Sportfishing at Beavertail

This record-breaking striped bass was caught by Arthur S. Clarke of Jamestown on the afternoon of October 22, 1936. He was fishing from Flat Rock at nearby Hull's Cove. The fish weighed 65 lbs, measured 54 inches in length and 33 inches around the girth. It was probably more than 20 years old.

Clarke caught the fish with an eel lure of his own invention: stored in a bottle of brine, could be used many times over. Following an article on Clarke in Field and Stream magazine, Clarke’s eels achieved worldwide popularity.

In the late 1940s, boat and shore anglers in search of striped bass and other game fish headed for Jamestown. Rebelle Felice, the owner of the Creek Bait Shop on North Road, fondly remembers the days when he sold 25-30 bushels of crab on a weekend, as bait for blackfish. Though overfishing led to the depletion of game fish by the late 1970s, the striped bass population is again on an upswing due to federally imposed size limits. In 1990. the minimum length for a caught striped bass will be 38 inches.

Preservation of this fish was funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Marine Sportfishing Alliance.