There’s more to backwater stripers than just plugs and worms.
As we motored along the bay, a blanket of thick dense fog hung to the water and pockets of the clouds could be seen off the surface of the backwater creeks. The fog was leftover from the post-midnight incoming tide, which put colder ocean water against the June humid air. It made our run along the tidal creeks even more nail-biting with my eyes glued to the chartplotter as I followed old tracks so we didn’t brush a bank or run aground.
But as I slowed down to this special part of Barnegat Bay that opened up to a half dozen creek openings, a sound of subtle surface popping could be heard in the distance. The stripers were some 50 yards from us and feeding sporadically on small baitfish. I deployed the Minn Kota trolling motor, a game-changer in the shallow water flats and one of the most important tools on my charter boats in recent years. With relatively no wind, my client gripped the 8-weight fly rod and made a few false casts before placing one my winter-tied half & half clousers within a few feet of the marsh bank.
It was strip, strip and the surface exploded as if someone threw a ball into the water. A few minutes later, we had a solid 24-inch striped bass getting released back into the creek mouth.
Fly Gear Basics
Fly fishing in the salt is a completely different beast than fishing in the freshwater with heavier gear, sinking lines, and much larger flies in comparison. The backwater also presents some differences than when fly fishing the surf or open ocean as anglers can get away with lighter weighted lines. Fly rods are rated by the size of the fly line and most rods are capable of sizing up or down one line weight. Size 7 to 8-weight rods are perfect for the backwater marshes as they can be overloaded with an 8/9 weight line or under-loaded with a 6/7 weight line.
Although I always bring a rigged floating line fly rod, the only instances where I prefer this setup is when casting poppers or gurglers to feeding fish off a flat or shallow water marshes. They can be excellent, especially around an early morning or twilight tides. But in most cases intermediate to sinking line are main players when fishing the brine and many manufacturers like AirFlo, Scientific Anglers, and Cortland all have different sink rates available.
Deeper water would require heavier sinking lines with higher sink rates capable of getting the fly in the feeding zone. Slower sink rates in the 1.25 to 1.5 inches per second are optimal when fishing the marshy and flats where depths range from 3 to 5 feet. These intermediate lines will work for all four bay species: fluke, stripers, bluefish, and weakfish. Heavier sink lines are better for swifter current areas where depths can approach 15 feet and sink rates from 3 to 5 inches per second would be sufficient. The sinking lines are usually spooled on 9- or 10-weight fly rods capable of handling the heavier lines.
Without getting too complicated, there are basically three sections to a fly line setup, your fly line, the leader, and the tippet. I prefer a high quality large arbor fly reels which hold up in saltwater such as Abel or Ross Reels, but there are plenty of reasonably priced manufacturers out there. Leader material in 6- to 8-foot section is attached to the fly line directly via the nail knot, and will generally be a heavier pound test than the tippet material.
The tippet material ranging from 10- to 20-pound test can be up to 3 feet in length and an improved clinch knot or blood knot are the common knots for attaching the leader-tippet connection. Fluorocarbon leaders in the 15-pound test class are good around choices, but some shops carry tapering tippets that are easily attached. The last step centers around the tippet to fly connection which a “non-slip” loop knot provides the best strength and least restricted movement for the fly.
Whether you plan on fly-fishing from a sod bank, tidal creek or off a vessel, a fly stripping basket or some type of line management system becomes a necessary piece of equipment. There is nothing like loading the perfect backcast only to have the fly-line wrap around a piece of grass, a foot, or cleat when shooting the line to present the fly. I use a fly-line management bucket made by Carbon Marine – it is an absolute lifesaver when fishing from a boat as it keeps the line from tangling and makes casting easy.
Anglers not fishing from a boat, should wear some type fly-line stripping basket. This is especially important when wading as it keeps the fly line from getting caught around legs, feet, or eel grass.
A Seasonal Cast
During the early part of the spring, baitfish are relatively small with shrimp and crabs being the more plentiful baitfish as compared to free swimming baits. Epoxy shrimp flies (Ultra Shrimp, EP Shrimp, etc.), clousers, and a variety of crab flies are perfect for imitations of these early season baits. Striped bass, weakfish, and summer flounder are keyed into these early season baits making the fly patterns extremely productive.
Another fly I recently have been tying is a reticulating worm fly which resembles a marine sandworm – this tends to do very well in the muddy, marshy areas towards during the cooler months of March and April. Regardless, slow is the way to go in the early part of the fishing season, primarily April, May, and the beginning of June. The retrieves for these flies are best with long pauses followed by a few strips and repeated until the strike or area is completely worked. It is important to always have hand contact with fly line as to feel the bite. The hook set is dramatically different from traditional spinning or casting tackle as this occurs via your hand pulling the fly line in a short tug, rather than ripping the rod upward to set it.
As the water warms and the season matures, so do baitfish such as spearing, peanut bunker and mullet. Clousers, deceivers, and a variety of spearing-like epoxies provide excellent representations of the later season baitfish. Retrieves should be a tad quicker or more consistent with faster or more strips per retrieves. When striped bass and blues are aggressively feeding – two-handed retrieves are best to get the fly moving.
At times when the water is close to the slack or there is very little current. Bring out the floating line setups and cast surface poppers or gurglers to get predatory fish to bite. Usually, a few strips and a pause will have fish exploding on the topwater flies. When fishing an ultra-shallow sand flat, I’ve had aggressive fluke swim up to hit struggling surface poppers.
Marshes, Flats, & Bars
When looking to find good spots to cast flies, edges, drop-offs, and points are best for funneling current carrying swept baitfish and make prime areas to target. This can be off a marshy sod bank via land or targeted when drifting or anchored from a boat. With newer technologies such as the Minn Kota trolling motor, working points and funneling areas becomes much easier with the deployment and push of a button. We will usually work these areas with several casts before moving on and the trolling becomes a major asset with its stealthy ability as fish tend to get spookier in the shallows.
Mud flats and marshes are great early season spots as the water will be considerably warmer due to the darker, muddy bottoms. If you take a look at your surroundings, you will tend to see much more life at these areas. Once the water warms, the move to bars and flats becomes better with sometimes all four species working these areas a large duration of the season – it just becomes a tidal timing game.
| PRACTICE CASTS |
| Fly rodding is a challenge in itself, but it’s not impossible even for anglers who are only mildly athletic. Generally, saltwater fly fishing has to contend with heavier, intermediate & sinking lines where less false casting occurs and more shooting casts off single backcasts. Single haul, double haul, and drifting are also important components of saltwater fly casting which can be mastered with practice.
The most important aspect of fly casting which can be easily overlooked is the practice part. A park, lake or field are perfect areas where these fish are eventually caught. The better you become in terms of distance, accuracy and casting in the windy conditions, the easier and more effective you will be in the backwaters. |
One of my favorite types of fly fishing to do in the early part of the summer is to work sand flats by wading near sandy cuts and small tidal rips in the back bay to find pockets of aggressive fluke. Some of these areas are only accessible via shallow water boats or kayaks, but they make for some fantastic fishing. If you ever seen fly fishing in the Bahamas or Florida on television where anglers are walking flats for bonefish or redfish, New Jersey’s backwaters give you the same type of feel, especially in some of the picturesque, southern locales.
Water depths may just cover the feet to the knees, but the casts will be into cuts from 3 to 6 feet deep. With a stripping basket, booties, fly rod in hand, and the boat anchored, it’s fun to walk and work sections of the bay where fish may have never seen a fly, let alone a lure. Small flies clouser flies or 4-inch deceiver type flies work well in these situations on an intermediate sinking line. More times than not, fish will regurgitate baitfish as they are hooked only to have others feed on the coughed up remnants.
If you find a good productive area in terms of baitfish, it’s not uncommon to sometimes have three of the four species working that area. There have been many times where fluke, striped bass, and small bluefish have been landed from the same cut on a given tide cycle.
