Aug 22, 2017 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Dave Gleeson

Date: 8/22/17
Location: Newport
Conditions: Heavy Chop and Swell, Rain. SW 15kt
Visibility: 30ft

I had received a good report of fish and bird activity the night before, and was rewarded with a nice Bass on a last minute after work dive. Good friend John Harrington and I decided to make a morning Bass mission before the wind picked up, as gale warnings were in effect later that day.

We got a later start than we would have hoped, but made it to our spot around 8:30am to dive the slack flood. After hopping off the skiff, I was happy to be able to see the bottom 25’ down with ease- visibility was a clear 30 or more feet. Scup, small seabass and tog were all over the place, along with flocks of terns working pockets of bait all around us.

John and I swam around the area for a bit, spotting small bass here and there, a good sign for sure. Within 10 minutes, we found a large school. After a short breathe up, I dropped into them with my Rob Allen 80 Roller, and John followed me with his camera. I’ll post a video of this dive soon to show the clarity.

The bass were everywhere. With visibility as good as it was, what seemed like hundreds of bass were in my field of view. I had taken two bass in the low 30 inch range in the previous couple days, so I wanted to be much more selective and wait for a larger one this time. Luckily, most of the bass in the school were keepers, and about 50 seconds into the dive, a larger one approached me head on. It was on the lower end of the size range I was looking for, but I decided it was big enough. As soon as it turned, I nailed a stone shot on it with the Rob Allen 80cm Roller. In less than two weeks of using that gun, I’ve taken 25 shots and hit 24 fish- stoning each bass. It’s an absolute laser!!

After bleeding and stringing the fish, we traded gear, and although I found the school a few more times, nothing big was spotted. The current picked up and we decided to leave before the wind increased.

The bass measured out at just over 38”, and was quickly turned into striper bites and marinated, baked fillets.

The fish are here in full force, I’ve seen large schools of bass on nearly every dive this week…. Get out there!

Dive Safe,
Dave

www.davegleeson.com