Building on its 75,000-fish pre-Opening Day stocking effort, DEM began supplemental spring trout stocking today.
PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has begun stocking five ponds across Rhode Island this week with golden rainbow trout before Memorial Day weekend – a popular time for recreational fishing. These trout are a color variation of a rainbow trout and provide an exciting angling experience.
Today and tomorrow, DEM's Freshwater and Diadromous Fisheries team are stocking hatchery-raised golden rainbow trout in the following freshwaters:
• Carbuncle Pond, Coventry • Carolina Trout Pond, Richmond • Meadowbrook Pond, Richmond • Olney Pond, Lincoln Woods State Park, Lincoln • Silver Spring Pond, North Kingstown
In addition, rainbow trout will be float stocked in the Wood River from the Route 165 check station to Wyoming Pond tomorrow, Thursday, May 23.
A current fishing license and a Trout Conservation Stamp are required to keep or possess a trout. The daily creel and possession limit for trout and/or salmon is five, of which only two can be salmon, from April 13, 2019, through November 30, 2019; and two trout and/or salmon, of which two can be salmon, from December 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020. The creel /possession limit for trout taken in the Wood River between Rt. 165 and Barberville Dam at Arcadia Road is two from Saturday, May 11, 2019, through February 29, 2020. The daily creel limit for landlocked Atlantic salmon is two fish per day, statewide, until February 29, 2020; this limit must be part of the overall five-fish limit for trout and salmon. Information about stocked freshwaters, size, and creel limits for all freshwater fish species is available in the 2019 Freshwater Fishing Abstract, or by calling DEM's Great Swamp Field Office at 789-0281, or the Aquatic Resource Education office at 539-0037.
To prevent the spread of invasive organisms such as Didymo 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.
Follow DEM's outdoor education page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rioutdooreducation and on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) or Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM for RI fishing information.
DEM is encouraging beachgoers to "Beach More, Wait Less" by buying season parking passes online before going to the beach this summer ($30 for Rhode islanders, $60 for nonresidents, 50% discount for senior citizens 65 and older). For online purchases, the season pass will be mailed to the address provided when the pass was purchased and must be affixed to the outside of the windshield of the vehicle it was registered to. Customers who have bought passes but not received them in the mail may show parking lot attendants their purchase confirmation email for entry; this confirmation can be on your phone and shown to booth attendants at entry, but please have paper back-up for any service or phone issues. Visit www.riparks.com and buy your season pass today!