Fishing Memories from the 50s

Allan-Gadoury-holding-two-fish
Allan Gadoury’s memories of quahogging and fishing on Narragansett Bay go back to the 1950s.

Fishing Memories from the 50s

My first experience in the Bay was in the 50s, digging quahogs with my family. Then my brothers and I graduated to fishing for flatfish and blues. No summer flounder were about. Striped bass were a mythical creature we only read about in the weekly fishing report. We always caught fish, and there were a lot of other fishermen. We were instructed never to tell anyone how or where we fished. The age of instant information did not exist. Before I could drive, I had a work skiff and became a quahogger. It was a good job for a teenager when minimum wage was $1 an hour; $30 was a good day. First the flatfish disappeared, followed by most of the tautog and cod. Striped bass rebounded but due to unrestricted harvest of menhaden and short sighted management, they are in real trouble. The Bay is cleaner. The only consistent fishing I see now is summer flounder and scup.

~ Allan Gadoury

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