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Angler Profiles
by Craig Picard
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| A series of articles introducing RISAA members to the rest of the club. |
| This month's profile features Merchandise Committee Chairman ALFRED AMARAL |
Al Amaral was first introduced to fishing by his father when he was
6 years old. His first experiences in both freshwater and saltwater
were from the shore. It was not until a few years later when his father
got a skiff with a 7.5 HP motor on it that he learned about fishing from
a boat. Al and his dad trailered the boat all around the state, fishing the Warren River for stripers, the Jamestown Bridge for fluke, and Westport for scup, tautog, and stripers. After spending two years in the service stationed in Hawaii, Al bought his first boat, a 16 foot Bristol Bluefish, which he trailered all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Years later, he upgraded to a 26 footer that he docked at Masthead Marina in Warwick. He sold the boat about five years later because his two children were heavily involved in several activities. He was spending more time on the baseball field than on the boat so he decided to sell. At the moment Al is in between boats, but sees himself getting back on the water within the next year. He and his wife, Elaine, are still undecided as to size and style of boat. Al tries to fish during the spring, summer, and fall. Spring used to be a triple effort, tautog, 
flatfish, and stripers. He would travel to the Bristol Narrows
for tautog but now the shore is crowded and the flying hooks and sinkers
make it difficult to relax or enjoy fishing. Al said that flatfishing (winter flounder) was great many years ago, but with the closures in the bay combined with a struggling winter flounder fishery, it is just not what it used to be. Stripers however, have made a nice comeback and are still a favorite year round target for Al. He finds the spring striper fishing to be much more fun with live bait from the herring runs. During the summer, Al targets fluke, scup and seabass. The highlight of his summer fishing is his annual two week trip to the Cape for some surf casting. Depending on the tide, Al fishes either first light or sometimes all night using a variety of lures, including some of his home made poppers. Al Amaral joined RISAA in January 2001. Al discovered RISAA when he picked a copy of the monthly newsletter at a local bait shop. While attending the Providence Boat Show in January, he stopped by the RISAA booth and got even more information on the club and decided to join. Over the last few years Al has lost a couple of his best fishing buddies and saw RISAA as an opportunity to find some new friends. Since retiring from his career as a sales manager in the steel industry, he has had a lot more time on his hands. After joining RISAA, Al didn’t hesitate getting involved. He started by attending the monthly meetings and joining the newsletter committee, which meets once a month to assemble the newsletter and get it prepared for distribution to bait shops and mailing to members. Al said that usually several people show up to help, but they could always use more members. This past summer Al took part in Take-A-Kid Fishing Day as a mate aboard Harley Benton’s boat Flo-B. Al said that everyone had a great day and Harley was able to put them onto plenty of fish. One kid reeled in so many fish that his arms were tired. Most recently, Al became the chairman of the merchandise committee. He is now responsible for purchasing and selling club merchandise. Al said that he has a few different style/color hats on order and is looking into some more shirt options. He said that one of the newer items is the HoldZit lubricated tool saver. You can wear it on your belt or attach it to your boat and it can hold pliers and files. Stop by and see Al at the next monthly meeting and check out the new merchandise. |
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ANGLER PROFILES
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