“Since the haul of bass at Beavertail, fish stories have been as thick as mosquitoes, and a person can safely divide by 10 what he hears,” reported the Newport Journal in August 1887.
Perhaps the editors were thinking of the reported 72-pound striper, which old-timers say was caught in 1881 from the Beavertail rocks. In the days before easily snapped photographs and calculated weighing, accurate sizes were harder to record than today.
Many of the striped bass caught in Jamestown in the late 19th century were taken from one of the fishing stands anchored to the rocks around Beavertail Point. The one-man piers, mostly maintained by private fishing clubs, brought fishermen over deeper water where bass were more plentiful. D.R. Watson, a summer visitor staying at the Champlin House, caught a 40-pound bass from one of the stands. According to the Newport Daily News in August 1883, the fish “was captured after an exciting struggle of half an hour.” He used rod and reel, the newspaper reported.
As early as 1900, avid fishermen were complaining that fewer fish were coming into the bay. Some of clubs fell into disrepair. “A few bass are still caught by the local fishermen each year at this point, but not as many or as large,” commented the Newport Daily News in January 1906.Fishing for stripers at Beavertail still remained popular from late August through early November. While the number of captured bass went down, fishermen continued to land big fish from the rocks.
In late summer 1935, Leon Murphy of Howland Avenue caught a 50-pound striped bass, the largest recorded locally at that time. He didn’t hold the title long. On Oct. 21, 1936, Arthur Clarke, fishing at Hull Cove, caught a striped bass weighing 65 pounds. The fish was 54 inches long and had a girth of 33 inches. It can be seen today at the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum.
 |
| BELOW: Arthur S. Clarke with a town record 65-pound striped bass he reeled from Hull Cove in October 1936. Photos courtesy of the Jamestown Historical Society |
The number of Atlantic striped bass in Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound began to rebound about 2000. Although some are caught from shore, most are landed from charter boats. The b
ag limit is one striper per fisherman.
Although the species is not endangered, conservationists support catch and release, especially for the larger fish. Females grow bigger than the males. A striped bass over 20 pounds is probably a female, with the potential for producing up to 3 million eggs each spring.
Environmentalists suggest fishermen take a picture. Let the photograph be the trophy.
50 years ago — Sept. 26, 1966 (Newport Mercury)
A section of Beavertail owned by the U.S. Navy has reopened to fishermen, U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell told Rebelle Felice, the owner of a bait shop on North Road in Jamestown.
The area was closed in April for security reasons after 12 radio antennae were erected at the naval transmitting station. During the closure, Felice asked Pell for an update, which led to a letter from Rear Adm. F.J. Brush indicating the Navy had completed its site review. Felice was given a photostatic copy of the admiral’s letter.
Source: Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden , Jamestown Press
No comments:
Post a Comment