I thank you all for your comments. But I think I need to clarify a bit. I am new to this site. Just joined. I have fished all of my life. My favorite form of fishing is the fly rod because it gives me the most control and feel for the fish. Plus the feel of that long, perfectly timed cast, landing your fly gently on the water. Many years of Canadian trips with friends in pursuit of the small mouth on fly rods cannot be appreciated unless you live it. You all know the feeling regardless of the location. There is nothing like the thrill of a 5 pound bass attacking your bug on a perfectly still, mirror like lake at dusk, dancing across the water on his tail. When I was much younger, before my teens, fly rod crappie fishing with my uncle at the trestle at Farrington Lake in East Brunswick was my training ground. Sure, I use spinning rods from time to time, but the fly rod has always been my favorite for the reasons I just stated. Uncle Tony used a light bamboo fly rod, very light leader, #14 hook and a 1 inch sliver of pork rind got us all the crappie we wanted. Back then I had a metal, telescoping fly rod that did the trick. Today I have an 8wt Orvis. Progress!! Now, the reasons for my post. I went striper fishing for the first time with friends on the Friday after thanksgiving. We headed north from the Barnegat inlet to Lavallette. The sonar showed pods of baitfish. In one hour we had 6 fish from 28-35 inches. The tackle was as you would expect. Stiff rods with Penn conventional reels. Reel em in. All I could think of what would these heavy fish feel like on my fly rod and how long would it take to bring them in from 50 feet down? While we did spot a few closer to the surface, all fish caught were at the 50 foot depth. Hope this clarifies the reason for my post. In any event, I'm gonna try it. Should be great fun. Thanks for all of your replies. If anyone fishes freshwater in ocean county, I would love to hear from you. My favorites are bass, big bluegill, perch and crappie. Fred B.
