The town of middletown RI is trying to close down public parking at Tuckerman's point in middletown. This is one of very few access spots in middletown and a favorite for surfers as well as surfcasters (although there are no fish there :bshake: :) Theres a meeting at Middletown town hall at 7pm on June 7th and if you fish there you might want to go and make yoru voice heard. I would be going to this but I'm going to be in Alaska.

Also, in Narragansett, we just lost a great fishing spot due to a parking ban:af:

Actually Eben there are TWO spots on the block one is on the east side of Tuckerman's Point, the other on the west. The one on the west is illegally fenced off.

In regards to the spot on the east side, seems that the concerned folks who paid a million just for their lots (seen the "seaside bungalows" that are going up yet?) don't want automobiles parked on Tuckerman Avenue. So, although the spot is still open, you can't park anywhere near it. Needless to say, they want Middletown to be just like Greenwich, CT - :bshake: - which is to say inaccessible. Personally, I think they should go the **** back to Fairfield County.

Ya know, trying to close a public access fishing spot is tough - trying to prohibit parking is - apparently - easier and just about as effective.

Plan on being at Middletown Town Hall for the meeting on the 7th of June at 7:00 PM - I'm gonna be there. Pitchforks, torches and ropes are optional at your discretion.

See ya there :smokin: - I hope.

Trust me, the fishing SUCKS in Fairfield County, CT. :hihi:

I'd much rather poach fish in Rhody. :bshake:

Crafty thats the same BS that happened in Ganseett.... I guess the neuvo riche found a loophole.

I say we throw our bass frames in their yard, stuff pogies in their mail slots and ram squid up thier tailpipes :laughs:

I think Bluefish would be more fun than squid. :hihi:

Eben,


the only way to gain a win on issues like these are to play in the system...we all want to lasdh out but that just never works

you guys can fight these elite landowners, but it takes organization

Get reps from every local fishing club to show up with prepared statements

Have prepared letters to hand out to fishers that can attend

Get everyone you guys can to show up...

It is important to get local buis ownwers that can appreciate the effect of fishers to testify to lost revenues

If a local club is an affiliate of RFA, CCa etc, get the national staff to write letters and help organize support with an action alert

good luck

They did it in Chatam at Stage Harboer!! You can use the ramp but you can't park!!

Thanks, BasicPatrick - you've said what I thought, but Gawd knows the temptation is there :af:

Unfortunately, all that kind of payback would do is put a bad spin on an already lousy situation for us as fishermen.

Eben, I know about the ban in Narragansett - that stinks. I've always joked that Rhode Island is the biggest small town in the country. How many towns are there in the state where a native (or naturalized) Rhode Islander doesn't know at least one person - or someone's cousin. I never cease to be amazed that when I run into someone that I don't know from another RI town or city, we always seem to know a number of the same people.

There are many of us who fish a number of different areas within RI - although personally I don't hit the mainland as much as I once did, I just don't have enough time these days- so whether it's an area we fish a little or a lot (or maybe even not at all), it behooves ALL of us to defend our rights as a group. I love Newport as a fourth generation native here but damn, South County is pretty special. So's the Island....and so on and so on. I hate to see it being taken away from us bit by bit. It's the thin edge of the wedge at work.

Ultimately, an access issue ANYWHERE in the state sets a precedent and then affects us all.

When ya think about it, we've all got a helluva lot in common, both as Rhode Islanders and fishermen (and women) - and that is our right to fish unimpeded by ANYONE at our access points. Our state has a REAL strong tradition of defending our rights to access the shoreline. It was written into the state charter 300 years (or so) ago. The recent arrivees are just going to have to be educated about our rights - we already know what they are.

You've got one area on Tuckerman in Middletown where the abutting landowner has erected a chain-link fence across a delineated public access path. And the town (or state) simply needs to send in a backhoe to rectify that situation.

And now you've got a couple of people on the other side of the point who truly believe that buying a house lot gives them the right to pursue a de facto denial of access to a spot by way of parking restrictions.

If memory serves (and at times I gotta admit it's doesn't exactly serve with distinction), Middletown has already been through the Tuckerman parking ban issue and restored open parking there some years ago.

Then you've got the Jamestown bridge area in potential trouble too due to high-priced development.

And you guys that like to fish the Light, wait until they start developing that 13 acre parcel in Watch Hill.

This really isn't gonna end anytime soon. And I wouldn't wanna have to tell my kids or grandkids a few years down the road that I saw it happening and didn't do a goddamned thing about it.

Personally, I think it's high time to circle the wagons and cover each others backs - we've gonna have to fight and remind the 'nouveau seaside cottage' folks that it's "not for nothin' " that they used to call this Rogue's Island.

I grew up in Middletown and I'd have to say that the people who are in charge have pretty much done an awful job. Hopefully I can go and see how the powers that be handle this one. Hopefully there will be some local fisherman attending to give our point of view. Middletown has repeatedly "sold out" over the years and this is just another example of the yuppie invasion of Aquidneck Island. I love how a small few who are not from Aquidneck Island, and I bet the people who buy those homes will not be from Aquidneck Island, are going to try and tell a fishing community that they no longer will be able to access a spot that has been used for generations. All I know is that if that spot gets shut down there WILL be alot of rotten bait thrown over the fence on you know whos lawn.

Could someone let me know what spot in Narragansett was lost?? Didn't see anything about it.:( Thanks

:af:

:af: also

Hope I see ya there, Chipwood - along with all the other S-B guys who are Islanders (past, present or honorary).

I think it's important for us to make a showing and see how the situation is handled - it could go either way, I suppose, but there are several conscientious (in my estimation) council members who would be opposed to a ban.

It'll be hard but we'll have to stay cool-headed and see if we can't voice objections based on sound arguments. And believe me there are plenty - hopefully we can get the local clubs involved. I'm sure they're already on it and well-apprised of the situation.

And yeah, this crap has been probably been going on since 1636...:rolleyes:

Maybe there's a big silver lining in this cloud after all - I'd love to see something formed to defend and protect shoreline access, like Newport's Friends of the Waterfront, which is a great watch-dog organization.

Hopefully the bait and tackle shops are getting involved and the Friends of the Newport Waterfront is a good idea. If the shutdown does occur though, it will be kind of ironic when the people who live in those houses finally go into the Saltwater Edge looking for their Fly gear to go fishing, and you know they will.

We have become the second home first choice for those who could not afford the Hamptons. They bring the same attitude as it relates to public access with them. It is not enough to own the land that their trophy house stands upon, they want the road, and all that their eyes survey.

Trash, noise, the internet - yet the far and away numero uno reason we lose access is because a rich guy with connections moves in and can't stand the sight of proletarian fisherman obstructing his water view. Don't lose sight of the real enemy.

:af: