The Big Four of Little Rhody
Ray’s Fly, Flatwing; the Razzledazzle; and Hunky’s Finest Kind are three excellent big-fish flatwings, for they achieve the length and width of herring, menhaden, and mackerel without adding bulk. Ray’s Fly, tied by Ray Bondorow, is an excellent olive, yellow, and white saltwater bucktail for imitating small bait.
Dave Skok’s Mushmouth, a Thundercreek-style small-bait pattern, was created with skipjack tuna in mind. The Mushmouth is tied with white Super Hair and Umpqua Angel Hair in a variety of colors. While it catches skipjacks, bonito, and false albacore, it also does well on striped bass.
Capt. Johnny Glenn’s silicone Johnny’s Angel is a great small-profile fly that is extremely durable. When tied about 4-inches long and on a #1/0 hook, the fly resembles a sand eel or silverside. Downsized to a #2 or #4 hook, Johnny’s Angel works well on bonito and false albacore.
The Mystic Bay Hardbody Shiner is also a great bonito and false albacore fly. If you fish the salt ponds on either the full or new moons, you’ll want to have some worm patterns in your box, and Dixon’s Cinder Worm or Page Rogers’s Velvet Worm are two excellent patterns. Since bass may be fussy during the worm hatch, Abrames’s Clam Worm is also an effective pattern.
Clouser Minnows in a variety of colors, Deceivers in different colors and sizes, small epoxies and poppers, and sliders all take their share of Rhode Island fish. Fly sizes vary between #2 and #4/0 and the more successful colors for both Clousers and Deceivers are brown over white, blue over white, olive over white, and chartreuse over white.
Access. Rhode Island has large spans of beaches, packed in summer with sunbathers and swimmers. Parking and access can be difficult in some areas. Boat anglers can easily maneuver the private coastline, but shore anglers can reach many beaches by four-wheel-drive vehicles. Mean low water (the average low-tide mark) is public. Surrounding land, such as a beach, can be private. For access information call the Coastal Resources Management Council at 401-222-2476. Mid-April through Memorial Day and from Labor Day through Christmas are less crowded periods.
Boat ramps are in good to excellent condition. To fish the Westerly area, there is a ramp behind the old Cove Edge tackle shop in Westerly; in the Sakonnet River area, there is a ramp near the Sakonnet Point Marina (401-635-4753); in the Newport area, there is a public ramp off of Ocean Drive near the Ida Lewis Yacht Club (401-846-1969). Other fee ramps scattered around the area can be located in the Embassy Guide Maptech book, available at most marinas.
Lodging. For information on the Watch Hill area, call the South County Visitor’s Bureau at 800-548-4662. For the Newport area, call the Newport County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at 800-976-5122. For the Barrington area, call the East Bay Tourism Council at 888-278-9948. For Greenwich Bay, call the Warwick Tourism Information Bureau, 800-492-7942. Also check out Rhode Island tourist information online at www.visitrhodeisland.com/.
Tom Keer is Fly Fisherman’s Northeast Field Editor. He lives in Boston, MA.
Fly Shops
Bear’s Den
Taunton, MA
508-880-6226
Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle
North Kingston, RI
401-294-9642
Wickford Village, RI 02852
401-267-0102
Newport, RI
401-842-0062
Guides
Kenney Abrames
401-842-0062
Capt. Chris Aubut
508-636-3267
Capt. Steve Barnett
860-572-9896
Capt. Steve Bellafleur
860-535-4856
Capt. Johnny Glenn
401-348-8716
Capt. Roe Labossiere
401-364-6400
Capt. Sandy Noise
860-886-9212
Ray Smith
401-842-0062
Capt. Ray Stachelek
401-434-6660
Capt. Eric Thomas
401-842-0062
Capt. Jim White
401-828-9465
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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