Summer is for fishing, Fall is for hunting and fishing some more

by | Aug 28, 2019 | Black Sea Bass Fishing, Fishing Clubs, Hunting in Rhode Island, skeet shooting, Striped Bass Fishing

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Don’t let the dates fool ‘ya.

toddcorayer2019

A sweet summer schoolie

Just because deer hunting season opens in a few weeks and the Fall turkey season happens shortly after does not by any means mean that summer is over. Fishing fresh and saltwater is red hot right now and given all the heat we’ve been suffering through, there’s plenty of time to soak up a few more weeks of high sun and long days on the water. Big stripers have been on Southwest Ledge, black sea bass continue to be a tasty diversion when bass are elusive and there’s plenty of time to improve your shot in advance of upland bird and clay pigeon season. 

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If you balance your fishing with some recreational shooting, The Peace Dale Shooting Preserve is hosting a Fall Harvest Shoot on Saturday, September 14 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. This will be the last NSCA shoot of the year so if you’re counting clays, you need to be there. The Peace Dale Preserve does an excellent job providing fun days for sportsmen and women on their always improving property. Just being greeted by Sven, with a real handshake and a genuine smile is enough to convince people that their business is a welcoming environment to hone your skills either on the course or inside their beautiful indoor range. If you’re not the competitive type but love to shoot clay pigeons, you owe it to yourself to spend a few hours in Peace Dale. 

A few days later, on September 21, the very same RIDEM will partner with The Kayak Center in Wickford and RI Kayak Bassin’ for a class on fishing from a kayak. This group is guaranteed to instruct experienced kayakers on new levels of safe operation, casting from a plastic boat and catching way more fish. We’ve spoken about the all three groups before and nothing has changed: they’re all great at what they do and combined, there’s no reason not to take this class to learn from the best.

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Yup, that’s RJ landing another giant

Wait until you hear R.J. Alves hoot and holler when he helps you catch a nice fish and you’ll be hooked. Sorry. Especially if you’ve paddled out in search of fresh or saltwater bass, there’s some bonafide tips about balancing your gear, how to store tackle, how to land a decent fish and perhaps most importantly, how to handle yourself if things go sideways, that will be gleaned from this crew.

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The RI Kayak Bassin’ crew

The fishing class runs from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and you need to register so if you’re interested, contact Kimberly Sullivan at kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov.

For those up in the north country, the Wallum Lake Rod and Gun Club in Harrisville is hosting a Ladies Learn to Shoot program on September 28 at 9:00 am. As the popularity of hunting unfortunately decreases, due likely in part to less available open land and the draw of slumping on a couch “shooting” anything that moves on a 60” flat screen, women are emerging as a welcome source of enthusiasm for not just hunting but for learning how to handle a weapon, how to understand self-protection and enjoying the skill of shooting clays or paper targets.

This NRA Women On Target program will be held in five sessions in just the right conditions to learn the basics of handling and firing. A mix of classroom instruction and live firing in their range, ladies will have access to a .22 long rifle, a .38 Special or 9mm Luger pistol. The cost is just $45 but you need to register beforehand so contact the club or email them for more information at ladies@wallumlakerodgun.com. No matter the season, we have months of outdoors fun and friendly competition ahead of us.

And if the weather holds, we’ll have to decide whether to cast a rod or shoulder a 12 gauge. It could be a lot worse.

Todd Corayer is a lifelong fisherman who lives not far from Rhode Island’s Saugatucket River with his wife, who supports his fishing mainly to get him out of the house and a young son who consistently catches more fish than him.

1 Comment

  1. Jeff DeBuigne

    Another great article Todd, thank you!

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