PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will be stocking numerous ponds across Rhode Island with brook, rainbow and brown trout and landlocked (Sebago) Atlantic salmon in advance of Memorial Day weekend – a popular time for recreational fishing. There will be no daily reports of the stocking schedule in order to prevent crowding at fishing locations.
Beginning Friday, May 21, the following waters will receive a supplementary spring stocking of hatchery-raised trout and salmon:
- Alton Pond, Richmond/Hopkinton
- Barber Pond, South Kingstown
- Breakheart Pond, Exeter/ West Greenwich
- Browning Mill Pond, Exeter
- Carbuncle Pond, Coventry
- Eight Rod Farm Pond, Tiverton
- Meadowbrook Pond, Richmond
- Melville Ponds, Portsmouth
- Mooseup River, Coventry
- Olney Pond, Lincoln Woods State Park, Lincoln
- Pawcatuck River, Bradford/ Hopkinton/Westerly; John Cronan River Access, Charlestown, Burdickville Access, Hopkinton/Charlestown; Lower Shannock Access, Charlestown
- Pawtuxet River North and South Branches, Scituate/Cranston/Coventry/West Warwick
- Peck Pond, Burrillville
- Roundtop Ponds, Burrillville
- Shippee Saw Mill Pond, Foster
- Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown
- Simmons Mill Pond, Little Compton
- Spring Grove Pond, Glocester
- Upper Rochambeau Pond, Lincoln
- Willett Pond, East Providence
- Wood River Rt. 165 check station to Barberville Access and KG Ranch Road, Richmond /Hopkinton; Hope Valley Fishing Area (Dow Field), Hope Valley; Richmond Landing (Switch Road), Richmond; Grantville (Route 95), Richmond /Hopkinton; Woodville Access, Richmond /Hopkinton
- Wyoming Pond, Hopkinton/Richmond
The boat ramp area at Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods State Park is currently closed as construction of a new boat ramp is underway. Car-top boats such as canoes and kayaks can access the pond at an alternative location, but larger watercraft and trailered boats will not be able to access the pond as the boat ramp and parking lot construction site will remain closed until Memorial Day, when work is expected to be completed.
A 2021 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.
The minimum size of all trout or charr species taken from the waters of the state is 8 inches, measured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. The creel and possession limit for domestic or landlocked Atlantic salmon in the fresh waters of the state is two fish per day and shall be included in the daily limit for trout, salmon, or charr. The minimum size for domestic or landlocked stocked Atlantic salmon is 11 inches in total length. No person shall take any Atlantic salmon from the Pawcatuck River downstream of the Potter Hill Dam.
The daily creel and possession limit for trout is five from April 7, 2021, through November 30, 2021, and two from December 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022. The use of external felt soled or 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. For more information on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, which can be transported in felt soles or other porous materials, click here.
If you are using a boat, new regulations mandate that no vegetation can be on your boat, and other equipment in or out of a state boat ramp.
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. For more information on Rhode Island boating laws, click here.
For information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM or on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) for timely updates.