Fish need to breathe too

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing good. Peter and Holly Sousa landed summer fluke to 21” while fishing off Dutch Island and Jamestown, RI Sunday night.

Fish need to breathe too

Dr. Chris Deacutis of the University of Rhode Island sent me an email this week.  Dr. Deacutis and his team have measured temperature, nutrient and oxygen levels in Narragansett Bay for years. Oxygen levels in the lower part of the water column in the west passage of Narragansett Bay are very low.  These low levels of oxygen may explain why fluke fishing in Greenwich Bay slowed this week.  

Dr. Deacutis said, “Just wanted to give you a heads up. We (URI and Brown University) ran an oxygen survey today and there is extreme low DO (dissolved oxygen), 0.1- 0.6 mg/L in western Greenwich Bay below 10' , and very low DO, 1 - 2mg/L= no fish, in the upper Bay and ~ 2 mg/L in upper West Passage below ~ 15-20' all the way down to Quonset Point. Probably explains why the Bay fishing is so dead. Fish leave when DO is < 2-3 mg/L . I wouldn't bother going for any flatfish (summer flounder) above Quonset.

 The decrease in nutrients at the sewer plants does seem to be helping since we used to see DO < 1 all the way to Quonset a few years back during these nasty spells. The rainstorms and hot weather has stratified the Bay and is keeping the bottom water from getting new oxygen. We'll need a good storm w/ heavy winds to get things right again on the bottom.”

DEM to host events in conjunction with Bay Day

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will host the third event of the 2013 Rhode Island Great Outdoors Pursuit on Sunday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in conjunction with Governor Lincoln Chafee’s Bay Day at Colt State Park in Bristol.  Additionally, there will be free parking at all State beaches on July 28 in celebration of Bay Day.

The Pursuit event is open to the public and will feature a host of activities such as a tide pool touch tank, healthy cooking demonstration and farmers' market, electronics recycling drop-off, and hula-hooping. There is no cost to register and all activities are either free or low-cost. The general public who do not wish to register are also invited to participate in all activities. More information is available online at www.riparks.com.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing remained very strong in the lower Bay, along coastal shores and around Block Island.  Angler Steve Jucknick reports a good bass bite at the east fishing grounds off Block Island last week with six keepers bass taken on top water plugs at night.  Mary Dangelo of Maridee Bait &
Canvas, Narragansett said, “Gus Ludietti (eight years old) of Killingworth, CT caugth a 32 pound striped Bass (fishing with his mother) off the wall in Narragansett this weekend while fishing with squid for scup.” Dangelo said, “ I told Gus when he was in the shop that he had light gear so he would have to play the fish and not pull hard on the line or it would break… he followed instructions well and landed the 40” fish.”  Captain Rick Bellavance of the charter vessel Priority Too our of Pt. Judith, Narragansett said, “The bass bite around Block Island has been strong but the seas have been rough this week and have prohibited fishing some days.”  Noted local angler Don Smith reports on fishing Block Island last week at night.  Don said, “The water temps were unusually warm, ranging anywhere from 76.4 to 78.5.  Capt. Matt King told me he's marked water temps during the day of 80 so the bass will be moving further north if this keeps up. The bass are moving up in the water column feeding on the surface early in the morning and at the tide changes. Using Lemiere wooden surface plugs and spinning gear we had bass on the surface to 40 lbs. early Wednesday morning. Lots of blues mixed in with them.”  Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & Tackle Warwick said, “The striped bass bite around the Newport Bridge (and Jamestown Bridge) was very strong this weekend.  Several customers caught nice sized bass while using chucks of Atlantic Menhaden.” Schools of Atlantic Menhaden were reported in the lower East Passage of the Bay between the Newport Bridge and north to Prudence Island.

Offshore.  Captain Rick Bellavance of Priority Too charters said, “We landed our first albacore tuna (west of the horns) this week.  Three nice fish in the 25 pound range.”

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing remained strong in the lower Bay, along coastal shores and out at Block Island. Mike Swain of Coventry, RI landed a 24.5 inch fluke while fishing off Jamestown. Holly and Peter Sousa fished the west passage off Dutch Island and landed keeper fluke this Sunday fishing the incoming tide.  Craig Castro of Erickson’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “The water in the Bay has warmed up a lot this past week and consequently fishing for fluke in the West Passage and in Greenwich Bay has slowed down a lot.  Fishing in the lower Bay for fluke remains strong.” Captain Rick Bellavance reports, ”We had a fluke trip last week and fished the East side of Block Island with success landing 35 keepers.” 

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.”