Fall provides so much so this week, we offer opportunities to catch fish and possibly take home a few bucks, celebrate the season, inspect a musket, take in a movie and look inside a deer’s mouth. That’s not bad for the middle of October.
Snug Harbor Marina is hosting a White Chinner Challenge through December 7. If you think you’ll take a few days this fall to find some big tautog, swing by the shop, see Matt or Elisa and join the fun. There’s a five fish per day limit with a sixteen inch minimum size and a ten fish boat limit per day.
There’s no reason to rush the holiday season but since there’s no more Benny’s to fill the aisles with Christmas decorations alongside the Halloween costumes alongside the last boxes of Miracle Grow and baseball mitts, it’s okay to mention a Christmas party.
So, Snug Harbor’s annual holiday party is also on December 7. That’s always a good day. Lots of good people pack the shop, hang upstairs with all the used gear, mingle around with food and drink and generally have a fine time. It’s Christmas in South County all the way and the perfect time to get a deal on a rod/reel combo or some stocking stuffers. For now the shop is open seven days, six to six but you’ll have to use your best judgement on those lousy hard east wind days. They might stay close to home and call it a shore day.
The Narragansett chapter of Trout Unlimited is bringing the 2019 IF4 International Fly Fishing Festival to the Varnum Memorial Armory in East Greenwich on Friday, October 25.
The Varnum Armory in East Greenwich, RI
The movie is nothing shy of absolutely gorgeous; the Armory alone is worth the trip. Inside the high walls and a spotters tower to alert us to enemy incursions is a treasure trove of military and wartime artifacts. The collection is far too extensive to cover completely here but includes uniforms, armor, swords, knives, firearms, posters, clothing, patches and munitions from Colonial America to present day. To see muskets hand crafted in what is now Chepatchet is a special treat if you’re a military or Rhode Island history buff. They have a few hundred military themed posters and rooms full of cases full of reminders of how much time and effort we spend fighting each other.
They even have stocks of more artifacts in a room once relegated for men only. The times have changed indeed. The collection is nothing shy of amazing.
But you’ll also see a movie about fishing. This series of short films highlights different people casting for all sorts of fish in some of the most amazing locations, but more than that, there’s footage of less than exotic waters that are no less amazing. It makes you realize you don’t have to travel a thousand miles to have an epic adventure. TU is proud to show this film as a fundraiser for its cold water conservation efforts around the state. Glenn Place is the president of Chapter 225 and with a core group of solid volunteers, has really pushed an agenda of protecting our resources with organizing roadside cleanups, posting informational signs alerting fishermen to the dangers of eroding shorelines and helping to collect critical environmental data from local rivers and streams. The $20 admission fee helps them continue their work. Seeing the movie and meeting the members might just inspire you to join. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., movie starts at 7:00 p.m.
But back to the Armory. The owners of the museum and building, the Varnum Continentals, is hosting their 10th Annual Craft Beer Tasting. Technically this isn’t really an outdoors event such as we normally cover here but some fishermen and women do enjoy the occasional pint and technically you need to go outside to get inside the Armory so there’s that.
The tasting is on November 23 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and should not be missed.
Go for the Gatling gun, stay for the Whalers Rise. 
Finally this week, RIDEM is looking for volunteers during the first few days of black powder deer season.
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