Quahog Week kicks-off

Speakers at the Quahog Week kick-off were DEM Agriculture chief Ken Ayars; First Gentleman Andy Moffit; Governor Gina Raimondo; Karsten Hart of Newport Restaurant Group; Sarah Schumann, author of RI's Shellfish Heritage; Mike McGiveney of the RI Shellfishermen's Association; and US Senator Jack Reed.

Pam Tameo, West Bay Anglers fundraising chair, with one of the Lobster Raffle prizes.  The fishing club raised over $12,000 this winter for the Impossible Dream and their ‘Take a kid fishing’ Foundation.

Quahogs and quahogers honored

Ah, the cherished Rhode Island quahog.  It was recognized this week along with the shellfishermen and women that harvest them when Governor Gina Raimondo declared March 21-27, 2016 Quahog Week in Rhode Island.  The Governor joined state and food-industry leaders at a special celebration at Save the Bay Tuesday to mark the quahog industry’s importance to the state’s history, culture and economy and to encourage its year-round use.

Over 27 million quahogs were harvested form Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island coastal waters last year. Throughout Quahog Week sixteen restaurants across the state will offer special menu selections that will feature the native Rhode Island clam. Visit www.seafoodri.com  for details on Quahog Week, a list of participating restaurants and information about the RI Seafood brand.

West Bay Anglers donate $12,000 to non-profits

The West Bay Anglers, a fishing club located in Warwick, RI contributed $6,000 to Impossible Dream Saturday and $6,000 to their ‘Take a Kid Fishing’ Foundation.  The Foundation funds will be used to take over 300 children fishing on six separate fishing trips this summer on the Seven B’s party boat out of Galilee, RI.  

Pam Tameo, lobster raffle chairperson and past president of the West Bay anglers said, “Our supporters were great this year allowing us to raise over $12,000.  And I have to thank the Warwick Firefighter’s Hall as they were outstanding setting up the hall and preparing food for each of the fourteen Saturday Lobster Raffle events we held there this year.”

Each week the West Bay Anglers would raffle off tables and tables of food, consumer electronics, fishing gear and a host of other items.  Each Saturday event would last over two hours.  Traditionally, they were held at the FOP Lodge, however, due to Apponaug construction and difficult access, the venue was moved to the Firefighter’s Hall in Warwick this year.

Tameo said, “On all six fishing trips we will give priority to the children of military families and then focus on other children in need.  We already have a waiting list for trips this summer.”

For information about the fishing trips and raffles contact Pam Tameo at wbapamtam@cox.net.

Kayak fishing is hot

Kayak fishing is the fastest growing sector in the industry and fishermen in Rhode Island are no exception.  In fact, a new organization called Ocean State Kayak Fishing (OSKF) formed last year and has really taken off.  OSKF was started with a handful of fishing buddies to communicate and plan fishing trips. The group now serves as a place for people to find new fishing partners, post photos and ask questions.

OSKF has a YouTube page with videos of fishing trips, reviews and helpful do it yourself videos. The goal of the organization is to be a one stop shop for all kayak fishing information and does not have a membership fee. 

OSKF has a season long striped bass tournament for the largest striped bass.  For information visit their website at www.oceanstatekayakfishing.com .

Hats off to charter fishing industry

Hats off to Capt. Rick Bellavance, president of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association and some of his fellow association members (I am happy to be one of them) that pioneered the electronic recording of fishing catch and effort on charter boats as part of a pilot project they ran for two years.  Last year Capt. Bellavance and his colleagues worked with software developers to perfect the application making it work to satisfy NOAA’s criteria for mandatory Vessel Trip Reporting (VTR) that charter boat and commercial fishing vessels with federal fishing licenses must complete on each fishing trip.

The software has been approved for use by NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Region by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistical Program (ACCSP) as a mobile electronic vessel trip reporting (eVTR) application for the purpose of eVTR submission to the Greater Atlantic Region.

This development is big in that it will provide federal and state fish managers with a reliable and robust electronic data source to calculate fishing activing for commercial fishing vessels and party & charter boats participating.  The manual VTRs required federal license holders to fill out a multi-part carbon paper form and file it via snail mail on ever trip taken.

Capt. Bellavance said "Designed by fishermen and utilizing the latest technology, eTrips/Mobile dramatically reduces our reporting burden while providing more accurate and timely industry data to the states and NOAA. The eTrips/Mobile application will increase data accuracy and make data available immediately to fisheries managers, improving their ability to respond to changes in the fishery in a more timely way."

The software is designed to work in both commercial and charter/headboat fisheries, and is free for anyone who wishes to use it in jurisdictions that have adopted electronic trip reporting through the Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System (SAFIS). The app can be downloaded from the Apple, Android, and Microsoft app stores. Training videos are available on the ACCSP website. 

Visit www.accsp.org for information on the eTrips/mobile application or contact Capt. Rick Bellavance at makosrule@verizon.net.

Pabst Tournament now catch & release

Pabst Blue Ribbon announced that its 5^th annual Northeast Fishing Tournament will be a catch and release event in an effort to make the tournament more sustainable. The 2016 Tournament will start on Sunday, June 12 and run through Saturday, August 20, 2016.  Registered anglers will compete in three divisions: Striped Bass, Bluefish and Fluke. Participants are eligible to catch their fish in the salt waters of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island.

Rob Reilly of Pabst Blue Ribbon said; "The Pabst Brewing Company is excited to announce the change in format to a 100% catch and release tournament. This change makes the PBR Northeast Fishing Tournament one of the largest catch and release tournaments in America.”

To be eligible for the season ending cash prize, a minimum of three fish must be caught, released, and submitted to the tournament office.  The combined length of the longest three fish submitted will make up the angler’s total entry. At the end of the tournament, an overall grand prize of $5,000 will be awarded in each of the three divisions along with a second place prize of $1,500 and a third place prize of $500.  There is also a chance to win a weekly prize of $300, awarded to the angler with the longest fish submitted that week.

Registrations are open at http://www.pbrfishing.com with a registration fee of $35 per adult angler, $20 for Juniors (under the age of 15) and $20 for seniors (over the age of 65.) All participants receive a limited edition PBR ruler to use for submissions, a t-shirt, hat, koozie and keychain.

March 30 Trout Unlimited meeting

The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU225) will meet Wednesday, March 30^th, 6:30 p.m. at the Coventry/West Greenwich Elks Lodge, 42 Nooseneck Hill Road (Rte. 3, Exit 6 off of Rte. 95), West Greenwich.

Bob Mallard, owner of Kennebec River Outfitters, Maine will be the guest speaker.  Mallard is the author of 25 Best Towns to Fly Fish for Trout, a member of the Winston Pro Staff and will focus his presentation on catching Maine Brook Trout, and the lakes and ponds in which they live. Contact Chapter president, Ron Marafioti, at (401) 463-6162, with questions. 

Where’s the bite

The striped bass bite for holdover striped bass is better than usual this year in saltwater sanctuaries and rivers like Narrow River.  Brandon Hagopian who has been targeting holdover striped bass and has the following suggestions when targeting them, “With the sun heating the sediment on the bottom many aquatic invertebrates are emerging getting ready to spawn. Focus on dramatic depth changes such as ledges going from deep to shallow, current breaks into coves and also spots that get the most sun light, where the water will be warmer than surrounding areas. With many of these fish now ‘spring active’ , if you’re looking for numbers use small baits such as four inch paddle tails and zoom flukes or three inch stick baits on ¼ to ½ lead head casting into the shallow sections. If your main focus is big fish then fish the deep sides of the drops where the current is moving and where they will sit and wait to abuse prey such as gizzard shad, herring, etc. Use bigger baits (for larger fish) such as a 5-7 inch fin-s fish on a ½ once to 1 once jig head or swimming plugs.”

Cod fishing is still very good and is expected to remain strong into the spring season as in Rhode Island cod fishing has been fairly good all winter. Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “Saturday we were back at the dock by 1:00 p.m. with a full boat limit of beautiful fat green market cod with sizes into the low teens. Other trips were good too with plenty short cod. The bite has generally been a bait bite although a few fish were taken on jigs and there has been a tremendous amount of bait being marked on local grounds.”

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.