Bluefin tuna regulations change for the better

Capt. Dave Monti with bluefin tuna.  As of July 1, 2025 private vessels with an HMS Angling permit will be allowed to take one fish between 27” to < 73”.

Big catch: Greg Vespe of Tiverton with a striped bass he caught Saturday night fishing with
live eels off Newport in the Bay.

Good eating:  Marc Carvalho with a squeteague he caught off Warwick Light, he and Sherri Kanelos planned to bake and eat their catch whole.

Bluefin tuna regulations change for the better         

Bluefin tuna regulations changed for the better this week when NOAA announced Thursday new angling and charter/headboat Highly Migratory Species (HMS) limits.  Effect July 1, 2025 private vessels with an HMS Angling permit can retain one bluefin tuna measuring 27” to < 73” and charter/headboat permit holders are allowed two bluefin tuna measuring 27” to < 73”. 

This is good news as most bluefin caught in this area are over 47”, and the present regulation is for fish measuring 27” to < 47”.

In general, quotas close to being met necessitated more conservative regulations this year.  In January tuna fishing in North Carolina was not allowed to close due to an Administration rule making executive order.  The freeze allowed overfishing which in part has meant reduced quotas for New York and New England fishermen as the fish migrate north.

It is important to note that for the past three years, anglers have caught an abundance of bluefin tuna close to shore in Southern New England.  Many believe robust bait/forage profiles are here close to shore in great abundance due to warming water.  And the fish are here because the forage fish they eat are here. 

This climate change impact points to the need for enhanced stock assessments and climate research to keep tabs on fish stocks like tuna and other species particularly sensitive to overfishing due to stock shifts and enhanced fishing pressure.

Capt. Mike Pierdinock, avid bluefin tuna fisher, member of the New England Fishery Management Council and President of the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, said, “We have a unique situation this year.  Due to the closure delay in North Carolina the general category overfished their 37.7 mt quota.  By the time they closed the fishery on February 28 they had harvested 115 mt of bluefin tuna.  That’s a lot when you consider the entire fishery is 1,300 mt.  This combined with overfishing bluefin tuna in general in 2024, including the recreational fishing community for the first time since 2010, we are experiencing these reductions out of caution to prevent overfishing this year.”

Hats off to Rick Bellavance, President of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association and Chair of the New England Fishery Management Council as well as Mike Pierdinock for advocating for a larger bluefin size.

For information and updates visit the NMFS Permit Shop.

 

Catch and release best practices for striped bass

Striped bass fishing is good, so good for this time of year that we have to make sure we use catch and release best practices to help ensure the survival of the fish we release.  More striped bass die after capture and release than those legal-size fish we take home to eat.

Fishing at the Cape Cod Canal has been very good too with anglers catching fish to 41”. East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, said, “On Wednesday “Bill on the Grill” Prodouz landed a 40-inch linesider that fell for a herring Mystic glider and then a 41-inch powerhouse with a Yo-Zuri bone hydro twitch bait.”

On my charter boat Tuesday the fish were on the bottom. Jason Mills of Cranston caught a 39” striped bass on a tube & worm on the channel pad at Poppasquash Point, Bristol when fishing with Richard Hellwig of Providence.  And, Steve Brustein of Warwick caught a 34” fish in the same place earlier in the week.  There were no signs of fish on the surface but they were there in the lower water column and on the bottom.   

The striped bass stock is overfished, with overfishing occurring, so we all need to be ready to safely catch and release these fish giving them the best chance of survival.

Striped bass regulations are one fish/person/day in a slot size of 28” to less than 31”.

Catch and release tips

Gaffs are not allowed and inline circle hooks must be used when fishing with bait for striped bass, tube and worm fishing is an exception.

Bring the fish to the boat quickly, extended fights deplete oxygen and reduce survival.

Avoid putting fish on deck and letting it flop around, keep it in the water as much as possible.

Wet your hands or gloves before handling the fish, dry hands remove the fish’s protective slime layer and leave it open to infection.

Handle fish carefully.  Do not put fingers into gill cavities or eye sockets.

Gently remove the hook to minimize damage.

Use lures with single hook, barbless hooks (I snap them off), or circle hooks.

Return fish to water quickly. Place gently in water in upright horizontal position.  Move it back and forth in the water to force water across its gills.  Once revived it will flip its tail when ready to be released.

 

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass/bluefish.  Tom Olson of Ponaug Marina, Warwick, said, “The striped bass and bluefish bite has been good for anglers they are catching fish trolling with tube & worm, umbrellas rigs or using live bait.”  Ed Lombardo fly fishing expert and guide, said, “Fishing slowed on Narrow River, Narragansett Tuesday. I fished and moved many times to the more productive spots up, down, and across the river until 12 noon.  Fished again at 1:00 p.m., now an incoming tide, and caught two small bass and one hickory shad.” Striper fishing in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay has been good.  Last week anglers on my charter boat hooked up with bass to 40” with reports of a 52” fish being caught by RISAA member Dave Sweet’s son at Anawan Cliffs, Narragansett. Lay off the big fish if you have other options as more striped bass are killed after being release than those we take home to eat (see above article on bass catch and release practices).   Sherri Kanelos of Warwick boated her largest fish ever Sunday, a 24” bluefish off Bear Point Prudence Island.

Black sea bass, summer flounder (fluke), squeteague and scup.  Summer flounder fishing has been good in the lower Narragansett Bay with anglers catching keepers.  Tom Olson of Ponaug Bait & Tackle said, “We had two commercial rod & reel customers catch monster fluke in the East Passage around the Jamestown bridge, one fish they boated was over 30 inches.”  This weekend we caught multiple scup, fluke and squeteague in the Warwick Neck area.  Marc Carvalho of Warwick caught a 20” squeteague.  Most of the fluke were under 19 inches.

                                                                                                                                       

Freshwater.  The fresh water bite for largemouth, pike and trout remains very strong.  For ponds restocked with trout visit Freshwater Fishing | Mass.gov and in Rhode Island Fish & Wildlife | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Atlantic bluefin tuna retention limits adjusted

 

Jason Mills of Cranston with the 39” striped bass he caught Tuesday off Poppasquash Point, Bristol.

Learn how to tie Hex Hatch flies and about the mayfly hatch on the Wood River, Hexagenia Limbata.

Atlantic bluefin tuna retention limits adjusted

NOAA Fisheries is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna daily retention limits for recreational fishermen. The adjusted limits took effect June 3, 2025 and extend through December 31, 2025, unless modified by later action.

NOAA Fisheries may need to take other action(s) later in the year, if appropriate, to further adjust the retention limits or close the fishery.

The adjusted limits for private vessels with a HMS angling category permit is one school fish 27” to less than 47”.  For charter boats with a HMS Charter/Headboat permit fishing recreationally two school fish 27” to less than 47” are allowed.  In both cases no large school/small medium fish 47” to less than 73” are allowed and no giants over 73” are allowed at this time.

This January tuna fishing in North Carolina was not allowed to close due to an Administration rule making executive order.  The freeze allowed overfishing which has meant reduced quotas for New York and New England fishermen as the fish migrate north.

For information and updates visit the NMFS Permit Shop.

 

Catch and release best practices for striped bass

Striped bass fishing is good, so good for this time of year that we have to make sure we use catch and release best practices to help ensure the survival of the fish we release.  More striped bass die after capture and release than those legal-size fish we take home to eat.

“Striped bass fishing has been great, right here in Narragansett Bay.  I am usually fishing out in front by this time but there has been no need.  Earlier this week fish were breaking on the surface all around Ohio Ledge (in the East Passage off Warren),” said expert angler Dave Gordon.

Fishing at the Cape Cod Canal has been very good too with anglers catching fish to 41”. East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, said, “On Wednesday “Bill on the Grill” Prodouz landed a 40-inch linesider that fell for a herring Mystic glider and then a 41-inch powerhouse with a Yo-Zuri bone hydro twitch bait.”

On my charter boat Tuesday the fish were on the bottom. Jason Mills of Cranston caught a 39” striped bass on a tube & worm on the channel pad at Poppasquash Point, Bristol when fishing with Richard Hellwig of Providence.  And, Steve Brustein of Warwick caught a 34” fish in the same place earlier in the week.  There were no signs of fish on the surface but they were there in the lower water column and on the bottom.   

The striped bass stock is overfished, with overfishing occurring, so we all need to be ready to safely catch and release these fish giving them the best chance of survival.

Striped bass regulations are one fish/person/day in a slot size of 28” to less than 31”.

Catch and release tips

Gaffs are not allowed and inline circle hooks must be used when fishing with bait for striped bass, tube and worm fishing is an exception.

Bring the fish to the boat quickly, extended fights deplete oxygen and reduce survival.

Avoid putting fish on deck and letting it flop around, keep it in the water as much as possible.

Wet your hands or gloves before handling the fish, dry hands remove the fish’s protective slime layer and leave it open to infection.

Handle fish carefully.  Do not put fingers into gill cavities or eye sockets.

Gently remove the hook to minimize damage.

Use lures with single hook, barbless hooks (I snap them off), or circle hooks.

Return fish to water quickly. Place gently in water in upright horizontal position.  Move it back and forth in the water to force water across its gills.  Once revived it will flip its tail when ready to be released.

 

Introduction to the ‘Hex Hatch’

The RI Department of Environmental Management Division of Fish & Wildlife Aquatic Resource Education program will hold their introduction to the ‘Hex Hatch’ program Thursday, June 12, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the DFW Outdoor Office, 1B Camp E-Hun-Tee Place, Exeter, RI.

Join Ed Lombardo, expert fly guide and instructor, and volunteer experts from United Fly Tyers, Rhody Fly Rodders, and Trout Unlimited to learn about the largest mayfly hatch on the Wood River, Hexagenia Limbata.

The three-hour workshop begins with a presentation about the mayfly and its habits, when it emerges to spawn, what gear to use to mimic the hatch, and how to catch a trout during the hatch.   All fly-tying equipment and materials are provided.

Space is limited and registration is required. Cost is $10 per person. For more information and to register, email kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov.

 

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass/bluefish.  “Striped bass and the bluefish bite has been good in the Godard Park Greenwich Bay area with anglers catching fish using topwater lures and soft plastics,” said Vincent Cataldi of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown.  East End Eddie Doherty said fishing on the Cape Cod Canal was active with Tim “Hollywood” Petracca catching fish up to 35 inches with stick shads.” Tom Olson of Ponaug Marina, Warwick, said, “The striped bass and bluefish bite has been good for anglers they are catching fish trolling with tube & worm, umbrellas rigs or using live bait.”  “Anglers are using flutter spoons (designed to float down into the water column), umbrella rigs and using bait, maceral and Atlantic menhaden, to fish the lower column with success,” said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick.  Ed Lombardo fly fishing expert and guide, said, “Fishing slowed on Narrow River, Narragansett Tuesday. I fished and moved many times to the more productive spots up, down, and across the river until 12 noon.  Fished again at 1:00 p.m., now an incoming tide, and caught two small bass and one hickory shad.”

Black sea bass, summer flounder (fluke), squeteague and scup.  Last week I caught small keeper fluke north of the Jamestown Bridge on American Ledge.  Vincent Cataldi of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackel, said, “Anglers are loading up on big fluke around Block Island.  Fishing the coastal shore and in the Bay has been fairly slow for keeper fluke. Anglers are hooking up with scup and keeper black sea bass.  I saw an angler land a keeper black sea bass from a dock in Jamestown.” Tom Olson of Ponaug Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “Warwick Neck and Greenwich Bay are yielding a fair amount of squeteague.”

                                                                                                                                       

Freshwater. “Fishing has exploded with anglers hooking up with largemouth, pike and some monster sized trout,” said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box.  For ponds restocked with trout visit Freshwater Fishing | Mass.gov and in Rhode Island Fish & Wildlife | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Camp aims to hook kids on fishing

 Noted carp expert Dave Pickering and the 32 pound carp he caught last week using a combination of maize and a pink artificial piece of corn.

 Capt. BJ Silvia of Flippin’ Out Charters with the 36 pound striped bass he caught when fishing with live pogies in the East Passage.

 Jay Anctil of Coventry caught striped bass to 25 pounds with his fishing partner Mike Swain in the Conimicut Light, Warwick area this weekend.

 Angler Mike Swain of Coventry with the striped bass he caught using live pogies this weekend.

 Diane Valerien of Coventry (7.3 pound fluke) and Barry Gootkind of Narragansett (6.3 pound fluke) caught last week on the Seven B's party boat.

RISAA aims to hook kids on fishing with their new pilot project... a youth fishing camp.

Camp aims to hook kids on fishing

OK, so there are all types of camps, sports, dance, even cooking camps and now there is a fishing camp in Rhode Island.  The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) is holding a pilot fishing camp at Rocky Point Park, Warwick, Tuesday, June 28 to Thursday, June 30 for children 7 to 14 years old. 

A lot goes on when you fish.  It appeals to our sense of adventure and teaches us patience, it is one of those activities where science and art converge, it teaches us to be good stewards of the environment and it allows us to build a lifetime of memories and friendships with those we fish with.

Steve Medeiros, RISAA president said, “The goal is to introduce youngsters to fishing. We find children of all backgrounds and cultures are attracted to fishing for all the right reasons and our aim is to give them a proper introduction to the sport.  Our hope is that we fine tune the program and are able to hold additional camps in the future.”

For now RISAA’s piolet fishing camp is taking 40 children on a first- come, first- served basis and developing a waiting list. Children will be split into two groups, 7 to 10 and  11 to 14 year old age groups. The same children attend all three days. 

There is no cost for children to participate, however, parents must complete and sign all participation forms, provide their child with proper attire for an outdoor fishing camp and weather conditions. Parents must provide transportation for children each day.

Topics to be covered over the three day camp include fish identification,  fishing laws, use of spinning and conventional tackle, basic marine biology, how and why to use different baits and lures, casting and fishing from shore as well as boating safety and fishing on a boat.

The fishing camp is sponsored by the RI Saltwater Anglers Foundation and partners include the RI Department of Environmental Management, the City of Warwick, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Brewers Marina.

There is limited space available, sign up this week by calling the RI Saltwater Anglers Association office at 401.826.2121.

  

Anglers catching large striped bass

The striped bass fishing season in underway and there are some large bass being caught in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay. 

Expert angler Mike Swain of Coventry said he and his fishing partner Jay Anctil (also from Coventry) boated two bass in the 25 to 30 pound range Saturday while fishing with live pogies (Atlantic menhaden) around Conimicut Light on the channel edges.  Mike said, “We had to work all day for these two fish.  We had a couple of other bites but the bass would pick up the bait, run with it and then drop it.  We were pretty happy to catch these two fish.  They are mirror images of each other, almost twins.”

Capt. BJ Silvia of Flippin’ Out Charters and his fishing friend Greg Vespe boated a 36 pound striped bass last week using live pogies in the East Passage.  Bass have been north of Popasquash Point, Bristol to Providence.  Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “Customers have been catching bass at Conimicut Light. Last week the striped bass bite was concentrated in this area.  My son Ken (Landry) caught three nice keepers at the Light using live pogies.”

Striped bass have to be at least 28 inches to take them and the limit is one fish/person/day.

Three favorite ways to catch striped bass in the spring

Surface plugs or lures

My all-time favorite way to catch a striped bass is using a surface lure or plug.  There is nothing like seeing a striped bass explode on the surface to attack your plug.

This method is particularly good to use when conditions call for you to bring attention to the surface.  The plugs can be pulled, swayed and skipped across the water surface making a splash when they move and a wake (in V form) much like a boat.  Some lures add additional sound by making the lure rattle as it is pulled across the surface.

I have found this method to work particularly well in the spring and fall when the water is warmer on the surface and the bass are feeding in the upper portions of the water column and they are not down deep where the water tends to be cooler.

Atlantic menhaden (or pogies)

Fishing with live (known as live-lining) or dead cut up Atlantic menhaden (known as chunking) is most definitely a fun way to fish for striped bass.

Anglers chunk with fresh or frozen menhaden.  You can anchor (and chum), drift fish or fish the moving bait schools with chunks.  Some anglers like to use a weight (often with a sliding clip on their line) to get the bait down when the striped bass are feeding at the bottom.

Many anglers catch their bait by snagging the live Atlantic menhaden with a weighted treble hook and others net them.  To live-line menhaden, hook the live bait through the bridge of their nose, find a school of fish and put the live menhaden into the school or near it and let it swim.  This method is used most often when the Atlantic menhaden are running strong, particularly in the middle and upper portions of East Passage of the Bay.

The shipping channel in the East Passage of the Bay acts as a fish highway carrying bait and striped bass all the way through Providence to Pawtucket.

Trolling with tube and worm

I have had great success in the Bay using lead line weighted with two or three ounces of lead between the line and a five foot fluorocarbon leader.  I find that bubblegum or red colored tubes work best in the spring (the tube hook is tipped with clam worm).   The idea of added weight is to get the line down to where the fish are.

Tube and worm trolling has also been a successful technique for fishing the ocean, particularly the Southwest side of Block Island, using 300 ft. of wire line in 35 to 45 feet of water, amber colored tubes seem to work best there.

Where’s the bite

Fresh water fishing is still good.  Expert carp angler and author Dave Pickering reports a great carp bite. Dave landed a 32 pound carp last week with many other anglers landing fish in the high teens up to 30 pounds.  For more info, check out Dave’s carp fishing blog at www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “The bass are starting to move as the water warms and anglers are catching them.  We sold a lot of shiners and night crawlers.  The shiners seem to be working as customers are catching not only bass but pickerel and perch as well.”

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing is really starting to pick up.  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Fluke fishing is getting better every day with keeper fish (with a lot of shorts mixed in) being caught along the beaches in the Charlestown area but the best bite so far is on the West and Southwest sides of Block Island.”  Diane Valerien of Coventry and Barry Gootkind of Narragansett caught fluke to over seven pounds fishing the Seven B's party boat last Friday. The Frances Fleet reports a good fluke bite with one customer limiting out last Friday and others returning home with three to five fish.

Striped bass fishing in the East Passage is good with anglers catching bass to 30 pounds using live Atlantic menhaden (pogies) as bait.  See East Passage striper fishing story above.  Matt Conti of Snug Harbor said, “School bass are plentiful in South County with keepers mixed (particularly at night) and I am willing to bet that there are some keeper bass on the north end of Block Island in the 30 inch range as they usually are this time of year. Worm hatches have occurred at Ninigret Pond but not at Potter and Salt Pond yet.  With low tide mid-day this week the mud will likely not warm enough for a hatch in these ponds until next week.” John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “Anglers are catching bass from Sabin Point with a keeper or two being caught right from the Barrington Bridge.  A customer caught a 27” bluefish this week right at the Hurricane Barrier in Providence.  Between the bass and bluefish eating the pogies and a good numbers of anglers snagging them, it has been hard for find Atlantic menhaden out there.”

Squid fishing has been good in Narragansett, Jamestown and Newport but it is hit or miss on any given day (or night).  Matt Conti said, “Customers caught large squid in good numbers at Nebraska Shoal this past week.”

The tautog bite continues to be good for a spring season, fishing is spotty but there are some big fish being caught.

Bay and ocean exploding with activity

 Angler Brian Dick caught this 16 pound striped bass at Brenton Reef Tuesday while fishing On the Rock’s Charters.

 Michael Strashnick of Warwick with two nice fluke he caught off Warwick Light last weekend.

 Anthony Marfeo Jr. and his dad have been catching big largemouth bass.  This fish was caught on medium heavy minnows early this week.

 Peter Vican of East Greenwich with the 52.45 pound striped bass caught Saturday off Block Island.  This is his 33^rd fish over 50 pounds; he holds the RI State record with a 77.4 pound fish caught in 2011.

 Sean Stanford of Jamestown with the 9.25 pound fluke he caught this week on the Seven B’s party boat using a fluke belly and a sand eel as bait.

 Lary Norin (back row, far right) was part of the team that boated this 290 pound thresher shark last week aboard Hot Reels Charters with Captains Louis DeFusco and Jack Sprengel. 

Mike Swain with a 40” and a 43” striped bass caught in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay Tuesday.

Bay and ocean exploding with activity

A month ago fishing news was dribbling in but this week the faucet was wide open as fishing (catching) reports accelerated with anglers offshore, in the upper and lower bay, along the coastal shore, at Block Island and in freshwater with a strong largemouth bass bite.

Here is a thumbnail of what’s going on:

Tuesday Mike Swain of Coventry and his fishing partner boated a 40” and a 43” striped bass early morning using pogies in the east passage.

Capt. Louis DeFusco of Hot Reels and Capt. Jack Sprengel of East Coast charters landed a 290 pound thresher shark with Larry Norin, Rick Sustello and four other anglers on board.

RI state striped bass record holder (77.4 pounds) Peter Vican of East Greenwich landed is 33^rd striped bass over 50 pounds… a  52.45 pound fish he caught off the south side of Block Island at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday using a live eel.

Tuesday, Brian Dick from Connecticut was fishing with Capt. Rene LeTourneau of On the Rock’s Charters and boated a 16 pound striped bass off Brenton Reef, Newport using a needlefish lure.

Michael Strashnick of Warwick boated several keeper fluke right off Warwick Light this weekend.

Fluke fishing out in front of southern coastal beaches has improved daily with 3 to 4 pound fish being caught and 7 and 8 pound fish being weighed in too said Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown. 

Fishing regulations receiving pressure

During the past several months there have been a number of key proposed policy changes that if approved could greatly impact our fisheries. Some say the proposed changes will weaken regulations having a long term negative impact on fisheries, while others say the policy changes will have a positive impact on fishing immediately providing much needed relief for commercial fishermen and fishing communities in New England.  Here are some highlights.

Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization bill

Last month, in a highly partisan vote, the U.S. House passed a bill that would weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.  Matt Mullin, from the Environmental Defense Fund said, “The bill, as passed by the House would undercut proven environmental law including the Endangered Species Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act; weaken rebuilding and quota provisions; restrict data from the public; and limit options for fishermen.”

It is important for recreational and commercial fishermen to weigh in on the Reauthorization bill; particularly if/when a Senate version of the bill starts to go thought the legislative process in the U.S. Senate.

NOAA National Standard 1 changes would weaken Magnuson-Stevens

On June 30 the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closed its comment period on policies that would weaken key parts of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and provide regional managers with more flexibility. 

NOAA’s proposal would revise the act’s National Standard 1 guidelines making them more flexible in response to fishermen who have claimed fishing laws are too rigid. 

A statement from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Conservation Law Authority and three other conservation groups said, “The proposed new rules promote strategies that would increase the risk of overfishing and would allow managers to leave populations at low levels rather than rebuild them quickly and to forgo management of fish stocks in need of conservation.”   

The statement related the proposal would allow managers to delay lowering catch limits in response to scientific information, increasing the risk of overfishing; obscure information about overfishing (by averaging several years of data); raise quotas by carrying over uncaught fish from the previous year without determining whether the population is healthy; and continue using deficient plans for rebuilding overfished stocks to healthy levels, instead of revising the plans to restore populations more quickly. The statement said, “The proposal would allow managers to keep using rebuilding plans that did not meet their goals and to extend timelines for rebuilding overfished stocks for years or even decades beyond what would be allowed currently.

At press time, the public comment period closed on these policy changes and the fishing community is waiting to see if NOAA will enact all or some to these proposed National Standard 1 guideline changes.

ASMFC summer meeting

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) 2015 Summer Meeting is scheduled for August 4-6, 2015 in Alexandria, Virginia.  The ASMFC makes coastal fishing regulations for many of the species we fish in Rhode Island including striped bass, summer flounder, black sea bass, tautog and a host of others.

The preliminary agenda includes important Management Board meetings for tautog, striped bass and Atlantic menhaden that will impact the 2016 Fishing Management Plans for these species.

The tautog board will review and discuss a Draft Public Information Document for Amendment 1 to the tautog Interstate Fishery Management Plan.  The most recent tautog assessment will likely bring more conservation tautog relations for recreational and commercial fishermen in RI. 

Key issues on striped bass include a review of the Technical Committee’s Report on the likelihood of achieving fishing mortality targets with the regulations that were finally implemented (one fish at 28” minimum size for recreational fishermen and a 25% commercial quota reduction), and progress on management level projections using the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Fleet reference points. The Board will also review and possibly approve the 2015 FMP State Compliance Reports. 

Important Atlantic menhaden discussions will focus on an update from the Atlantic menhaden working group on the progress of ecosystem-based management goals and objectives.  This was a key component/concession with the vote taken by the Commission at their last meeting when they increased quota by 10%.

Rhode Island ASMFC representatives usually hold an input meeting for fishermen on agenda items prior to the ASMFC meeting.  Watch for this meeting notice. An updated agenda and materials will be available on July 23, 2015 at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-summer-meeting.

Where’s the bite

“Freshwater trout fishing has slowed down substantially.” said John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown.  However largemouth bass fishing is hot.  Dave Henault of Ocean Sate Tackle, Providence said, “Customers Anthony Marfeo (junior and senior) have been catching good sized largemouth bass every day, four times a week, using medium heavy shiners. They are fishing multiple lakes and ponds north and west of Providence.”

Striped bass. Angler John Rivera of Portsmouth (when visiting Fin & Feather Outfitters, North Kingstown) said, “I fished all night Saturday starting at the Narrows, then Black Point, Narragansett, followed by the Cliff Walk in Newport.  The fish were not interested in the flies I had.  Looked like they might have been eating shrimp.  Switched to spinning gear and ended up at the Cape Cod Canal landing four fish in the ten to fifteen pound range.  In general fishing in the lower Bay from Portsmouth to Newport Harbor has been good at night.  I often fish on my kayak and heard that last week kayakers landed a 40 and a 50 pound fish at the Newport Bridge, one on a live pogie and a second on a squid.” Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle said, “Fish in the 15 to 34 inch are being caught in the salt ponds with anglers catching them with plugs and small Slug Gos.”  The bass bite on Block Island is improving.  Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle said, “It is a messed spring with the bass bite on and then off on any given day.  Some schools of menhaden have bass feeding on them and others don’t.  Some guys are fishing at night on Block Island for one bite and that’s it.  From shore anglers are doing OK. We have a couple of customers that landed 32” fish at Beavertail this week.  The old timers say when we have a cold winter the fishing season will last longer, but what they forgot to tell us is that it will start slower too.”

Fluke/black sea bass fishing had been good at Warwick Light and south of Patience Island.  Some guys are landing them in 10’ of water and others in 70’ of water.” said Ken Landry.  I fished the Warwick Light area Sunday with angler Steve Brustein and we caught short flounder, we moved to north of the Jamestown Bridge and landed multiple sea bass to 21”.  Anglers are happy about the sea bass opening July 2 as they have been catching them while fluking.  As of July 2, anglers are allowed to take one sea bass/person/day. The limit increases in September to seven fish/person/day. Frank Mello of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “Customers are landing summer flounder in the Rocky Point and Conimicut areas.” Both the Seven B’s and the Frances Fleet party boats had a good fluke fishing week. Capt. Russ Benn of the Seven B’s said “Several fish in the eight to ten pound range were caught this week including a 9.25 pound fish caught by Sean Stanford.”

The scup bite continues to get stronger with anglers landing them just about anywhere in the Bay.  “Customers are catching big scup at Colt State Park and at the bridges (in Barrington and Warren)." said Frank Mello of Lucky Bait.

Atlantic bonito.  Yes bonito!  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle said, “Bob Turcotte landed a small bonito Saturday about ¼ mile off the beach at Little Compton.  It was the only bonito caught on a crippled herring.  The bass, blues and the bonito were feeding on sand eels." 

Atlantic menhaden landing bass for anglers

  Jay Ancgil of Coventry with bass to 17 pounds he and friend Mike Swain caught in the East Passage this week live lining pogies (Atlantic menhaden).

 

Frank Travis of North Kingstown with the 24” fluke he caught west of New Harbor, Block Island this week.

Mike Wade (owner of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly) weighs in Braeden Giller’s 7 pound, 8 once summer flounder (fluke) he caught off Misquamicut State Beach this week.

 

Atlantic menhaden landing bass for anglers

Atlantic menhaden or pogies as they are locally refereed to are a great bait fish for striped bass.  This week many of them were eaten by striped bass as anglers throughout the region used this great forage fish as bait.

Menhaden are an important part of the food chain. H. Bruce Franklin, a professor at Rutgers University, is author of The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America said, “This is what the menhaden do best: they get eaten. Game fish and seabirds, sharks and whales all seek out these oily fish as a favorite meal, making menhaden a crucial link in the ocean food chain.”

Atlantic menhaden are also roving filter feeders, converting algae into energy and thus reducing nutrient loads in bays and covers. An adult menhaden, through its unique filtering gills, is able to process up to 4 gallons of water per minute or a million gallons of water every 180 days. Multiply this by the number of menhaden in any given area and this is an amazing amount of water being filtered, a reduction of nutrients means fewer algae blooms and ultimately more oxygen for all fish.

Most (80%) of the anglers reporting they hooked up with a striped bass in the past three weeks said they were using Atlantic menhaden as bait.

 To catch live menhaden to use as bait, anglers cast a net for them or snag them with a weighted treble hook.  They are generally brought back to the boat and a hook is put through the bridge of the nose or back and then the fish is put back into a school of live menhaden. 

You can also use dead menhaden as bait (bought at a bait shop) fresh or frozen.  Some prefer to fish the menhaden whole others cut it in half, yet others chunk it up and use large pieces.  How anglers use dead menhaden as bait largely relies on what the striped bass want.  Some days/seasons they want it chunked, other times they want it whole and sometimes they won’t bite anything but live menhaden.  Some anglers use a weight slide to get the bait down to the striped bass.

Another method working to catch striped bass this spring is trolling with umbrella rigs (mimics a small school of bait fish) or trolling with tube & worm.  However, the larger fish in bays, coves and rivers caught so far this season have been landed using live Atlantic menhaden as bait.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass.  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside said, “The bass are getting larger.  Albert Bettencourt of Riverside weighed in a 33 pound striped bass for the Striper Maine Tournament which took second place.  His grandson took second place too in the youth division with a 24 pound striped bass.  The largest fish we heard of from shore at Sabin Point last week was a 38” bass.  They even landed bass from shore at Colt State Park. One customer said there were 40 boats Sunday far up the Providence River.”  Angler Jason Ancgil of Coventry fished with Mike Swain Sunday and they landed bass to 17 pounds using live menhaden in the East Passage.  Mike said, “There were about 20 or 30 boats in the area, we moved a bit to say out of all the congestion.”  Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “We weighed in a 42.4 pound striped bass lass week.  The fish are getting large with the smaller fish being caught on umbrella rigs and the large ones with live pogies.  Last week we also heard of fish caught off Poppasquash Point and Colt State Park, Bristol.” Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said, “Anglers are catching the bass with bunker. We have so much of it around.”  Julian Trozzi of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown said yesterday, “We have no large fish from the beach yet but anglers are catching school bass in Ninigret Pond and from the end of the Breachway with keepers mixed in.”

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing has been improving along the southern coastal shore.  We weighed in a seven pound, eight ounce fish caught by Braeden Biller right off Misquamicut Beach over the weekend.” said Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters.  Frank Travis of Wakefield landed a 24” fluke when fishing on the west side of Block Island in 55 to 70 feet of water.  “Fishing at the mouth of the Sakonnet, and in the Newport Bridge/Ft. Adams area was good last week.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.  Littlefield from Archie’s Bait said, “Hot places for fluke include the Sakonnet and Newport areas but also we had reports of fish being taken at Warwick Light as well.  Capt. Frank Blount, owner of the Frances Fleet, said, “Much improved fluke fishing this week with better numbers along with some real nice quality slabs hitting the deck of the Gail Frances (party boat) Wednesday through Saturday. On both Thursday and Saturday's outing nearly one third of the keepers were in the jumbo category (4 lbs or better). Biggest fish of the week was the fine 8 lb. slab.”

Atlantic menhaden (pogies) commonly used for striped bass bait have been spotted in large numbers  in Narragansett Bay, Mt. Hope Bay and in south county area in rivers, coves, salt ponds and sanctuaries.

Scup are just making their presence known with reports of anglers starting to land scup in several areas , not in large numbers yet but few anglers are targeting them at this time.

Offshore fishing is just starting.  Chris Young of North Kingstown said, “We fished the Dump and several other places Sunday and found fish but we could not get them to rise.  About three miles south of Block Island we came across a large school of school bluefin tuna but just could not hook-up.”

“Fresh water trout fishing has slowed; hopes are that DEM restocking will reinvigorate things later this spring.  However, the pickerel bite was very strong this week at the Kickemuit Reservoir and some nice carp have been caught in the Blackstone River.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait.  “The bass bite has been good at Echo Lake, Barrington along with a decent catfish bite.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait.

 

 

House bill would weaken fisheries act

 

Anthony Mecurio Jr. from Coventry RI with a fine brace of fluke he buck tailed onto the deck of the Gail Frances party boat last week.

 

 

Michael Fotiades of Narragansett, RI with squid caught last week on a recent RISAA trip.  His son George is in the background.



House bill would weaken fisheries act

A U.S. House of Representatives bill (H.R. 1335) titled "Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act," that would reauthorize the Magnuson –Stevens Act is scheduled to come before the House next Monday. 

The Magnuson–Stevens Act (MSA) is the primary law governing recreational and commercial marine fisheries management in the United States. It was originally enacted as the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 and amended many times.  The two recent amendments were the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 and then the MSA of 2006.

The supporters of this version or the reauthorization bill, which was authored by Alaska Congressman Don Young (R-AK), stated in a support letter that the bill will maintain the successful aspects of fisheries management under Magnuson-Stevens, while providing much-needed flexibility and economic relief to hard-working fishing communities.

According to Save Our Seafood (a seafood industry advocacy group comprised of commercial fish processors, fish brokers and boat owners), the support letter was sent last week to the House Natural Resources Committee Chair.  In a press release this week, Save Our Seafood said, “supporters of H.R. 1335 believe the bill will strike the appropriate ‘balance’ between addressing the ecological needs of fish stocks, the conservation goals of management, and the economic needs of fishing communities that are not being met by the current Act's rigid stock rebuilding requirements.”

However, there are two sides to every story.  Conservation minded fishermen and conservation groups throughout the country (including Pew Charitable Trusts and the Environmental Defense Fund) feel that this bill if passed will reverse much of the good that the MSA currently provides our fisheries.

Last year US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI and our congressional delegation, held an fisherman’s input session at the URI Bay Campus.  At that meeting Rhode Island fishermen and Janet Coit, director of the RI Department of Environmental Management, testified in support of Magnuson-Stevens saying it has rebuilt many of our fish stocks and much of it should be left intact when it is reauthorized.

Meeting attendees complemented the MSA for establishing Allowable Catch Limits (ACLs) that facilitated the rebuilding of fish stocks.

In an issue brief (pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis) Pew Charitable Trusts said, “(The bill) would significantly undercut the nation’s progress in preventing overfishing and rebuilding depleted fish populations. This shortsighted legislation would undermine the act’s core conservation provisions, jeopardizing the gains made in rebuilding and sustainably managing U.S. fish populations. It also would fail to advance a comprehensive approach to fishery management.”

Pew continued to say, “The Magnuson-Stevens Act should be updated in a way that promotes a comprehensive, 21st-century approach to managing the nation’s fisheries. But H.R. 1335 would move the country in the wrong direction, threatening the health of U.S. oceans and fish populations.”

NOAA seeks sanctuary volunteers

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is seeking applicants with recreational fishing expertise to fill vacant seats on its advisory councils at Flower Garden Banks, Monitor and Stellwagen Bank national marine sanctuaries.   It is vitally important that recreational anglers participate in sanctuary advisory panels as their point of view is not often heard due to a lack of participation.  The recent New England Council vote on allowing recreational fishing in the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary area was critical to recreational fishing and the charter fishing industry. It demonstrates the importance of angler participation on these sanctuary panels.   A sanctuary advisory council is a community-based advisory group with representatives from various user groups, government agencies, and the public at large. The role of the council is to provide advice to the sanctuary superintendent on the designation and/or operation of a national marine sanctuary. Council members include fishers, divers, teachers, boaters, business people, activists, protected area managers, scientists, and elected officials. A successful candidate for the positions noted above will advise the sanctuary superintendent on the recreational fishing perspective. Nominations are due June 30.  For information contact Russell Dunn, NOAA National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries at Russell.Dunn@noaa.gov or 727.551.5740.   Where's the bite “Cod fishing at the East Fishing grounds has been fair when anglers have been able to get there. Anglers are catching shorts with keepers mixed in.” said Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown. Striped bass. “Keeper bass are being caught with tube and worm and with chunks of Atlantic menhaden in the East Passage near Bear Point, Prudence Island.” said Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick. On RISAA‘s blog angler Bob Malouin said, “We motored over to Conimicut Light (Saturday). We didn't have any success throwing plugs and I was marking bass so around 0730 I decided to live line a pogy. In less than a minute I hooked into and ended up landing a 30 pound bass. After letting her go we ended up landing four more cookie cutter fish around 30". All fish were caught on live pogies directly south of Conimicut light.”    “We weighed in a couple of nice fish, not particularly big but in the 33” to 34” range.  Anglers are catching fish with top water lures such as SlugGo and Cohoes.  Some anglers are live lining and chucking pogies.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren. “The worm hatch in Potter and Salt Ponds has been good with anglers landing bass there but things are pretty slow out in front.” Said Al Conti of Snug Harbor.  No bass report from Block Island yet. Summer flounder (fluke) fishing is picking up.  “They are catching fluke right off Warwick Light.” said Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick.  This is the third spring in a row that we will have had a decent fluke bite at Warwick Light.  This spot has not been this active in years.  Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Customers are landing fluke and it is going to get better as the water warms. We had a 9.9 pound fluke caught along the coastal shore and a 10 pound fish caught on the Southwest side of Block Island but the bite has been very soft… the fish are still lethargic due to the cold water.  As it heats up this week the fluke fishing should improve.” Angler Mike Swain of Coventry said, “We are landing fluke off Jamestown and Newport with a three to one keeper ratio.” Roger Simpson of the Francis Fleet said, “We are catching fluke both on half and full day trips. Fish were spread out better around the boat on some days verses others. Those with experience using buck tails seemed to still have an edge over those using bait rigs on most outings. Always be prepared to fish both.” John Stavrakas said, “We arrived at the NW corner of Block Island (NE of "duck head") to find a fleet of boats working. The day started with a light westerly breeze and ended with a steady 15 knots gusting to 25. We worked the incoming tide for a half dozen keepers to 24" and twenty or so shorts. We were using 4/0 circle hooks with a buck tail skirt tipped with squid and spearing. Pink seemed to out fish white and green.” Tautog season closes May 31.  However, if you can get out before then it might be worth a try as keeper tautog are being caught. Many Macedo or Lucky Bait said, “We have and 22” and 24” fish caught by customers this past week.  Don’t get me wrong, they are catching a lot of shorts by keepers are mixed in.  Their bait of choice this spring seems to be crabs rather than worms.” Squid fishing has improved. “Customers are landing big tubes not just in Newport but they have traveled up the Sakonnet and all the way up to Bristol.” said Manny Macedo or Lucky Bait.  I fished the Frances Fleet Saturday night and it was a slow pick.  Top angler caught nineteen squid.  Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said, “Wednesday night was the best last week with generally one half to one full bucket per angler. Friday night was right behind with quite a few anglers doing one half to three quarters of a bucket and just a handful of fishers doing 20-30 pieces. Thursday and Saturday nights were slower with hi hooks both nights doing 30-40 pieces with most having less.” Angler Kevin Robishaw said, “Headed out last night (Saturday) aboard the Frances fleet for squid on the RISAA charter. Went out in front by Nebraska Shoal and anchored. Squid were coming over rail on first drop for me in the bow. This tapered off quickly and it was a pick all night for most in the boat. I never figured out a particular color or depth. I seemed to get them off bottom 4-5 feet but never really keyed in on them. I believe most people got at least a few. I got 10 tubes and between three of us in bow we got maybe a third of bucket full.”                                                                                       #