Tautog fishing tips from the experts

 John Migliori caught his first trout of the season Monday at Melville Pond, Portsmouth on his first cast and then went on to limit out using a spinner bait. Trout fishing is still very good and less crowded.

 Slow retrieve worked: At 2:00 p.m. on opening day Tim Jacobs of Richmond had little trouble reeling in rainbow trout using a trout spinner bait with a slow retrieve.

 Jason Howell of Narragansett hooked up with school striped bass at Narrow River.

Steve Brustein of Portland, Maine with a spring tautog he caught last year in Narragansett Bay.

Tautog fishing tips from the experts

The spring tautog season opened April 15 and runs through May 31 with a three fish/person/day limit and a ten fish per boat limit (does not apply to charter boats). Tautog fishing is fun and there’s a certain knack to it as it takes a lot of concentration and a quick hook set. 

Here are some of my favorite tautog fishing tips I’ve learned from the experts. 

·       Keep rig simple to reduce tie ups, I prefer an egg sinker rig with one hook extended below the sinker on a swivel, or a one hook conventional rig with a dropper loop and sinker

·       Anchor over or near structure, and fish the entire boat or area, even casting a bit as tautog are territorial, a few feet make a difference, also let anchor line in and out to change position

·       Be prepared to chum as needed, I use a mixture of cut-up sea clams and crushed crabs

·       I use 40 to 50 pound braid line to enhance a direct connection to the fish and the line does not stretch when the fish tries to run back into structure, my fishing rod is a medium action rod

·       Your rig should be on the bottom, be patient, pay attention and be prepared to set hook quickly

·       Be prepared to fish different types of rigs and bait presentations depending on conditions and what fish want i.e. jigs with bait, green crabs as bait, Asian crabs, conventional rigs, etc.

Fishermen sought to serve as independent representatives

Deepwater Wind, developer of the Block Island Wind Farm, is looking for at least two Rhode Island fishermen to serve as independent representatives of the local fishing fleet in connection with the development of the South Fork Wind Farm at Cox’s Ledge. 

The independent fishing representatives from both the commercial and recreational sectors will help disseminate information to the fishing community and help facilitate communication between fishermen and Deepwater Wind. They will also serve as the primary point of contact for any area fishermen with questions or concerns about the offshore wind farm or transmission cable. This is a great opportunity for those active in commercial or recreational fishing as these representatives will serve as an important link between Deepwater Wind and the fishing community.

Interested fishermen with home ports at Point Judith or elsewhere in Rhode Island should visit www.dwwind.com/fishing-reps  for more information.

With this late notice in the Providence Journal I called Aileen Kenney, vice president of permitting & environmental for Deep Water Wind.  Ms. Kenney said, “We ask that applicants forward cover letters and resumes as close to the April 21 deadline as possible via mail or email.”   

Fishing for a Cause Tournament

The 7^th annual Schwartz Center/Meeting Street Fishing for a Cause Tournament to raise money for students with special needs is now registering fishing participants and dinner guests for their June 23^rd and 24^th fundraiser. 

Charter captains are offering their vessels and personal skills as fishing guides to take participants fishing in the recreational tournament

Fishing for a Cause has raised more than $800,000 in its history. “The incredible success of this tournament is due to the increase of corporate groups over the past seven years,” said John M. Kelly, President of Meeting Street.

More than 100 fishermen and women are expected to participate in the two-day catch and release tournament. Upon the culmination of the tournament participants and guests will gather for a catered seaside dinner in New Bedford emceed by comedian Lenny Clarke

For more information about this year’s event or to donate your vessel and services visit http://www.meetingstreet.org/FFAC or contact Beatriz Oliveira at The Schwartz Center 508-742-6425.

Squid fishing and tube & worm seminar

Learn the basics of squid fishing on a party boat from expert angler Tom Wood and then learn the technique of fishing with tube and worm from fishing author and guide Charley Soares on April 24, 7:00 p.m. at the West Warwick Elks Lodge, 60 Clyde Street, West Warwick.  “The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association meeting will focus on when to fish deep vs near the top for squid as well as the best squid lures and gear to use.” said Tom Wood. Charles Soares said, “The uniqueness of the tube and worm is that it catches numerous species along with stripers from five to fifty ponds.”  Non-members welcome with a $10 donation to the RISAA Scholarship Fund, members attend free.  Visit www.risaa.org for details.

Where’s the bite

Freshwater fishing continues to be very strong.  “A customer caught a 3.5 pound largemouth bass at Brickyard Pond in Barrington this week.” said John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, Riverside.  “Anglers are doing very well with largemouth bass, we sold a lot of shiners this weekend.” said Craig Mancini of Continental Bait & Tackle, Cranston.  Mancini said, “Trout fishing has been better than it has been in a long time.  Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait & Tackle, Westerly said, “Trout fishing at Carolina Trout Pond and Meadowbrook Pond (both in Richmond) has been great but the rivers have been a bit too high for anglers.”  John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “Opening Day’s weather discouraged some anglers from fishing so Willet Avenue Pond, Riverside is still holding a lot of fish with anglers limiting out there."  “Trout fishing is very good at Melville in Portsmouth.  PowerBait is the bait of choice with spoons working good at Lincoln Woods for one customer.” said Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren.  Gil Bell of Charlestown caught a four pound, 25” chain pickerel at Watchaug Pond, Charlestown last week using a Sutton Frisby Spoon.

Tautog fishing season opened up Saturday, April 15.  Some anglers target them this weekend with poor results as it was quite windy this weekend.  Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait & Tackle said, “We did not have many customers target tautog, things should get going later this week.”  Many Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “Customers targeted tautog at Stone Bridge, Wharf Tavern and other places but did not get a bite.”  Fishing further up the Bay was not good either, John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle said, “A customer fished the Nayatt Point area for tautog but the wind picked up and he came back, he had a cold of good bites but no fish.  Others targeted Wharf Tavern, Jamestown and Newport but we haven’t back from them yet."

Striped bass fishing has not been very active.   “Things have not started to percolate yet in the salt ponds.  Once the worm hatches start the striped bass will start to come around in mass.  We have had a few reports of schoolies being caught but I am not sure they are new bass or just hold-overs from last year.” said Mike Cardinal of Cardinal Bait & tackle.  Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown said, “Angers are catching fish at the West Wall but it is still spotty.  Fish are still being taken in the Narrow River, Narragansett but these fish are likely striped bass hold-overs from last year.”  Dave Henault said, “Capt. Billy Silvia (while quahogging) saw about 20 striped bass move though Ohio Ledge on Tuesday. So the bass are in the Bay.  Striped bass fishing at the West Wall of the Harbor of Refuge in South Kingstown has been spotty.  Tuesday was a good day there by Wednesday morning with a change of wind was not good. Angler Jay Uhlman caught a nice size school bass at the Goat Island Causeway in Newport Tuesday night when squid fishing.  He caught seven squid that night.”

Cod fishing is still slow but picking up.  The hope is that the volume of bait seen on the fishing grounds will continue to attract fish.   Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina said, “Cod fishing is hit or miss.  One customer fished the south side of Cox’s Ledge with two friends and came back with 30 nice fish, yet other have come back with one or two fish.  You just have to be in the right place at the right time.” 

Spring fishing is hot… time to cast a line

 Michael Laboissioniere of North Providence with a 2 pound trout he caught at Olney Pond, Lincoln.

Alicia DeAngelis caught her limit of trout (five fish) in just a couple of hours at Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown.  “She used PowerBait fished on size 14 snelled treble hooks eighteen inches above a bass sinker.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle. 

 Rich Andrews with a 27”, three pound trout he caught opening day.  Trout seemed larger this year.

The RI Party & Charter Boat Association donated cash and canned goods to the Johnnycake Center food bank as part of their annual meeting Sunday at Spain’s Restaurant, Narragansett.  In photo:  Captains John Rainone, past board president; Steve Anderson, vice president; Andy Dangelo, treasure; Paul Johnson, secretary and Rick Bellavance, president.  

Late start OK: John Soloyna of Warwick caught this rainbow and brown trout within an hour after he started to fish around noon Saturday.

Spring fishing is hot… time to cast a line

It’s spring and the fishing is great. Opening day of the freshwater fishing season was a big hit, tautog season opens Saturday, April 15 and anglers are catching school striped bass in southern Rhode Island saltwater ponds, coves and rivers.

Tautog season opens

Tautog fishing is fun.  I like to relax with friends and family, shoot the breeze and enjoy a great Rhode Island fishery all at the same time.  Tautog (or Blackfish) is a great eating fish too with a dense whitish meat.  The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) regulates tautog fishing with three seasons. 

The spring tautog season opens Saturday, April 15 and ends May 31 with a three fish/person/day limit; fishing reopens August 1 to October 14 with a three fish/person/day limit; and then the late fall/winter season runs from October 15 to December 15 with a six fish/person/day limit. 

A fishery-wide closure, to protect tautog during their spawning period, is in effect from June 1 to July 31.  At all times when the fishery is open, there is a limit of 10 fish/vessel daily limit. Party and charter boats are not subject to the 10 fish/vessel limit. 

You have to be over or near structure (rocks, piers, wrecks, ledge, humps or holes, etc.) to catch tautog so anglers use a number of strategies to ensure their vessel stays in position.  The trick is positioning the vessel without getting your anchor stuck in rock.  I’ve lost three anchors over the years which can cost as much as $300 to $500 depending on the type of anchor and chain.

Anglers often use a grappling hook anchor make of rebar to tautog fish. The soft rods allow the anchor to bend if it should get caught in structure.  Capt. Sherriff said, “Another method used by anglers is to tie a line to the end of their Danforth or grappling hook anchor (opposite the chain end) and attach a float to the other end of the line”.  When ready to leave they pick up the float and line which pulls the anchor out of the structure the same way it went in.

I use an anchor retrieval system (www.westmarine.com ) which cost about $100.  A float on a six foot line is attached to your anchor line with a sliding metal ring.  When the vessel is pulled forward toward and beyond the anchor the ring eventually works its way down to the anchor and the float brings the anchor to the surface where you can retrieve it off the stern.  The trick is not getting the anchor line caught in your prop as you move forward toward and beyond the anchor.

Another method that worked well for me when I had a smaller center console was the use of a cinder block as an anchor. The cinder block costs about $1.50.  However, it often does not hold in strong current or seas and does not work well with large or heavy vessels.

Anchoring over structure takes some practice too. Locate a rock pile with electronics, estimate wind/drift direction and anchor up current from where you want to fish and drift back to the spot as the anchor is setting.  Once in position, fish all sides of the boat casting a bit to cover as much area as you can.  If still no bites, let some anchor line out a couple of times to change your position, if still no bites it is time to move the vessel. 

Watch for more tautog fishing tips next week.

Freshwater season Opening Day big hit

If you missed Opening Day Saturday it is OK as there are plenty of fish left to catch.  Jeremy Barton of Narragansett said, “There weren’t nearly as many anglers fishing Saturday morning at Silver Spring Lake in North Kingstown but the fishing was very good. And as you can see you have a lot more elbow room fishing from shore.”

Not only was the fishing good but the size of the stocked trout were larger than usual. Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said stocking efforts were successful, “We had a father/son and an uncle/ nephew team come in for photographs for our Facebook page.  All four of them limited out on trout (five fish/person).  Trout fishing was good at Melville Pond, Portsmouth and Willet Avenue Pond, Riverside.”

Fishing after the start of opening day did not deter John Soloyna of Warwick who caught a nice rainbow trout and a brown trout in about 60 minutes when he started fishing a 1:00 p.m.  And, Tim Jacobs of Richmond who caught two nice rainbow trout at 2:00 p.m. said, “I’m using a trout spinner bait with a very slow retrieve rate.” Soloyna landed two fish in five minutes as I watched him from shore,

Visit www.dem.ri.gov for licensing information and locations, a list of waterways that have been stocked with trout and details on regulations.

Striped bass coming on strong

On-the-Water magazine’s striped bass migration tracker (www.onthewater.com/striper-migration-map) shows school striped bass are working their way north up the Connecticut coastline with keeper fish being caught off New York. Jason Howell of Narragansett fished the Narrow River in Narragansett this weekend and landed school striped bass. 

Rhody Fly Rodders meeting

The Rhody Fly Rodders will hold their Annual Cookout Get-Together Tuesday, April 18^th, 6;00 p.m. at the Riverside Sportsmen’s Association, 19 Mohawk Drive, East Providence.  Meeting will include fly casting as well as the continuation of the striped bass movie ‘Running the Coast’ that was first shown last month. Flies will be on sale with money donated to 'Project Healing Waters’.  Contact Peter Nilsen, president, with questions at pdfish@fullchannel.net .

Where’s the bite

Striped bass. School striped bass ae being caught in southern coastal ponds and rivers like Narrow River, Narragansett.  However, it is early and hard to tell if these are migrating fish or hold-over fish from the winter. 

Tautog season opens April 15 (see above article).

“Cod fishing has been spotty and the water was cloudy from storms earlier in the week.” said Dianne Valerien of the Seven B’s Party Boat.  Capt. Matt Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “We fished last week but the water was still churned up from last weekend's big storm. Fishing was quite slow with a few handfuls of market cod fish up to 8 lbs. However, tons of bait were noted on the local grounds which is always a good sign.”

Freshwater fishing has been focused on trout and opening day (see above story). However, early signs are that the largemouth bite is good and picking up too.