No Fluke

Eagle Scout project helps clean up fishing spots

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“I will always be prepared for anything that may come my way now and I can thank Troop 2, Bristol, Rhode Island,” said Nathan Simas, who worked on a fishing line receptacle project as part of his Eagle Scott journey.
Nathan built and erected five line receptacles in his home town of Bristol. The locations were Mount Hope Boat Ramp, Independence Park, The Narrows, Bristol Marina, and the State Street Dock.

The project was funded in part by a $500 grant from the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Foundation.

Nathan said, “The goal of my project was to make Bristol a cleaner environment for fisher men and women of all ages. I had seen large amounts of monofilament line being left at precious local fishing spots. Monofilament line can take up to 600 years to degrade. Most sea life and land life don't live anywhere close to 600 years so I would have the opportunity to change how long they may be living by setting up a simple and cost effective fix.”

“I think my main takeaway was that no matter how much the Eagle Scout project is a huge deal. Being able to help my community and make it a more fishing friendly environment is a bigger help than any rank that Boy Scouts could provide for me.”

Fishing before and after storms

Here are some tips for fishing before and after storms.

First, be safe. Winds, heavy rains and high tides create fast moving water along the coastal shoreline. Anglers can easily lose their footing or get washed in by a wave. So be safe and pass on fishing if the sea is too rough.
Storms can create turbid and cloudy water decreasing visibility so the fish cannot see your lure or bait. However, storms can also create fishing opportunities with reefs, clam and mussel beds that get torn up with broken shells providing a feeding ground for many of the fish we target.
Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle Providence said, “Two of our staff had a great day of fishing at Pt. Judith Light the day before the storm hit, they caught slot and above slot striped bass from the surf. Additionally the storm may push more warm water our way — warm water that could hold bluefin tuna, Atlantic bonito and false albacore. We will have to wait and see.”

East End Eddie Doherty said, “Surfcasters did well on the Cape Cod Canal just before Henri with Saturday bringing the most incredible striper blitz in years. Acres of fish riding the east tide at first light ripped up the surface producing a symphony of loud splashes and breaks! Fish up to 50 inches but thousands of 27-33 inch bass, which bodes well for the future of the fishery.”

“Fishing the day after the Henri was very good for shore anglers. Any point of land along our southern coastal beaches that had frothy water breaking around it was holding striped bass. Heavier shinny lures like Deadly Dicks were used with success. The bait gets tossed around and the striped bass took advantage of conditions,” said Harrison Gatch of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly.

Many believe the fish can feel barometric pressure. So if it drops they sense things are about to turn bad so it triggers an eating frenzy before a storm.

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass, bluefish and false albacore. Harrison Gatch of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said, “Slot limit fish (28” to less than 35”) were being caught all along the beaches Monday morning with anglers tossing their lures into the frothy surf.” Allen Newell of Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay, said, “The bass bite on the Cape Cod Canal was very good Wednesday with fish on the surface chasing large baits such as squid and mackerel.” Fishing for bluefish in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay has been very good. On a charter Sunday we hooked up with 14 bluefish with striped bass mixed in on the surface. The area between Quonset, Hope Island and Jamestown exploded with the largest schools of bluefish we have seen in the bay for some time. Jeff Smith reports on the RI Saltwater Anglers Association blog, “Hunted for Albies from Beavertail to Scarborough on Sunday. Headed back up towards Narragansett Bay and when the tide finally started to move we got some fish boils west of Whale Rock. They were a mostly blues with a few stripers mixed in. Some schools of albies too but they were not around long. I managed to hook up with one Albie, but lost him at the boat. Headed back up the West Passage around 10:00 a.m. At first nothing going on but a few sporadic fish surfacing, but no hook ups. Then around 10:30 the water out in front of Quonset started to boil with tons of birds and surface action all around. Turns out to be mostly blues, a few bass with some real gator blues. The largest sized blues I have seen in the bay in quite some time. Action died down around noon. We were throwing a few plugs and I caught most everything on a green epoxy jig.”

Summer flounder, black area bass and scup. The fluke and black sea bass bite off Newport was good last week if you could fish around rough sea condition. Caught two nice keeper fluke to 22” between the Fountain and Brenton Reef of Newport after the storm with a strong black sea bass bite.
Tautog. Allen Newell of Red Top Sporting Goods, said, “We have had a strong tautog and black sea bass bite on Buzzards Bay.”

Dave Monti holds a captain’s master 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.

Dave Monti

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