Snappa Charters

07/31/2024

During the past week the shark fishing has been excellent. We have had a mixture of Mako's and Sandbar sharks between 100-200 lbs. For anyone signing on as a individual I'm offering an open boat shark tagging charter. We will meet at 7am and return by 3pm. The dates are Tuesday August 6, Wednesday August 7 and Sunday August 11. The cost is $175 per person. Call me if interested 401-487-9044.

06/28/2024

Part Time Licensed Captain Needed to Operate the Charter Boat Snappa. Six Pack or Over Six Passengers License will be Considered.
Call 401-487-9044 Charlie Donilon

04/16/2024

Part Time Licensed Captain Needed to Operate the Charter Boat Snappa. Six Pack or Over Six Passengers License will be Considered.
Call 401-487-9044 After 7 PM. Charlie Donilon

03/24/2024

Charter Boat Mate Positions. It is open to males and females of any skill level or to boaters who would like to brush up on your seamanship skills. Must be 21 years of age or older due to insurance regulations. You will be greeting customers and providing orientation on the boat. There will be bait and gear preparation, rigging and maintenance before and after trip. Must join the Charter Boat Consortium random drug testing program in order to work on the boat. Part time hours and I will be hiring more than one. Call Charlie 401-487-9044

08/12/2022

Shark Fishing trip (individuals)
Catch - Tag and Release Thursday August 25
9 hour trip
$200 per person
If interested in joining others call 401-487-9044 in the evening

06/25/2022

Great day! The Vasconcelos charter.

05/29/2022

It is open to males and females of any
age and skill level or to boaters who would like to brush up on your seamanship skills. You will be greeting customers and providing orientation on the boat. There will be bait and gear preparation, rigging and maintenance before and after trip. Must join the Charter Boat Consortium random drug testing program in order to work on the boat.

03/20/2022

Divers - Due to industry wide problems with insurance coverage for divers Snappa Charters will not be offering Shark Cage Diving or Regular Diving this year (2022)

08/10/2021

04/16/2021

Divers - Due to industry wide problems with insurance coverage for divers Snappa Charters will not be offering

Shark Cage Diving or Regular Diving this year (2021)

Check back with us next year.

We will continue with the shark tagging program.

We will still be offering fishing charters, lighthouse cruises, sunset cruises and several other options. Check out our web site
https://www.snappacharters.com

Video Credit - Chris DeCarlo

03/04/2021

03/04/2021

11/01/2020

We are fishing between Newport, Pt. Judith and East Grounds. Most of the groups caught their limit or close to it. Largest fish on one day was an 8 lb blackfish caught by Joe Padula and a 6 lb blackfish caught by Dave Bousquet from Maine. We are starting to see more cod fish being captured on each trip. In another week or so, I will be heading out to Block Island water’s on a regular basis searching for blackfish, cod and sea bass. On one trip I had an angler almost fill a tote of sea bass in one hour.

I will update my calendar for those who are interested in November fishing. All of the November trips will meet at 6:30 AM and return by 2:30 PM

11/24/2019

Great day on the Black Fish off the coast of Newport.

11/21/2019

Great Day Fishing on the Snappa. Kenny Carnevale is holding an 11 lb. blackfish. Howard W from New York with a 22 lb. cod he caught as the last fish of the day.

04/13/2019

MATE & SEAMANSHIP SCHOOL
Designed by a Fisherman for Future Fishermen

LECTURES, DEMONSTRATIONS & BOAT PRACTICAL
2 Class Room Lectures 9 AM – 3:30 PM 6 Hr. Sessions April 20th and 27th

1 Boat Practical 5 ½ Hr. Session Week of May 11th

Major Topics
Offshore & Inshore Fishing • Boat Safety/Man Overboard • Fire on Board/May Day
Understanding Weather • Anchoring & Berthing • Knots & Splicing • Boat Washing
Customer Service/People Skills • Filleting • Applying for a Mate Job

Specifics
• Greeting customers, orientation and common sense on a boat, know your limitations
• Bait and gear preparation, rigging and maintenance before a trip, donning life jackets
• Clam shucking, netting, leadering, gaffing, teaching fishing methods, trolling, bottom fishing,
rig making, reel maintenance & packing reels, knife & hook sharpening
• Docking a boat securely, engine room safety & familiarization, gear requirements
• Drug testing requirements, preventing law suits, life raft emergency procedures and first aid
• How to get hired and fired, creating a resume, boats you do and do not want to work on
• Fish identification & handling, local knowledge and port history, and much more

Job Opportunity
Learn how to become a mate on a charter boat or a party boat. It is open to males and females of any
age and skill level or to boaters who would like to brush up on your seamanship skills. Job placement
will be attempted for all attendees on party and charter boats in the Pt. Judith area.

$225 for all 3 Sessions Must pre-register with full payment

Price includes lunch during lecture dates
Previous Mate School Placements 75%

Class is held at URI East Farm Campus
108 Kingston Rd RI

For more information or to make a reservation contact Charlie Donilon (401)487-9044 [email protected]

03/24/2019

MATE & SEAMANSHIP SCHOOL
Designed by a Fisherman for Future Fishermen

LECTURES, DEMONSTRATIONS & BOAT PRACTICAL
2 Class Room Lectures 9 AM – 3:30 PM 6 Hr. Sessions April 20th and 27th

1 Boat Practical 5 ½ Hr. Session Week of May 11th

Major Topics
Offshore & Inshore Fishing • Boat Safety/Man Overboard • Fire on Board/May Day
Understanding Weather • Anchoring & Berthing • Knots & Splicing • Boat Washing
Customer Service/People Skills • Filleting • Applying for a Mate Job

Specifics
• Greeting customers, orientation and common sense on a boat, know your limitations
• Bait and gear preparation, rigging and maintenance before a trip, donning life jackets
• Clam shucking, netting, leadering, gaffing, teaching fishing methods, trolling, bottom fishing,
rig making, reel maintenance & packing reels, knife & hook sharpening
• Docking a boat securely, engine room safety & familiarization, gear requirements
• Drug testing requirements, preventing law suits, life raft emergency procedures and first aid
• How to get hired and fired, creating a resume, boats you do and do not want to work on
• Fish identification & handling, local knowledge and port history, and much more

Job Opportunity
Learn how to become a mate on a charter boat or a party boat. It is open to males and females of any
age and skill level or to boaters who would like to brush up on your seamanship skills. Job placement
will be attempted for all attendees on party and charter boats in the Pt. Judith area.

$225 for all 3 Sessions Must pre-register with full payment

Price includes lunch during lecture dates
Previous Mate School Placements 75%

Class is held at URI East Farm Campus
108 Kingston Rd RI

For more information or to make a reservation contact Charlie Donilon (401)487-9044 [email protected]

11/30/2018

Anglers,

Over the past 10 days we have experienced some of the best and worst blackfish action of the season.. Due to the unrelenting winds causing rough seas, I have had to fish in the more protective waters around Newport, Clayhead Block Island and East Grounds. The adverse weather conditions have definitely had an effect on the fishing. It’s usually around this time of year when the large to jumbo blackfish move into our waters.. As it has turned out, the fish have been right on schedule. On a few occasions last week our charter groups battled with quite a few “Bulldogs of the Deep!” We are also seeing a few cod hitting the deck.

I always like to give credit to any angler who lands a big one aboard the Snappa. Over the last ten days, 3 of my customers have done just that. Nine year old Joshua Montanez is my youngest angler to brave the 34 degrees temps to catch this 5 lb. blackfish Two of our long time anglers who deserve recognition for outstanding catches are Jon Frost and Don Smaligo As can be seen in the photos, Jon caught an 8 lb. blackfish and on his next drop he caught a 10 lb. blackfish. The 10 lber is his largest blackfish to date. Don Smaligo takes the award for catching the largest four fish on any trip. Excluding 4 other blackfish, his largest four blackfish weighed in at 12.5 lbs. two fish at 14 lbs and finally his last fish at 14.5 lbs. I would have to say that Don has figured out the secret to catching the big ones. He actually told me the secret but I’m sworn to secrecy. Sorry!.

If the weather breaks and allows us to get out where the fish live, we should have another 2 or 3 weeks of black fishing. At the same time we should see the cod and sea bass fishing improve. I have also heard that there are a few haddock being caught at Coxes Ledge. I will keep my eyes and ears open in search of haddock. Actually I will just keep my eyes open as all of you know how bad my hearing is. My fishing season will end after December 31st. I hope to see everyone one more time. For those of you who have been on 4 charters this season, make sure to cash in on your free trip before the season ends.

Charlie Donilon

11/30/2018

Untitled Album

11/16/2018

Even though we experienced extreme wind and rain over the last 10 days we were able to get out on a few blackfish trips. As a bonus on Sunday’s trip we managed to bring aboard a few nice cod, sea bass, and blackfish. Shown in the photos is an 18 lb. cod and a few nice blackfish.

For the coming week I have a few individual spots available on Nov. 21st, 23rd, 28th, 29th, and 30th. Call if interested 401-487-9044

10/13/2018

Snapa Dive Charter August 4, 2015

Snapa Dive Charter August 4, 2015

Description

10/07/2018

Yesterday’s first outing for blackfish was very good. All of our anglers caught their limit and continued to catch and throw back additional keepers. Sea bass were also being captured mixed in with the blackfish. I’m still looking to fill the boat for an 8 hr. blackfish trip on Monday (Columbus Day) with individuals at $120/person or a private group where you can bring up to 7 passengers for $700 or a 6 hr. half day at $550. Sailing time will be 6 AM. Call me at 401-487-9044 or email me to make a reservation.

RESERVATIONS:
As all of you know who are receiving this email, many of my blackfish trips are put together by individuals who can’t form a private group. These trips are sometimes formed on short notice. A serious problem that has occurred in the past is that people will call to reserve two or three spots and then call me the night before the trip having to cancel their reservation. In such a case I have to honor the commitment of other people who show up at the boat. Sometimes sailing with only two or three passengers at a loss of income. If this situation continues, I will require a credit card to hold any future reservations. To avoid these last minute cancellations, I would suggest double checking to make sure you will be allowed time off from work. If reserving two or three spots, make sure the group you are coming with understands that a verbal commitment means that you will be charged for any “No Shows”.

07/07/2018

We still have availabilty on open Dives July 28, August 27,29,30 and 31.

12/08/2017

Hi everyone,

The best way to describe the past weekend was hot and cold. On Saturday we hit the fish pretty hard. We had 22 cod, 18 blackfish and 32 sea bass. The numbers on Sunday were half of what we had on Saturday. On Monday the totals were 15 cod, 23 sea bass and 1 big blackfish. The seas were calm on all three days with the temps. around 50 degrees. That’s about as close to summer as we will experience until next June. For those who like to keep warm, I do have a heated cabin.

From now until Dec. 15th we will be targeting a combination of cod, blackfish and sea bass. Some anglers have expressed more interest in blackfish while others like the combination of the 3 different species. If you are joining us on an open fishing trip, we will decide what the majority prefers to go after. The blackfish season will end after the 15th of December. After the 15th we will be fishing areas that produce cod and sea bass.

The boat will be hauled out of the water for winter storage during the first week of January. So if you want to fill your freezer with some nice white meat fillets, now is the time to go. I will send out one or two more email notices to keep you all informed as to the productivity of our trips. If anyone would like to be removed from my mailing list email me at [email protected].

11/26/2017

Just thought I would keep everyone informed of my whereabouts. Before Thanksgiving we were fishing around the Pt. Judith light area. We did very well on most of our blackfish trips. Things started to change so I decided to try a different area. I ventured out to East Grounds to find some chubby blackfish and cod. Blackfish, cod, and sea bass all cooperated but you had to put up with dog fish by the ton. The dog fish won because I didn’t have the patience to untangle rigs or replace them from the dog fish biting them off.

Today we tried fishing way east of Pt. Judith which proved to be worth the effort. It was a one stop day with the quota being filled by 1:30 PM. Our catch was all blackfish. No cod or dog fish. All sea bass were thrown back due to their size. The blackfish ratio was about 3 to 1 on the throw back to keeper tally. There were no outstanding fish with our largest black about 6 to 7 lbs. We did have quite a few fish in the 3 to 5 lb. bracket.

We will continue to fish for sea bass, blackfish and cod combination until the blackfish season comes to an end on Dec. 15th. After that date we will be heading out to Coxes Ledge for cod and sea bass. In the near future I’m putting together mixed groups on Nov. 28th and 30th. In December
I’m putting together mixed groups on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. The meeting time is 6 AM with our return around 2 or 3 PM. So take advantage of the warm weather we have experienced this fall. . Don’t miss out on an opportunity to fish the RI shoreline which is known as the “Blackfish Capital of the World” or at least that’s what my t-shirts say!

All verbal reservations are required to pay in full if you are a No Show.

You can email or call me at 401-487-9044 to make a reservation. I look forward to hearing from all of you who I haven’t seen all year.

Charlie Donilon

11/16/2017

Connie B. With a 7 lb blackfish

11/16/2017

Ron T. With a 10 1/2 lb Blackfish

11/11/2017

Just a quick note to inform you that the blackfish bite is on. During the last week we have seen the total daily catch limits improving every day. We have been catching close to our 6 fish/person limit on almost all of our trips. For each blackfish that we keep, we have been throwing back 4 or 5 fish that are undersized. With such numbers of throw backs, this is a good sign for the future of the fishery. With the water temperatures finally beginning to drop causing the improvement of the blackfish catches we have seen a drop in the sea bass fishery. This should only be a temporary condition because I will be fishing a different area in the near future.

The following dates are available for open or mixed groups as well as private charters. November 13th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 28th, 29th, and 30th. I will post December dates as we get closer to the month. We will target both cod and blackfish between the last week of November through December 15th. The blackfish fishery will be closed after December 15th. At that point we will fish exclusively for cod through the end of the year.

To reserve a spot please call me at 401-487-9044 or email me at [email protected]

09/20/2017

Good thing I cancelled today's trip - it was a little choppy