Fly fishing for striped bass on the sand flats with crab flies is becoming one of the most productive ways to target fish. Utilizing many techniques borrowed from tropical flats fishing and fly tying, the Tactical Tungsten Crab is a hybrid in design.
Check out Joe Webster taking us through the steps of his killer crab fly:
During the late summer here in Maine, we usually start to see more and more sand eels (or sandeels) in and along the beaches, flats, and estuaries. Clinging together in nervous schools, these baitfish hang along the edges of surf awaiting their next move during the late fall. When you start to see more of these schools hanging around your feet while you are fishing, try one of our favorite fly patterns to get that bite:
When schools of bass, false albacore, bonito, and others key in on sand eels, they will dart and slash while feeding. This tends to create a fair amount of stunned, injured, or dead bait on the surface. Try fishing a popper to imitate this situation and I think you'll be surprised. Check out the NE Surf Sandeel HERE
It would be hard to find a striped bass or false albie fly angler without a surf candy in their fly box. One of my first experiences catching stripers on fly was casting a surf candy along the waves at a local beach in late summer. Especially effective if fished on an intermediate line along beaches and the edges of the surf, this tried and true pattern is covered in UV resin to help it cut through the waves quickly and into the strike zone. The one shown here is tied additionally with Popovics' Tuffleye Fleye Foils (seen HERE). Check out the Surf Candy HERE
The movement that waves gives to flatwing feathers is hard to copy. A smaller sized flatwing fly can be a great pattern as well for sand eels. But further, mackerel also tend to feed on sandeels and if this is the case, you have a pattern that can appeal to a larger bass looking for that distracted mackerel! Check out the Flatwing HERE
Nothing is more synonymous with striped bass fly fishing than a clouser. But, if you are fishing shallow areas such as flats, beaches, and estuaries, a properly weighted clouser can be your best friend. Not only will they fish with the hook up so you wont get hung up on the bottom, but they also present a great imitation to a sand eel that is trying to burrow in the sand. Check out clousers HERE
Using mostly synthetic material, the Pipe Eel is tied to give those perfect green-ish hues in the water. A lightweight fly with a slim profile, it's a great option for late season fishing. Check out the Pipe Eel HERE
In this video, Joe Webster takes you through how to tie the Articulated Beast Fleye. This is a variation on Bob Popovics' Beast Fleye, but uses articulated shanks instead of mono extensions. A large profile pattern with unmatched movement in the water, this fly is traditionally used to target striped bass and other large predator fish.
Materials:
There is no question that striped bass love crabs. It is an easy and protein packed meal that is also a viable food source. Crabs are easy picking for bass. Here in Maine we have a lot of (invasive) green crabs which the stripers love to forage on. This is a pattern that I developed which is essentially a combination of Del Brown's "Merkin" and Enrico Puglisi's "EP Crab."
Materials:
Check out the video blow:
We've gotten a lot of requests for a tying video for this pattern, so here ya go! The "Crouser" is a half crab, half clouser. It was developed to target striped bass here in Maine on the flats, but we are seeing customers and clients using it for bonefish and permit (as a crab fly) and smallmouth bass (as a crayfish) with success.
Check out the video below!
