Fly Fishing Around the Island

It’s a bit like singing the same old tune but Montauk again proved music the fly rodder’s ears this week. The fish, mostly bass, pushed anchovies close enough to the beaches and into the wash for great action with flies. The southside was inundated with bass in close and offshore albies, while the northside saw bass mixed in with hordes of ever-present bluefish. While most of the fish have been mid-sized bass there have been some huge stripers coming within range of the fly rod. A friend’s email to me stated, “At times it looked like the breaking waves contained 90% fish and 10% water!” It doesn’t get any better than that so now is the time to cash in on the action before the bulk of the schools move south. Actually, that has already begun to happen, as there have been quite a number of solid fly catches reported in the vicinity of Shinnecock and Moriches beaches. While the east end should continue to stay hot for a while longer - since fish are still being caught to our north - plying the beaches further south could yield impressive results in the coming days and less angling competition.
The flyrodders on the beaches of the Sound are singing an altogether different tune. The west end of north shore has been producing well with bass and bluefish as those fish stage to move further west into the NY Bight and out to the ocean for their annual trip south. The beaches of the east end from Southhold out to Orient have also been very active with fish, some days providing great fishing, others days a bust. Those fish are beginning to move around the horn to the south side and then down the south shore for their migration down the coast. But the central part of the Sound is quite lethargic at the moment. It’s a coin toss as to whether any meaningful run will still occur, with the exception of fish still in the harbors that will soon begin to move out. Some of those bass and blues will move east, while some will move west. The best advice right now is to move around and don’t stick to just one place waiting for the run to materialize. Take your fly rod on the road and go find the fish. As for the false albacore, nothing of any substance to report on the north shore. If anything, the sightings have been few and far between and no reported catches of merit.
I’ve received some emails about fly choices for this time of year and I’d like to pass along my response: “As far as flies go, the keys this time of year are the various baitfish that are moving long the beach: peanut bunker, mullet, spearing, sand eels, bay anchovies, butterfish, etc. Flies that imitate baitfish in size, profile and coloration will serve you well for most situations. In generic terms you can't go wrong with Epxoy Baitfish, Deceivers, Clousers, Half and Halfs, and an assortment of EP Flies. And mix up the fly lines as well from intermediate lines to high-density sink tips.”

Head East Young Man

The temptation to head “east” was building within me since the week before last, reaching a zenith when I spoke with my good friend, Captain Adrian of Alpha Fishing Adventures about getting together to toss some flies around. We decided to head out to Montauk on Thursday, with the primary objective of exploring for hard tails…albies. As it turned out, Montauk didn’t disappoint and the rips delivered. The bluefish were easy, the bass required some coaxing and the false albacore made quite a showing, yet displayed a very high sense of feeding selectivity. At first, Captain Adrian and I cast various flies to busting little tunny and had many follows, swirls and subsequent rejections. We tried big flies and small flies and all of our personal favorites without so much as a touch. At one point I had tied on every one of my productive bonito and albie flies, to no avail - not one solid hook-up. There was plenty of interest in our patterns but no takers. We were getting quite frustrated by these fish. It was then that my angling partner reached into his fly box and pulled out a very diminutive pattern that he had yet to try. As it turned out, that fly reinforced the old adage that when fishing for albies, a fly’s size and color often does matter. While I have caught albies in the past on large silversides patterns and even large plugs, on this day they wanted none of that. They were keyed in on flies that precisely matched the size, profile and coloration of the real bait they were eating – bay anchovies.
The first retrieve of that newfound fly brought a solid strike and following a few superb runs, we tailed the icebreaker, a solid albie of about 7 or 8-pounds. I continued using a mid-sized hair fly until Adrian’s second cast brought another strong take. Several runs later we tailed the second consecutive albie on that fly. It was then that I decided to grub one of those flies from my buddy and give it a try. Adrian handed over his only other remaining fly of that design and I tied it on. Coming upon a fresh pod of fish my first cast with the day’s magic pattern resulted in an instantaneous hook-up. Adrian hooked up again as well. We were now onto something. We caught quite a few more albies using that fly and kept praying some errant bluefish wouldn’t hit it - the 20-pound fluorocarbon certainly would not withstand their teeth. Fortunately, for the balance of the day, we encountered only bass and albies.
The albies were present in very solid numbers. At times, there were so many sizeable pods of fish around us we didn’t know which ones to approach first. That is a nice fly fishing problem to have! I am just going to have to head back out there again soon to try for the ones we missed. The albies are sure to hang around for quite a while longer. If you’d like to know more about the specific pattern we used, just email me and I will respond.
I called Adrian (Alphafishing.com) on Saturday morning since he was back out at Montauk with a charter. As soon as he answered his cell phone, it was, “Hi Ang, Its AMAZING today! We have been surrounded by acres of busting striped bass and albies all morning. Gotta go, call you later. By the way, my arms are killing me!” Now how do you think I felt about that report sitting at home at my PC writing this blog entry? I was wishing I were there instead of typing at the keyboard. But the good news is this is only the beginning of some great fly-fishing at “The End”! Montauk should see a terrific fall run for fly anglers.

Alaska Silver

Late summer and early fall are two of the best times of the year to fly-fish the great state of Alaska. The months of August through October are a splendid season to chase magnificent silver salmon (coho), large rainbow trout and the elusive steelhead. For me, there is no better time to venture north to the Greatland in search of bright, ocean-fresh fish that ride the last tides into their natal streams. These fish are very receptive to an angler’s flies. Large, wild rainbows fatten up on omni-present and protein-rich salmon eggs. Steelhead begin a period of activity that typically peaks on many rivers in October. And if that isn’t enough, big dolly varden, arctic char and grayling all willingly eat most any egg pattern that drifts their way. The fly-fishing can often be non-stop.
Silver salmon are truly one of this planet’s great game fish. Coho are my favorite Alaska species, since they are very fly- fishing friendly and embody all the traits of a first-class game fish. Any number of brightly colored patterns can be effective for fresh silvers but one of the very best ways to catch these aggressive fish is on top water flies. The once odd but now accepted method for accomplishing this is through the use of hair-bug Wogs. These are typically tied in hot colors such as pink, fuchsia, chartreuse or cerise and orange. The Wogs are tied in a fashion similar to deer hair bass bugs and typically include a tail, some flash and a big tapered head and body. To witness the gaping maw of a huge hook-jawed male silver track a topwater fly is enough to test any fly anglers mettle.
My first exposure to this form of fly-rodder occurred many years back in Western Alaska on the the Kanektok River. This body of water is part of the Kuskokwim draingage that flows into the Bering Sea. It is an exquisitely remote location renowned for its unique strain of leopard rainbow trout, but the area is also well known for its prolific runs of silvers. It was here that I got my first taste of topwater silvers and I’ve never looked back. Since that time I’ve caught cohos in similar fashion from a number of other Alaska rivers. When conditions allow, there is no more fun to be had than catching silvers on top.

B&B...Bonito and Blues

Sometimes you just have to thank the fish gods for bluefish, especially when it gets tough chasing after the local inshore pelagics. The only guy who is happy to see the bonito disperse is my local gas station attendant! The ratio of gas dollars to fish spotted was astronomical. I did find some very scattered fish early last week in a most non-typical area well away from the crowds but they were there for only one day and gone the next. That is why it pays to explore every once in a while. You just never know where the concentrations of “bones” will show up. I am of the opinion that is how it will be until we get another strong push of fish through our area, which could be in a matter of hours, days or weeks. Or it just might be the next tide. While they do show marked preferences for certain areas around Long Island, these aquatic sprinters can cover long distances in short amounts of time as they search for optimal conditions and bait. If you like pursuing bonito with the fly rod my advice would be to keep at it, be persistent and embark upon a journey of discovery! I guess I’ve just been spoiled with a few of the remarkable past seasons but I will still keep looking and casting. Each and every bonito on the fly is a worthy accomplishment!
Despite the relative scarcity of bonito there are the bluefish - lots of them, with many big fish in the mix. As is typical for this time of year the blue bruisers hit everything thrown at them. They put a substantial dent in my large-fly wallet as their huge maws sliced through 40, 50 and even 60-pound fluorocarbon leaders as if they were 6/0 tying thread. But the ones that were brought to submission were well worth the price I had to pay. One double-digit fish jumped so close to the boat that it brushed against the top of the gunwale, and I could swear by the look in its eyes, it had designs on some “vital” areas of my anatomy. That put me on instant alert! These big fish seem to be everywhere right now: western north shore harbors, south shore inlets and bays, offshore, the central Sound and at both forks of the east end. Striped bass are still falling to flies fished in and around structure, mostly in the very early morning hours or well into the night. Moderately –sized to larger flies seems to work best on often reluctant bass. During the daytime, varied size, color and retrieves and at night give those darker-colored flies a try.
The offshore fly-fishing crowd is enjoying some fine big-game fly-fishing with SBFT, mahi and bonito. That action remains solid from New Jersey up through New England.
Now that there is a tinge of fall in the early morning temperatures I eagerly await those cooler days and evenings that will motivate the bass to more regularly visit the beaches within casting distance of the fly rod. Still no meaningful reports of Little tunny (albies) but if that is going to happen in a substantive way, we should see some fish soon enough.

No "Bones" About It

We have now entered the pelagic zone. This is the time of season when fly anglers' thoughts turn to local members of the tuna and mackerel family. The first of those annual pelagic visitors, Spanish mackerel and bonito have made their way to our inshore waters. I have been chasing Atlantic bonito around Long Island for more than thirty years but I never tire of catching them on the fly. The advance guard of bonito showed up several weeks ago in the central Long Island Sound area, but as of late those early shows have gotten somewhat scarce. The fish that are still hanging around have developed a mild case of selective lockjaw but that could change as quickly as the next tide. If you encounter stubborn fish, mix up the selection of flies and retrieves until you hit upon the right combination. Pods of bonito are now dispersed around Long Island and by all current accounts appear to be moving east to west and setting up shop. Increasing numbers of recent reports indicate bonito catches in areas of the western Sound and central south shore locations in close proximity to inlets and bays. Several fly anglers who chase bonito regularly report finding larger numbers of fish in the western most regions of the Long Island Sound. As the fish disperse they are also showing up in some non-typical locations so it pays to do some scouting and exploring. While the numbers of bonito are not yet anywhere near the epic runs of 2003 and 2007, we should see more fish moving into Long Island and Connecticut waters in the coming weeks and months, and along the south shore as well. Expect the numbers of Long Island "bones" to build to a crescendo as they eventually mix in with later arriving Little tunny and then peak during the fall run. In addition to all the prolific bait that has been around the past few weeks, I've encountered massive schools of bay anchovies as well. Their presence bodes well for pelagic enthusiasts. With a little luck we may also get some inshore shots this season at skipjack and small bluefin tuna. Pelagic species can at times be very tough fish to get to eat a fly. Their presence has a way of bringing out the best and the worst in anglers. Please remember to exercise courtesy when fly-fishing for them. There is absolutely no need to blast in on an angler who is either hooked up or patiently waiting for a pod of fish to surface. The most enjoyable part of this game is finding, hooking and catching your own fish, not finding some other angler who is catching them! Good luck!

No Excuses

If ever there was a corporate slogan appropriate for saltwater fly-fishing it would be Nike’s ever-popular catchphrase, “Just Do It”. For some reason it seems as if a lot of would-be salty fly anglers are always just getting ready to “do it”, but never quite get it done. It seems too as if something always stands in their way and that conditions are not always deemed quite right or perfect for the fly rod. The excuses for non-participation run the gamut: too windy, too calm; too cold, too hot; too much rain, not enough rain; too sunny, not sunny enough; too many bugs, not enough bugs; the Yankees lost, Boston won! On and on the excuses go for leaving the long wand tucked away in the closet. There is no such thing as perfection when if comes to saltwater fly-fishing conditions. If you fish coastal areas anywhere along the northeast corridor – or anywhere in the coastal United States -you will more often than not encounter adverse weather conditions and lots of wind. One can learn to either cope with those conditions and how to catch fish despite them, or keep the fly rod locked away for elusive “better” days.
I recently read a fellow’s fishing report thread on one of the regional fishing websites. He details every element of his outings, from the exact time he awoke in the morning to what he had for breakfast that day, how long it took to get to the launch ramp, including the delays on the highway, and he catalogs each and every fish caught. He also often lists his reports under the category of “fly-fishing” but has yet to report catching a fish on the fly. According to the reports, conditions were just never quite right for fly-fishing so the tackle of choice became either conventional or spinning gear. It seems as if some conspiring set of forces are always at work preventing the use of the fly rod by others as well. More often than not the perceived nemesis is the wind. I overheard one other fellow tell someone he recently purchased a “long wand” for those days when there is the slightest of breezes and generally flat conditions. He went on to say, “…you know, those days when it is just right for the fly rod.” Wrong! There is no such thing as “just right”. Some of the best days fly-fishing are unsettled ones, as they are for other forms of sport angling. Granted, it is much easier to toss a two-ounce plug on an 11-foot surf stick into a stiff 20-mph wind than it is to do the same with a fly rod, but, nonetheless, fish still can be caught under those conditions. It is a matter of perseverance, practice and a positive mindset.
I’ve had many of instances with my own fly-fishing that prove the point but two are real standouts in my mind and have influenced my use of the fly rod. The first occurred during a trip to Alaska and involve 40-plus mile per hour winds and driving rain, and the second was on Long Island involving wind, rain and high seas. In both instances, lots of fish were caught on the fly. So don’t hesitate to grab the fly rod, even if you think conditions are less than ideal…just do it! You might be very surprised at the results.

Flatfish on the Fly

Of all places for the idea to strike me was the lounge area at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage Alaska. Each one of my fly fishing pilgrimages to the great Northland for salmon and trout hasn't officially begun until I am seated at a table in the Millenium savoring a basket of mouth watering halibut chunks and enjoying a couple of ice cold Alaskan Ambers. It has become a tradition for me, and this time I didn’t wait for my fishing buddy’s flight to arrive before indulging myself.

The culinary pleasure I was experiencing must have been obvious since the guy sitting one table over turned to me and said, “Those chunks are pretty good, aren’t they?”

“The best”, I replied, “I wait all year for this. And the brew just hits the spot.”

Then this fellow proceeds to tell me that he is up there to do some halibut fishing -not unusual for the time of year. But what was a bit out of the ordinary was that he was doing his halibut fishing with a fly rod! That grabbed my attention. Another order of chunks and another Amber and I was all ears! This guy proceeds to tell me that he has caught halibut on the fly up to about fifty pounds but wanted to break the one hundred pound mark on this trip and see if he just might achieve a new tippet class world record. Now I am thinking if big fluke are doormats, then large halibut are the barn doors, and it would be quite a feat to land one on the long wand. The largest fly rod halibut on record is currently one hundred and eleven pounds – one mighty large flatfish!

I listened to my new acquaintance tell me how the big flatfish lie in wait on the bottom camoflauged by their speckled brown topside and white underbelly and how they will travel up the water column to pursue a wide range of prey. While they spend most of their time in deep water they can often be found in the shallows but a few meters deep. Sound familiar? Well it should because the habits of halibut are likewise displayed by its diminutive cousin, the fluke.
I wished this fellow well in his quest, my fishing buddy finally arrived and more halibut chunks and Amber had been ordered, but the seed had been planted. I took the concept back to my home waters of the Long Island Sound and have since had a ton of fun with fluke on the fly.