Cinder Worm Workshop – Fly Tying & Fishing

What: Fly Tying
When: Tuesday, May 14 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center, Bend Road, Charlestown

What: Fly Fishing from shore and kayaks
When: Saturday, May 18 from 4:00 PM to dark
Where: Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, Charlestown

Registration Required: Space is limited to 40 students maximum
Cost: Free

Observe one of nature’s fascinating spring rituals. Witness thousands of cinder worms as they wiggle their way to the surface performing their spring mating dance. Quietly wade the protected coves of Ninigret Pond on a warm spring evening. See the beauty of a sunset over tranquil water. Now listen to the sound of silence as it is interrupted by dozens of surface slurping stripers. Finally, fish for those stripers using the tiny cinder worm flies you tied yourself.

Imagine – This isn’t some kind of fisherman’s daydream. It is a reality if you participate. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Aquatic Resource Education Program, along with project organizers Capt. Ray Stachelek and Jeff Perry, will conduct this annual Cinder Worm Workshop again.

Jeff and Ray will instruct one weekday evening class in fly tying instruction on cinder worm patterns and one weekend evening of fly fishing. Fly tying vises and tools will be available for those who do not bring their own, and all hooks and fly tying materials will be provided free of charge. Following the tying session, participants will fish the coves of the Grassy Point area of Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. Participants should bring their own fishing equipment (if they have it), but rods reels, and waders may be borrowed from RIDEM. Instructors will be present to assist with rigging and casting instruction to novice anglers. “We don’t guarantee the weather or the fish,” said Perry, “but we try to schedule this during prime time mating season.”

This program is open to adults and families with children over the age of 10. No experience is required. The course is completely Free of Charge. Space is limited to 40 students maximum. Instruction and guidance will be provided by some of the area’s most knowledgeable, skilled worm fishermen. You will be wading the shores of Ninigret Pond. There will also be an opportunity for kayak fishing  – limited to experienced kayakers who have their own kayaks, equipped with required safety equipment and lighting for after dark.

For more information and registration, please contact Marisa Podbros, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Email: marisa_podbros@fws.gov – Office Phone: (401)213-4400

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Banner image is a photograph of a Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge sunset by Scott MacNeill.