RI Veterans Day Fish Stocking in Progress

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is organizing Veterans Day fish stocking of trout and salmon in several RI ponds and lakes, honoring local veterans.

Rainbow trout, Brook trout, Sebago Atlantic salmon will be stocked in 16 ponds and lakes starting Tuesday, Nov. 7 and continuing through Friday, Nov. 10. Cyanobacteria alerts, or blue-green algae warnings,  may prevent stocking in some waterbodies.

“Stocking fish in popular waterbodies is a gesture by which DEM honors Rhode Island veterans for their service, sacrifice, and duty done,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “We hope many veterans will get outside and drop a line in the water this weekend.”

DEM will be stocking the following waterbodies:

• Barber Pond, South Kingstown.
• Carolina Trout Pond, Richmond.
• Frosty Hollow Pond, Exeter.
• Meadowbrook Pond, Richmond.
• Olney Pond, Lincoln.
• Peck Pond, Burrillville.
• Roaring Brook, Exeter.
• Round Top Ponds, Burrillville.
• Simmons Mill Pond, Little Compton.
• Stafford Pond, Tiverton.
• Tarkiln Pond, Burrillville.
• Tucker Pond, South Kingstown.
• Watchaug Pond, Charlestown.
• Willet Pond, East Providence.

Daily stocking updates will be available each afternoon. Visit DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Facebook Page, visit www.dem.ri.gov/fishing, or call 401-789-0281 or 401-539-0019 for more information on stocking.

Fishing licenses, regulations

A 2023 fishing license is required for anglers 15 years of age and older and a Trout Conservation Stamp is required to keep or possess a trout. 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 following changes in the Freshwater Regulations:

• The daily creel and possession limit for trout and/or salmon is five fish, of which only two can be salmon, from April 8, 2023 through Nov. 30, 2023; and two trout and/or salmon, of which only two can be salmon from Dec. 1, 2023 – Feb. 29, 2024.
• The creel and possession limit for trout taken in the Wood River, between RT. 165 Check Station and Barberville Dam at Arcadia Road, is two fish from the second Saturday in May through the last day of Feb. That portion of the Falls River, from the bridge at Austin Farm Road to the bridge at Brook Trail, is a catch and release area.
• The portion of the confluence of the Beaver River and the Pawcatuck River, upstream to New London Turnpike, is designated as a catch and release area.
• The daily creel limit for landlocked Atlantic Salmon is two fish per day, statewide until Feb. 29, 2024, which must be part of the overall five fish limit for trout and salmon.
• There is an 8-inch minimum size for any trout caught in any state waters. The minimum size limit for domestic (landlocked) Atlantic salmon is 11 inches.

The following activities are prohibited:

• The use of external felt soled or any natural or synthetic porous material capable of absorbing water in any freshwaters in Rhode Island is strictly prohibited. This includes any waters shared with adjacent states in which Rhode Island fishing regulations apply.
• It is strictly prohibited to enter or exit a state boat ramp with any vegetation attached to any type of boats, motors, boat trailers, or any other conveyance or equipment in order to curtail the spread of invasive aquatic plants.

Information about stocked freshwaters, size and creel limits for all freshwater fish species is available in the 2023-24 Freshwater Fishing Abstract, or by calling DEM’s Great Swamp Field Office at 401-789-0281, or DEM’s Aquatic Resource Education office at 401-539-0019.

For more information on DEM programs and services, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Facebook, DEM’s Outdoor Education Page on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@RhodeIslandDEM).