May 18, 2017 Scott Bianco Spearfishing Report - 19.26 lb Tautog !

Date: May 18, 2017

Report Contributor: Scott Bianco

Thank you to Scott for graciously taking the time to give us a report of him freedive spearfishing that 19.26 lb Tautog !  Can I call it TOGNASAURUS ?

It all started with a text "got time for a quick after work dive?". After a long day the last thing I felt like doing was trailering the boat down and taking a beating from the south gusting wind. After much debating I decide why not lets do it. At the ramp I almost called it while looking out at the gusting wind figuring there wouldn't be much vis. Brian convinces me to make the boat trip and we head out. Once there we anchor in some shelter from the wind and suit up. Conditions aren't the best, south wind with an outgoing tide, the top five feet had a brown haze making the vis about 2 feet but opening up to great 8' vis below. 

As we swim away from the boat and towards the rocks Brian says to me go left and he will go right. I head off to the left and start to make my first drop of the evening. I start my decent and about 3 feet down I notice a white chin through the haze passing me on my right shoulder. I level off and remain motionless, only moving my eyes to track the fish. The white spot barley visible passing in front of me towards the left, then circles back to dead center.

The words of a great dive friend going through my head ,don't move anything don't move your fins relax and be part of the ocean. I was able to see a little patch of white belly behind the white chin so I knew from the spacing that the fish was of good size.I kept my gun pulled in tight to my body making sure not to "track the fish" waiting patiently for the fish to turn and become centered in front of me. I shot between the two white patches and the spear landed center mass and the white spots stopped moving instantly. 

I swam up to it and got a solid grasp on the barb end of the spear and pulled the fish in tight to my body and started swimming it up to the rocks. Once  I had a grasp on the fish it came to life like they usually do, but this one was different I knew I had something bigger then I have ever shot before. With a good amount of struggle I manage to get me and the fish on the rocks and out of the water. Seeing the fish out of the water really hit home fast just how big this fish really was. I held on with both hands for a few minutes till I knew the fish was dead. The ocean offered up an amazing fish to us that evening. Fish prints will be made to honor the life of the fish.   

Scott Bianco

May 18, 2017 Narragansett Bay Spearfishing Report - Ricardo Cruelles

Date: 5/18/2017 

Location: Narraganssett Bay

Report Contributor: Ricardo Cruelles

A QUICK LUNCH BREAK DIVE!

When the mercury hit 99 today in RI’s Capital City, I knew it was time to get down bay and hop in for a quick lunchtime dive. I met up with @roosterman at the agreed upon spot, we suited up and jumped in, not wasting any time. 

The water temp was about 56 degrees, very comfortable with a 5mm suit, viz was very nice for the bay, although when the tide started ripping in it went dark quickly.

On the way to one of my faithful spots, I decided to dive under some structure and, much to my surprise, a legal bass came at me like a WWII Kamikaze….. BANG! That was definitely his last mission! A nice start with an early bass in the stringer. I continued on with my swim and made a few dives on decent piles of fish. We were being selective so we made a few more dives before taking our limits of tog. One of the fish went to 9lbs today.

The wind and the tide kicked up and we knew it was time to get back to work, but not before harvesting enough mussels for a nice meal. Mike was on a mission to win a bet he had going with boys, apparently the 1^st one to get a Sea Robin was to be the winner, well, he nailed a nice one within 5 minutes of being in the water!

Weather looks ok this weekend, with the exception of some wind moving in, I say find some lee and get in there! It is definitely fishy out there and the water is starting to warm up nicely. Lots of schoolie size bass with the occasional larger fish mixed in, I even saw a couple schools of scup today!

Thanks to @roosterman for couple of the pics and congrats on some tasty sea robin table fair.

Pura Vida!

Ricardo

May 1, 2017 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Dave Gleeson

Date: May 1, 2017
Dive location: Newport
Report Contributor: Dave Gleeson

After a successful trip just a few days earlier, I decided to try my luck again. My dad and I scooted out after work for what would prove to be a short mission, as the fog was rolling in heavy off newport. Water temperature was 50 and visibility was about 8ft. We ran into some big tog right away, and in no time put a few on the stringer. With dark approaching, getting our limit took a little more patience because of the reduced visibility/lack of daylight. Again with the aid of the dive light, we found some more tog holed up in shallow caves and got our limit. We also noticed more free swimming fish, a sure sign of warming weather. 

Get out there, and dive safe! 
Dave

Weather is not looking so good for Saturday with rain coming so let's hope the storms do not effect the visibility for those looking to get their fish on Sunday.

April 28, 2017 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Dave Gleeson

Date: 4/28/17

Location: Newport, RI

Report Contributor: Dave Gleeson

It’s that time of year again!!! The water temp has finally creeped to 50 degrees, and the tog are back in their spring haunts. We set out this Saturday to look for the first fish of the year, and were handsomely rewarded.

Visibility was a hazy 6 feet, but certainly good enough to hunt.  We began seeing tog holed up under boulders in the first 10 minutes or so, and got to work filling our stringers. I shot a nice male shortly after, but had to spend nearly 30 minutes pulling it from a cave that it retreated to. While I was dealing with that mess, my dive partners both limited out with a few really nice fish to 23”.

The weather doesn’t look great for the next few days, but if you can find a rockpile in the lee then you stand a good chance at finding some early season tog. If you own a dive light, use it! If you don’t, give NEFreedive a call and get one! With the water still cold, the majority of fish were deep in caves and hiding in rocks, and having a light may be the difference between going home with a full stringer or going home empty handed.

Happy hunting, DIVE SAFE

Dave

Be sure to check out Dave's incredible photography at www.DaveGleeson.com  !