and represent a sophisticated demographic with varying life and boating styles,” said Nancy Piffard, show director of Newport Exhibition Group. “We make every effort to improve their experience by partnering with companies that share our goals. This year’s sponsors are exceptional and we are really looking forward to September.”

Current sponsors include Celebrity Cruises, Centreville Bank, Dockwa, Harbor Town Wine, Harpoon Beer, Helly Hanson, Hendricks Gin, Karma Wellness Water, Lipton Pure Leaf Collection, Polar Beverage, Sea Bags, Sebago and Sobieski Vodka.

 

Where’s the bite

Fresh water fishing has been OK.  Angler Harold Hemberger said, “Fished the pond located in the Buck Hill Management Area today (Sunday) in Burrillville.  It was all pickerel all day.  I caught six pickerel on a red & white daredevil spoon.  I was there for about three hours.  The faster I fished the spoon the more hits it generated.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “Things seemed to have slowed a bit for freshwater customers however Stump Pond is producing bass for some customers and a nice carp was caught at Brickyard Pond.”

Striped bass fishing was good this week at Block Island with fish being taken with eels and trolling umbrella rigs, tube & worm and parachute jigs.  I fished Block Island with Ron and Josh Barnes and friends Monday, they caught striped bass to 46 pounds trolling umbrella rigs.  The early morning bite was very active. Many Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “We sold a lot of eels to anglers fishing Block Island.  And, there are still a lot of school bass in the 24” to 25” range in the Bay.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “ We had two nice fish a 36” and a 31” striped bass caught from shore at Sabin’s Point this weekend right at dusk.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “Striped bass are still being caught in the Mid and Upper Bay with a good bite off Newport.” Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown said, “Stipend bass fishing is a bit spotty.  However, the best bite now seems to be with eels on the southwest side of Block Island.” Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “Anglers are using eels to catch bass at on Block Island’s southwest side and some are trolling tube & worm and umbrella rigs. The shore bite is now a night game with anglers doing well in the Narraganset and Jamestown areas.”

“Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been very good at the mouth of the Sakonnet and at Ft. Adams Newport with anglers limiting out.” said Many Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle. Anglers are generally limiting on black sea bass too (3 fish/person/day, 15” minimum size) as they fish for summer flounder (8 fish/person/day, 18” minimum size).  Neil Hayes of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle said, “Fluke fishing around the Newport and Jamestown Bridges has been pretty good as well as along the southern coastal shore.” Patty Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Fishing for fluke south of the Jamestown and Newport Bridges has been very good for customers.”  Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said “Boat limits of big sea bass on full day trips were caught this week with varying numbers of nice size fluke mixed in. Some better numbers of big fluke later in the week with Friday and Saturday by far the best days with Saturday’s biggest fish weighing in at nine pounds.”  Riley Cahill caught a 5.7 pound fluke Monday fishing off the center wall of the Harbor of Refuge with her uncle.  Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Fluke fishing on the southeast and southwest sides of Block Island is very good with fish being caught along the southern coastal shore too with black see bass mixed in.  There are also a lot of bluefish in the area.”

Scup fishing has exploded in the Bay and along the coastal shore.  “Huge scup are being caught at Portsmouth, Bristol and Tiverton.” said Dave Henault of Ocean Stale Tackle. “Things are off the wall with scup. A customer caught eight nice scup at Colt State Park.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s.    “16” and 17” scup are being caught at Independence Park, under the Mt. Hope Bridge and at Colt State Park.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.

RI’s DeFusco takes national fishing stage with George Poveromo

George Poveromo (shown with dolphin) was host  of the Saltwater Sportsman’s national fishing seminar series this Saturday at the Casey Theatre, Regis College, MA. 

Capt. Lois DeFusco of Hot Reels Sportfishing charters, Pt. Judith, RI likes using jigs for black sea bass.

RI’s DeFusco on national fishing stage

How do I get started tuna fishing? How do I catch large black sea bass? What lures work best for striped bass in the spring?  These questions and others were answered Saturday at George Poveromo’s 28^th Salt Water Sportsman’s National Fishing Seminar series held at Regis College in Weston, MA. Poveromo is an editor-at-large for Salt Water Sportsman and is the host of George Poveromo’s World of Salt Water Fishing television program on NBC Sports.

Poveromo and co-host Tom Richardson, host of New England  Boating TV and former editor at Salt Water Sportsman led panel discussions on a variety of fish species on how, where and when to catch them.

Dr. Mitchell Roffer of Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service (www.roffs.com) was one of the national speakers.  Dr. Roffer is an authority on locating productive water surface temperature breaks and ocean-circulation features for near shore and offshore game fish. His satellite images provide anglers with maps showing real time temperature breaks and water circulation patterns.

National and local captains like Louis DeFusco of Hot Reels Sportfishing charters (www.hot-reels.com), Pt. Judith, RI provided anglers with information on how to enhance their odds of catching more and larger fish.

Capt. DeFusco, one of the black sea bass and tautog session panelists said, “My greatest success fishing for black sea bass has been  in areas where there are rock piles and structure like Nebraska Shoal (between Charlestown and South Kingstown) using jigs rather than bait rigs to target them.”

DeFusco’s favorite places to target tautog include reefs off Beavertail, Jamestown and Brenton Reef, Newport.  “Around Thanksgiving I am fishing n in 65 to 70 feet of water.  In the spring and early fall they are in 10 or 12 feet of water.” said DeFusco.

Steve Medeiros, president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (www.RISAA.org), who was in the seminar display area with an information table said, “George Poveromo runs a great seminar and has been very gracious allowing RISAA to share membership information with anglers and promote our New England Saltwater Fishing Show taking place at the RI Convention Center February 27 to March 1.” 

With prizes from national sponsors such as Bass Pro Shops, Mako boats and Penn reels/rods and many others Poveromo’s National Seminar series was a big hit with anglers once again here in New England.  Visit www.nationalseminarseries.com for the seminar schedule as it visits other east coast locations.

Ice fishing for charity

The annual Kevin Thatcher Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament will be helped Saturday, January 31, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Crystal Lake.  The tournament will benefit “Between the Cracks.”, a local non-profit charity that helps families in need. Crystal Lake Golf Course, Big Bear Bait & Tackle and Ted’s Bait Shop are tournament sponsors.  The entry fee is $10 and sign-up will start at 6:00 a.m. at the Crystal Lake Golf Course parking lot on Rt 202, Bronco Hwy on the Burrillville/Glocester Line.  Cash prizes for the largest bass, pickerel and perch.  Best cook on the ice award will receive the “Golden Pork Chop Trophy”.  Contact Steve Rawson for information at 401.568.4244.

Rhody Fly Rodders meet January 20th

The Rhody Fly Rodders will meet Tuesday, January 20, 6:30 p.m. with Capt. Ray Sachelek of Cast-a-fly Charters as guest speaker.  Capt. Sachelek (a noted fly fishing guide and tyer) will give a presentation called “Tuna Helper – A Recipe for Success”.  Peter Nilsen, president of Rhody Fly Rodders said, “The presentation will be all about the hunt for false albacore, bonito and small tuna. This will be a comprehensive presentation with a wealth of information on the subject.” Seminar is open to the public.  The meeting which will take place at the Riverside Sportsmen’s Association, 19 Mohawk Dr., East Providence, RI is open to the public.  For information contact Peter Nilsen at 401-245-7172.

 
Joe Carr passes

Joe Carr, owner and operator of Carr's Fly Shop in Hope, RI passed away this weekend.  Peter Nilsen of Barrington, president of the Rhody Fly Rodders, said, “There will never be another fly shop like Joe's.  He was a great guy; always willing to help and really enjoyed the members of Trout Unlimited TU225 (fishing club) who visited his store.  Joe was a key supporter of our local fly fishing community, and he was well-respected by all of us fly anglers.  We all will miss Joe.”

Anglers aim to separate RI from other states

 The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) held an input meeting at the URI Bay Campus last week on Draft Addendum XXVI for the summer flounder fishery management plan (FMP).  The ASMFC develops management plans and regulations for summer flounder fishing in RI and other coastal states.  The meeting was chaired by Kirby Rootes-Murdy, ASMFC fishery management plan coordinator. Robert Ballou, one of Rhode Island’s ASMFC commissioners from the RI Department of Environmental Management, interested recreational anglers as well as representatives from the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association (RIPCBA) and the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) were in attendance.

Travis Barrio, RISAA board member and representative said “We are advocating for adaptive regional management like last year allowing Rhode Island to be separate and not making it accountable for fish caught in other regions along with guidelines for one year rather than two.” Capt. Rick Bellavance, president of the RIPCBA said, “We are concerned about the options that bring RI into the same region as other states, mostly because of the uncertain data and how dramatically it can change from year to year. Combining with others could reduce our (recreational) bag limit to even less fish and shorten our season by quite a few days.”  Capt. Bellavance has also disputed the accuracy of the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) data used to measure effort and catch to develop harvest estimates. Both the RISAA and RIPCBA were in agreement on the summer flounder management plan options the ASMFC should consider for Rhode Island.

 Summer flounder abundance has moved north in recent years as the ocean water has warmed. So you might say climate change has impacted this fishery in a positive way for Rhode Island fishermen.   With this abundance shift and the importance of the species to both commercial and recreational fishing in Rhode Island, fish managers believe it is time to look at old and new data and science to consider changes to the way summer flounder are managed. A summer flounder management plan amendment that address a lot of these issues is in the works for the future.  Last year a public scoping meeting on the issue was held.  However, the scoping meeting is just one of the first steps in the long process of amendment development. It will be followed by selection of key issues, a draft amendment and implementation options as well as a number of public hearings.

 However for the time being, 2015 will likely bring more restrictive fishing regulations for recreational anglers in RI as the summer flounder projected relational harvest was overfished last year.  In 2014 the projected harvest was 126,724 fish and through Wave 5 fish managers say Rhode Island’s share of the regional harvest was 181,601 fish.  The ASMFC board plans to select management measures and approve them next month (February) at their next.  Public comment on the draft addendum (which can be found at www.asmfc.org) can be sent to Krootes-murdy@asmf.org , the subject title in the email should read:  Draft Addendum XXVI.

Where’s the bite

For ice conditions in your city or town check with local police and at Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods State Park, call DEM's Division of Parks and Recreation at 667-6200.  DEM has an ice safety guide that can be found online on its parks website at www.riparks.com .

Cod fishing is very good with vessels reporting more cod compared to the same time last year. Boats were not able to sail most of last week due to sever cold and bad weather, however, the Frances Fleet sailed Sunday with good results.  Top fish for the day was 20 pounds with bait rigs and jigs both working well.  Party boats sailing for cod fish at this time include the Seven B’s at www.sevenbs.com, the Frances Fleet at www.francesfleet.com and Island Current at www.islandcurrent.com