Outdoors in RI: Good Trout stock, NE Fishing Expo, 2A up front in legislatures and courts – Jeff Gross

by Jeff Gross, contributing writer

Fishing Finds

The weather cannot make up its mind, but Rhode Island trout fishing has great potential. The RI DEM continues to stock some phenomenal trout.  If you have open water, consider giving the stocked areas a try. 

Starting today Friday thru Sunday the NE Fishing Expo is going on at the Royal Plaza Convention Center, 181 Post Road West, in Marlboro, MA. From Feb. 2-4, the expo will have numerous RI dealers that will have their hand-crafted lure creations displayed this year. Many other dealers from around New England will be in attendance as well. The Expo is for both Fresh and Salt Water enthusiasts. 

Hopefully (!), when you are fishing, you familiarize yourself with the species you are catching. Sadly a fisherman caught and ate a Puffer Fish.  Puffer Fish have toxins that if the fish is not prepared correctly, the meal can be fatal. Cod, Tuna, Fluke, Sea Bass are safer bets.

No show snow

With the lack of snow here in Rhode Island it is good to see Alaska getting over 100″ of snow so far this season.  Anchorage has now over 8 feet of snow, which makes me skeptical about some of the claims in climate change. With all the solar activity going on, including one massive solar storm in the last few days, I find it hard to believe that the woes that Earth is suffering are all man made, and within our control.

2A Updates far and near

With all the nefarious acts being committed by those on extremes of opinion, I feel there is something more sinister going on and much of what we are witnessing is often a mere distraction. 

One of the major headlines is the concern on illegal, unvetted migrants crossing the border. When this type of migration began it was lots of families with young children, looking in bad shape. Now it’s lots of single, young men, looking in good shape. Something hs changed. Speaking with a retired Air Force intel officer this past weekend – it would take only a 2-man team to backpack in a WMD with Hiroshima capabilities. This is serving as motivation for many gun owners to be sure their equipment and training are up to par – especially with a growing feeling that we may be our own best first responder in dire circumstances.  “When seconds count the police are minutes away!” Or, in the case of October 7th 2023, “When seconds count the IDF is hours away!”.

I want to thank all the readers for their patronage as individual column readers jump to a quick 2,000 within just a few hours of publication. And, apparently, news competitors have noticed the interest you folks have had and now are publishing small articles about the fishing status. What will be interesting is what the competitors have to say about what are considered “unconstitutional” bills being submitted AGAIN in the RI Statehouse. I also noticed there is nothing but crickets regarding the very large number of 2A wins across the USA.  There are 2 major wins as of this writing at 1:14 pm Feb. 1st, and the week is not over. Gotta love the Friday news dump from the courts. Or, maybe not, by some? Is it to painful for news groups to cover what is fairly dramatic happenings – that the anti-gun agenda is coming to a full stop? Just this week another pair of 2A wins occurred in NY and CA.

The shopping list of 2A wins is growing ever so large, in fact so large I will need a fellow Patriot to help me carry all the information into the Rhode Island State House when I testify on the constitutionality of Rep. Jason Knight’s AR-15 ban bill.

One may ask why do we care what 2A wins that are going on in the rest of the USA?  Mark W. Smith is an excellent constitutional scholar and he said it best: “In order to win a World War one must win all the smaller battles – when the battles accumulate, they add up to big deals.” Further, “these wins pile up and allow judges in other jurisdictions to rely upon them.” Across the US, numerous federal judges and at least one state district judge in Oregon are using these decisions to base their own decisions on and this all stemmed from the Heller, McDonald, Caetano, and Bruen decisions. Brick by brick we are building a rock-solid wall against those looking to challenge the constitution and disarm We the People.

The major 2A wins this week so far are: The State of California’s law requiring a background check on each and every ammo purchase that a gun owner makes was ruled unconstitutional. This decision will affect the Rhode Island law requiring RI gun owners to have a government permission slip to buy ammo. That RI law will fall in due time. The NY Housing Authority ban on possessing firearms in public housing was ruled unconstitutional (writers note: this case was identical to the Portland, Maine Housing Authority’s firearm ban which Portland lost in 1995)  Ahh… the benefits of a good memory.  Ladies – I may not be much to look at but I will never forget a birthday or anniversary.  

In a rush to run a quick errand in North Fall River I had to get on to 195 East there was a mob of traffic like I’ve never seen, so I threw my left hand “blinka” on and hoped for the best. The pickup truck at my 7:00 flashed his lights for me to come over, and, needless to say as the route 24 North on-ramp rapidly approached I made it over in time. I was grateful that that pickup let me over, but not surprised when I saw the AR-15 decal on his back windshield. We the People may have our issues at times with each other, but when you get right down to it we’re good people, with good hearts!

See you next week – Jeff.

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Jeffrey “Jeff” Gross spent 21 years as an Analytical Chemist at the USCG R&D Center in Groton, Connecticut, Woods Hole Laboratories, and Helix Technologies. Changing careers is a “great learning experience for everyone”, Jeff says, and I’m an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, a student of the sciences, and the world. The US holds too many wonders not to take a chance and explore them”.

Jeff is the Model Train and Railroad entrepreneur. Proud Golden Retriever owner. Ultra strong Second Amendment Advocate and Constitutionalist. “Determined seeker of the truth”.  Jeff is a RIFGPA Legislative and Legal Officer, Freshwater Chairman, NRA Liaison.

His subjects include Outdoors, Second Amendment, Model Railroading, and Whimsical. He can be reached at: [email protected]