Projo Fishing: HotBytes

Narragansett Bay is a living organism that is changing, says charter boat skipper Jim White.

Because the Bay's fisheries are changing, too, anglers must change their approach, he says.

"If you look at what people [on the Internet] are saying about the Bay, it's disaster, death and destruction," he says. "They're saying that they went out and didn't catch any fish, didn't see any fish, so the Bay is dead.

"I'm certainly no going to deny that there are problems in the Bay, but I and others who are on the Bay full-time do not see the end-of-the-world scenario that is being portrayed by many people."

While many fishermen were complaining about poor fishing in the Bay this summer, White and his clients were taking large striped bass in shallow water in the middle of the Bay, the charter-boat skipper says. There were times when large concentrations of stripers were feeding on big balls of bait. The bass and the bait were visible on sonar devices, but there were no feeding frenzies on the water's surface, so some anglers assumed that there were no fish in the area.

White remembers one trip when those conditions were in place. As he directed his guests to tie on lures that would mimic the bait beneath the surface, another boat trolled that looked nothing like the natural prey. "He trolled all around us while we were catching fish," White recalls. "You would think that he'd change his technique, but he didn't. And he didn't catch anything."

For anglers aboard the White Ghost this year, spring fishing was very good, the guide said. "For bottom fishing, the summer was extraordinary," he said.

"Bass? You had to work for them, but they were there. I wouldn't call it great, but it wasn't bad. I would say the overall stock of striped bass is down everywhere. It has nothing to do with the Bay. You can't catch what isn't there."

The nature of the Bay's baitfish population changes this season, he says. There seemed to be fewer peanut bunker but more bay anchovies, silversides, and "more sand eels than I have ever seen."

Overall, the nature of Narragansett Bay is changing, and fishermen have to study the changes and adapt to them, he says.

He will bring that message with suggestions to the next meeting of East Bay Anglers Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Riverside Sportsmen's Club.

 Tags  baitfish Narragansett Bay RI saltwater fishing striped bass

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