Fishing frenzy: Anglers and fish were hungry for action this year

This is the last fishing column for the season. Plans call for it to be picked up again in March. So, here is a review of fishing in 2021 and what might be in store for anglers in 2022.

Bluefin tuna and a great abundance

First, the bluefin tuna bite off Rhode Island and Massachusetts was outstanding in 2021, the best in years. Anglers who never fished for the species bought gear and fished for school bluefin tuna with success. School tuna were all around Block Island and giant bluefin tuna in the 600- to 700-pound range were caught a mile or so off Narragansett.

The bluefin season culminated with Brandon Hagopian and Jenna Lombardo of Cranston catching a 1,000-pound giant bluefin tuna off Cape Cod on their 24-foot center console.

A good question would be why are these fish here in great abundance. The water was warm this year, which brought in a variety of forage fish in great abundance — herring, mackerel of all types, Atlantic menhaden, squid, silversides, bay anchovies, etc. I am no scientist, but warm water, a climate-change impact, brought forge fish close to shore and the bluefin tuna followed. I would expect more of the same to occur next year as warm water and bait continue to move into our area.

An epic tautog fishing season

Another pleasant surprise this year was an epic tautog fishing season. The tautog fishing in our bays, and off our coastal shore from the Sakonnet River to Newport, Jamestown, Point Judith and all along the southern coastal shore was outstanding. The fish were numerous with anglers catching many short fish along with keepers (16 inches or greater).

If certified by the State of Rhode Island, Paul Newman of New Milford, New Jersey, will claim a new Rhode Island tautog record for the 21.57-pound fish he caught off Newport last month when fishing on Tall Tailz Charters.

The fishing pressure on tautog has increased. Where we fish off Newport at a place called The Fountain, there were as many as 50 or 60 boats fishing. In past years, there might have been a dozen. We need to be mindful of these slow-growing fish. Many people, including Capt. BJ Silvia of Middletown, are leading an effort to protect large, older females with great spawning potential by releasing them and advocating for a way to reduce fishing pressure on this species so that we preserve them for our future.

The abundance of black sea bass and scup continued to be a bright spot for anglers. These fish are here in great abundance due to warming water and are expected to be here in abundance again next year. The fear is what happens when the water warms to the point that even these fish move farther north.

On another note...

On the down side, a lack of summer flounder and a shaky striped bass and bluefish bite was discouraging for anglers this year. These species will remain soft as enhanced fishing and overfishing continue to threaten them.

Enhancing summer flounder allowable catch limits along the East Coast has taken its toll on the recreational fishery. Rich Hittinger, acting president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, said he believes that summer flounder fishing has been affected negatively by enhanced harvesting as fish managers have granted commercial fishers unprecedentedly increased catch limits of 30% to 40% the last couple of years.

Striped bass and bluefish are both overfished, according to recent stock assessments, and anglers have experienced fewer of them in the water to catch. Bluefish now have a new Fishery Management Plan and hopefully will rebound as a seven-year rebuilding plan rolls out.

Recruitment of new striped bass has been dismal the last three years, including recent surveys last month of fish born this past year. And the stock assessment is showing the species is overfished. So, both striped bass and bluefish will continue to be tough to catch, not as abundant as in the past, for the next several years until rebuilding plans succeed.

Overall, 2021 was a good year to fish, and 2022 will be, too, but anglers need to continue to apply pressure on fish managers to rebuild fish stocks quickly, particularly in light of climate-change impacts. We need more fish in the water for all to catch, eat and/or release.

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass. “Anglers are catching school bass from the beaches with no reports of bluefish being caught,” said Joe Castaldi of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown. Angler Gil Bell reports catching a 25-inch striped bass on Thanksgiving Day from the surf on a South County beach and another on Tuesday of last week.

Tautog and cod. “Tautog fishing is still good," said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box in Warwick. "A little slower in the Bay but good out in front of Newport. Few anglers are fishing in the cold but those that are fishing are catching keepers.” John Littlefield of Archie’s Bait & Tackle in Providence said: “Tautog fishing slowed but anglers are catching fish off the medical office building at Kettle Point, Riverside, and, out in front of Newport, shore anglers are catching tautog and last week a customer fishing for tautog caught a couple of cod from shore.” Castaldi reported: “The tautog bite is still very good out in front in deeper water.”

Mackerel. “The mackerel are here in Newport," angler John Migliori said. "I caught many mackerel mixed in with a few herring, which are hitting real good also.”

“Freshwater fishing has slowed quite a bit with few anglers fishing at this time," Giddings said. “We had a couple of customers that caught trout in locally stocked ponds last week," Littlefield said. “Customers are catching trout at Barber Pond and Silver Spring Lake," Castaldi said, "with a decent largemouth bass bite in some areas, too.”

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 that focuses on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy and fisheries-related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island Fishing Report: Fish were hungry for action this year