RISAA Newsletter [Angler's Profiles: Ed Skwirz]

Angler's Profiles

Craig Picard

A series of articles introducing RISAA members to the rest of the club.

(from the November, 2001 Newsletter)
ED SKWIRZ

    Ed Skwirz was first introduced to fishing by his father, starting him off with freshwater fishing in local ponds and streams. Later, as a teenager, Ed stayed with his grandparents for several weeks during the summer at their home in Rocky Point.   During this time, his grandfather would take him fishing everyday. Ed recalls that flatfish, stripers, and weakfish were very plentiful back then, unlike the recovering fisheries of today.
     Ed continued fishing after completing a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard during the late 50's. He joined a deep-sea fishing club in Plymouth, MA that would charter the same boat to go cod fishing every other week.
    Ed's first boat was a 10-foot fiberglass canoe which he used it in the freshwater lakes and ponds of northern Rhode Island, including Stump Pond and Lincoln Woods.
     His other freshwater adventures included an annual trout fishing trip to Maine and Canada. On one of those trips he caught a 3 1/2 pound brook trout that he had mounted and hangs on the wall in his home. Another of those trips yielded a prized 19-pound steelhead trout.
     Although the brook trout and steelhead were great accomplishments, he didn't stop there. Every spring and fall he and some buddies would make a trip to Lake Ontario. One year he caught the fish that he is most proud of, a 42-pound King Salmon. It was a female with a slight hook jaw and was landed on 8-pound test line. Ed's give and take battle lasted for an hour and 20 minutes with Ed being the victor.
     Although he enjoys freshwater fishing, Ed's love for stripers, flounder, sea bass and tautog Skwirz

brought him to the salt each summer. To explore Narragansett Bay, he bought a 22 foot center console Aquasport. In the open center console he learned all the great fishing spots of the bay from Providence to Washington Ledge including the Sakonett River and Newport. He kept his boat at Bay Marina in Warwick, RI making it very easy to go north or south in the bay.
     Later, he grew out of the of the center console and upgraded to a 28 foot Bertram Fly Bridge Cruiser. With the larger boat he was able to go offshore and spend many weekends fishing Coxes Ledge for cod and trolling the waters south and east of Block Island for tuna.
     During one offshore trip in 1992 he caught a record fish for the Snug Harbor Shark Tournament. It was an 11 foot blue shark tipping the scale at 335 pounds. The record stood for a few years, but has since been broken.
     Ed has a great fishing buddy in fellow RISAA member, Harry Templeton. Ed and Harry have fished together for many years. Whether it was a trip up north for trout and salmon or a trip offshore for cod and tuna, they can count on each other. Sometimes they use Harry's boat for inshore fishing and they use Ed's for offshore trips.
     Unfortunately, a terrible accident changed the way they alternated boats. The Thursday before the RISAA Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day, Ed and Harry were moving Ed's boat up the bay to Warwick from Pointview Marina in Snug Harbor in preparation for Saturday's event. Although it was June, the boat had just been launched the day before because had Ed spent the previous nine months completely restoring the classic 28-foot Bertram. He replaced everything from electronics to engines including a fresh coat of paint. He worked many hours in the last week to have the boat in the water for the big event.
     As they were heading out of the Harbor of Refuge, a heavy bank of fog suddenly surrounded them. Moments later a large boat collided with him and almost cut his boat in half! Luckily, it was a calm day because the hull was opened up about 5 inches above the waterline.
     Ed was able to limp back to his marina, but the boat was totaled. Even though Ed and Harry would never forget the events of that morning, they both still participated in the Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day.
     Ed has no plans for another boat at the moment, but is surrounded by some great fishing buddies that invite him out often.
     Ed joined RISAA in November of 2000. He had read the monthly newsletter and Harry Templeton encouraged him to join.
      Residing in Cumberland, RI with his wife Sandy, Ed retired a few years ago from his own company, New England Electrical Contractors, although Ed is busier now than when he was running the company.   He is the electrical inspector in the Town of Cumberland. His two sons, Todd and Bill, are also involved in the electrical trade.
     Ed is also a charter member of the Rotary Club of Cumberland-Lincoln, and is currently the chairman of the Eastern States Short Term Youth Exchange, a program that arranges for foreign students to spend a summer in the U.S. with a host family and for US students to do the same overseas.
     Ed found himself in need of the hospitality when he was in France during the tragic events of September 11th and was unable to get a flight back to the U.S. for a week. With all the hotels booked up the families of the Rotary Club took him in and held dinners in his honor as an American.
     RISAA is proud to have members like Ed Skwirz!

View other ANGLER PROFILES