01:00 AM EST on Saturday, March 25, 2006

Organizers are expecting as many as 12,000 anglers to attend the New England Saltwater Fishing Show, Friday through next Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

"Recreational saltwater fishing is larger than anyone had anticipated," said Steve Medeiros, president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, producer of the event. "We had 8,000 visitors in 2004, 10,000 visitors last year, so we're hoping to see 12,000 this year."

The show will feature more than 200 exhibitors in 500 booths, Medeiros said. There will be non-stop seminars presented by national and regional fishing experts, including both shore- and boat-fishing experts.

Rhode Island charter skipper Jim White, the author of How To Fish Baits In Saltwater, is scheduled to present a seminar on soft plastic lures next Saturday, but he will be available at his own booth throughout the weekend to autograph books and offer one-on-one advice about how and where to fish soft plastic lures in Rhode Island. Taking the skipper's advice, one of White's clients caught a 43-pound striper on a soft-plastic shad.

Steve McKenna, another proponent of fishing with soft-plastic lures, also is scheduled to speak at the show. Fishing almost exclusively with the Slug-Go lure, McKenna routinely catches big stripers at night in the surf from Narragansett to Napatree Point with his buddy, Bill Nolan. Nolan is also scheduled to speak.

The seminars will be offered in a non-stop schedule. They are free and open to everyone who attends the show. There also will be a steady stream of fly-casting demonstrations by Bob Hines, Ed Lombardo and Lynn Smith.

Several manufacturers will give away gifts at the door, and door prizes include three charterboat trips to fish off Block Island as well as a weekend at Foxwoods Resort.

Scheduled to return are two of the show's most popular features: the kids' casting area where everyone receives an award certificate, and the fishing simulator where everyone can fight a trophy gamefish.

It takes six year-round volunteers to plan the show and 100 volunteer members to keep it going over the weekend.

The event is scheduled to open Friday from noon to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets cost $10 each, and there is a $2 discount coupon available online at nesaltwatershow.com.

Expo at Gillette

Received too late for last week's column was news of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association's Sportfishing Expo this weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

The event opens today and continues until 5 p.m. tomorrow. There will be seminars by McKenna, Nolan, and several other regional experts on fishing for stripers. Tickets cost $15 each, and there are discount coupons online at http://www.msba.net/expo/

RISAA seminars

On Monday, RISAA has scheduled a doubleheader for its monthly seminar at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick. The inn serves dinner from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the seminars follow at 7.

Don Smith, the winner of two major tournaments off Block Island last season, will present a seminar on fishing with live eels. He will focus on how to use circle hooks, braided line, and techniques for fishing with eels. He will also share some of his favorite spots around Block Island.

Then Dennis Ryan and Todd McGregor will explain how to fish with Gibbs Lures. Ryan is co-owner of the famous lure company, and McGregor is skipper of the charterboat Macatac out of Fairhaven, Mass. He will explain how to effectively troll swimming lures with wire line to produce surefire catches of striped bass, says Medeiros.

Bumper deer crop

Rhode Island hunters shot 2,672 deer during the season that just ended, according to preliminary figures released by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. The total was 11 less than last season.

A total of 1,204 deer was taken during the muzzle-loader season, 31 more than last year, and 685 deer were taken during the shotgun season, an increase of 107 over last year. Mainland archery hunters took 437 deer, 29 more than last season. Prudence and Patience Island archery hunters took 175 deer, 50 percent less than last year, which was expected due to efforts to reduce the herd in prior years. An additional three deer were taken on Prudence Island during the special hunt by paraplegics and double amputees. Block Island hunters took 24 deer during the archery portion, and 145 during the shotgun portion, similar to last year's total of 163.

"Many impressive deer were taken this season, despite the lack of acorns," said biologist Lori Gibson. "Three muzzleloader hunters checked in deer weighing 225 pounds dressed: one from Foster with 8 points, one from Smithfield, also with 8 points, and one from Scituate with 10 points. The largest deer taken by shotgun was taken in West Greenwich and weighed 230 pounds. The largest deer taken by archery was in Glocester and weighed 225 pounds, dressed, with 10 points."

Motor vehicles struck 1,261 deer, a 22-percent increase over the previous record of 1,032 reported last year.

Striper bite

John Lisi and Mike Cote have been catching large stripers before dawn in the Providence River near the Point Street Bridge, says David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Lisi says they're getting strikes on almost every cast. Once false dawn arrives, however, the fishing shuts off.

Welcome back

Thom Pelletier of Quaker Lane Outfitters says the North Kingstown store almost certainly will reopen next weekend. The largest independent tackle store in Rhode Island was destroyed by a fire late last year.

tmeade@projo.com / (401) 277-7340