No Fluke

Did you see that swirl?

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It happens in May and June in New England. The water in our coves becomes alive with striped bass swirling on the surface and bluefish crashing cinder worms that are dancing on the surface. It's very much a sight- fishing experience. You can see the worms and the striped bass feeding on the surface.

Cinder worms are small spawning worms almost tadpole like in their movements. They have a wormlike body up top with a tail that wags through the water propelling them in an erratic fashion at fast speeds in circles through the water.

Striped bass (bluefish too) key in on the spawning worms and feed actively on the surface, close enough to the shore to be well in range of anglers casting with spinning reels or wading fly rod fishermen.

Cinder worms are a polychaete (many legs) in the Nereis genus which also includes the sand worm and the common clam worm said Capt. Jon McMurray. Capt McMurray wrote a defining article on worm hatches in the June, 2013 edition of Saltwater Sportsman Magazine titled "Striper fishing during the cinder worm hatch."

Like all Nereis worms, cinder worms are mud burrowers. They swim to the surface to release their sperm and eggs in frenzy. So the "hatch" is actually a spawning event rather than a "hatching" event.

If you are a fly fisherman and want to be introduced to fishing the cinder worm hatch this year you are in luck. Noted expert fly fishermen Dave Pollack and Capt. Ray Stachelek along with many fly fishing club volunteers are facilitating an instructional program with the aid of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

The first two sessions are devoted strictly to tying flies (cinder worm emergence patterns). There is also a session that is devoted to fishing with the flies on Ninigret Pond. The program, which is free, attracts anglers from throughout the Northeast and is usually oversubscribed so make your reservation today.

This year fly tying is scheduled on two weekday nights Tuesday, April 28 and Monday, May 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the US Fish &Wildlife Service Kettle Pond Nature Center in Charlestown, RI. Fishing is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 from 4:00 p.m. to dark at the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown, RI. Novices as well as experienced fly fishers are welcome. Fly tying tools and materials, and fly rod outfits, are provided on request as needed but angles must bring their own waders.

The class enrollment is limited to 40 students, on a first come, first served basis. The program is free of charge, but pre-registration is required for all students. For further information and registration contact Janis Nepshinsky at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at 401-364-9124, ext. 28 or Janis_Nepshinsky@fws.gov.

If you are interested in instructing this year, contact Dave Pollack at dpollipo@cox.net or Ray Stachelek at castaflycharters@cox.net.

Freshwater fishing workshop and public

hearing

The Department of Environmental Management's (DEM) Division of Fish & Wildlife will hold a public workshop and public hearing in Providence on March 30 to discuss proposed amendments to Section 1.16 of the 2015-2016 Freshwater Fishing Regulations - Permit Requirements for Organizational Group Activities.

The modifications are related to permit requirements for fishing tournaments and large organizational group activities at freshwater boat ramps and access areas. Permits are not required for non-organizational, informal, or casual gatherings.

DEM developed the proposed regulations with input from anglers, kayakers, canoeists and other boaters. The free permits are needed because of the huge popularity of water recreation in our state, and the limited access and parking areas. Organizations conducting large events or fishing tournaments need extra space for vehicles, boat trailers and buses.

The public workshop and hearing will be held in Room 300 at DEM Headquarters located at 235 Promenade Street in Providence. The workshop will start at 6:00 p.m., followed by the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. The Department is appreciative of the assistance and input from freshwater tournament and paddling organizations and looks forward to their attendance.

The annual regulatory workshops and hearings for the hunting (2015- 2016) and freshwater fishing (2017-2018) seasons will be held later this spring on dates yet to be announced.

Angler of the Year

For the second year in a row Lary Norin of Cumberland was awarded Angler of the Year and Joseph Scrofani, Jr. Junior Angler of the Year by the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) at their annual banquet. Both anglers won awards in multiple species categories for both shore and boat modes to compete for their Angler of the Year awards.

An Abundant Future

of Recreational Fishing

Recreational saltwater fishing contributes $208-million to the Rhode Island economy annually and supports 2,000 jobs, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Saltwater fishing helps drive tourism as one of the Ocean State's major economic engines.

How will we manage the resource with a changing ecosystem? How will we adapt to climate change (rising and warming water) and shifts in the type and abundance fish species in our waters? These questions and a host of other ecosystem based fisheries management challenges will be addressed at the 2015 Southern New England Recreational Fishing Symposium on March 24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Warwick.

Invited scientists, fishery managers, businesses that depend on recreational fishing and recreational fishers will attend the day-long symposium, "An Abundant Future of Recreational Fishing in Southern New England."

The Symposium is sponsored by the R.I. Saltwater Anglers Foundation, Inc.; the University of Rhode Island Coastal Institute; and The Pew Charitable Trusts. For information about this invitation only event contact RISAA at 826 2121.

Where's the bite

Cod fishing will hopefully get kick- started again this week as vessels have not gotten out much due to bad weather. Capt. Frank Blount of the Frances Fleet reports, "Warmer spring weather will hopefully bring back some bait and school cod fish. We are leaving the dock at 5:00 a.m. when weather and interest permits but calling the office to make a reservation is recommended." Angler Lary Norin fished the Island Current party boat last week and had some very good luck, Larry said, "We were in about 180 feet of water and I used freshly shucked clams all day. Only a few people tried jigging but bait was definitely the way to go. I used a simple hand tied hi-lo rig with no bells or whistles just 2 hooks a 10 oz bank sinker and a barrel swivel and quick link attached to a mono top shot, then to braid. I caught over 30 fish. Close to half were cod and mostly keepers. I took home my limit of 10 and also caught and brought home some ling, ocean pout and bergals/choggies/ocean perch. The biggest bergal was about 16 inches and 3 lbs. All of the keeper cod were about 4 lbs."

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain's master license and a charter fishing license. Contact or forward fishing news and photos to Capt. Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net or visit his website at www.noflukefishing.com.

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