Fishing for Those Rhody Blues

The West Wall is the jetty that juts out of East Matunuck Beach in South Kingstown. You may know of it from where the Block Island Ferry departs. The rock wall makes for some great fishing spots and it is my favorite place for saltwater fishing.

Each year in mid to late spring, striped bass migrate up the East Coast and pass by the Ocean State. First the small ones known as schoolies pass through. Soon after, the big ones come through, then eventually, the bluefish. Year after year, I, along with most other local fishermen, anxiously await this arrival.

As usual, I went too early this year. It was late April, and it was too cold and windy for me to enjoy myself. I caught nothing. I went back in late May and again caught nothing. Just when I was beginning to get discouraged, I got a text message from a friend telling me he had just caught 12 bluefish there. A rush of excitement came over me and it made me think of a time four years ago that I went there in pursuit of bluefish.

It was late spring in 2010. I went to the wall one day with my good friends Mike and Brian who were  mostly in pursuit of striped bass, one of the most sought after species in New England. As excited as I get to pursue striper, I never seem to catch keepers. A keeper has to be at least 28″ by Rhode Island regulations, and that is not a small fish. I was more interested in taking something home to eat no matter what it was so I could try out my new set of fillet knives. Since there’s no size limit on bluefish and I always catch them while going for striper, I decided to make this day about catching and eating a bluefish.

We arrived at the West Wall late in the afternoon and I ran ahead of Mike and Brian on the rocks to our usual spot. I was so excited and focused that I had a lure in the water before Mike or Brian even settled into their spots. Patience is not my best virtue. It was probably the fourth or fifth cast when my pole got bent, and I was wrestling with a fish. The fight was frantic and unpredictable, which is characteristic of blues. Still fighting as I pulled it onto the rocks, it revealed itself to be a nice-sized bluefish. It may have been around 20″, but no size limit meant it was big enough for me. Success. About 10 minutes into our trip, I got what I was coming for so I decided to relax for a bit. It was a beautiful day and all I had to do was sit there with my friends and keep fishing.

Then we noticed a storm approaching in the distance. The sky was dark and lightning was heading our way. I should have taken notice of all the other fishermen leaving, but continued to cast into the wind, which was getting stronger by the minute. I assessed the situation. Way down at the other end of the wall, I saw two fishermen taking shelter in between the rocks. Then I saw lightning strike close by and realized we were stuck and exposed in the middle of a storm. We all ducked for cover wherever we could find it and held on tight. The rain pelted down on us as the waves splashed over the rocks. As the wind blasted past, I noticed the plastic bag holding my bluefish was getting blown toward the edge of the rock it was resting on. Just before it toppled into the water, I crawled over to grab the bag and held onto it for dear life. I had gotten what I came for and I wasn’t about to lose it.

The storm continued for a few more minutes, then abruptly slowed to a mild drizzle and a manageable wind. The fishermen at the other end of the wall emerged from their temporary shelter, which made me feel better about sticking my head out of mine. The storm had passed. We gathered ourselves and our things and headed home.

When we got home, we changed out of our wet clothes and pulled out the fillet set. Very much an amateur, I sliced crude fillets off the side of the bluefish. Mike put them in a pan with butter and pepper, and maybe a few other seasonings. He cooked it until the meat was white, and we picked at fish chunks with forks and our fingers. To this day, I enjoy bluefish. Just a little butter and some pepper go a long way. It’s no striper, but at least I got some use out of the fillet set.