ACCURATE FISHING REPORTS * TRUTHFUL-ISH FISH STORIES * THE OCCASIONAL LIE
Some of our favorite Fish Wrap stories involve parents being outdoors with their children, carrying on traditions or teaching their next generation how amazing Nature and water can be. This week we are reminded how supremely fortunate to live where we live and having our kids around more makes it all the better. At the … Continue reading Sea bass, kingfish, big stripers and memories with your daughter
Social distancing used to be what fishermen regularly practiced when they went fishing, often quite voluntarily. Now the term is repeated ad nauseam on virtually every broadcast and talk show, having morphed into a repetitive reminder that our inside and outside worlds have changed and may never be the same. It’s brought us one way … Continue reading These are uncharted waters on both sides of the border
Governor Raimondo and her staff have inserted tax language into the 2020/2021 state budget which financially targets sporting ranges, guides and outfitters. It is, at best, a poorly veneered attempt to use taxes as a weapon to disrupt people’s legal and constitutionally protected hobbies and passions because the current administration and governor does not like … Continue reading There’s a new tax in town and we’re not going to stand for it
March 9, 2014 ©Todd Corayer 2014 Written back when we actually had ice... Good-bye ice, hello crocuses! At the tail end of a banner year for fishable ice, day and night soon find their balance so we can return to our canoes kayaks and outboards. March for most is just a muddy gateway month, a … Continue reading The very first Fish Wrap column. Just in time for stay-at-home reading
For months now, social media has been ablaze with posts about local fishermen getting their kayaks ready for a new fishing season. Despite winter being kind of a puffball affair and this Covid-19 affair making us rush out to buy toiler paper, which is absurd, unless you don't have a stash, fishermen and women are … Continue reading RI Kayak Bassin’ is ready for a very big year
2010 was the first year of the Rhode Island Saltwater License Program, designed as an alternative to a federal license which became mandatory with a 2006 amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act. The amendment was written to begin more accurate capture of fisheries data like effort and landings. In a rare move, Rhode Island’s … Continue reading Saltwater license sales are strong and so are tackle store conversations
It was heartening to see 80 people on a rainy February night at URI’s Corless Auditorium offering comments on the state’s proposed 2020 fisheries regulations but equally disappointing to hear so many fishermen advocate for killing smaller striped bass and more bluefish in light of our understanding that both stocks are overfished and in peril. … Continue reading Stripers, blues & elephants: they’re in trouble and we’re still talking about “us”
In preparation for a return of striped bass and regulations to protect them, RIDEM held a pre-hearing workshop to discuss potential changes. In an era of social media fueled easy complaining, these workshops are a direct action of the state listening to people say they can’t attend the formal hearing, are microphone shy or just … Continue reading All fish are equal but some conservation equivalency is more equal than others
It’s a real blessing to have a job like this because everyone has a fish story, whether they caught one, knew someone who did or never could catch one but wish they could. Each year it’s pure fun to reflect on some of the characters we met. With a tip of the hat to everyone … Continue reading A year full of characters, present and past tense
Greg Vespe and Captain BJ Silvia stood in front of a packed Elks Lodge to talk tautog. As guest speakers for November’s RI Saltwater Anglers Association meeting, lots of antsy fishermen were eagerly awaiting their words of wisdom on how to find, catch and release black fish. First, the pair let the room know that … Continue reading How to catch tautog for a lifetime with Greg Vespe and Capt. Silvia
