Flatwings and Striped Bass

My first copy of Striper Moon was given to me by an old salt that lived in my town when I was around 13 years old. This book changed my life. At this point I was primarily plugging and live lining bunker, herring, and eels while killing every fish that came to hand. One thing I eventually learned during this time period, aside from catch and release fishing, was bait fish behavior. Knowing to be at the pipe in Spring Lake in late March/Early April would always yield cast nets and live wells full of herring. Snagging bunker in late May through early July and pitching them at all of our jetties prior to beach replenishment was standard practice that proved extremely productive. We would also throw eels at night time around all the bridge abutments in the river all summer and always catch. Occasionally while snapper fishing we would see tinker mackerel in the back of the inlet and we knew it was time to run down to the rocks and try for some Bonito and Albies. The mullet run in early fall followed by clouds of peanuts and then sand eels was always consistent. Sometimes we would get lucky and find fish on Sea Herring in mid-December. This was a pattern I grew used to at a young age and it gave me a huge advantage when transitioning to primarily fly fishing.

So often I would stick an 8/0 Owner J Hook through the back, jaw, tail, or snout of these baitfish and drop them over the gunwale to fish. I loved watching them swim briefly just below the surface to make sure things were right before free spooling my conventional or tossing them at some structure. One thing I would always notice was how the baits would undulate in the water as well as how the light and color of water would react with the various hues and colors in the baitfish. This gave me a huge advantage and an open mind when I started experimenting at the vise. I wasn’t so much wrapped up in patterns, but creating baits that would behave similarly to the real thing. After reading through Abrames books I absolutely saw some parallels in his philosophy to things I realized myself as a young boy.

I began tying some Ray’s Flies and Rhody Flatwings to replicate silversides. I also tied some GP’s and gurglers for shrimp and worms even though you will still find Pop’s Ultra Shrimp in my boxes. I then moved onto the September Night to replicate finger mullet and variants of that to replicate peanuts. Eel Punts and Big Eelies were tied to replicate sand eels and they nestle next to my Surf Candies to this day. Eventually I started toying with larger multi-feather flatwings like the Dame Mary and Moby Dick to replicate herring. Soon, variations of these herring flies turned into bunker representations. As I evolved as a tier, I was able to satisfy my hunger for creating all the baits required to fish the NE Salt which include small baits, medium baits, large baits, crustaceans, worms, eels. THAT’s ALL YOU NEED!

Great, now we have the baits, but what about the application? We know herring are anadromous and what time they make their runs up stream flooding the system. We hear the bass and weakfish popping and slurping shrimp, worms, and/or silversides at night in the ponds, dock lights, and coves. We know an eel is about the best prospecting bait there is around structure at night. We can see the pods of bunker rolling passed us in the ocean. We can also see the shoals of finger mullet hugging the drop off in the breachway and running the troughs out front. The next morning we can see all the bay anchovies and chunky spearing pressed up against the rocks knowing full well that the albies and bonito can come tearing through them in a flash. We always observe the clouds of peanuts meandering around the bars and, if we’re lucky, getting pushed up into the wash early fall. Don’t forget about the years when “Montauk Sucks” and you look at the fish finder to see the thick layer of sand eels following the contours of the ocean floor. I think you get my point here in that having a thorough understanding of baitfish as well as their cycles and behavior will increase your probability of success tremendously. Finding the bait is far more important than finding the fish!

Why do I have confidence in flatwings? For me, it is a far more methodical approach. It takes me away from the ripping and stripping philosophy which we see so much. It allows me to present bait along a bar, in current, or off of structure in a natural way. Even when I’m not stripping, the techniques and materials used in creating these flies are still projecting life. It’s slow paced and low energy until you feel the grab of a fish. It gives you the ability to match the energy of the piece of water you are fishing as well as the ability to control the speed and depth of the fly. Its far more technical then the standard methods but not far off from targeting trout and salmon.

Albie fishing as well as certain current and depth situations aside, I like fishing 10’ 8 wt. rods with floating lines. I prefer a fast action rod can handle being up lined and I’m currently fishing the 8100-4X. Prior to that, it was an 8100-4 Native Run GLX. For years I have fished a 10wt Outbound (not the short) from RIO in a floater on these rods. Really anything in the upper 30’ to mid-40’ head length is ideal. The heavier line slows down the faster rod nicely and allows me to throw large baits to the backing or close to it. With a flick of the wrist I am able to mend my fly to control the speed and depth of it which in turns gives me the ability to “match the hatch,” or present the bait as naturally as possible.

Generally I will fish a 10’ leader down to 20lb tippet on this rig. If I decide to fish three flies during a shrimp or worm hatch, I will run a straight shot of 25lb with two droppers tied in. Usually it will be a gurgler on point in either white or red (shrimp or worms) with the respective baits as droppers (GP’s/Ultra Shrimp or Clam Worm patterns). If I come across an area with an area choked out with silversides I will run a Ray’s Fly Flatwing variant on point with 2 Ray’s Fly droppers. It’s always a super slow and steady two handed strip or a swing/dead drift. Be mindful of wind when fishing these multiply rigs. Allow the variables of the piece of water, wind direction, current, bait, etc. to make the decision for you when preparing your approach for the evening. Experience and experimentation will certainly aid in this well.