Fishing Report: Young anglers learn the joy of 'catching'

“That’s a good fish!” “I got a black sea bass. …I am so proud of myself.” “Fish on!”

Those are some of the comments campers made at the youth fishing camp sponsored by the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and the Department of Environmental Management held early in July at Rocky Point State Park in Warwick.

The campers, ages 7 to 12, traveled from throughout the state. Camping slots were awarded free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis and are funded by RISAA, the DEM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I didn’t know how to fish and now I am catching fish," said Kaiden King, 9, of Providence.

Many of the campers had never fished or been out on the water in a boat.

“Fishing appeals to our sense of adventure, teaches us patience and how to take care of the environment," said Greg Vespe, executive director of RISAA. "We learned that the children love to fish, so we have included fishing time from shore, on private vessels and one day we traveled to Point Judith to fish on the Seven B’s party boat.

“The fishing gods were in our favor this year. We had great weather and fishing all three days.”

Terrence Gray, director of the DEM, said, “We are excited to partner with RISAA on their fifth annual Youth Fishing Camp at Rocky Point. The camp provides hands-on opportunities for children to get outdoors and experience the thrill of casting a line and reeling in that first fish on our beautiful Narragansett Bay. It is through efforts like this that we forge the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Topics covered over the three-day camp included fish identification, conservation, use of spinning and conventional gear and tackle, basic marine biology, how and why to use different baits and lures, boating safety, casting from shore and fishing from private boats as well as a party or charter boat.

For camp videos, one for each day, visit YouTube at https://youtu.be/VbGRASg1I8U.

Now's the time to catch black sea bass

The black sea bass bite is on with anglers catching great keepers in the 20-inch range. The bite has been good in Buzzards Bay, off the Sakonnet River, off Newport and at Block Island. So now is the time to try to catch some for your dinner plate, as they are a great fish for eating.

"We took our daughter and friend to the Block Island Wind Farm for black sea bass Saturday afternoon," angler Paul Boutiette said. "We stopped at the last windmill at the two humps and drifted over those spots all day and caught nearly our limit of nice black sea bass. Nonstop action all day! No dogfish.”

The minimum size for black sea bass is 16 inches. In Massachusetts, the limit is four fish/person/day through Sept. 4. In Rhode Island, the limit is two fish/person/day through Sept. 1 when the limit changes to three fish/person/day through Dec. 31 for private anglers. (Charter boat regulations are different.)

Black sea bass are primarily black (sounds odd), but they have the ability to adjust their color to blend in with the bottom with colors that include gray, brown, black and deep indigo hue. They spend most of their time near the bottom and can be found near rocky areas, jetties, rips and, like a lot of bottom fish, they like structure. The larger males are generally in deeper water.

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass and bluefish. “There are still some striped bass in the [Cape Cod] Canal, but you really have to work for them," said "East End" Eddie Doherty. "Don 'Hawkeye' Willis got into some top-water action catching two slots on his 3-ounce Guppy JoBo Jr. yellow pencil just before the morning slack tide turned west.” Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina in South Kingstown reported: “Striped bass fishing is on fire. Anglers are catching fish from the jetties, in estuaries and at Block Island.”  Jonathan Woodman of Watch Hill Outfitters said: “The bite remains very strong off Westerly and Watch Hill reefs — the best it has been in a few years.”  Anglers continue to catch striped bass in Narragansett Bay as well as off Newport with a good bite at Block Island also.

Summer flounder (fluke) fishing is improving but remains spotty. Steve Burstein of North Kingstown caught a 23-inch fluke when fishing the south side of the Newport Bridge but no other keepers were caught. He was using a plastic squid rig made by Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait tipped with a strip of squid and silverside. “The fluke bite has not been good along the southern coastal shore," Woodman said, "however, things are just starting to pick up along Fishers Island.” Summer flounder have been taken in the mid-Narragansett Bay area around Warwick Light but anglers are having to work for them picking through a lot of shorts to catch a keeper. “The fluke bite around Block Island is hit or miss and anglers are catching few keepers along the coastal shore," said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina.

Black sea bass and scup. Some nice-sized, 20-plus-inch fish are being caught off the Sakonnet River and off Newport but large fish are hard to come by. Most fish being taken are shorts. The scup bite remains very strong anywhere there is structure like ledges and jetties and water movement. Rocky Point in Warwick, Colt State Park in Bristol and Sabin Point in East Providence have a good scup bite.

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 noflukefishing.com. 

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misspelled one of the camper's names in a photo caption.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Fishing Report: Young anglers learn the joy of the catch at a free camp