Skip to main content

rhode island

Early morning sleigh ride to the trapping grounds. The Maria Mendonsa with her brood of four work skiffs in tow.

A Rough Ballet

Trap fishing with the Wheeler family requires a strong back, finesse and a healthy does of old-fashioned seamanship.

A camouflaged ambusher strikes in this painting by Bart Gelesh

Scouting Party

After five minutes crisscrossing an area of broken bottom south of Newport, Rhode Island, satisfied that he has a sufficient preliminary lay of the land, Capt. Russ Benn adjusts the throttles and rounds up for our first drift.

Cinder worm hatches mostly take place after dark, attracting night-owl anglers and stripers.

Magic Hatch

There’s nothing quite like fishing for striped bass as they dine on spawning cinder worms

fishhead1

Fish Heads

We approached the charter boat just as the customers were saying their goodbyes to the captain and mate and dragging their coolers to their trucks. It was about 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and the temperature was in the low 90s.