We had a picture perfect afternoon to go fishing on Narragansett Bay. A bluebird day as the saying goes. There was not a cloud in the sky and the breeze was light enough to enjoy. We met up with Capt. Ray Stachelek and his first mate and son, Scott. Boy, Capt. Ray knows his stuff ! We hit the bay and soon were into fish moving from one area to another, picking up fish along the way. Even Scott, who at fifteen was an accomplished fisherman in his own right, had his own special spots where he assessed the conditions and produced fish. A good lad, he was very helpful, and a chip off the old block I would say.
Capt. Ray has two secret weapons. The first is the Capt. Ray's Angel Hair fly and the second is a fantastic fly fishing machine for a boat. All winter long Capt. Ray and his son tie flies and their secret is a special rainbow angel hair fly that got things started when the standard olive and white clousers didn't produce. This fly shimmers so much that it looks like it is constantly moving. It's deadly. The Ray's Angel Hair fly was responsible for most of the double-digit numbers of fish we got into. Most of these fish were the "bay specials." These babies are just a little under keeper length and full of fight.
Now this boat was something else ! A fly fishing edition, deep vee, 20 foot Boston Whaler. Every aspect of this boat was tuned for fly-fishing. With three casting stations, one at the bow and one on each side of the stern, you could comfortably concentrate on fishing. All of the many storage hatches, lockers and cleats were recessed for trouble free line handling. I am always getting the fish on the reel late in the process and, with nothing to snag the line for even a microsecond, you could focus on the fish and the fight. What a luxury. What a great machine.
We hit many good spots but my favorite was an estuary, just as the sun was going down. As you cast the fly line out over the water in the quietly flooding estuary, you were likely to scatter a school of fish in all directions. Every so often, everything would come together just right and you would hook up. And then, blues or bass, you had your hands full.
As we tired out the sun turned into a rosy glowing phase for the night and we headed back for a long smooth ride to Colt State Park and hauled the boat. What a delightful evening. Many thanks to Capt. Ray and his son Scott and to the Fly Fishing Forum for a really enjoyable trip. We are lucky indeed.
Jay and Diane Clancy
Capt. Ray has two secret weapons. The first is the Capt. Ray's Angel Hair fly and the second is a fantastic fly fishing machine for a boat. All winter long Capt. Ray and his son tie flies and their secret is a special rainbow angel hair fly that got things started when the standard olive and white clousers didn't produce. This fly shimmers so much that it looks like it is constantly moving. It's deadly. The Ray's Angel Hair fly was responsible for most of the double-digit numbers of fish we got into. Most of these fish were the "bay specials." These babies are just a little under keeper length and full of fight.
Now this boat was something else ! A fly fishing edition, deep vee, 20 foot Boston Whaler. Every aspect of this boat was tuned for fly-fishing. With three casting stations, one at the bow and one on each side of the stern, you could comfortably concentrate on fishing. All of the many storage hatches, lockers and cleats were recessed for trouble free line handling. I am always getting the fish on the reel late in the process and, with nothing to snag the line for even a microsecond, you could focus on the fish and the fight. What a luxury. What a great machine.
We hit many good spots but my favorite was an estuary, just as the sun was going down. As you cast the fly line out over the water in the quietly flooding estuary, you were likely to scatter a school of fish in all directions. Every so often, everything would come together just right and you would hook up. And then, blues or bass, you had your hands full.
As we tired out the sun turned into a rosy glowing phase for the night and we headed back for a long smooth ride to Colt State Park and hauled the boat. What a delightful evening. Many thanks to Capt. Ray and his son Scott and to the Fly Fishing Forum for a really enjoyable trip. We are lucky indeed.
Jay and Diane Clancy