“We don’t like seeing pylons and turbines in our ocean, but it is better than burning coal or other fossil  fuels to generate electricity,” said Kristen Smith last Wednesday at the mariner safety workshop held at the Wickford Yacht Club, North Kingstown. 

Kristen, her husband Matthew, and about 25 other members of the Wickford Yacht Club, were at the mariner safety workshop conducted by the Better Bay Alliance and wind farm developer Ørsted. Ørsted will be laying cable from their Revolution Wind project offshore up the West Passage of Narragansett Bay, under the Jamestown Bridge to Quonset Point. The purpose of the meeting was to alert mariners about the project, specifically when and where construction activities will be occurring.

Winnie Hagen, Wickford Yacht Club seminar organizer, kicked off the meeting welcoming members and guests, said, “This workshop is part of a continuing series of educational and informative seminars we will be conducting for members.” 

She then handed the meeting over to David Lussier, President of the Better Bay Alliance. Lussier said, “We are not for offshore wind, or against offshore wind, but merely here to promote mariner safety on the Bay. And to share our new website software called Live Chart that allows mariners to track all kinds of boating activities on the Bay including construction projects like this one. This is the fourth such session in which we have participated.” 

Visit https://betterbayalliance.org/live-chart-better-bay-alliance/ for Live Chart.

Claire Hobson and Ross Pearsall of Ørsted’s Marine Affairs Division shared highlights of the Revolution Wind project specially the West Passage cable installation project which will take place this fall and winter. For information on Revolution Wind and the West Passage cable installation visit https://revolution-wind.com/ or email Claire Hobson at claho@orsted.com .

Tautog fishing tips Monday, Sept. 30

Learn some new proven tautog tips Monday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. from Captains Mike Littlefield (Arch Angel Fishing Charters) and Connor MacLeod (Tall Tailz Charters) at the RI Saltwater Anglers Association seminar, West Warwick Elks Lodge, 60 Clyde Street, West Warwick.

Learn some new tips on how to catch more tautog and larger tautog this fall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with food available at the Elks Lodge kitchen from Five-O-Five Catering with the seminar starting at 7 p.m. RISAA members free, non-members are $10 each.

Eat more fish to reduce pollution? 

If you want to make a big dent in climate pollution, eat more fish. Believe it or not, eating fish (or poultry) rather than beef could quickly reduce climate pollution.

Substituting fish or poultry for beef can reduce a person’s daily dietary carbon footprint by about half.  Beef due to its above ground changes in biomass, deforestation, its below ground change in soil carbon and beef’s methane production from cows, and land conversion for grazing and animal feed means beef has a very high carbon footprint. Beef has a bigger overall planet-heating impact than any other food, according to www.OurWorldinData.org.

However, wild harvest fish has a very low ‘Farm” emission as it primarily relates to fuel used by fishing vessels. So, the answer is simple catch and eat more fish.

Learn more about how our food is affecting the climate by visiting NPR’s climate solutions week website at Climate Solutions Week: The future of food : NPR

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater. Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick, said, “Anglers are catching largemouth bass with shiners. Gorton Pond in Warwick and Johnston Pond seem to be producing for anglers.” “The largemouth bass are now feeding close to shore in the mid-day period. Spinner baits and big frogs are working for me as we still have vegetation on the edges,” said Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle.

Striped bass, bluefish, bonito. Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, said, “The stiped bass fall run has been on now for a couple of weeks. We have fish being caught in the Bay and out in front of Newport with bluefish mixed in and a good bonito bite too. We have a lot of sea herring and mullet in the water as well as squid.”

Steven Orefice of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly, said, “The striped bass bite has been hit or miss from  shore with metal lures (that mimic mullet) and bucktails are working. The bonito bite continues to be very too.” 

“School striped bass to slot sized fish (28” to <31”) are being caught by customers trolling umbrella rigs in the Bay and around the bridges,” said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box.

Oliver Zannini of Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown, said, “Customers haven’t been getting out much this week with rough seas but those fishing are catching striped bass and bluefish in Narragansett Bay as well as along the coastal shore.”

Fluke (summer flounder), black sea bass, scup and cod. The black sea bass bite is still good however, the summer flounder (fluke) bite is starting. to fade. Orefice of Wach Hill Outfitters, said, “Black sea bass and scup fishing continues to be outstanding along the southern coastal shore. And a big treat this month anglers are catching keeper cod fish on rock piles and wrecks close to shore.”

“We fished at Cox Ledge in the windfarm area and did well with cod. I caught a 20-pound cod fishing there and in the Block Island Wind Farm area hooked up with mahi,” said Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle.

Tautog. “The tautog bite if very good off Newport now,” said Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle. 

Giddings of the Tackle Box, said, “The bite off Newport is good but anglers are catching them in the Bay now, a customer caught a keeper at Rocky Point Fishing Pier along with a lot of shorts.”

Tuna. Tuna fishing continues to be good. “The bite south of Block Island and Montauk is good with anglers hooking up with 60  school bluefin tuna jigging and chucking,” said Orefice of Watch Hill Outfitters. “The recreational tuna bite for school bluefin tuna is insane. You have to negotiate your way through a hundred boats or so. But anglers are hooking up jigging and chunking,” said Sullivan.

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.