The Fish Wrap Writer Blog
For more than 20 years, we have been learning from and writing about outdoorsmen and women who fish, hunt, hike, pause, and sometimes just look around. Fish Wrap has been published over 480 times. Here you will find articles, interviews, reports, laughs, a few stretched truths (that’s true), and an unfortunate number of obituaries from good folks we have lost.
Please search, enjoy, and let me know if you know someone who we should meet.
Poaching & Beach Access In the House
Our rights to walk a shoreline are being challenged by shoreside landowners who don't want people walking on "their beach" and a lot of "us" have had enough. There is welcome legislation to protect our rights while another bill seeks to slightly sharpen penalties for animal poachers. Both bills affect us and both need a few minutes of your time to let representatives understand how you feel.
Rivers Running Silver
Rivers once ran silver with shad, herring, sturgeon and stripers; now there are calls to rebuild rivers and populations for the abundance our ancestors enjoyed and took for granted. This week, learn how we can turn the tide to support forage fishes and native brook trout.
ASMFC Needs Striper Knowledge
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is calling for comments, observations, recommendations, thoughts on the condition of the striped bass population, our rules governing its protection and harvest or how you feel it should be managed for the greatest abundance. We need you to comment before April 9, 2021.
Fish Wrap Reviews “The Waters Between Us”
“The Waters Between Us” is a contemplative, remarkable view into years of turmoil and growth both personal and global, seasoned with laughter, friendships, brown trout, cheap sleeping bags and insufficient considerations for consequences.
RI’s Ill-Conceived Firearms Legislation
The Rhode Island legislature is considering a slate of ill-conceived firearms bills which together, suffer from zero perspective or understanding of those who legally own and enjoy firearms. The ramifications are sweeping; several appear clearly invasive, others are reactions to unfortunately common events involving firearms.
RI Legislature Reconsiders Confined Hunts
The RI Legislature is reconsidering banning some types of confined hunts where Chronic Wasting Disease may be introduced to local cervid populations like White-tailed deer. The Backcountry Hunters and Anglers support the bill as a way to keep CWD out of Rhode Island.
Eddie Doherty Teaches Canal Surfcasting
With winter in full force, ponds frozen, snow mounds filling intersection and only the heartiest of ice fishermen catching pike and perch, the rest of us may need to go virtual this week. East End Eddie Doherty will take us Cape Cod Canal surfcasting with a Zoom...
It’s Winter and It’s Tip Up Time
Finally, the start of February and we’ve had a our first shots of ice thick enough time to drill holes in and set up our tip ups. Hard to believe, really. Global warming, sagging airstreams sagging, warming oceans turning high snow clouds to low rain showers;...
Julio Silva Shares Surfcasting Tips
Talking Surfcasting Will Ward Off Winter Blahs It's winter. Hunting season is pretty much done, salt ponds are frozen and my desire to fish is slushy at best. The snow keeps coming, making the garage door that much harder to open, which is a fine excuse to not...
Warren Winders’ Wild River
"Wild River", Warren Winders' new collection of poetry and prose, shares how people, waters and fishes struggle, survive, pass and very often teach us how amazing our world really is.
Success With Trees for Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited 225 enjoyed great success with their Trees For Trout program and for the second year in a row, RISAA has cancelled their NE Saltwater Fishing Show because of COVID.
Renew Outdoor Licenses
Now is the time to renew your outdoor hunting and fishing licenses. Saltwater fishing licenses expired in December, freshwater licenses and stamps will expire soon. In this article I explain all the details and what you need to do to be ready to fish or hunt the 2021 season.
Turn A Page, Purge Some Gear
Boats of all sizes are wrapped in slinky white blankets while Monahan’s Pier rests without echoes of Narragansett Surfcasters’ salty tall tales. Seasoned anglers know all that means it’s time: we must respect our proximity to Spring with inevitable tasks of reorganizing and worse, to purge gear. Fishing, hiking, hunting; it matters not.
Ecocyle Your Christmas Trees with Trout Unlimited
Ecocycle Your Christmas Trees and Trout Will Benefit. That 2020 calendar belongs in a recycle bin and your Christmas tree belongs in a river. There’s not much to be done about what we all just went through but this year we’re starting off with a new hope. Since...
A bulldozed Fish Wrap Year in Review
Fish Wrap's 2020 Year in Review of stripers, traditions, social lives, kayaks, tautog, squid, and David Latham. And the lucky bunch of us also ate some amazing blackberries. Even 2020 has positive memories and lessons to learn from.
Fish Wrap Gift List, Top 12 Items
Check out the Fish Wrap Gift List 2020 for the best fishing, shooting and hiking gift ideas to catch fish, hit targets, get outside and have some happy!
Wild Rivers and Walling People Out
Rhode Island has new signs for public access to wild and scenic rivers while Perry Raso asks Rhode Islanders for more public waters for a personal business.
Good News For Stripers
This week's Fish Wrap is all about good news - We need More of that! I check in with local Rhode Island Fishermen on what's still biting in December, I reconnect with the slowly being saved Third Herring Brook, and finally a reminder from East End Eddie about why being a member of RISAA has so many perks. Besides the buffet style meals.
Secret lures, late season squid, then fair winds for Carl Whitney and Captain Charlie Niles
Oh what a week it was. Big national news, big warm weather, big rains and still, thankfully, more fish. November has been an easy weather month, so far, which we may pay for later on but for now, let’s talk black sea bass, stubborn bluefish, togs, squid while we...
Going Crab-less for Tautog
Tautog fishing has been strong for a few months now but that’s starting to change with a change in seasons. Reliable spots have been giving up just a few keeper sized fish, just a few shorts, or just simply none at all. Plus, autumn’s winds don’t help the boat...