“The shark’s first run was spectacular.” says Tournament winner

Snug Harbor Shark Tournament 1^st Place Winners: Jim DeAngelo, Richard Napolitano (captain), Chris Napolitano (angler), Matt Charland and Ryan Napolitano with 328 pound thresher shark. 

 “The shark’s first run was spectacular.” says Tournament winner

“The thresher shark picked up our squid and ran with it.  That first run was spectacular. We fought the shark for an hour and forty-five minutes.” said Richard Napolitano recounting the battle for the fish that took first place in the 38^th Annual Snug Harbor Shark Tournament.

Napolitano was quick to point out that his sport fishing vessel, ‘Knot Reel Teeth’ successfully caught, tagged and released five other mako and blue sharks during the Tournament… as they normally do as it serves as a great data resource for fish mangers when managing sharks.

“We had just moved the boat to a new location, put out two rods and as soon as we put out the third with squid… that’s when the 328 pound mako hit. We chased it around a bit and then the shark sounded and we had to get it up.  We finally circled the fish with Chris (Napolitano) putting on the pressure by pumping and reeling, pumping and reeling, trying to disrupt the fish.  Finally the fish turned on its side and came up.”

“My son Chris did a great job on the fish, son Ryan orchestrated the whole think from the cockpit while I has at the helm.  We also had two other crew that did a great job helping to harpoon and tail tie the fish… hats off to Jim DeAngelo and Matthew Charland for their great work.” said Napolitano.

Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Jim Sansaua took second place in the Tournament with a 230 pound thresher.  Both fish were caught on Saturday, July 6. The tournament kicked off on July 6 at 5:00 a.m. and concluded at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 7 with a cookout.”  Twenty-five vessels participated in the Tournament.

“Proceeds from the tournament go the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.” said Cahill.

New cod and haddock regulations

NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional office announced changes to cod and haddock recreational regulations last week.

First, the 2019 Gulf of Maine cod and haddock recreational regulations have changed.  The Gulf of Maine cod season will open September 15 to 30 with a one fish/person/day limit, minimum size is 21 inches (NOAA is not opening an April season for Gulf of Maine cod).

The haddock season is May 1 to February 28/29 and April 15 to 30 with a 15 fish/person/day limit (this limit has been liberalized, the 2018 limit was 12 fish), the minimum haddock size is 17 inches.

Georges Bank cod regulations (which govern fishing off Rhode Island) have also changed.  The minimum size in 2019 will be 21”, this is a liberalization as last year the minimum size was 22”.  The possession limit has not changed, it is 10 fish/person/day.

For more information on recreational rules on these and other species in Federal waters visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic .

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass fishing has moved out of the Narragansett Bay.  Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick said, “The bass bite in the Providence River slowed this week with not many fish being taken.” Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Any bass of size are being taken south of the bridges, out in front of Newport, along the  coastal shore and out at Block Island where the bite is occurring from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. on eels.”  Bruce Miller of Canal Bait & Tackle, Sagamore, said, “The bass bite on the Canal has been OK this week but not as good as last week.  Anglers are still hooking up with 30 to 40 pound fish using jigs on the West Side of the Canal.” Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, said, “The bass at Block Island are not as large as they were but there is a pretty good bite at night on the southwest ledge with eels.  Fish are also being caught by anglers trolling wire on the southwest ledge and the north rip during the day but they are not as large.”

Black sea bass/summer flounder.  Bruce Miller of Canal Bait said, “The fluke and black sea bass bite has been very good with anglers staying inside or fishing Cleveland Ledge where the bite has been outstanding.”  Anglers continue to hook up with fluke around the Jamestown and Newport bridges with some finding fish out in front along the coastal shore. “Fluke fishing at Block Island is pretty good.” said Henault of Ocean State.  “Nice fluke have been taken around Warwick Light as the fish seem to have held there.  We also have customers catching fish in the low 20 inch range south of the Jamestown Bridge. And, customers continue to catch large black sea bass off Beavertail Point.” said Giddings of the Tackle Box. Earlier this week the dog fish were pretty bad south of Block Island said Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina.  Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “The morning fishing trips have been on the slower side so we have been focusing on the sea bass. Most days anglers are all leaving with limits of big knob heads to 5 pounds.  Biggest fluke of the week was 12.5 pounds! We have seen double digit fluke at least once a week for the past month.”

Scup fishing continues to be very good just about anywhere there is structure and water movement. John from Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside, said, “Scup are being taken everywhere in the Bay. Anglers are still catching scup at the white church bridge in Barrington.” Tom Giddings said, “Many customers have said the scup have been larger than ever before. They are also catching more sea robins and dogfish than ever before from shore at Conimicut Point”  “Ethan, one of our associates at Ocean State, caught scup to 17” from Goat Island, Newport. Anglers are also catching scup under the Mt. Hope Bridge, at Colt State Park and at Rocky Point.”

Offshore.  A report from noted offshore angler Richard Pastore. “We headed out at 5:30 a.m. from Wickford on Wednesday to Tuna Ridge and the temperature break we saw (on satellite). At Tuna Ridge temperature change went from 69 to almost 73 in a couple of miles. Flat seas, no bait and a few birds. Set in about 7 AM heading south towards NW corner of the Dump. We put out black squid and brown squid splash bars on the outside tracks about 150' back in the outriggers. Inside lines were a black and blue Islander with a Ballyhoo and green machine daisy chain with a bird leading the way. Twenty minutes out the brown spreader bar explodes and almost tears the outrigger off the boat. The fish came out of nowhere. The fish dumps about half of a spool of a 50 wide Penn reel until my son Joseph finally slows him down. 10 minutes later fish is pin wheeling next to the boat. We gaffed the fish, a fifty pound real fat bluefin tuna loaded with squid.”

Freshwater.  No major trout fishing or bite reported.  All the action is focused on largemouth bass with anglers using medium to large shiners to hook up.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “The largemouth bass are in post spawn now and customers are catching them at Stump Pond, Smithfield; the Turner Reservoir, East Providence and at Onley Pond, Lincoln Woods.”  Giddings of the Tackle Box said, “Freshwater fishing continues to be fantastic for customers.  Largemouth bass, white perch and carp at Roger Williams Park all continue to be good.  Customers are hooking up with bass at Carbuncle Pond, Coventry; Warwick Pond and Onley Pond, Lincoln.”

The "Striker" strikes with a 295 pound thresher

 Steve Brustein with some of the fluke and black sea bass caught off Seal Ledge, Newport last week.

 

 First place thresher and overall tournament winner was a 295 pound thresher caught by Adam Littlefield (right), North Kingstown with captain of the Striker, Russ Blank. The Snug Harbor Marina Shark Tournament was held this weekend.

 251 pound mako shark took first place in its category. Tom Lai, Bill Ward (Capt. and angler), John Durand and Ken Lai.

 Lary Norin with a 22” summer flounder (fluke) he caught from a State dock in South Kingstown on his lunch hour Tuesday.

Five pound black sea bass caught aboard the Francis Fleet last week by Ginny Reed of Bristol, RI and her grandson Cole.

The Striker strikes with a 295 pound thresher

Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, ended their two day shark tournament Sunday with a 295 pound thresher taking the tournament’s top prize. 

Adam Littlefield of North Kingstown caught the fish while aboard the Striker captained by Russ Rand.  Al Conti of Sung Harbor said, “57 boats and 200 anglers participated in the tournament.  And, 43 fish were tagged and released with only eight fish captured.  This is a great use of the resource when you start to think about the economic impact of such a tournament”.  Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor said, “The sharks topped fishing news this week but there was a lot of other news too.” Proceeds from the tournament are being donated to the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) and the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA).

“We had anglers fishing the Gully, the Suffix and the Horns area and some went all the way to the edge. But you do not have to go that far.” said Elisa Martin. Bill Ward of Mansfield, MA took the mako shark first place prize with a 251 pound fish.  No blue sharks were weighed in at the tournament.

Lunchtime fluke big surprise

Lary Norin fished for fifteen minutes for summer flounder (fluke) during his lunch break Tuesday from a State dock at Snug Harbor.  Here’s what he had to say, “I only made about ten casts but I did manage to hook up five times.  Two of them were keepers.  The biggest was 22 inches and weighed 4.4 pounds at Snug Harbor.  I was using a very simple setup, a small white bucktail tipped with local squid.  Sometimes you just need to be in the right place at the right time.  Best day of fishing yet this year!”

Rhody Fly Rodders meeting July 17

The Rhody Fly Rodders are holding their summer fishing meeting Thursday, July 17, 3:00 p.m. to dark at the Narrow River.  A grill, condiments, water and chips will be provided, but bring your own food items to grill (and a chair if you want to sit).  The head guide for the meeting is Geno Rapa.  Meeting at the Sprague Bridge parking lot at Narrow River on RT 1A.  Contact Peter Nilsen at pdfish@fullchannel.net with questions.

Trout Unlimited stream side meeting

The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (#225 ) will hold streamside meeting Wednesday, July 30, 6:00 p.m. at the Arcadia Management Area Check Station, Rt. 165, Exeter, R.I.  Hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages will be available. All members and guests welcomed. For information contact chapter president, Ron Marafioti at (571) 643-1452. 

Where’s the bite

Striped bass.  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “Block Island was on fire the past few days, starting the weekend we weighed in several fish in the 40 plus pound range.  We weighed in a 34 pound fish caught in the Westerly area by Charlie Soars trolling tube & worm.” Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown said, “Striped bass fishing blew wide open on the north rip and southwest side of Block Island this weekend with several fish in the 40 plus pound range being landed.”   Angler Jack Leyden of North Kingstown said, “We fished Block Island this weekend and landed a nice fish in the thirty pound range.”  Phil Tower reports on the RI Saltwater Anglers Association blog, “My brother, me and three dozen live eels launched at Pt. Judith for a bumpy ride out to the SW corner ( of Block Island Saturday night)… We were greeted by lots of birds and bluefish that we're scattered all around the area. After about 2 hours of trial and error we landed our first striper at 8:00 p. m. We found good action between bass and pesky blues. We landed seven bass with four over 40" and the largest weighing 26 lbs.”  Dave Henault of Oceans State Tackle, Providence said, “Capt. Billy Silvia of Can’t Imagine Characters caught (striped bass) at 51, 53 and 61 pounds last week off Newport and Capt. BJ Silvia of Flippin Out Charters caught several bass in the 40 pound range.”

Shore fishing.  “30 and 40 pound striped bass are being caught at night with eels from the Charlestown Breachway along with large bluefish.” said Julian Trozzi of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown.  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait said, “Scup fishing has been great all over with 12 and 14” fish being caught.  Guys have not been catching their thirty fish limit, but they are going home with fifteen or so good sized fish.  Scup fishing is good at Colt State Park and even at the Warren Bridge where we don’t normally see scup until later in the season.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State said, “Bass still in Providence and Seekonk Rivers”.

Summer flounder fishing remained strong with fish being landed off Newport, at the mouth of the Sakonnet, all along the southern coastal and out at Block Island.  Angler Steve Brustein of West Warwick landed fluke to 22 inches off Newport drifting southwest of the Seal Ledge, Newport area.“We weighed in two eleven pound fluke caught on the south side of Block Island this weekend.” said Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor.  “Fluke fishing at the Sakonnet was good Sunday, we weighted in a 6.2 pound fluke that was being entered in the RISAA fluke tournament.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.  Julian Trozzi of Breachway Bait & Tackle said, “Anglers fishing from boats along the beaches in the Charlestown area are doing well but fluke fishing from the rocks on shore is slow.”

Black sea bass fishing is good with anglers catching them when the fishing for summer flounder.  I fished off Newport this weekend and had no trouble catching my limit of three mixed in with some keeper fluke.  Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “Black sea bass, fluke and scup are all being caught by anglers when fishing form fluke.  The mid Bay area has been good with guys catching fish right at the red can off Warwick Light.”

Offshore.  Adam Dunstan reports on the RISAA blog, “We were heading south to Tuna Ridge, put in there and trolled to Ryans Horn… Caught four BFT to 40 inches (kept one), fought something much bigger for a few minutes … Best performer was my trusty and old cedar plug in the wash”.  Spencer Ingram, who fished for tuna both Saturday and Sunday, said, “Trolled for four hours, mostly north past The Fingers, with small football BFT blind hitting us… Kept one 30” BFT for dinner.  Green machines were never hit but my rainbow daisy chains, bird with a feathered red/black teaser and pink spreader bars were the ideal choice for trolling.”