Spring has sprung in RI!

Finally, it’s fishing season here in New England! Early Connecticut tog season has come and gone, but we still have a few weeks left in Rhode Island. While the fishing started off slow due to a ridiculously cold winter, it’s now in full swing. There have been plenty of reports of full stringers of tog, a few stripers, and even some weakfish in the bay!

I’d like to take a quick moment to recognize the Ocean State Spearguns team divers! Patrick (Connecticut), Jamie (Rhode Island), and Quentin (North Carolina) have been diving with our spearguns for years, but we’ve also recently added a few new divers to represent a broader demographic, as OSS continues expanding beyond a regional brand. John (Michigan) and Frankie (Louisiana) are the latest additions, and we’re excited to see the OSS brand represented by these divers. Be sure to check out the “Team Divers” on the website (https://www.oceanstatespearguns.com/teamdivers ) to learn more about them and their backgrounds! We also have a few more exciting additions in the works, so stay tuned…

Speaking of John, he runs the Michigan Spearfishing Association and was recently instrumental in helping open the Great Lakes to spearfishing. Due to this unprecedented opportunity, there has been a significant increase in new divers throughout the region. As a result, John and the Michigan Spearfishing Association have invited me to travel to Michigan this summer to teach. I’ll be running two FII Level 1 courses during the weekend of August 1 in Roscommon, Michigan. This is a unique opportunity for Michigan divers, as there are currently little to no local offerings for this course. We’ve already seen a lot of interest, and half the seats are filled. If you’re a Michigan diver — or a Midwest diver willing to travel — and are interested in the course, additional information and registration are available on the FII website (https://www.freedivinginstructors.com/fii/courses_by/299).

Locally, my Rhode Island FII Level 1 courses are completely booked. If you’re interested in taking the course, I’ll be adding at least one or two more sessions in September and am keeping a waitlist for cancellations. I’m also working on setting up pool-only sessions over the winter. This will be a great opportunity to complete your classroom and confined water training during the colder months.

A happy customer in the Florida Keys! Curt took his brand new Oceania Breakdown Speargun to Islamorada and hammered a bunch of fish on a 120cm speargun that packed into his checked luggage!

Enjoy the spring fishing — we’ve been waiting for this!

— Matt