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What fly to use

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Vwcrakerjack

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That sounds awesome. I have caught plenty of blues on the fly. And two baby stripers. I just never had to do it from shore. I had a boat years ago. Now I'm trying to learn the way to target them from sand with no fish finder to help me find structure etc. I'm not giving up. I promised myself I wouldn't use anything else until I can get it.

 

It will happen for you. It sounds like you're putting in the work and that work will be rewarded. Maybe not tomorrow or next week but it will happen and when it does, savor every moment of it because days like that don't happen all the time but as you get better at reading the tides, and the water, and what the fish are keying into they will happen a bit more often. If you have a touch of OCD keep a log as you start to catch, it will help you catch more in the future. Not sure where you're fishing out of but if you're in the NYC area send me a PM.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Vwcrakerjack View Post

 I'm not giving up. I promised myself I wouldn't use anything else until I can get it.



                     highfive.gif........you'll get em.


                                                        

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That sounds awesome. I have caught plenty of blues on the fly. And two baby stripers. I just never had to do it from shore. I had a boat years ago. Now I'm trying to learn the way to target them from sand with no fish finder to help me find structure etc. I'm not giving up. I promised myself I wouldn't use anything else until I can get it.

 

Made the same promise to myself last year and finally got one end of Sept. Best fish I've ever caught and I don't even think it broke the 25" mark!

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The fish I caught last October before sandy. Was actually the smallest striper in the ocean I think. It was about 8" I caught it on a fly I tied myself though and on my first time using my new fly rod. I basically put together a culmination of info I gathered from SOL and it all worked that day for that minnow striper anyway. I was so psyched for this spring because I thought I was past the point of complete skunkville. I do like casting though and I feel as I am getting better with every outing so even though I'm not getting fish I am gaining experience which is a plus. I couldn't get out yesterday however I will be out of work earlier hopefully so I should be able to fish the high tide going out. I only used to fish high going out at night on my boat and I had all my "bait fishing" success doin that.

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I know. Been fly fishing for years now. Trout and steelhead. Also whenever I'd see blues breaking I'd cast to em. I just never truly put an effort into targeting stripers until the last two weeks of fall before sandy hit. I studied and read as much as possible about it all winter. I also took up tying for the first time trying to get flies for the spring. Not the best at it but I think they will do ok.

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First a disclaimer: I live 1000 miles from your area so I won't presume to tell you how to catch a Striper but I'll tell you what I've told my fly fishing clients for many years.

Try to find out what the prevalent baitfish are at this time as well as their size. Ask one of your buddies to gut a fish if they are killing them.

If you know the bait species and size somebody here can recommend a few flies

 

As far as depth goes, if you have to go to a heavy sinking line, opt for an 18-24" leader. The short leader will get your fly down deeper, faster. If you are fishing over rough bottom, fish an inverted pattern or one with a snag guard. Likely you can get a little more distance with a heavy sinking line which might help. I don't like fishing a heavy sinking line but many times it is the best option.

 

I can sympathize with you. I hate to have bait fishermen and guys fishing with jigs whip my butt but it darn sure happens. Just remember, some days the fly rod rules. All you need is a really good day to boost your confidence.

Life is too short to catch little fish.
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Thanks. Went out today drifting in kayak. I was on bottom most of the time and bunker were breaking all around where I was. Not even a nibble. Idk. I will def try the shorter leader. I've been running anywhere from 5-9' leaders with a fast sink tip and intermediate line. I tried a couple bunker patterns small and larger about 7-8" and still nothing.

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Went out again today after work. High tide was going out and I was fishing around a bunch of rocks and some sunken boats from sandy. Guys told me Sunday they were getting em back there on white rubber worms and jigs and I know it's a pretty good spot for bait guys etc. I was tossing a bunker pattern about 4" which I lost in the rocks. Then I rememberd the post about shortening my leader etc. so I cut down my sink tip to about 3' as well as my leader which helped my casting tremendously(thank you!). I then tied on a black deceiver type fly that I tied. It has nice action and lots of black flash. I fished all over the ridges of rocks and out past them too. Note. The rocks are huge some of them like 3-4' high and around. The water was anywhere from 4'-6 and I was dragging bottom picking up weeds out past the rocks and snagging the rocks as I came in close. I tried long strips with pauses short ones with and without pauses also tried this throughout the water column and still was totally skunked. I'm begin in to think the striper gods are punishing me for neglecting more important things and obsessing over fish or that they are waiting for the moment when I've just about had enough and BAM 30# slams my fly and begins the obsession all over again. I prefer to believe the latter, however the truth of the matter is it just plain sucks to be a rookie and always second guess your tactics and the your abilities and knowledge of the area your fishing. I am so used to fishing in creeks and small rivers for trout and swinging flies through the pools that I'm Lost here.

 

The biggest question I have is how long should I fish a spot until I can be sure there's no fish? I'm beginning to think that I am not presenting a fly to anything other then clams and crabs. I like to run and gun when I'm trout fishing. I start at the head of pool cast twice take two or three steps down river and do it again. If nothing happens and I've seen fish ill head back up. If not I move into the next run. Should I just run around or keep progressing like that when I'm fishing beaches,harbors etc? Thanks for all the info guys its being put to use.

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From what you described about the area that you were fishing I think you should've gone without the sinking section on your line. Floating line or intermediate would have been good. You're fly looks good. If you can fit it into your schedule try first light.

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