Rhode Island officials to stock ponds with salmon, trout this week

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management will stock four freshwater ponds with fish this week.

Starting Monday, officials will release fish in Upper and Lower Melville Ponds in Portsmouth, Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, and Wyoming Pond in Hopkinton.

Carbuncle Pond, Upper Melville, and Lower Melville will see Sebago salmon, brook, and rainbow trout. Wyoming Pond will only be stocked with rainbow trout.

Officials said a 2023 fishing license is required for anyone 15 and older.

A trout conservation stamp is also required for anyone who wants to keep a trout or to fish in a catch-and-release or “fly-fishing only” area. There are some exemptions, including people who are over the age of 65.

The minimum size of all trout or charr species — wild or stocked — taken from Rhode Island waters is 8 inches, measured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail.

The daily limit is five fish from Opening Day to Dec. 1 and two fish from Dec. 1 through Feb. 28, 2024.