Fishing tournament for visually impaired adults

 Last year’s VIP winners:  Winners of last year’s RI Lions Sight Foundation Visually Impaired Persons fishing tournament for the blind are first place Louis Musco Jr., second place Elliott Mitchell and third place winner Janice Musco.

Rocky Point proposal: Kevin and Meghan Costice got engaged at the entrance of Rocky Point Park on February 29, 2012.  This was just one of the many memories shared by attendees at the Rocky Point Foundation.  Shown here with their baby boy Travis. 

Fishing tournament for visually impaired adults

The RI Lions Sight Foundation (RILSF) will host their 6th Annual VIP Fishing Tournament for Visually Impaired Persons (VIP’s) of Rhode Island on June 23, 2013.  The tournament will take place on a chartered party boat out of Galilee RI.

The Tournament is sponsored and organized by the RILSF and is supported through donations from RI Lions Clubs and individuals. The event includes breakfast and a half-day of summer flounder or fluke fishing, followed by a luncheon and awards presentation at a local restaurant. The event is free of charge to all VIP’s and their guides.  

The only requirements for eligibility are:  must be Legally Blind, at least 17 years old,  are physically able to fish from a party boat, must be accompanied by a guide, transportation and/or guides will be provided if needed.

In addition to competing for trophies in the RI Tournament, three of the top winners will be eligible to represent Rhode Island at the 2013 National VIP Fishing Tournament to be held in October on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This Tournament will also include competing in the 4^th Annual New England Lions Tourney where participants compete against VIP’s from the other participating New England states.  Rhode Island has won two out of three New England Tournaments and two of five national tournaments.

The trip to North Carolina for Tournament winners is dependent upon the availability of funding for transportation.  Donations in any amount are welcome and will cover cost of the event.  However donations for participants are voluntary.

Visit http://www.lions4sight.org/index.htm or http://www.ncvipfishing.org/ for information.

Rhody Fly Fodders set summer fishing scheduled

Rhody Fly Rodders have announced their summer meeting fishing schedule and according to Pete Nilsen members will meet around 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and fish until dark.  Members and non-members are invited to attend.  Participants are urged to bring hot dogs or burgers and a chair.  The club will provide the grille, chips and water.  Event dates and times are: Thursday, May 23, Bristol Narrows (in-coming) – High tide – approx 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, June 18 – Goddard Park (boat ramp) (out-going) – High tide – approx 3:50 p.m.;  Thursday, July 18 –– Sepowet Marsh (out-going) – High tide – approx 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, August 15 –– Quonochontaug (boat ramp) (out-going) – High tide – approx 3:00 p.m.; Thursday, September 26 –– Narrow River (Sprague Bridge) (out-going) – High tide – approx 1:30 p.m.

Erickson Bait & Tackle not for sale

Craig Castro of Erickson Bait & Tackle, 1257 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, said, “The bait shop is not for sale, we are open welcoming all customers. The “For Sale” sign in front of our shop is the landlords, he is selling the building. We are open for business as usual.” Compete for Prizes at the 6th Annual Great 

Outdoors Pursuit

On Sunday, May 19 at Lincoln Woods State Park, the Departments of Environmental Management and Health will launch the 2013 Great Outdoors Pursuit, a summer-long program and game designed to help children, families and individuals enjoy the recreational resources Rhode Island state parks have to offer to encourage more physical activity by trying new outdoor activities. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The game will take Rhode Islanders to seven different state parks and forests over a 13-week period. Teams can register for the game at: www.riparks.com. 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.

Rocky Point Foundation casts a big net

Last week the Rocky Point Foundation held a public hearing on the future of Rocky Point Park at Rhodes on the Pawtucket in Cranston and hundreds of Rhode Islanders attended sharing their ideas about possible Park uses.  In March of 2013, the sale of the remaining 82 acres of the former amusement park was conveyed to the state of Rhode Island and plans call for it to be converted into a State Park.  Suggestions at the hearing were far reaching including a camp ground, beach cabanas, a public venue for concerts, a fishing pier, a dock for recreational boating,  a water taxi service to other State Parks and a host of other ideas.  Visit www.rockypointfoundation.org for information on how to make a donation or how to get active in the Foundation.

Where’s the bite

Tautog fishing remains good with anglers often catching there limit (three fish/person/day) when fishing in popular Bay and near coastal waters including Conimicut Light, Ohio Ledge, Rocky Point, General Rock, off Narragansett and other popular tautog fishing spots.  Make sure the tide is moving when fishing.  They are biting on green crabs, Asian crabs, worms and one angler reports catching his limit using quahogs. Last week Dan O’Hara of Cranston reported caching there boat limit at Plum Lighthouse next to the Jamestown Bridge, “I went Saturday to the lighthouse next to the Jamestown bridge. We caught 20, 10 were keeper size. We started at 10:30 a.m. at dead low tide and the action picked up soon after on the incoming. Used green crabs, 4 oz sinker.”  Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & tackle said tautog fishing has been excellent all over the Bay with customers catching them on green crabs and worms.

Striped bass fishing remains good from shore and from boats.  Al Johnson of Warwick said, “I started fishing at 4 p.m. Sunday and caught three nice keeper striped bass, the largest being in the mid-thirty inch range when fishing from shore at Conimicut Point.” The Providence River is thick with Atlantic Menhaden. Adam Maziarz reports on the RI Saltwater Anglers Association blog Sunday, “Providence River from the Squantum Club to Bold Point was so full of pogies…that no one was catching any bass.
I went south to Prudence Island and caught a few keepers and some shorts off the north point. We even caught some 5-7 lb blues. Bass were everywhere for a few hours, busting all over the surface chasing silver sides.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Striped bass fishing has been hot along the East Bay Bike Path and at Sabin Point with bass up to 44"s taking clam tongues, sea worms and pogey chunks. Bridge fishing on the bike path in Barrington and Warren has been active with a lot of schoolie bass and small tautog but persistent fishermen are rewarded with occasional keepers of both blackfish and striped bass.”

Squeteague. “Domenic Petraca caught three 10 pound weakfish (squeteague)… off Prudence Island's Mount Tom.”, said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Fishing and boating has big impact; and Rocky Point Park

 Spring (fishing?) break: school vacation turned out to be a fishing holiday for Carlin O’Hara of Cranston. The Rhode Island angler landed red and yellowtail snapper off Riviera Beach (near West Palm Beach) in Florida while on vacation with his family.

Boating talk:  Rick Bellavance, president of the RI Party & Charter Boat, and Kim Hapgood of Sail Newport at SeaPlan’s marine industry boating workshop held last week at Save the Bay.

Fishing and boating has big impact

Over the past month there has been a lot of talk about recreational fishing, and a lot of talk about boating, and the impact they have on Rhode Island.  As one might expect these industries bolster tourism… and come to find out… they do have a huge direct impact on our economy. But the greatest impact for me is not financial, but rather the recreational benefits… the peace of mind one gets by being close to or on the water and the fun and bonding that goes on between friends and family members when they are fishing or boating in Rhode Island.

All the fishing and boating talk started this month with the 2013 Southern New England Recreational Fishing Symposium held on April 2 in Warwick.  This symposium was hosted by the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association in conjunction with the URI Coastal Institute.  One week later the symposium was followed by the release of a new for-hire (charter and party boat) economic impact study by the National Oceanographic an d Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) regional research center.  And then, last week, preliminary results for the 2012 Northeast Recreational Boater Survey were released at a coastal boating and marine industry workshop held at Save the Bay’s headquarters in Providence.  The workshop and study were sponsored by SeaPlan, an independent nonprofit ocean science and policy group.

By the numbers

Add it all up and the economic impact recreational fishing and boating have on Rhode Island is very impressive.  NOAA’s estimate on the annual economic impact of recreational fishing in Rhode Island totaled $179-million.  In the Northeast the impact of the for-hire industry was estimated at $334-million and preliminary data from the 2012 Northeast Recreational Boater Survey indicated that the economic impact of recreational boating could be as high as $220-million in Rhode Island. 

The data, much of it available for the first time, tells a story. Even though some industry segments are missing and others may be counted twice, the data leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of all Rhode Islanders to advocate for the boating industry, recreational fishing, the environment and fish that live in our waters because they have a great impact on all of us.  Now add the impact of commercial fishing and boating (shipping) and the economic impact is all that much greater.  Visit the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association website for results of the Recreational Fishing Symposium at www.risaa.org (symposium highlights soon to be posted), visit NOAA’s website for information on the recreational fishing and for-hire industry studies at www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications .  Final results of SeaPlan’s boater survey is not complete yet but their website for the future is www.seaplan.org.  

Reeling in ideas for Rocky Point Park

Visit Rocky Point Park Saturday, May 4, at noon to see officials reel in ideas for the development of Rocky Point Park.  The reeling in event will be held at the beach in front of what was the salt water pool just inside the park entrance off Rocky Point Avenue in Warwick. It is being co-hosted by the Rocky Point Foundation and the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association. The intent of the event is to get people thinking about possible uses of the park that was recently acquired by the state and to illustrate that people across the state have a stake in its development. It's also meant to be fun and in the process promote a public workshop Tuesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet. This will be the first hearing to solicit ideas for the park's future. 

Where’s the bite

Striped bass bite exploded this week with school bass and keepers mixed in being caught in greater numbers along the southern coastal shore with fish moving up into the Bay.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “A customer caught a 32 striped bass in the Seekonk River Sunday.  Not sure if it was a new fish or one that wintered here. The angler that caught it said it was a fairly round fish so it may have been a new migrating fish.” Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Customers have not been catching striped bass yet, however, the water is expected to warm this week and bring the fish into the Bay.”  If you have not already done so, now is the time to start fishing for spring striped bass, they are here along the coast,  in the Bay and will be here in stronger numbers by the end of the week.

Tautog fishing reports still trickling in with some keeper fish being cauth in Mt. Hope Bay, India Pint Park in Providence and in the Warren River.  Overall tautog fishing is slow, warming water will help here too.

Squid are starting to appear. “Some squid are here, customers are catching them but in no great numbers.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle. The Francis Fleet begins their squid fishing trips this Friday, May 3, contact them at www.francesfleet.com .

   

Herring migrations into our bays, rivers and salt ponds have been heavy this year.  As early as four weeks ago Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & Tackle said, “The herring are thick in Little Gorton’s Pond behind my shop.”  Traditionally Atlantic Menhaden come after the herring, flowed by striped bass chasing them.  Let’s hope that this is what happens this week as the water warms.