No Fluke

Fishing camp is a hoot

Posted

June marks the second year of a highly successful fishing camp for youth that will take place Tuesday, June 27 through Thursday, June 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Rocky Point State Park.

The three day camp, sponsored by the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), will host 50 children from seven to fourteen years old.

Steve Medeiros, RISAA president said, “On the first day participants will fish from shore, a fluke fishing trip on the Seven B’s Party boat out of Galilee is planned for day two, and participants will fish on RISAA member recreational vessels on the third day in the Greenwich Bay, Warwick Neck and Rocky Point areas.”

The same children attend all three days of the camp split into groups by age and fishing experience. There is no cost for children to participate and lunch is provided, however, parents must complete and sign all participation forms, provide their child with proper attire for an outdoor fishing camp and weather conditions and must provide transportation for children each day to and from Rocky Point State Park.
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 RISAA, DEM, U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the City of Warwick. Brewers Marina in Warwick Cove is donating dock space for 20 vessels that will be used for fishing at camp.

There is limited camp space available, to obtain an application to the Youth Fishing Camp, send an email to FishingCamp@risaa.org.

Warming water changing fish location

A study published in Progress in Oceanography titled “Marine species distribution shifts on the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf under continued ocean warming”, shows that some fish species are gaining more natural habitat in northern regions and others are losing suitable habitat.

Those gaining habitat include spiny dogfish, summer flounder, black sea bass, and lobsters. Yet we are losing suitable habitat for such species as American cod, haddock, thorny skate and Acadian redfish because the water is too warm and the fish are moving north or to deeper water.

The projections indicate that as species shift from one management jurisdiction to another, or span state and federal jurisdictions, there will be an increased need for collaboration among management groups to set quotas and establish allocations.

Quotas and allocations are developed by using historical catch information, however if fish are leaving or entering an area due to climate change and warming water that historical data may not be as applicable as it was in the past.

“Species concentrated in the Gulf of Maine, where species have shifted to deeper water rather than northward, may be more likely to experience a significant decline in suitable habitat and move out of the region altogether. Given the historical changes observed on the Northeast Shelf over the past five decades and confidence in the projection of continued ocean warming in the region, it is likely there will be major changes within this ecosystem.” said lead author Kristin Kleisner, formerly of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)‘s Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment Branch and now a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.
A copy of the article can be found at sciencedirect.com.

DEM to hold fly fishing workshops

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will hold three day fly fishing workshops on Monday, June 12, 19 and 26, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Coventry Public Library, 1672 Flat River Road, Coventry and on Wednesday, June 14, 21 and 28, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Greenville Public Library, 573 Putnam Pike, Greenville. Instruction and equipment needed will be covered with all gear provided. However, participants are welcome to bring their own gear. Adults and children 10 and older are invited to attend. Space is limited. To register contact Scott Travers at scott.travers@dem.gov.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass. I haven’t heard of fifty pound fish being caught in the bay in a long time but this week they were. Capt. Randy Bagwell of River Rebel Charters weighted in a 50 pound striped bass caught in Mt. Hope Bay. Manny Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, said “Randy came in with his customer to weigh and clean the fish; they were greeting customers at the door asking if anyone wanted some bass fillets.” Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, “A customer sent me a picture of a 53 pound fish caught in the bay and we have some very nice bass in the 30 pound range being caught in the Providence and Seekonk rivers. There are big bluefish mixed in with the bass,” Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly, said, “Bass are on the reefs eating squid and the worm hatches in South County Ponds (like Ninigret Pound) are still going strong on warm days. We also have a lot of Atlantic menhaden and bass in the Pawcatuck River.”
Summer flounder (fluke fishing). I fished the Newport Bridge area with a slow bite and a lot of shorts this week. Anglers fishing the southern coastal shore experienced mixed fishing. Wade said, “Fluke fishing at Fisher’s Island to Misquamicut Beach has been good. Customer Mike Lacz landed a 27” fluke off Misquamicut this week.” Fish for fluke in the Bay is spotty. Anglers are catching fish but not in large numbers. Angler Rich Hittinger said the bite was good a Block island catching fluke to 7.8 pounds last Thursday. Capt. Frank Blount, of the Frances Fleet said, “A lot of quality fish and a lot of limit catches. On Saturday's trip Capt. Rich found a hungry pile of nice size sea bass to four pounds limiting the boat out.”

Scup. “We had a customer catch a 17” scup off the Stone Bridge this week with some nice fish being off of Colt State Park, Bristol,” said Macedo. “The big news of the week is that scup are in… anglers are catching them off Tiverton and Greenwich Bay,” said Henault.

Sea robins. More anglers are keeping them to eat. Cut off their tails and fillet them. They have a delicious white meat. In Europe sea robins are a major ingredient in bouillabaisse. I have cleaned them for many charter customers and all have said they loved the way they tasted.

Black sea bass bite is on. The season opened May 25 and fish are being caught with anglers limiting out when fluke fishing.

Freshwater fishing continues to remain strong. “Not many anglers are targeting trout but those that are continue to catch them. And, we have a lot of anglers catching good numbers of largemouth bass. They may not be as large as last year but the bite is stronger,” said Henault.

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shellfishing for over 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. He is a RISAA board member, a member of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association and a member of the RI Marine Fisheries Council. Contact or forward fishing news and photos to Capt. Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net or visit his website at noflukefishing.com.

No Fluke, Capt. Dave Monti

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