Flyfishing Rhode Island

[smallmouth89]

Hi There!

I have been driving down from Ontario, Canada with a friend to experience some great freshwater fishing on one of the reservoirs in Rhode Island. Usually we fish from our float tubes. This year I would like to get my new Tarpon 120 into the salt. we will either be coming down mid May or possibly mid August. Where should we head for some good saltwater flyfishing at that time of the year? Which would be best? Spring or Summer?

[JMadert]

Can some of you who fish New England waters assist our Canadian friend ? Quite a few of you guys fish Cape Cod, so I'm sure any intel on that area would also apply to Rhode Island (with respect to time of year anyway).

[Redfish Bluefish]

You might also check stripersonline.com and reel-time.com they have a much larger new england contingent.

[Redfish Bluefish]

Oh, and the forums on kayakfishingstuff.com. you might even find someone to go out with while you're there.

[OneMoreCast]

Yooooo....do you have any beaches in particular you want to hit? I can list some basic stuff for you...no worries. Your kayak will do fine on decent days.. One thing to consider with RI is the amazing beach access and the NIGHT fishing from the beach. I think later in the summer would be better for numbers of fish.
Anyway... if you can give me some more info, I can point you in the right direction. I lived in Hartford for a few years and beaches like Westerly were very close to home.

[bunyan]

There is a dedicated contingent of saltwater flyrodders in RI. Check out Stripermoon.com. Its focus is on RI, with most of the participants being from there. They even have weekley tuesday fishing gatherings open to all and geared towards learning to become a better thinking fisherman. I've never been, but have heard good things.

[The Old Man]

Very detailed lists/maps/directions of beach access points, including some pretty obscure places:

A Daytripper's Guide to Rhode Island (http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/daytrip/)

[DF]

Wow! If I'd had all that info while I was in college up there, I'd bet I would have flunked out! I will vouch for this spot though:
53. Narrow River Inlet
Just east of Sprague Bridge, on the south side of the Narrow River inlet, is a small parking area and a path to the tidal waters of the Narrow River. This site offers access to a popular fishing site underneath the bridge and an excellent place to launch a kayak.

I spent many an hour between the bridge and the mouth of the river. Spring would bring the winter flounder, and by the time the semester was winding down, the fluke would be in the salt marsh edges and the stripe-izz would be waiting outside the river mouth for whatever the tide brought them. I also would toss plugs late into the night off "The Wall" at the lower end of Narragansett Beach...one crazy college kid along with the dozen or so regular hard core fishing retireees. My old Stan Gibbs plugs are probably worth a bit more these days!
DF

[Quill Gordon]

Log on to [URL="www.stripermoon.com"]. This is Kenny Abrams' [author of "Stripermoon"] website, devoted to all aspects of flyfishing the R.I salt. Good luck.

[smallmouth89]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your kind advice. I first posted this on the main board and was steered here.
Glad I followed up on the tip!

[Paul M.]

Definitely check out www.stripermoon.com. Check out the Main board on the Bulletin boards page. Feel free to post there for info. Also, if you scan the fishing reports board for a date in Aug, over the past two years you can find some places where the guy's have fished. Try to be in RI on a Tue. night and meet up with the gang. You will learn a lot and have a great time fishing. Ken and the others will be happy to show you the ropes. I fished with them for two years and make it up at least twice a year to hook up. This coming Tue. is their first fishing night of the season. August can lead you to some nice places on South County Beaches or some of the inlets in Narragansett Bay.
Paul M.

[smallmouth89]

Gentlemen,

I forgot to tell you I will be based in Coventry, Rhode island. How close is that to where ken and his group fish on heir Tuesday excursions?

[Shortylong01]

Saltwater Flyfishing in Rhode Island is off the charts great. I kept my boat there for two summers and made the commute every other week. The fishing is that great.

Big stripers should be up there just about now for the Herring run... try the mouths of the rivers. After the herring run disperses the "Striper eating squid a thon" starts. Most incredible sight I have ever seen... panicked squid breaking out of the water with big stripers in hot pursuit.

The blues (real blues with shoulders) are there most of the summer and into the fall. In the fall in the Naraganset River there is literally acres and acres of breaking nice blues to pluck out. An incredible sight.... Small false ablies (compared to Harkers albies) and bonita are taken in good numbers at the end of the summer and fall... There are years where small bluefin are thick within sight of the land... (Incredible fishing)

Don't go to RI without visiting the SALTWATER EDGE. These guys know as much as anyone about flyfishing and surf fishing in Rhode Island. Saltwater Fishing Tackle: The Saltwater Edge Fishing Co. (http://www.saltwateredge.com)

I know this is off topic since you asked for fresh water... but I couldn't resist since the water on the Flats sux so bad right now....

[Paul M.]

smallmouth89 -
Nothing is far in RI the state is only about 50 miles across and not much more up and down. Coventry would be pretty close to anything (less than an hour's drive unless traffic is real bad).