Wounded vets go fishing

 Eddy Cogean of Johnson caught a 30”, 12 pound fluke this Sunday at the Jamestown Bridge.

 Greg Vespe caught and released his 1,000^th striped bass last week at the Southwest Ledge, Block Island.

 Diane Valerien caught this 9.5 pound fluke fishing on the Jeanie B charter boat off Block Island last week.

Travis Barao with a black sea bass he caught off Newport Saturday.

 Veterans Eddy Dusick, Milford, CT and Marc Mexzina, Pawtucket, RI (with hat) fish aboard the charter fishing vessel Bare Bones captained by Steve Anderson. Bare Bones and other charter boats from the RI Party & Charter Boat Association donated their time to take veterans with disabilities fishing last week. 

Mike Warner was a guest of Bob Murray on his boat Skip Jack and they had a very successful fluke trip to Block Island where Warner caught fluke to 8.1 pounds.

 Ginny Reed, Bristol, RI and Cole Beaudreau, Coventry with two of the jumbo fluke they caught on the aboard the Frances Fleet.

 Veteran Eddy Dusick of Milford, CT with mate Eric Anderson fished for fluke and black sea bass aboard Bare Bones Charters from the RI Party & Charter Boat Association.

Wounded vets go fishing

What if you lost your leg? Or an arm? How active would you be? You might say you would be a bit timid about pushing yourself and participating in outdoor activities.

The Providence and Boston Veterans Administration is helping wounded veterans and veterans with disabilities learn how far they can go enjoying outdoor activities.  Outdoor activities they might think they can no longer do like kayaking, flying kites or fishing… yes fishing.

Last month the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association (RIPCBA) members donated their time and fuel to take 50 veterans, many of them with disabilities, family members, friends and care givers out on twelve RIPCBA charter fishing vessels. 

Rick Bellavance, president of the RIPCBA said, “This is the second year we’ve taken wounded veterans fishing and we had a great time.  It was good to introduce or reintroduce these vets to fishing, as it is something dear to me and the other captains and their mates.”

Capt. Bellavance said, “We fished for a half day and caught striped bass, bluefish, scup, black sea bass and fluke. It was a great day for fishing.”

DEM monitoring fish kill

Scientists from the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) are monitoring a large fish kill of adult menhaden in the Seekonk and Providence Rivers. Based on field observations and water quality measurements, the ongoing incident is being caused by low oxygen levels in the bottom waters.

Menhaden are often pinned in by predators like bluefish that attack them when they attempt to move out of these poor water quality areas, forcing them to remain in these low-oxygen areas.

Reports early last week indicate that dead menhaden are being found along the East Providence shore in the Providence River. This suggests that the low-oxygen water has extended further south and is affecting the lower Providence River this week. A survey of the upper third of Narragansett Bay by Brown University and the University of Rhode Island will be conducted this week. Scientists will have a better picture of the extent of the hypoxia when that data is available.

Trout Unlimited Narragansett meeting

The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU225) will host its regular monthly membership meeting on Wednesday, August 26, 2015, starting at 5:00 PM.  This meeting will be the last of the streamside meetings for 2015, and will be held at the RIDEM Deer Check Station in the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter, RI. 

At the August meeting TU 225 members and guests will share fishing stories. A fly fishing rod and a variety of related items will be available for bidding.  Fish before and/or after the meeting, but please be considerate of the fish as they endure low flows and high water temperatures.  Contact chapter president, Ron Marafioti, at (401) 463-6162 for information.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing remains very strong at Block Island.  Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown said, “Things are still lit up at the Island and expect it will be that way for the next couple of weeks.  Guys are using eels, trolling tube and worm, jigging, everything seems to be working.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “We are weighing in fish in the 25 to 30 pound range from Block Island as a matter of course, however the bass bite in the Bay and rivers has softened.”  The bass bite off coastal shores has been good.  Phil Matteson of Breachway said, “Anglers are catching fish from the Charlestown Breachway and beaches.  They are using eels and plugs and landing fish in the 25 pound range.” Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & tackle Warwick said, “Brenton Reef off Newport is producing bass for anglers using eels and there have been a few fish caught around Gould Island.”

Bluefish bite is strong in the Narragansett Bay and along coastal shores. “The entire East Passage of the Bay seems to have lite up with bluefish.  Many of them are large in the 3 to 8 pound range.  They are at Barrington Beach to Halfway Rock and you can’t help catching them.  Anglers are trolling tube and worm as well as using lures of all types.  Some were using soft plastics but they were getting chewed up pretty quick because there were so many hits and switched to Broken Back Rebels, even Kastmaster which were landing smaller bluefish on the cast.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait said “Big blues are being caught from the shore at Sabin Point, Barrington Beach and Nayatt Point.”  Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait said blue fishing is excellent from the shore and from the Breachway and snapper blues have arrived in Ninigret Pond.

“Summer flounder (fluke) fishing off the coastal shore in 40 to 60 feet of water has been hit or miss.” said Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait.  Block Island has been hot for fluke fishing. Diane Valerien of the Seven B’s and the Jeannie B said, “Capt. Russ Ben of the Jeanie B fished at Block Island this week for fluke with great success landing fluke 8 to 10 pounds with angler Chris Pomeroy of Woodbury, CT landing a 9.25 pound fluke. I landed a 9.5 pound fluke and a 4.8 pound black sea bass on the Seven B’s… what a week of fishing.  Yippee!” Angler Mike Warner said he was a guest of Bob Murray who captained his vessel Skip Jack on a very successful BI fluke trip last week.  Mike said, “We fished south of BI. Drifted east to west from 8:00 a.m. until the afternoon. Nine keepers on first drift including an 8.1 and 6 pound fish.”  Angler Eddy Cogean of Johnson weighed in a 30”, 12 pound fluke this Sunday caught in the Jamestown Bridge area.” said Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle on Sunday.”  Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet reported, “Many regular customers commented that last week was the best fluke fishing they had ever experienced! Some customers limited out in one drift.” 

The scup bite is very strong. Anglers are landing them at Sabin Point, the Barrington Bridge, and Colt State Park. “ said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside.  “Anglers are landing scup from shore on the Breachway in Charlestown and they are all nice keepers.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait said, “Anglers are catching scup all over the Bay”

Black sea bass are being caught by anglers when fluke fishing.  Gil and Travis Barao and their friend Dan had no trouble catching their limit of one black sea bass each off Newport Saturday when fluke fishing. The one fish limit at 14” has been in place since July 2, however the limit increases to seven fish/person/day on September 1^st.

No oxygen, no fish

Buoys like this one in front of the Mt. View section of North Kingstown, RI measure temperature, oxygen and salinity in Narragansett Bay.

Pat Crabtree and Chris Catucci of Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick are getting ready for the fresh water fishing High School Eastern Conference Championship in Virginia on September 15.  Pat and Chris shown here as they finished first in the State of Rhode Island representing Bishop Hendricken with a largemouth bass five fish limit weight of 14.5 pounds.

Brett Santo caught a 14 lb. 10 oz. fluke (summer flounder) off Block Island last week while fishing aboard the charter boat Maridee II captained by Andy Dangelo.  The fluke was caught on a rig made by Mary Dangelo of Maridee Bait, Tackle and Canvass shop in Narragansett, RI.

No oxygen, no fish

Narragansett Bay anglers say there are no fish in the Bay.  Many believe it is warm water.  They say “We don’t like the heat so why would the fish.” The water has been warm, in the mid-seventy degree range off ocean coastal shores and as high as the mid-eighties in Bay coves and harbors.

So this week I thought it appropriate to check in with Chris Deacutis, PhD and chief scientist for the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) at the URI Bay Campus.  Dr. Deacutis has been working on the issue of excess nutrients (nitrogen) and the low oxygen issue in the upper half of Narragansett Bay for over ten years.  Chris said, “It’s no wonder fishermen are complaining about no fish in the upper
Bay.  The upper Bay in the Bullocks Reach/Gaspee Point area, Greenwich Bay and surrounding coves are experiencing low oxygen levels in the water.”

High water temperatures are a contributing factor to low oxygen in the water (and few fish). The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Bay Assessment and Response Team’s (BART) website says, “Warmer waters are more vulnerable to water quality problems because they hold less dissolved oxygen, stratify more readily, and encourage phytoplankton (microscopic algae) growth. Hence, as the summer progresses and the Bay becomes warmer, it is more vulnerable to water quality problems.” 

Anglers are correct, warm water contributes to algae blooms, low water oxygen and fewer fish

The NBEP blog states “Marine animals breathe oxygen too and when oxygen levels drop below 3 mg/L there is not enough oxygen to go around. Creatures that live on the bottom of the bay such as oysters, littlenecks, and marine worms are at a greater risk during hypoxic events because they cannot move to a different area. Schooling fish such as menhaden are also affected by hypoxia because they are often chased into coves by predators such as striped bass and the school will use up the oxygen faster than it can be produced by photosynthesis…”

If fish need 3 mg/L of oxygen, what levels are we experiencing ?

The Bullock Point Reach/Gaspee Point area last week had an oxygen level of 2 mg/L.  So when anglers fishing in this area say there are few fish, it is because there is little oxygen in the water to support them.  In the upper reaches of Warwick Cove the oxygen was a low .5 mg/L.  (Incidentally, Dr. Deacutis said the red algae bloom in Warwick Cove this summer was tested and it was determined to be non-toxic.)

The oxygen level in Western Greenwich Bay (Chepiwanoxet Point) was 1.6 mg/L and Greenwich Cove was at 1.3 mg/L.  With a prevailing southwest summer wind in Narragansett Bay, Greenwich Bay (particularly Greenwich Cove), does not get flushed and low oxygen levels are more prominent there.

We often see bait fish in these areas on the surface where oxygen levels are higher as oxygen in the air mixes with the water, and often predators such as blue fish ae chasing them, however, fish (particularly bottom fish) cannot live where oxygen levels are this low.

Where are the fish in the upper Bay when oxygen levels are low

As long as I can remember, fishing in the upper Bay has been good around Warwick Light and in areas around the East Passage.  There is good reason.  Water at Warwick Neck moves fast, tossing around bait and mixes oxygen well throughout the water column.  The oxygen level in front of Warwick Light last week was close to 5 mg/l.

Fishing in the East passage is often good too … at Ohio Ledge, Providence Point, Prudence Island and areas around Conimicut Point… bait fish and menhaden running up the East Passage shipping channel helps, but one has to wonder if the shipping channel that provides a path for bait also provides flushing, mixing and a better oxygen supply contributing to better fishing in these areas.

For more information visit the NBEP website at www.nbep.org  and an associated blog at http://nbep.wordpress.com/  or http://www.geo.brown.edu/georesearch/insomniacs/index.html  for  the dissolved oxygen (DO) website (called Insomniacs) which has oxygen level maps of various Bay areas.  For weekly assessments and reports on water temperature and conditions visit www.dem.ri.gov/bart . 

Thank you and congratulations to DEM, URI, Brown University and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program for doing such a good job monitoring water quality in Rhode Island.

Learn how to fish NY salmon and striped bass at night in the Bay Monday, August 27

The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) will hold a seminar Monday, August 27, 7:00 p.m. at the West Valley Inn, 4 Blossom Street, West Warwick, RI. Learn about salmon fishing in upstate New York with Don Smith.  Don is a famous local striper angler who also has been fishing the Salmon River for 25 years.  Another topic will be fishing for striped bass in Narragansett Bay with Greg Vespe.  Greg has logged 350 night trips on Narragansett Bay.  He finished 16^th out of 1,500 anglers in the 2009 Striper Cup Angler of Year. $10 donation for non-members, RISAA members free.

Where’s the bite

Fluke (summer flounder).  The fluke fishing has been fair offshore.  Some days are good, other days are not good depending on alignment of tide and wind and the appetite of the fish. Angler Mike Swain of North Kingstown said, “We fished under the Newport Bridge Monday and caught three nice keepers to seven pounds and one nice black sea bass.”  Kevin Brothers said he fished, “Friday from Elbow Reef, mouth of Sakonnet, to various spots outside Brenton reef at 60-70 foot depths with a slow bite of mostly short sea bass & fluke (only a couple keepers of each).”  I fished the same area Monday and had a similar experience.

Striped bass fishing at Block Island has been mixed.  I fished Tuesday with Eric Appolonia and his son Alex of North Kingstown on the southwest side and had mixed results.  The bluefish were thick, catching them every time we put out a tube and worm in the water.  We caught a nice black sea bass working an eel off the bottom and one nice striped bass on amber colored tube and worm (300 feet of wire line out in 35 to 45 feet of water).  Eels still seem to be the bait of choice at night or early morning with tube and worm working in the day.

Scup fishing is still good too. With large and small fish being caught throughout the Bay.

Black sea bass bite is very good off Block Island on and around the southwest ledge.  Ken Robinson fished with two friends on the southwest side of BI last week and reports “… we stopped keeping them (black sea bass) when we hit about 30 fish.  As expected the black sea bass were near the top of rock piles in 32 to 45 feet of water and they liked fluke rigs with some green in them tipped with squid.”

A love for fishing that is contagious

John Stavrakas of South Kingstown with the a nice 40” (fork length) bluefin tuna he caught at the Gully last week.

Carlin O’Hara with the 23” fluke (summer flounder) he caught off Beavertail, Jamestown at Austin’s Hollow this Sunday.

31” striped bass caught by Carlin O’Hara at Bonnet Shores Beach using a sea clam that he dug up and cracked open for bait.

Chef Barry Corriea (left) and Wayne Billman both from Westerly with the fluke they caught off RI coastal shores last week.

A love for fishing that is contagious

Some people like to fish and some people love to fish. Twelve year old Carlin O’Hara of Cranston loves to fish. And, last week the fishing was great for him.

Carlin went to Bonnet Shores Beach with a friend and took his father Dan’s surfcasting rod. He dug up a sea clam, broke it open and baited his hook. Carlin said, “You have to bait a sea clam just right. You can’t leave too much dangling because the fish will pull it off, and you have to hook it through its toughest part because it will just fall off if you don’t.” I asked if he weighted the hook. “I weighted it with four ounces of lead.” he said.

Carlin made his final cast just as it started to get dark and then bang… he hooked and landed a 31” striped bass as he stood in the surf … I am sure to the surprise of those nearby.

I was fortunate enough to see Carlin’s spirit for fishing this Sunday when I took him and his dad fishing. Carlin was all about the fish. He would set the hook like it was his job. And, his efforts paid off in a big way landing a 23” fluke.

Carlin you did have a big week… a nice striped bass and a great fluke. Your passion for fishing is contagious.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass. Angler Mike Swain of Coventry said, “We fished the outgoing tide at Conimicut Light Wednesday night from 10:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. and landed twelve keeper bass to 25 pounds. We used eels, live menhaden, but what really worked were menhaden chunks. We set the lines and every ten minutes or so we would get a hit.” Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Block Island fishing is hot with many fish in the 40’s being taken. We weighed in a 55.1 pound bass Sunday morning caught by Roger Kroha of South Kingstown using eels at night on the Southwest side.” Conti said, “I was out there last night too and the boat traffic was incredible. There had to be 50 boats. Everyone is fishing at night to stay away from the bluefish.” Thad Grenier on the RISAA fishing blog said, “They (the striped bass) are up the (Providence) river between the concrete bridge and the red bridge. Caught three large keepers. The biggest 28 pounds.” David, another RISAA member who fished in the Providence River Saturday, said, “There were pogies all over the place… (with) plenty of bass under them. Sometimes you couldn't even get the pogie to the boat before a bass would hit it. There were only about eight boats up there all morning. Bass ranged from 29" to 36”. All were caught live lining between the hurricane barrier and Bold Pt. except for one… caught on the corner where the cable crossing is on the west side.” Mike Gill of Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown said, “The bass bite has been good this week. We weighed 40 pound fish from both Block Island and Brenton Reef this week.” John Littlefield from Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “Bass fishing from shore in the Providence River is spotty by some customers are caching bass in the 12 to 15 pound range.”

Scup fishing is exploding with anglers catching them from shore and boats. “Some customers are catching them as large as 21 inches.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence. “Customers are using squid, clam works, blood works and clam tongues with success.” said Henault. John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said customers are catching large scup from shore at Colt State Park and Conimicut Point. Mike Gill from Quaker Lane Outfitters said, “The scup bite off Beavertail has been very good for customers with cut up squid being the bait of choice.”

Fluke (or summer flounder). Many anglers were frustrated this past weekend as the tide and wind were not in line for fluke fishing. John Littlefield from Archie’s Bait & Tackle said Albert and Kevin Bettencourt and Kevin’s children (all from East Providence) fished out in front of Newport for fluke Sunday and had difficulty drifting with the current and wind not in line. “The fish were there but they just could not hook them with a proper drift.” said Littlefield. I fished this weekend with Carlin and Dan O’Hara power drifting for fluke at Austin’s Hollow. Carlin, boated a nice 23” fluke. Fishing off the Center Wall of the Harbor of Refuge and the Green Hill area has been pretty good too said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor.

Black sea bass. Angler Rick Sustello said, “(Friday) We went straight out the East Gap (Harbor of Refuge) and out to about 60 ft into some rocky areas for some BSB. Stiff SW wind had drift over 2.2 mph so out came the drift sock which dropped it down to about 1.2 to 1.4 which was just right. .. We used a big pink bucktail spinner and my green flash bucktail spinner tipped with squid and sometimes a mummy. Just did two drifts and had 4 nice sized keeper BSB and a 20" fluke with a bunch of shorts of both species.“

Offshore. “The bluefin tuna bite was OK last week with fish to be taken at the Acid Barge and toward Cox’s Ledge.” said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina. There were also plenty of blue sharks with some mako and thresher sharks too at the Gully and Fingers said Conti. John Stavrakas of South Kingstown said, “Cleared the east gap around 5:00 a.m. (Sunday). We hooked up with a nice 40” (fork length) bluefin at the gully around 6:45 a.m. Trolled around the gully for another hour or so then trolled south as far as Tuna Ridge for nothing. We drifted through one bucket of chum at the Suffolk and caught one big blue shark to wrap up the day. Water temps around 68 deg F. Bluefin hit a green machine behind a booney bird.” Philip Kirsopp reports on a trip to the South Side of the Gully he took Sunday, “Water temp 69.3. No sign of BFT. Set up sharking and got four big blue dogs.”

Power-drifting can yield big fluke

Power-drifting can yield big fluke. Captain Dave Monti with the 23” fluke caught Saturday while power-drifting , putting the vessel in and out of gear, when fishing the high/low edges at Austin Hollow (an underwater valley) off the west side of Jamestown, RI).

Power-drifting can yield big fluke

Saturday’s wind prediction was off in both intensity and the direction of the wind. Wind and current were not in line. Both of these are needed to establish a good drift for fluke fishing so you drag your bait over the fish. Fluke (or summer flounder) set-up looking into the current for prey that is drifting by.

For anglers still wanting to fish for fluke when wind and tide are not in the same direction, one possible solution is to power-drift your boat in the same direction as the current. This involves putting the vessel in and out of gear slowly trying to mimic the strength of the current.

This Saturday, anglers Dave Sweet and Craig Picard tried to fish for fluke. Dave said, “Wind and tide made the drift not so great, but we have gotten pretty good at the "power drifting" technique, and it paid off for me today with my personal best eight pound fluke.” I went fluke fishing Saturday as well when wind and current were not in line. So I power-drifted fishing the high/low edges at Austin Hollow an underwater valley off Jamestown and it paid off with a 23” fluke.

So when wind and current are not in line and you want to fish for fluke, consider power-drifting.

Warwick residents take top prizes in West Bay Anglers Tournament

The top five anglers in the West Bay Anglers 2012 William Beaudrey Jr. Memorial Striper Tournament went to Warwick residents. The tournament ran from 12:01 a.m., June 2 to 10:00 a.m., June 10. Prizes were awarded Sunday, June 11th at the Warwick FOP. First place for the overall largest fish (a $500 cash prize) was awarded to Jeff Howard of Warwick who weighed in a 43.85 striped bass he caught off Block Island. Lynne Taylor of Warwick took both female category prizes. She receives $200 for her 31.85 pound bass and $100 for her 28.90 pound striped bass. Male category winners were Kyle Armstrong with a 43.50 pound fish and Chris Levasseur who had a 40.70 pound striped bass.

We get mail

Question: Mr. Monti, I often read your column… I thought you might be able to answer a couple of quick questions. I live in Cranston near the waterfront in Edgewood. During high tide two access points to the bay are occupied by fishermen… they often catch striped bass… Is this fish OK to eat if caught in the upper bay?... I just wonder about the quality of the fish caught in the upper bay. We all know that the shellfish is inedible. What about the fin fish?
Barbara Rubine

Response: Hi Barbara, Striped bass are migratory; they are always on the move, most of the time looking for food. That is why they are up in the Bay near Edgewood. They are chasing Atlantic Menhaden (a form of herring). The menhaden go up the Bay to rivers to spawn and the striped bass migrating north follow them. When the menhaden leave and the water warms the striped bass leave. Because striped bass are migratory they usually never spend enough time in any one spot (like the Edgewood area) to be impacted by pollution or harmful algae like shellfish. Striped bass have low levels of mercury compared to other fish but often contain PCB's. However, other fish known to have high levels of PCB's include bluefish, eels, bluefin tuna, marlin, weakfish (or squeteague), shark, swordfish and others. Pregnant women have to be particularly careful of PCB’s. So, to wrap it up, the striped bass caught in the Edgewood area are likely not any more harmful to eat than any other striped bass. Best, Capt. Dave Monti

Where’s the bite

Striped bass. Mary Dangelo of Maridee Bait and Canvas Shop in Narragansett said customers are catching bass early morning and at sun set into the evening. Captain Andy Dangelo of Maridee Charters reports a good bass bite south of Block Island with his largest fish weighing in at 47 pounds. Buddy Thayer went fishing with friends on Block Island with Captain Russ Blank of Striker Charters Saturday. Buddy said, “… he put us right on the fish. North side of Block Island, sixteen blues and eight keepers… trolling two umbrella rigs.” Jeff Barker from the West Bay Anglers competed in their annual striped bass tournament this week. Jeff said, “We fished Block Island and landed a 28, 29 and a 31 pound fish. The fish keep getting larger as the week progressed. The winning fish at 43.85 pounds was caught Saturday night… close to the end of the tournament on Sunday.” Captain Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters reports that “Fishing around Block Island has been pretty good. Stripers are just about everywhere, with the largest being taken on yellow and white Poly Jig parachutes. There are a ton of blues in the North Rip, but keeper stripers are mixed in too.” Bass fishing along the southern coastal shores of Rhode Island was good Sunday and Monday with bass up to the 20 pound range along with bluefish mixed in. Reports from Narragansett Bay have been mixed with anglers saying the bite in the mid and lower Bay was slow, however, a good bite has been reported in the East Passage North of Conimicut Light all the way up the Providence River. Jon Blauvelt on the RISAA blog said, “Plenty of bass in the Providence River still. Had one of my best mornings of the year today (Sunday) using chunks on the bottom. Fished outgoing, slack, and incoming with steady bite. All keeper size.”

Bluefish. John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle North Kingstown said the large bluefish have invaded Greenwich Bay. Captain John Sheriff said Saturday, “The SW ledge was thick with bluefish. Trolled umbrella rigs. First pass, I had a double header, second pass, a triple header and third pass, a quadruple header.”

Fluke fishing was often difficult for anglers this week as tide and wind were not often in the same direction. Mary Dangelo of Maridee Bait & Canvas said, “Customers are catching fluke inside and outside the Harbor of Refuge with shorts and keepers mixed in John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle said, “Customers were catching fluke before the storms of last week, it was shaping up like a great fluke season. So I expect things to pick up this week.”

Scup. Large scup still being caught in the Bay and near coastal waters.

Shark and tuna. Captain Rick Bellavance said, “Shark fishing is good, Bill Brown put his clients on a 325 pound mako this week. There are a few bluefin tuna around the Acid Barge.”