Bob Voltaggio- New York

Pawcatuck River (note cemetery)

Where else should you explore? Man, the list goes on but the second most likely spot to hit early stripers is on the West Wall near East Matunuck State Beach. Be prepared to share the jetty with everybody and their brother, but if you can get to the end of the jetty, it is without question the optimal spot. If the West Wall is packed with early (or late) birds, then try the East Wall which is accessed from the Narragansett side of the Pt. Judith Pond breachway. If you know how to get to the Pt. Judith lighthouse, on your way there look for a sign marking Camp Cronin. Not as great a place as the West Wall, but definitely less crowded and the bass should be within reach. (Bring a spinning rod in case they are beyond fly casting range).  Two other reliable spots to check out are the east and west corners of Sachuest Beach aka Second Beach in Middletown.

Sachuest Beach (left center corner)

 The best times to go are typically the early morning and late afternoon. Be prepared to be cold and of course wet if there is any kind of shore break. Use small patterns on Intermediate lines (also bring a spinner to make life easier if you are facing a head-wind.) For any of these early season striper spots I would suggest Clouser Minnows and Lefty's Deceivers... no magic here, the fish will be small but after this prolonged and cold weather...a good tug on the end of your line will be welcomed.   

 That's nice Jim, but where are your other secret spring spots?         Well, here 'ya go Mate- but they really aren't so secret, after all, native Americans fished many of them hundreds of years ago! 

Polar Fibre Minnow

Newport-- The ledge at Collins Beach casting towards Butterball Rock/ The jetty at Brenton Point State Park

Middletown-- Easton Point-Sachuest Point and east along the walking path/shoreline to the observation platform

Jamestown-- Beavertail Point shoreline/ Taylor Point/ Hull Cove at Short Point

Narragansett-- Bonnet Point at east end of Bonnet Shore Beach, Narrow River from the mouth of the ocean all the way to Gilbert Stuart brook 

North Kingstown-- Greene Point toward the Old Sargeant just up from the west end of the Jamestown Bridge/ Rome Point towards the seal rocks and back inside in the narrows of Bissell Cove (on the drop)- Sauga Point- north towards sewer entrance/ Calf Pasture Point at high tide just north of Allen Harbor- the entire beach/ Tibbetts Creek outflow in front of Quidnessett Country Club in East Greenwich- on the drop

East Greenwich-- Marsh Point and just inside the Green or Potowomut River, near pond outflow- high tide dropping

Warwick ~ Sally Rock Point- access thru Goddard Park/ Long Point just north of Greenwich Cove- access thru Goddard/ Shoreline from Long Point to the boat ramp at Goddard/ Conimicut Point bar- be careful of dropping tide/ Greene Island structure- access via kayak from bad ramp at Occupessatuxet Cove/ Gaspee Point on moving water- either tide. The Greene Islands are HOT!

East Providence-- Sabin Point- but lock and alarm your car/ Bullock Point on the drop

Barrington-- entire Barrington River and Hundred Acre estuary via kayak/ Little Island at the junction of the Barrington River and the Palmer River moving water/ Grinnel Point in the Palmer River on the drop

Bristol-- Mill Gut inside Colt State Park- fish on the drop. At the high tide explore the pond on the inside/ Bristol Narrows on the drop/ Cole River where it squeezes through the narrows near Ocean Grove- on the drop and at the Rt 103 bridge

Swansea-- Lee River where is passes beneath the Rt 103 bridge and the narrows- South Swansea 

Portsmouth--Common Fence Point- catch the drop of the small pond as you face Roger Williams College/  McCorrie and Sandy Points

Tiverton-- Sapowet Marsh and Sapowet Point- also Jack's Island

 The following article was written by Phil Rowley and published on the RIO Products Blog on December 20, 2012. Although the article is written with trout fishing in mind, it has significant saltwater fishing implications, particularly when fishingthe cinder worm hatch. This is not a "cast" per se, but rather a fishing technique, but I threw it in the Casting Corner because the technique is employed at the very end of your retrieve, just before you begin your next cast.

Weedless Cinder Worm Fly

I  have seen many anglers retrieving their worm pattern using either a slow, hand-over-hand technique or a slow one hand strip, and as the fly gets closer to the boat, these  anglers begin to pick-up their line readying for the next cast still having a good ten feet of fly line in the water, in addition to their leader. This translates into roughly 16-20 feet of line outside the tip of the rod. Oftentimes a striper will be following the fly, sometimes within just a few feet of the boat before they swirl on it, but when the angler pulls the fly from the water, many times they miss the take. For those of you who have fished the worm hatch, you know from experience that fish will oftentimes break within ten feet of the boat. Check out Phil's article and employ it in all of your Stillwater fishing techniques, I'd be willing to bet your catch rate will improve.

"Just about every stillwater fly fisher has experienced a vicious swirl, felt a solid tug or seen the flash of fish as it attempts to pounce on your fly just as you raise the rod to cast at the end of the retrieve. Prior to this last minute interest, all was quiet during your retrieve, causing you to ask, 'Why the last second interest in the fly?' The answer is simple. Two things occurred during the rod lift. Your flies changed speed and direction as they accelerated toward the surface. This action triggered a flee response, and as a predator, the trout instinctively charged the fly. This is no different than a dozing cat pouncing on a length of string as it is pulled past or a hapless hiker deciding that sprinting away from a bear is a wise tactic.

Being aware of this flee response we can take advantage of the trout's predatory nature by pausing or hanging the flies at the end of the retrieve prior to lifting the rod to recast. The "Hang" is best accomplished from a seated position to avoid spooking the trout. To initiate the hang begin raising the rod slowly as though you were preparing to re-cast while still retrieving line. Continue raising the rod until the fly gets close to the surface and then stop the rod lift. Any fish accelerating to catch the fleeing fly will be rewarded as it dangles at the surface. If you are fishing multiple flies hang each fly at the surface. Each fly could be targeted, and if a trout grabs a fly below, the visible fly serves as an indicator. The virtues of a long, 9.5-10.0 foot, fly rod soon become apparent when hanging flies. Once the hang portion of your presentation is complete and there are no takers, cast and present your flies once again." 

While on the subject, another technique we employ while fishing the worm hatch is a "dapping" technique, also popular in trout fishing. When you watch the swimming behavior of cinder worms you will note that they rarely swim in a straight line. More often than not, they swim in a circular or curved pattern. This is virtually impossible to replicate with a fly rod using a traditional retrieve... UNLESS you employ the dapping technique.

High Sticking- "The Hang"

This is accomplished by holding your rod butt at near shoulder level with the rod in a nearly vertical plane but generally between horizontal to the water and almost directly overhead. We hold the rod high so that there is virtually no line on the water's surface. This is not a good hooking angle for sure, however by holding the rod in these various planes you can "swim" the fly pattern in those circular and curved paths that the naturals exhibit. Rarely do I bring on-board my 11 foot Switch rod, but when I'm fishing the worm hatch for fun (no charter), the extra two feet of rod (over the standard 9 footer), really enables me to reach way out increasing the radius of my fishing circle. Oftentimes you see the shadow or flash of the bass coming from below a nanosecond before the water blows up and the fish inhales your fly. Imagine your fly rod is a construction crane... you get the idea. Cool stuff.

It's probably been twenty years now that I have been trekking north to vacation in the wilds of Maine on Nicatous Lake. "Nic" as we call it, is about and hour or so north and east of Bangor, ME. The draw has been to spend time with many old friends- fishing, hunting and carrying-on. Many moons ago one of those guys,  Dave Dane, along with two of his buddies leased a chunk of shoreline property from one of Maine's paper companies, and together they built a small cabin that became "field sports central".

Nicatous Lake has the reputation of being one the best smallmouth bass, broo trout and landlocked salmon fisheries in the state, we certainly caught our share over the years in-part contributing to that reputation. At the northern end of the lake sits Nicatous Lodge, easily accessible via I-95 and then a series of paved, then gravel roads- with one of the roads literally ending at the lodge. The Nicatous Lodge "complex" was our staging area for our departures to Dave's cabin, a six mile jaunt via boat in the warmer weather and by cross-country skiis and snowshoes in winter.

In 2012 the Nicatous Lodge came up for sale and Dave bought it, further cementing his personal and now his business investment in that piece of god's country. Dave's cabin and now the Lodge will continue to be a retreat for our core group of "Damn Fools" as we call ourselves, and for our family's and friends.

I asked Dave to write a brief article about the Nicatous Lodge and what it offers because I wanted to let my friends and clients know about this place and what it has to offer. Yes, this is an advertisement I guess, but it's more about letting you in on a little secret of a place that perhaps you might want to include in future vacation plans.

Nicatous Main Lodge

Take it away Dave...

"One of Maine's oldest, continuously run, year round Sporting Camps is under new management. The Nicatous Lodge, www.nicatouslodge.com, was purchased last year and it is currently being upgraded to accommodate a wide range of activities including hunting and fishing, as well as all types of watersports, and snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and ATVs.

Located just an hour beyond Bangor, the Nicatous Lodge is also one of the most accessible sporting camps available to adventurers coming from the South. The paved road changes to dirt about 7 miles from the lodge. The State of Maine has roadside signs making it an easy, remote place to find!

The Nicatous Lodge features a large, 5,000 sq. ft. Maine lodge with a fully functional dining hall that can easily seat 30 diners. The central fireplace in the Maine Lodge room is a great gathering place in all seasons. There are four bedrooms in the lodge that can be rented at very reasonable overnight rates. The lodge serves food for guests only and Theresa, our cook, can accommodate most interests and large crowds. The Lodge website has a full menu and pricing.

The Lodge is ringed by eight, authentic Maine log cabins. Each cabin has a fully functional kitchen and bath with hot and cold running water and private bathrooms. These cabins can accommodate from 2-8 guests; the website will show availability and overnight pricing which is very affordable. Seven of the cabins have a fully functioning fireplace and stone chimney. There is a lot of history in each!

The Nicatous Lake Region boasts some great fishing. Landlocked Salmon can be caught in Duck Lake, West Lake and in Lake Nicatous. Duck lake, remote and crystal clear, is generally regarded as one of the best Salmon fisheries in the State of Maine and the land surrounding the lake is protected and undeveloped.

Chunky Bronzeback

Atlantic Salmon have been known to run up the Nicatous Stream to its head, which is where the Nicatous Lodge is located. The Nicatous Lake region is one of the major drainages of the Penobscot River.

The area supports an excellent wild brook trout fishery. The Nicatous Stream holds a lot of native Bookies, and nearby Trout Pond is listed as an official Trout Unlimited wild brook trout fishery.

 Over the past several years, the State of Maine has been aggressively stocking Nicatous Lake with Brown Trout. Several very large Brownies have been taken out of the Lake and out of the Stream including a nearly 6lb "football" that was caught on a fly by a guest in 2011.

As the water warms, the Lodge guests can try their hand at one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the state. It is not uncommon to catch 5 lb bass that hit lures and flies with tons of aggression.

Another favorite pass time is perch fishing, which is very productive on Lake Nicatous. Perch are most often caught on bait, but they will also hit tandem hook streamers like the Grey Ghost. Imagine an afternoon spent trolling in one of the most remote large lakes in Maine, with an equal opportunity of hooking up with a Salmon, Brown Trout, small mouth bass, and a 1 lb white perch! Ice out through early June and then September through October are particularly productive periods for all fisheries.

The Nicatous Lodge is hosting a Salmon and Trout fishing conference and workshop from May 2nd through the 4th. Author and Maine Guide Kevin Tracewski, will be the instructor. For more information go to the Nicatous Lodge website at www.nicatouslodge.com or email Nicatouslodgenewsletter@gmail.com . You can also call (207) 356-7506."