I love a good fish story. The type of story that makes you laugh. Or the type of story that makes you cry. We can all learn a lot from a good fish story. So, please forward your story to me (at www.dmontifish@verizon.net ) so I can share it.

The first fish story is on me. Have a good laugh.

I took my partner Jim and his son Will fluke fishing. It was an overcast and blustery day… a good day for fluking. We arrived at our fishing spot off Dutch Island and within ten minutes Will caught a 25” fluke. It was the only fish caught that day as conditions worsened and we had to leave our preferred fishing spot. We put the fluke in the cooler and shortly after, decided to head back to port. I took Will’s picture with the fluke, he and his dad continued to fish while I started to clean the fish. I put the fish on the cutting board, made one horizontal cut along the top of the fish, I started the second cut when the fish jumped out of my hands, off the cutting board, into the water and swam away.

The lesson here is do not clean fish when they are still alive. The ice in the cooler prolonged the life of the fish, lowered its heart rate and allowed it to live out of the water for more than two hours. So now, if I plan to clean the fluke for fishing guests before we return to port, I put the fluke in a cooler with no ice, so the fish die. The skin on a fluke will start to discolor when it has passed. Inserting and twisting a knife behind the eyes of the fish will insure it has passed.

Captain Robb Roach of Kettlebottom Outfitters relates that he prefers to ice his fluke for eight to twelve hours before filleting. The icing sets up the meat for better filleting and after eight to twelve hours the fish are not alive. Either way, just make sure your catch is not alive before putting on the cutting board.

Fishing Fish

This next fish story is attributed to Captain Billy Silvia of Can’t Imagine Charters who had quite a fishing trip last week. One of Billy’s customers was fighting a striped bass when another bass came along and ate it. The bass that was eaten weighed about seven pounds as reported by Dave Henault of Ocean State Bait & Tackle.

Cut hand and infected fish can mean trouble

Last week’s column focused on the possible decline of the striped bass fishery and fish handler’s disease. I mentioned a Rhode Island angler that was infected when he handled infected striped bass (ulcers or lesions on fish) with cut hands. I heard from the angler, he is Bill Nolan, a respected striped bass shore and boat angler and author of several striped bass fishing articles. Bill related that his infection was quite bad and took multiple antibiotics to shake the infection. An emergency room doctor told him if his infection was not treated it could have gotten blood bound and could have been fatal. Bill related, “…I had a huge red line running up my arm…anyway that‘s the story, I highly recommend gloves at all times.”

If you suspect exposure to mycobacteriosis by handling an infected striped bass, contact your physician immediately and inform him/her of the nature of the exposure.

The Virginian Institute of Marine Science suggests that anglers should:

- return any fish with skin lesions to the water

- wear gloves when handling striped bass

- take particular care if you have a cut, scrape, or abrasion on your hands or arms, and wash thoroughly with soap and water after coming into contact with fish or open water.

There is no evidence that humans can contact mycobacteriosis by consumption of cooked fish that is infected. However, any striped bass that exhibits external sigs of mycobacteriosis (unsightly skin ulcers) should be released or disposed of. Do not keep or eat the fish. With infected fish that do not exhibit external signs of the infection, proper cooking will kill the bacteria. Cooked means the temperature of the fish (not the oven) must exceed 170 degrees for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing has been excellent on Block Island. Many large fish being taken with eels on the Southwest Ledge and south side of the Island reports Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle (Bristol, Coventry, and Providence). Angler Mike Shepard of Aquidneck Island reports surf casting for bass has been slow. Still hearing reports of bass in the Bay but they are spotty, they seem to be loners. A 34" fish caught off Bear Point at 7 a.m. with a surface plug in three feet of water this weekend. Report from Dave Henault of a 61 pound bass caught off Gay Head, Martha’s Vineyard.

Fluke fishing has picked up off the southern Rhode Island shore after high winds last week slowed things down. Fluke off Newport are being caught in 50 to 60 feet of water reports Mike Shepard. Fishing is decent, shorts with a few keepers mixed in. Fishing for the Francis Fleet has been good with many catching their limit with some Sea Bass mixed in. I caught several Sea Bass taking squid while fluking off Jamestown. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick related that customers are catching keepers at the Newport Bridge (Jamestown side) in about 70 feet of water.

Larger bluefish are starting to appear. Blues 24” and larger have been caught in the East Bay trolling with tube and worm. Bluefishing is slow off Newport, large fish and large schools have not arrived yet says Mike Shepard.

Scup bite seems to be good all over. With 17 to 19 inch fish being caught by Andrew Faris and PJ at the Mount Hope Bridge and 14 inch fish being caught at Colt Stat Park related Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing stories, comments and questions are welcome… there’s more than one way to catch a fish so e-mail Captain Dave at ¬¬¬dmontifish@verizon.net.