A Rite of Spring, Rain or Shine: Opening Day of Trout Season is set for April 8; DEM has Stocked 60,000 Fish in 100 Waterbodies
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management RIDEM
We protect, restore, and promote our environment to ensure RI remains a wonderful place to live, visit + raise a family.
PROVIDENCE, RI – As sure a rite of spring as the budding of willows and peeping of peepers, Opening Day of the trout season is set for Saturday, April 8, and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has stocked more than?100 freshwater locations, including children’s-only ponds, with 60,000 fish –?brook, brown, rainbow, and golden rainbow trout – to get ready.?A complete list of?stocked waters can be found?here. The 2023-24 freshwater fishing abstract, which includes all rules and regulations, is available?here.?Wigwam Pond, located at Wilbur Woods in Little Compton, will not be stocked due to a deterioration of the access to the area.
Anglers who catch a golden rainbow trout on Opening Day and through May 8 will be eligible to receive a golden trout pin. Simply take a picture and email it to?[email protected]?for verification. Submissions must be received no later than Monday, May 8, 2023, to be eligible. One pin per person limit. The DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife’s?Freshwater and Diadromous Fisheries team?has stocked the following freshwaters with golden rainbow trout:
“Opening Day is a treasured pastime for thousands of Rhode Islanders who head out on the second Saturday of April to a favorite fishing spot to reel in their first trout of the season,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “The work and logistics involved in raising and stocking 60,000 trout are intense, and I am proud to recognize all members of the DEM Freshwater Fisheries Team who somehow pull off this feat every year – and keep freshwaters stocked throughout most of the year.”
A 2023 fishing license and trout conservation stamp are required for anglers 15 or older to keep or possess a trout or salmon. A trout conservation stamp also is required for anyone wishing to keep or possess a trout or to fish in a catch-and-release or “fly-fishing only” area. The daily creel and possession limit for trout and/or salmon, individually or in total, is five fish from Opening Day, 2023, to Dec. 1 and two fish from Dec. 1 through Feb. 28, 2024. The creel and possession limits for trout or charr taken in the Wood River between Route 165 and Barberville Dam at Arcadia Road is limited to two fish from the second Saturday in May through the last day of the following February, annually. Anglers are reminded to obey all fishing and boating regulations. 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 be purchased online on DEM’S?Rhode Island Outdoors (RIO)?portal.
DEM would like to remind anglers of the following?freshwater regulations?and prohibitions:
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DEM reminds anglers, especially inexperienced anglers, to protect themselves from hypothermia. When outdoors, especially in low temperatures, dress in layers and wear a warm hat and gloves. Hypothermia is caused by exposure to cold weather, wind, rain, or submersion in cold water. It can set in when the body core temperature reaches 95 degrees Fahrenheit and is marked by shivering, dizziness, trouble speaking, lack of coordination, confusion, faster heartbeat, and shallow breathing. It is important to look for these symptoms in children and the elderly who may not be focused on this hazard. If hypothermia is suspected, call for help immediately. Move the victim to a warm environment, remove wet clothing, and cover them with warm layers of clothing or blankets.
DEM also reminds anglers that wearing a life jacket while paddling in Rhode Island will no longer be optional; it will be required,?according to new boating safety regulations the agency announced on March 23. The new personal flotation device (PFD) regulation states that all operators and passengers of canoes, kayaks, sailboards, kiteboards, paddleboards, and any other paddle craft must always wear a United States Coast Guard (USCG)-approved PFD while underway regardless of age. DEM drafted the new rule in response to three fatal kayaking accidents in Rhode Island in 2022 in which none of the three drowning victims was wearing a life jacket. Also, between 2018 and 2021, four out of the 10 boating-related drowning deaths in the state were paddle craft users not wearing life jackets,?according to National Association of State Boating Law Administrators data.
According to a USCG report, eight out of 10 boaters who drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length. Smaller vessels such as canoes and kayaks are less stable than larger vessels and in strong currents paddlers using them can put themselves in danger. Drowning is the reported cause of death in 75% of all boating fatalities. Of those who drowned, 86% were not wearing life jackets.
For freshwater fishing updates, follow DEM’s outdoor education page?on Facebook here?or call 401-789-0281. For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit?www.dem.ri.gov. Follow?DEM on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates.