The 2010 Sport Fishing Season is officially over for Captain Sheriff's Fishing Charters. The fishing season in New England is too short unless you want to brave the cold freezing temperatures from December to March.
2010 proved to be a great year for catches and charters of certain fish species while some were not as good due to the fishery and recessed economy. Striped Bass remained the most popular fish sought after in New England for fishing charters. Bluefish, Fluke, Seabass, Tautog, Tuna, False Albacore and Bonito, Scup and Shark seem to follow in order of client interest. I believe that sport fishing charters for Shark was affected by the recessed economy and the over-harvesting of Sharks in the commercial industry worldwide. I believe the thought of harvesting Sharks among our population is becoming unpopular. The reality is that catch and release is very popular among charter captains since the most common shark in our waters is the Blue Shark which is not good for human consumption.Due to this realization and the economy, Captain Sheriff did not charter for any Sharks in the 2010 season. However, I did fish recreational fish on a few occasions and hooked up with plenty of Blue Sharks which were released unharmed.
Striped Bass Fishing was red hot for a short time in the early Spring in Narragansett Bay. Overall, bait (pogies) was in short supply and the bite was not consistent. The bite was great at Block Island from mid May to September. Great Striper fishing was at the North Rip/ Clayhead in the early part of the season and then the consistent pattern moved to the Southwest area of Block Island. A good bite was also working the Southeast portion of the Island on live bait. The late fall return of Striped bass was not that great along the Rhode Island's shore. There was a good bite in the Fall for Stripers on the Southwest side of Block Island. Catches of False Albacore was sporadic this Fall in the North Rip and Rhode Island's southern shoreline.
Tautog/Blackfish was the surprise fish of the year. While D.E.M changed the possession limits in mid season of the Fall due to the concern of overall health of this fishery, great catches of both numbers of fish caught and size were experienced. In addition, Narragansett Bay was red hot for several weeks before Tautogs moved out to deeper water of the south shore and the waters of Block Island.
Cod Fish were also a surprise catch to many anglers such as myself while Tautog fishing. Keeper cod were hitting on green crabs when fishing for Tautog along the south shore and Block Island.It has been many many years since Cod fishing has been productive inshore.
Seabass fishing was good around the rocky areas of the south shore and Southwest side of Block Island as well.
Scup fishing was great with hubcap sized fish in the later portion of the season. While any rocky area is typically productive, Watch Hill reefs and Block Island proved to be were very good areas.
Come to the website and check out some of our previous newsletters for fishing tips and techniques. http://www.fishingchartersri.com/newsletters.html
