Tautog, striper and largemouth bite explode

Congressmen Keating (center) opens door:  Congressmen Bill Keating (center) greets Joe Gugino of Boston and Ed Doherty of Mattapoisett (formerly Attleboro) in Washington, DC to talk about keeping fish conservation strong in our national fishing laws.

Tautog, striper and largemouth bite explode

This week tautog fishing turned on with many anglers catching their limit (16” minimum, three fish/person/day) with fish in the twenty inch range being caught regularly. Cape Cod Canal angler (and Attleboro native) East End Eddie Doherty said, “I caught a 25” striper at the West End at 5:15 a.m. on a five ounce Bill Hurley tan swim bait just as the current turned east and the tide started to rise.” Bruce Miller of Canal Bait & Tackle, Sagamore said, “All the action is on the west and south end of the Canal with hold over school bass up to 26”.  We have some scup and tautog in the area too.”

The spring striped bass fishing in Rhode Island has been good too. The East Passage Bay bite is stronger and the fish are larger than West Passage fish.  Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick said, “I caught fish in the mid-20 inch range from the shore at Rocky Point, Conimicut and the Pawtuxet area.  I almost measured one of them but planned to release it anyway.”

The bite in Greenwich Cove and Chepiwanoxet Point was good this week.  I caught the smallest school striped bass I have ever caught at the Godard Park Boat ramp Sunday morning in the rain, however, the fish were larger there, averaging 18” and larger last week and early this week. 

If you plan to fish for striped bass now is the time to start.  I have two bits of advice that have helped me over the years to catch striped bass.  First, you can’t catch fish where there are no fish.  So you have to put yourself in places where the fish are feeding.  And second, you need to be ready with a number of strategies.  Some days they are biting on soft plastic lures, other times shinny sliver lures like Kastmaster work well and as the season progresses live or chunks of Atlantic menhaden, other days trolling umbrella rigs or tube and worm works best.

To put yourself where the fish are, read fishing reports/blogs and talk to friends and bait & tackle shop owners to develop a fishing plan.  Based on the research you’ve done, select five or six places to find the fish.  Now that you have your fishing plan, be ready with a number of fishing strategies to land that striped bass. 

Fly Rodders Fishing Get-Together

The Rhody Fly Rodders will meet to fish at Colt State Park, Bristol on Saturday, May 11, any time after the high tide at 2:00 p.m. to fish the out-going tide.  For information contact Peter Nilsen, president, at pdfish@fullchannel.net.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater fishing has been good, but like the saltwater, bad weather has deterred many anglers from fishing. The trout bite in ponds and lakes that have been stocked remains strong.  The freshwater largemouth bite has been very good too this week.  Matt McNair of the Northeast Trading Company, North Attleboro said, “The trout bite at Falls Pond (North Attleboro) has been very good.  And, for largemouth the Norton Reservoir has been hot.  Our young customers seem to be out fishing the adults for largemouth.” Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick, RI said, “We are at the being of the pre-spawn bite and largemouth bass are feeding.  Last week things exploded in smaller ponds like Warwick Pond and in larger waterways like Stump Pond and Lake Tioque, Coventry the bite was very good too.” Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly, said, “The water around here is still a bit cold for largemouth, however, Carbuncle Pond and Warden’s Pond has been very good for trout fishing… particularly golden, some anglers are catching three to four an outing.”  Visit www.mass.gov/orgs/division-of-fisheries-and-wildlife for a list of stocked trout ponds and regulations in Massachusetts.  And, for stocked ponds and regulations in Rhode Island visit www.dem.ri.gov .

Striped bass fishing has been very good and getting better every day.  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Fish in the 25” range have been caught in the Providence River but there is no indication that these are migrating fish. Squid fishing has been hit or miss but overall petty good at Goat Island, Newport as well as Ft. Wetherill and Getty, Jamestown.  We have also had pogies in the East Passage around Ohio Ledge with birds feeding but no indication that bass are under them.”  “Fish have been in the 18’ to 24” range in the East Passage.” said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box.  Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters said, “A volume of school bass have been caught from the Pawcatuck/Westerly Bridge all the way down to the Bay with the best bite in the Cemetery area. Some keepers have been taken too, but don’t think they have been migrating fish.” Gil Bell, shore fishing expert said, “Maceral has been caught from the beaches and boats this week from Narraganset to Charlestown and there is Bunker now in the Pawcatuck River, Westerly.  I am casting big lures for large striped bass now trying not to catch school bass.”

Tautog fishing has been very good. Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters said, “The Connecticut season ended and in Rhode Island not many have been fishing for tautog but the bite is very good in about 20 feet of water on reefs off Watch Hill.”  John Littlefield from Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “Customers are catching fish at the Stone Bridge, Tiverton and off the Barrington bike path bridge.  Conimicut Light has been good for customers too.”  Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box said, “I weighed in three fish for RISAA anglers this weekend in the 22” to 23” range.  The bite at Rocky Point has been good with anglers catching keepers.

The spirit of discovery drives us to fish

Blake Dobson with the 36” striped bass he caught on No Fluke Charters Saturday off Warwick Neck near Seminary Cove using tube and worm in 12’ of water.

Bob Matteson, first mate on Captain Sheriff’s Fishing Charters, with a bass caught with parachute jigs on the Southwest side of Block Island. Captain Sheriff found fish in the mid 30 inch range this weekend at both the North Rip and the Southwest side of the Island.

Kim Bissonnette of South County holds some of the fish he recently caught freshwater fishing as the season improves.

Mike Thao of Leominster, MA said “My family loves to eat bluefish.” as he held the bluefish he caught off Poppasquash Point, Bristol.

The spirit of discovery

I often ask myself what is it about fishing that drives me (and others) to fish. I always come back to the adventure of it all and the spirit of discovery. I reinvigorated my spirit for fishing this weekend thanks to Blake Dobson and Mike Thao of Leominster, Massachusetts (two fourteen year old boys). I took them and Blake’s grandfather Doug fishing Saturday. We worked hard for all bites.

I spoke to Blake three or four times before our trip. He always had questions. He was all about fishing. What are we using for bait? Do you ever use buck tails? Where will we fish? And many, many more questions.

The boys arrived an hour early for the charter. We snagged some menhaden and used others caught the day before as chucks. Several fish expressed an interest in the bait, several took the bait and ran, but we could not hook up. We switched to trolling with tube and worm close to shore with no takers except one nice blue fish that Mike caught. Through the morning the boys did not lose faith. “Captain Dave, is this a fish on the fish finder? Does this look like bait to you on the surface? Can we throw some plastic baits? Where are we tying next?”

Not losing faith… the belief that they were going to catch fish and the spirit of discovery drove them to find the fish. We continued to chuck with menhaden, fish with clams, tube and worm, live line menhaden until finally, through hard work and persistence, their faith paid off. Blake landed a 36” striped bass in 12 feet of water between Seminary Cove and Warwick Neck Light as we trolled the low water close to shore. Blake said, “Thank you for finding the fish, I feel great.” And, once again my fishing sprit was renewed... this time by these two fourteen year olds.

West Bay Anglers 2012 William Beaudrey Jr. Memorial Striper Tournament
The West Bay Anglers William Beaudrey Jr. Memorial Striper Tournament will take place from 12:01 a.m. on June 2nd thru 10:00 a.m., June 10th. Cash prizes include $500 for the first place overall largest fish, $200 each for the second place man or woman, $100 each for third place man or woman. Prizes to be awarded at the Warwick FOP at 95 Tanner Avenue, Warwick at 1:00 p.m. on June 10, 2012. Entry fee is $25 per angler; you must register by 5:00 p.m., June 1st. Applications can be picked up at Erickson Brothers, John’s Bait, Lucky's Bait and Tackle, Ray’s Bait and the Tackle Box.

Atlantic Menhaden in Bay now open to commercial fishermen
On May 15, 2012 the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) opened the commercial bait fishery for Atlantic Menhaden in the Narragansett Bay Menhaden Management Area. Menhaden boats worked the Bay last week for the fists time this season. They may not fish north of Conimicut Light nor are they allowed to fish in western Greenwich Bay. DEM performs aerial surveys by helicopter and airplane each week counting the number of schools to estimate biomass. When the number of fish drops to threshold limits, fishing is suspended. This monitoring program is a model fisheries management program being studied by others throughout the country. We should be very proud of it.

Where’s the bite
Freshwater fishing has been good. Kim Bissonnette and his fishing partner Dayton Martin of South County, Rhode Island report, “The freshwater fishing is picking up, after being hampered by the series of cold fronts the past few weeks. There were a fair amount of males in shallow, and some fish are on beds, but there are certainly some healthy females cruising at the mouths of pockets and typical staging areas in preparation for spawning. Swim baits and Rapala type baits work well in slightly deeper water, with soft plastics working well in shallow. Due to the mild winter there is earlier vegetation growth than normal, so working plastics (lizards, creature baits and paddle frogs) rigged weedless on top of the vegetation (towards pockets and holes) will also attract fish on flats and create some exciting strikes.”

Trout fishing in ponds stocked by DEM has been good too. Visit http://www.dem.ri.gov/ for a complete listing of ponds and lakes that have been stocked.

Striped bass fishing early last week before the rains was excellent. Angler Justin Fisette of Coventry, RI said, “We caught over 20 fish each day last week for four days strait. We fished until 7:30 a.m. when things died down.” Paul Smigel said, “I fished many hours last week on East Greenwich Bay. Caught 55 stripers, 11 keepers up to 33" T/W on kayak… I'm hoping it continues after this rain ends.” However, the story was different after the rains this weekend as bass fishing activity slowed. Angler Bob Oberg said, “I'd had my best first half of May fishing ever this year, strong numbers of fish and the best fish got bigger with each outing. I was expecting things to bust wide open this weekend, but they slowed down dramatically instead. Fished out of Pawtuxet on Friday and had five small fish. My son, a kayak expert on his first kayak fishing trip, landed a 30" and a 32”. Today I fished from Rocky Point to Conimicut Point to Providence Point and Potters Cove for eight hours. Got four undersized bass.” Mike Swain of Coventry said, “The fish were very finicky today (Saturday) we snagged bait at Providence Point and couldn’t hook up. We cut though Patients and Prudence Islands and ran into menhaden on the west side. Several bass pushed our bait around, then finally one took it and we landed a nice fish in the mid 30 inch range. We just had to put our bait in front of a lot of fish before one took it.” Mel True said, “We left Hane's Park at six a.m. to snag some Menhaden... Lots of Menhaden near the white cone just past Sabin Point. Chunked on the drift from Port of Providence to the White Cone with only one striper at 29 inches in three hours. North of the white cone I caught a 35 inch striper drifting chunks two hours into the tide. Some other boats also caught some stripers near us. Tough fishing, slow for the most.” Captain John Sheriff had a successful trip to the Southwest side of Block Island Sunday… “As evening approached, (caught) keeper bass to 36 inches approximately every 5 minutes… they were coming by wire line deep jigging 5 ounce parachute rigs ... squid stacked from surface to bottom. Birds everywhere but surface action for catching bass was difficult.”

Volunteer for-hire charter boat inspections catching on

Captain John Rainone (left) of L’il Toot Charters, Point Judith is inspected by Captain Nick Butziger, Commander of the North Star Flotilla of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. A volunteer program to provide examination stickers for Uninspected Passenger Vessels (UPV) started in August, 2011.

Volunteer for-hire charter boat inspections catching on

Captain Arnold (Nick) Butziger has been involved with boating safety just about all his adult life. He is the Commander of the North Star Flotilla of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and has organized and taught boating safety programs for Rhode Islanders since the early 70’s. However, for the past several years Captain Butziger has turned his attention to a new program. A program that he and a few colleagues started in August, 2011 for Coast Guard sector “Southeast New England”. It is the first of its type from Maine to New Jersey. It is a program that aims to provide examinations and examination stickers to for-hire Uninspected Passenger Vessels (UPV).

Uninspected Passenger Vessels (UPV) are commercial vessels allowed to carry one to no more than six passengers for-hire. Charter fishing boats and sailing characters are examples of Uninspected Passenger Vessels. Inspected vessels are commercial vessels allowed to carry over six passengers for-hire. These vessels are required to be inspected by the Coast Guard. Examples are tour boats and party fishing boats that carry a large number of anglers (over six passengers).

I asked Captain Butziger why he has dedicated so much of his life to boating safety and how the new UPV examinations work. Here is what he had to say.

“In May of 1973 we had a charter boat called the Comet that sank off the cost of Rhode Island. It was a sad day, 16 people died. This impacted me greatly. It made me think that something has to be done to ensure boating and charter fishing safety. So ever since then it has been a goal of mine to advocate for boating safety… in order to save lives.”

Why should consumers care about vessels that have received UPV Examination stickers?
The sticker demonstrates to consumers in the for-hire or charter industry that the owner of the vessel took the time to be inspected, validating that his/her vessel met all requirements. Captain Butziger said, “The examination and sticker benefits the vessel owners/captains too, in that they can make the claim that their vessel has been inspected by a qualified examiner and meets all Federal Regulations. The sticker is good for two years.” said Captain Butziger.

Consumers should care about vessels that have UPV stickers because the sticker means the vessel (such as charter fishing vessel you hire to take you fishing) has been inspected by the Coast Guard (or more than likely by the Coast Guard Auxiliary) and meets all specific regulations contained in the Code of Federal Regulation pertaining to such vessels. Boats without the sticker have to meet the same regulations, however, the sticker means that the vessel has been inspected and that at the time of inspection the vessel was in compliance with regulations.

Who is issuing UPV examinations/stickers?
Captain Nick Butziger said, “We now have six certified examiners with twenty additional now being trained.” The need is growing quickly. “There are over 500 vessels that can potentially be inspected in the Coast Guard Sector “Southeast New England.”, said Butziger.

What types of items are examined during inspection?
As noted above, all Unexpected Passenger Vessels must meet regulations contained in the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to such vessels. Items include proper type I life jackets for all passengers, appropriated fire safety equipment and extinguishers, safety equipment such as flares, whistles and/or horns, captain and crew certifications, proper licenses, participation in a random drug testing program as well as a host of other inspection items. Each UPV examination takes about two hours.
For a detailed list of requirements and for more information about the UPV examination program visit www.NorthStarFlotilla.com and click on UPV.

Where’s the bite
Striped bass fishing is excellent in the Bay. Phil Matteson of Breachway Bait & Tackle reports good fishing at Ninigret Pond, Charlestown, RI as the worm hatch continues with school bass being taken off the Breachway using plastic baits. A few angles are targeting large bass with eels but activity has been slow. Steve MCGonagle reports good fishing in the Providence River Sunday near the crane and cargo ships using live Menhaden. “(We caught) four fish over 28” with the biggest a fat 36”. We keep two with many more run offs with no hook sets.” Roger Lema reports fishing around Hope Island, “When I was due south (fairly close to the island and rock outcrop), the depth went from 27 feet to 13 as I went over the rock there. I got a real nice 31" striper… then trolled along Prudence Island … About the time I made the turn into (Pine Hill) cove (18 feet of water) I hooked into a 33 1/2" striper… The fish at Hope was feeding on baby scup and the one at Prudence was feeding on Mantis shrimp and crabs. Both fish were caught on a 9ER blue and white shad umbrella rig which was pretty beat up.” Mary Dangelo of Maridee Canvas Bait & Tackle, Narragansett said,”Customers continue to catch school bass along the shore with anglers having good luck along the wall at the State Beach near George’s Restaurant in Galilee.” Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said Sunday he fished with Captain Steve Anderson of Bare Bones Charters. Ken said, “We trolled Marylyn style jigs around the Ohio Ledge area and landed eight keeper bass in a short amount of time the largest was 34”. Bob Oberg fished the Fields Point to Providence Point area in his kayak this weekend. Bob said, “Caught 17 stripers with seven keepers. Nicest fish included two 33", a 34" and a 39". Longest fish was surprisingly fat for this time of year, estimated 28 pounds. All fish caught trolling tube and worm.”

Tautog fishing is fair. Mary Dangelo of Maridee Canvass Bait & Tackle said, “Customers caught some nice tautog off Black Point Narragansett this week.” Ken Landry of Ray’s Bait & Tackle said anglers are catching tautog if the upper reaches of the Providence River around the bulkheads and piers.

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing is slow. Few anglers are targeting fluke at this time. Those fishing Warwick Neck, Austin Hollow and the bridge areas are catching very few keepers at this time.

Bluefish are in and have been for a couple of weeks. They are being caught throughout the Bay mixed in with striped bass. Jim Mead said, “I got a six pound bluefish at Chepiwonoxet beach… It was nearly low tide but this one came by and ate my squid.”