Bluefin tuna bite explodes close to shore

The giant bluefin tuna fishing exploded last week. just as the commercial bluefin tuna fishery closed until new quota is available Oct. 1. Recreational permit holders are not impacted by the commercial closure mentioned below, and the school bluefin tuna bite is still very good.

Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, said, “The giant bluefin tuna bite is crazy. Multiple fish caught at the Gully, Habbs Ledge at the Butterfish Hole, and last Wednesday multiple giants were caught just two miles off Scarbrough Beach, Narragansett. The fish were feeding behind trawlers as they brought their nets up. They have been feeding on Atlantic menhaden. Three giants were weighed in at our dock all at the same time Wednesday afternoon. Fish being caught last week were all sizes, with the largest being in the 800-plus-pound range.”

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, said, “Tuna fishing last week was great, with more overs showing up. Both jigging and trolling seem to be producing.”

Hats off to Trout Unlimited and DEM

Rhode Island Trout Unlimited and the Department of Environmental Management received a $190,000 2024 SNEP grant for their joint project, engineering for the removal of Breakheart Pond Dam in the Arcadia Management Area, Richmond.

Glenn Place, president of the Rhode Island Trout Unlimited Chapter, said, “We can proudly say that this grant, along with grants from the Coastal Resource Management Council, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and in-kind donations from RIDEM and like-minded organizations, we now have over $350,000.00 available for the assessment and permitting for the removal of Breakheart Dam.”

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishery closure

The commercial fishing General Category Bluefin Tuna fishery closed from Sept. 12 to Sept. 30. Based on the best available landings information, the 188.3-mt quota for the September time period is projected to be reached and exceeded shortly.

This closure affects Atlantic Tunas General category permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna.

Commercial fishermen aboard vessels with an Atlantic Tunas General category or Highly Migratory Species Charter/Headboat permit may not retain, possess, or land large, medium or giant Atlantic bluefin tuna. Previously-designated restricted-fishing days for the rest of the September time period will be waived when this closure is in effect.

Note: recreational fishing permit holds are not affected by this closure.

Changes to Local Notice to Mariners and Light Lists

The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center announced this week upcoming changes to the Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and the Light List, as part of their efforts to modernize and improve the accessibility, accuracy, and overall user experience for mariners and other stakeholders.

The Local Notice to Mariners and the Light List are used to relate current navigational changes and important navigational notices.

The Coast Guard plans to transition from using NOAA Paper Chart Numbers, editions and dates to disseminating Marketing Safety Information to using Official Waterway Names. The LNM and Light List data will now be available in a geospatial format, which will allow you to visualize information interactively on a map/chart.

You can use a mouse wheel or the +/- buttons in the upper left portion of the screen to zoom in or out and navigate to your desired area on the map/chart. Once the area is displayed, you can generate a PDF of the LNM or Light List for that specific area, which you can then save and/or print.

Alternatively, you can use a fillable form on our website to select your waterway by name from the Light List and generate the LNM or Light List.

The transition to the modernized LNM and Light List platform (the Navigation Center website) will be completed by Monday, Sept. 30. Visit the Navigation Center at Home | Navigation Center (uscg.gov).

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass, bluefish, bonito: Tom Olson of Ponaug Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said, “Customers are catching keepers and school bass in the Bay now. One angler hooked up with two 35” stripers south of Hope Island, with bass also being caught in the East Passage. We also had a good bonito bite at the Sakonnet River this week.”

“The fall striped bass season is off to a great start. Some really great nights and mornings across the south shore. The amount of bait is off the charts and a great mix of sizes for bass. From 10-inch school striped bass up to 40-inch fish. Bonito are still plentiful, popping up very randomly. Some customers are getting them from shore as well. Still not an abundance of Albies. We are hoping they make a late push this year,” said Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown.

East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, said, “Mackerel, squid and bunker are providing plentiful forage for stripers preparing for the southern migration. Most stripers caught recently have been swimming in an east tide and are being described as fat. “Paulie the Painter,” Gravina and Tim “Hollywood” Petracca caught close to 20 bass up to 35 inches with various lures at every level of the water column. Hot lures this week included the Bill Hurley Canal Killer, Al Gags paddle tail jig, Yo-Zuri twitch bait & Striper Gear Rocket.”

Fluke (summer flounder),
black sea bass and scup

The black sea bass bite is still good, however the summer flounder (fluke) bite is starting to fade. Angler Kevin Fetzer of East Greenwich fished with Joe Klinger of South Kingstown at Austin Hollow off Jamestown and boated a 24”, 5.2-pound fluke. Fetzer said, “All the other fish we caught were undersized, including several fluke, scup and black sea bass.”

“Fluke and sea bass fishing is starting to taper off,” said Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle.

Tautog

Angler John Migliori of Aquidneck Island caught a 7.46-pound, 21” tautog this weekend from shore. It was his first keeper of the year.

Tom Olson of Ponaug Bait & Tackle, said, “Kayak angler Tom Houle continues to hook up with tautog off Jamestown and Wickford.”

Declan O’Donnell said, “Tautog fishing has been really good, with most boats able to catch their limit. A lot of smaller fish, but a few big ones mixed in.”

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.