PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will stock rainbow and brook trout in Stafford Pond in Tiverton next week in advance of Columbus Day weekend – a popular time for recreational fishing.
Stafford Pond is among the many Rhode Island ponds and rivers being stocked with hatchery-raised trout for the fall freshwater fishing season, including: • Burrillville – Round Top Ponds • Charlestown – Lower Shannock, Pawcatuck River • Coventry – Carbuncle Pond • Exeter – Breakheart Pond, Browning Mill Pond • Glocester – Spring Grove Pond • Lincoln – Olney Pond (Lincoln Woods State Park) • North Kingstown – Silver Spring Lake • Richmond – Meadowbrook Pond, Beaver River, Wyoming Pond • Scituate – Hope Mill Landing, Upper Pawtuxet River • South Kingstown – Barber Pond • Other selected areas on the Wood and Pawcatuck Rivers.
For daily stocking updates, follow DEM's outdoor education page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RIFishwildlife/
Anglers and other recreationists are reminded that at this time of the year, the threat of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae may be found in Rhode Island lakes and ponds. Currently there are several advisories statewide. There is an advisory at Spectacle Pond, Blackamore Pond, Cranston; Central Pond, Ten Mile River, Omega Pond, Turner Reservoir, East Providence; Almy Pond, Newport; Tarkiln Pond, North Smithfield; Melville Ponds, Sisson Pond, Portsmouth; Mashapaug Pond, Roosevelt, Willow, Edgewood, and Pleasure Lakes, Japanese Gardens (all in Roger Williams Park), Providence; and Slack Reservoir, Smithfield-Johnston; and Little Pond, Warwick. Anglers and others should avoid these ponds for recreation. Waters with cyanobacteria and/or blue-green algae are toxic to animals.
A 2018 fishing license is required for anglers 15 years of age and older. A Trout Conservation Stamp is also required of anyone wishing to keep or possess a trout or to fish in a catch-and-release or 'fly-fishing only' area. 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 only be purchased online at www.dem.ri.gov/huntfish. Online fishing licenses and the Trout Conservation Stamp can also be obtained via an authorized agent. Visit the DEM website for a current list of licensed vendors. Anglers are encouraged to check the list prior to visiting a vendor to purchase a license.
License fees are $18 for Rhode Island residents and current members of the Armed Forces, $33 for a combination hunting and fishing license, $35 for non-residents, and $16 for a tourist three-consecutive-day license. Licenses are free for anglers over 65 (trout stamp not required) - as well as for those with a 100-percent disability.
The daily creel and possession limit for trout is five from April 14, 2018, through November 30, 2018; and two from December 1, 2018, to February 28, 2019. The creel /possession limit for trout taken in the Wood River between RT. 165 and Barberville Dam at Arcadia Road is two fish from the second Saturday in May (May 12, 2018) through the last day of February (February 28, 2019). Catch and release is encouraged for wild brook trout.
State law requires that boaters always have personal flotation devices for each person, and that they do not drink and operate a boat. Boaters should also be sure their craft is seaworthy before going out on the state's waterways.
To prevent the spread of invasive weeds and other harmful aquatic "hitch hikers," Rhode Island strictly prohibits the use of external felt soled or any natural or synthetic porous material capable of absorbing water in any freshwaters in the state. This includes any waters shared with adjacent states in which Rhode Island fishing regulations apply. For example, fanwort's invasion of fresh water bodies in New England is attributed to boats, trailers, live-wells, boat bilges, and fishing equipment carrying fragments of it from other, already-compromised water bodies. For these reasons, DEM recommends that all boaters thoroughly clean their vessels and equipment of attached weeds before and after using Rhode Island lakes, ponds, and rivers at a distance away from these freshwaters. For more information about the harm caused by invasive plants, click here.
For a list of designated trout waters and information of interest to anglers visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) or Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM for timely