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Outdoors in RI: Winter Trout & Salmon stocking, fishing basics, 2A strong for times we’re living in
Business Beat
REI has announced that it is exiting its “Experiences” part of their business – adventure travel, classes, day trips as it opts to focus on their core retail business – their stores. REI is in Rhode Island at Chapel View, in Cranston. https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-exits-experiences-business
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Winter Trout & Salmon Stocking in RI
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is conducting winter trout and salmon stocking. Stocking will be in selected areas in Rhode Island beginning Tuesday, Jan. 21, and continuing through Thursday, Jan. 23.
The following areas will be stocked with the indicated species:
- Barber Pond, South Kingstown –Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Round Top Ponds, Burrillville – Brook Trout
- Onley Pond, Lincoln Woods State Park, Lincoln – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Carbuncle Pond, Coventry – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Meadow Brook Pond, Richmond – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Upper Melville Pond, Portsmouth – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout
- Simmons Mill Pond, Little Compton – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon
- Stafford Pond, Tiverton – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout
- Watchaug Pond, Charlestown – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout
- Willet Pond, East Providence – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout
- Wyoming Pond, Hope Valley – Rainbow Trout
- Peck Pond, Burrillville – Golden Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Trout
Daily stocking updates will be available each afternoon on the DEM’s website or Facebook page: DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife’s (DFW) Facebook Page – www.dem.ri.gov/troutwaters. Or, call 401-789-0281 or 401-539-0019 for more information on stocking.
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Fishing Licenses
A 2025 fishing license is required for anglers 15 years of age and older and a Trout Conservation Stamp is required to keep or possess trout. Trout stamps are not required for persons possessing trout taken from a lake or pond that shares a border with Rhode Island. Fishing licenses can be purchased online on DEM’s Rhode Island Outdoors (RIO) portal.
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Changes in Freshwater Fishing Regs
DEM would like to remind anglers of following changes in the Freshwater Regulations:
- The daily creel/possession limit for trout and/or landlocked domestic salmon singly or in aggregate, is two from Dec. 1, 2024, through Feb. 28, 2025.
- The daily creel limit for landlocked Atlantic Salmon is two fish per day, statewide until Feb. 28, 2025, which must be part of the overall two fish limit for trout, salmon and charr.
- The creel/possession limit for trout or charr, taken in the Wood River between RT. 165 Arcadia Check Station and Barberville Dam at Arcadia Road is two fish from the second Saturday in May through the last day of February 2025.
- That portion of the Falls River, from the bridge at Austin Farm Rd. to the bridge at Brook Trail is a catch and release area.
- That portion of the confluence of the Beaver River and the Pawcatuck River, upstream to New London Turnpike is designated as a catch and release area.
- There is an 8-inch minimum size for any trout, stocked or wild caught in any state waters.
- The minimum size limit for domestic, (landlocked) Atlantic Salmon is 11 inches.
- The following activities are prohibited:
- The use of external felt soled waders or boots or those soled with any natural or synthetic porous material capable of absorbing water in any freshwaters in Rhode Island is strictly prohibited. This includes any waters shared with adjacent states in which Rhode Island fishing regulations apply.
- It is strictly prohibited to enter or exit a state boat ramp with any vegetation attached to any type of boats, motors, boat trailers, or any other conveyance or equipment in order to curtail the spread of invasive aquatic plants or invertebrates.
Information about stocked freshwaters, size and creel limits for all freshwater fish species is available in the 2024-2025 Freshwater Fishing Abstract, or by calling DEM’s Great Swamp Field Office at 401-789-0281, or the DEM’s Aquatic Resource Education office at 401-539-0019.
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Winter Fishing Protection
Anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts are reminded to protect themselves from hypothermia. When outdoors in low temperatures, dress in layers and wear a warm hat and gloves. Hypothermia is caused by exposure to cold weather, wind, rain, or submersion in cold water. When the body’s core temperature reaches 95 degrees Fahrenheit it can be marked by shivering, dizziness, trouble speaking, lack of coordination, confusion, faster heartbeat, and shallow breathing. It is important to look for these symptoms in children and the elderly. If hypothermia is suspected, call for help immediately. Move the victim to a warm environment, remove wet clothing, and cover them with warm layers of clothing or blankets.
DEM does not monitor ice conditions in local communities. Anglers and others should contact their local recreation departments about safe ice conditions on ponds before ice fishing, skating, or other ice-related activities in individual communities. DEM’s Division of Parks and Recreation provides information about the ice conditions at Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln, Meshanticut State Park in Cranston, and Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick. The 24-Hour Ice Info Line is 401-667-6222. DEM stresses that there is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice. You cannot tell the strength of ice simply by its look and thickness, the daily temperature, or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. For winter safety tips, visit www.riparks.ri.gov/icesafety.
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Crane Removal Underway – trash to art
DEM and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program and the Congressional Delegation announced that work to remove the derelict, sunken crane-topped barge in the Providence River will begin this week.
The removal project is funded by a grant of more than $1.5 million from the NOAA Marine Debris Program with funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The project will remove up to 400,000 pounds of large marine debris from the environment while engaging the community and ensuring a safe, beautiful waterfront is accessible to all. The sunken steel-hulled barge has been in the river since 2017, presenting a navigational hazard, ecological concerns, and limitations to recreational and economic activities for nearby residents in an environmental justice community.
In collaboration with The Steel Yard, materials recovered from the barge’s hull will be used to construct community-informed art and amenities at the Public Street coastal right of way. DEM is also partnering with Save The Bay to host volunteer marine debris cleanups after the barge is removed. These efforts are deeply rooted to DEM’s strategic goals of advancing environmental justice through community engagement and sustainability through reuse of the salvaged materials.
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2A Update
If you watched the Governor’s State of the State address, you’d note that the Governor said he would include a “ban on assault-style weapons” in his budget. Reporters asked him how or why he would include it as a budget item, to which he had no clear answer.
Yesterday, he released his budget and while we haven’t gotten out our fine-toothed comb, the top down review provided by the Governor, noted the “ban” under –
Promoting Health and Wellness Across Rhode Island
- Proposing an assault weapon ban to prohibit the future possession, purchase, sale, control, and manufacture of assault weapons. Additionally, the budget includes a sales tax exemption for gun safety goods, such as lock boxes and safes.
A note on California fires & homeowners
We’ve all watched the devastation caused by wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area of California. As homeowners begin to return to check on their homes, or what might be left in the rubble, some are finding that their homes, while damaged, are still standing. But, as if the fires weren’t enough insult, now it it looters, organized and coming into neighborhoods in gangs, looking for homes that are still standing, but may be unoccupied, are the next seige people are dealing with. Many, especially those with generators and a survival-type mindset, have chosen to stay in their homes, contrary to official advice, and illegally for some. They are confronting looters coming into or up to their homes. Some have posted signs, heralding VP Kamala Harris’ comment that if you are “coming into my house you are going to get shot” – they are learning about the “castle doctrine” and knowing exactly what their rights are. Here is a video posted by one of 30 armed homeowners in Altadena who have decided to stand their ground. We don’t know what’s headed our way, as mass devastation hitting California seems far away – but not all that far. Gun ownership is seen as much as protection as it is for hunting, unfortunately, and people who might have said they would never bring one into their home, are feeling quite differently when the world swirling around them comes to their doorstep.
There has been an uptick in learning how to shoot in RI – that uptick is primarily women and minority women make up the largest in that demographic. Protecting gun ownership rights at this time seems to have an extra high priority.