All Points Fly Shop + Outfitter - News

Written By: Joe Webster // Photo By: Josh Thelin

April is the month where things come alive in Maine. Our open water season begins on the 1st and creates endless freshwater options for trout, salmon, pike and more. Plus, the Striped Bass get closer to showing up to our coast towards the end of the month. Most of the action will still be revolved around freshwater fishing, however the amount of places to go with quality fishing opportunities greatly increases compared to the difficulties that deep winter fishing involves.

The southern portion of the state will be your best bet at finding ice free water. Ice out is when a body of water is declared ice free, and this usually does not happen until May for many of our northern fisheries. As far as southern Maine, this usually happens sometime in April, and fishing can phenomenal when ice begins to recede. The big phenomenon that occurs in April is our smelt runs are in full swing, thus providing our trout and salmon with a plentiful source of food to bulk up on after a long winter. If targeting trout and salmon, smelt patterns will generally be your best bet at getting a bite where smelt are present. Although limited, bug life is present, so nymphs, and in even certain instances dry flies, will also produce, especially as smelt runs wind down. Great fishing can be had in the southern part of the state for trout and salmon this time of year.

As smelt runs wind down in the southern part of the state, usually things are just starting to begin up north. Everything varies year to year, but towards the end of the month, you can start to consider more northern opportunities. Always check conditions as it is very possible to venture north to find your desired destination to be too iced over to fish. Early season up north is always quite a gamble and rarely results in hot and heavy fishing. Most fish will be taken on streamer patterns imitating smelt if you are lucky enough to find one. That being said when fish are found, they are usually pretty willing to take a fly. You will still need to be prepared with cold weather gear if venturing up north in April.

Check out our how to stay warm article for tips and tricks on how to stay warm on those cold days that are still so common during April in Maine -- HERE

Another option that fly anglers have in April is to target Pike. Every year this becomes more and more popular for good reason. Pike are ferocious predators that will explosively take a fly. For those who may not be outfitted for pike specifically, the rod, reel, and line set up you use for Striped Bass can often be successfully applied to Pike. Pike can be targeted with rods as light as a seven weight, however the bigger the rod, the bigger the fly you can throw, and Pike love big meals. Articulated bait fish patterns, poppers, and sliders can all produce fish. Pike flies are not all too different than striper flies. Floating, intermediate and sinking lines can all work under different circumstances and with different fly patterns, switching things up and staying versatile is key. 

We hope this helps you get an understanding of our Maine fisheries during the month of April. Please feel free to reach out to us at the shop for any questions you may have about early season fly fishing during the month of April in Maine.

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Written By: Joe Webster // Photo: Josh Thelin

Purposefully, this article does not mention any specific brands or models. This piece was not written to be a “Top 5 Best Rods” article or to sell you on any brand or model, but more so an article to help you determine what may be the best 5 rods for you specifically. For help picking out what brand and model of rod is right for you, shoot us an email or give us a call at the shop. We are here to help make sense of striped bass fishing and the gear you may need to accomplish your goals.

This is a question we get here at the shop on a very regular basis and one that the fly fishing industry as a whole has really not given any clear answer to. To answer this it is important to understand the industry mentality and how new and innovative technology is applied to fly rods. Striped bass fishing is not overlooked in the industry, however it is on the back burner for most manufacturers. Freshwater trout gear, whether that be rods, reels, or lines is always the first to be acknowledged. In the fly rod specific world, this means the newest technology and most effort into design and manufacturing will be put into the 9ft 5 weight rod before anything else. Almost every fly angler, whether just starting out or a seasoned veteran, will own this rod. In most situations it's actually the first rod we own. When the saltwater world is considered, the first thing most manufacturers focus on is tropical applications. Designing and manufacturing rods geared toward bonefish, tarpon, and permit has always come first. Oftentimes these efforts can overlap into the striped bass world, but really for the angler targeting striped bass (specifically from shore) different technology and designs can make for a better tool. Tropical fishing is often presentation based. A rod that can accurately and delicately punch out a small to moderate sized fly through wind is very different from a rod paired with a line that can properly turn over a 14” bunker imitation or deliver a 400gr sink tip fly line with a clouser sporting large dumbbell eyes. In this article we will discuss technologies and designs that help with conditions that the average striped bass fly fishing angler is put up against. Also, we will touch upon fly rod technologies and designs that may hinder or help in accomplishing the task at hand in these unique conditions.

A great deal of what makes a rod great is personal preference specific to the individual angler. Some anglers may prefer a softer feeling rod due to their casting style or needed application, whereas a more aggressive caster, or those looking to utilize a specific technique, may prefer a stiffer rod. How soft or stiff a rod may feel has everything to do with the design of the rod, the materials used, and the individual angler's casting style. A softer rod will be easier to feel load and often will cast more like your average trout rod. In the trout world, often softer rod designs are used for dry fly fishing. This allows the angler to accurately cast a small weightless fly and have it gently hit the water in hopes not to spook that wary fish. It is why some love using fiberglass rods for small creek or solely dry fly situations. This is actually a very similar scenario applied when targeting spooky bonefish. Though the fly may not be a surface fly, bonefish flies are often small (think Gotchas, Crazy Charlies, or Ragheads tied on #8-#4 sized hooks) and meant to land delicately on the water. Often fly lines with longer heads and/or less aggressive tapers are used for these applications. On the contrary, a stiffer more powerful rod in the trout world is usually considered a streamer rod. These rods are designed for casting larger more wind resistant or heavier flies such as Kelly Galloup-style streamers or tungsten-headed buggers and handling sink tips and more aggressively tapered fly lines - similar tactics used by those who are targeting striped bass. With all that being said, the point here is that a more powerful, stiffer rod would theoretically be the correct tool for most striped bass anglers, unless specifically sight fishing for stripers where presentation does matter.

Many of the stiffer rods on the market that are designed to deal with big flies, heavy sink tips, and howling wind are often labeled as “broom sticks.” They can often deter people, especially those test casting rods under perfect conditions and putting them up against presentation oriented rods that are a lot more enjoyable and fun to cast because you can feel more of what you are doing. Fast forward to being out on the beach, waist deep in the water, with your body being pounded by waves and 30mph winds - your analysis on what is needed out of a fly rod may differ. That "broom stick" may not feel so stiff or perform so badly. Although a powerful, stiff fly rod may lack the feel and responsiveness of a softer and more presentation based fly rod under a controlled casting environment, that same stiffer rod will almost certainly do a better job at being able to generate the line speed and power to turn over a wind resistant or heavy fly on an aggressive over weighted line. That is what the technology and designs are being used to accomplish. That being said, again, a great deal has to do with personal preference and a stiff and powerful fly rod is not for everyone, nor is fishing in 20+mph winds or wanting to throw 12" long bulky flies. This is why it is important to consider how you fish for stripers and what kind of flies, lines, and conditions you as an angler will most often be dealing with. If you are someone who doesn't find themselves out in tough windy conditions much or can manage to cast most of their striper flies without that "clunky" feeling at the beginning and end of each cast, a softer more presentation based design may be better for you. They are certainly more pleasant to cast. If you’re regularly throwing large 12" flies and find themselves in areas or conditions that may not be ideal but the fishing certainly is, something stiffer with a little more power may be the ideal tool.

Another thing to consider about rods for striped bass, especially if you are a shorebound angler, is durability. This is something that should be considered in all rods but comes especially important when your rod is getting slapped by waves, dropped onto barnacle covered rocks, casting heavy flies, and is being used to exert high amounts of pressure to pull a bass out from behind a rock in strong current. Rod durability has a lot to do with material selections and how they are formed into rod blanks. The fly fishing industry has constantly been furthering technology to create lighter and stronger rods but often a lighter weight rod can also be more fragile. Another thing that can make a rod fragile is actually being too stiff. With less bend comes less forgiveness and a tendency to be brittle. Though a stiff fast action fly rod is theoretically a better tool for dealing with most striped bass conditions, the durability of that rod can be compromised due to its material make up and design. The tough thing is that the only way durability is truly put to the test is over time and generally speaking the field testing companies do in the R&D phase are often much too short spans of time to truly test this. Companies try their best, but time and regular use over variable conditions and scenarios is the only true test of a rods durability. Oftentimes we will judge the durability of a rod not only by our own ownership and use of the product, but also if we are seeing a specific model come back to the shop for repairs regularly. We certainly have rods we never break and never see come back, and rods that we initially loved to cast but stopped carrying because we did not feel them up to the task of striped bass on the coast. 

We hope this helped! There is a lot thrown at you here and it can certainly be confusing. Fly fishing for striped bass is still very much a niche within the already existing niche of fly fishing. So when researching, say "saltwater fly rods," a lot of the information provided is really not intended for the eye of the striped bass angler. Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

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February and March are notoriously the hardest two months in Maine to catch a fish on a fly rod. Cold weather produces iced over stillwaters and rivers and streams that are often much too dangerous to fish due to unpredictable and dangerous shelf ice that forms on the banks. This is especially true recently with the very cold temps and then shortly afterwards a swing of 20 degrees warmer. Opportunities at fish will be totally dictated by weather and it is not uncommon to go long periods of time during these months where absolutely nothing is fishable. Always keep an eye on the weather patterns, and river flows to find those few opportunities that may pop up.Use great caution when fly fishing out on waters where unstable ice may be present.

Trout and salmon will be the name of the game, as they will actively take flies throughout the winter months and are often found in moving water that is less likely to freeze. For fly selection, streamers fished slow and low will produce bites, as well as nymph rigs that can get the flies down in front of the fish's face. Streamer selections should consist of Woolly Buggers in various sizes and colors, as well as smelt and other small baitfish imitations. For nymphs, small Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ear, and of course midges are reliable bets.

Check out our Winter Fly Fishing: How to Stay Warm Article for tips and tricks to stay warm on even the coldest of days.

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Words + Photos: Joe Webster

January in Maine for most fly anglers is spent at the tying desk preparing for the next season's adventures. However for those that are brave enough to bundle up and find what little open water may be available, there are some opportunities to be had. Most of these will be stocked trout and landlocked salmon fishing in moving water. To find water that is open year round consult the IF&W law book. The next step is going out and finding ice free water. The combination of those two steps can often be limiting and has a lot to do with weather. The southern part of the state is often more reliable at producing fishable water that is open year round. Northern Maine has very limited year round trout and salmon. Do not expect the January bite to be red hot, but getting out in the solitude of winter can be rewarding in and of itself. If you are lucky to catch a fish in the dead of winter in Maine, it can be incredibly rewarding. Never stand on shelf ice on the banks of a river as it is dangerous and unpredictable. Always be aware of ice chunks floating down river, they sneak up on you more often and faster than you think. This happens when shelf ice breaks off on warm days, which are usually the days anglers would be out. For fly selection, streamers fished slow and low will produce bites, as well as nymph rigs that can get the flies down in front of the fishes face. Streamer selections should consist of Woolly Buggers in various sizes and colors, as well as smelt streamers and other small baitfish imitations. For nymphs, small Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ear, and of course midges are reliable bets.

Check out our Winter Fly Fishing: How to Stay Warm article for tips on making winter fishing comfortable.

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Written by: Joe Webster & Josh Thelin / Photo by: Josh Thelin

Stockingfoot waders, bootfoot waders, wading pants, neoprene, GORE-TEX, Toray…Where do we begin? With so many options available in today's market, we are going to break down when you may want to choose one pair of fishing wader over another or maybe even why you may want to forgo them all together for wet wading. In this post we will compare the different types of waders available, what they are made of, and subcategories of each type to help you better understand how to outfit yourself for your next adventures. We offer Simms and Redington waders here at the shop because we feel that they are the most durable and best made waders on the market, however the following information and ideas can be applied towards many brands of waders. 

What Are Waders Made Of?

For a lot of us, our first memories of fishing waders were a pair of fully neoprene bootfoots that belonged to either our parents or grandparents. Whether they were for fishing or duck hunting, or just putting the dock in/out at camp during the spring/fall, they were clunky and similar to a suit of medieval armor. They also likely weighed a metric ton. However a very warm option, this type of fishing wader has been slowly pushed to the side in lieu of today's more common synthetic-based options. Neoprene waders are certainly still used today, but their application has mostly been applied to very cold conditions. Today, anglers are mostly using stockingfoot or bootfoot waders made of either GORE-TEX or some form of synthetic based material. 

GORE-TEX

GORE-TEX has become the gold standard of waterproof/windproof/breathable material and manufacturing technology. Developed in the 1960's by Bill and Bob Gore in Delaware, it made its appearance in the outdoor world in the 1970's with GORE-TEX jackets. A giant leap forward in weather/waterproof technology for many applications, it was not long before GORE-TEX is worn on everything from the top of the world's largest peaks to even the moon. Durable, lightweight, and worthy of the wettest conditions, it's well understood why most people prefer GORE-TEX compared to other materials when it comes to outdoor gear. However well-liked, GORE-TEX is costly to manufacture and garments/waders made with it are usually quite a bit more expensive in the retail world.

Toray

Developed in Japan in the mid 1920's, Toray now makes a wide range of synthetic/acrylic based materials. Nylon being the most well known, a greater percentage of outdoor gear is made of some form of Toray blend or similar woven synthetic based materials. When manufactured and made for outdoor gear purposes, it is produced in a similar way to GORE-TEX with the used of multiple layers and sealed seams. Whether it's Toray or a similar Nylon/acrylic based fabric, when manufactured properly, it can produce a weather/waterproof garment which is durable and worthy of our fishing needs.

Pound for pound, when put to the test, I will say that GORE-TEX has the edge in durability and overall weatherproof capabilities. It really however boils down to budget and application. GORE-TEX is a lot of times considerably more expensive. Waders made of GORE-TEX provide a likely longer lasting piece of gear and will give outdoor gear a more waterproof capability. But a fall on rocks, getting nicked by barbed wire or branches while walking, or a hook stuck will most times puncture or damage your waders whether they are Toray or GORE-TEX. So anglers should manage expectations of their usage and budget accordingly.

Types of Waders

Stockingfoot Waders

Stockingfoot waders are the most popular design of waders on the market. These waders are meant to be paired with a separate wading boot and usually come with a neoprene stocking foot combined with some sort of breathable material for the legs and body. Budget friendly waders will often be the least warm to wear (not a bad thing for warmer days) but often only have single or double layer technology that is prone to fail faster than waders such as the G3 or G4 wader by Simms that feature 3 and 4 layer GORE-TEX designs for greatly increased durability. Stockingfoot waders are also available in pant models that only go up to your waist. Stockingfoot waders will be the most comfortable for walking, but be weary of layering too many pairs of socks in them as they are known to cut off circulation which causes cold feet. It is not recommended to use foot warmers with stockingfoot waders as they are known to prematurely wear out the neoprene.

Bootfoot Waders

Bootfoot waders are one of the most underutilized and under appreciated pieces of gear in the fly fishing industry. It is safe to say most people will associate the term Bootfoot Wader with the fully neoprene, super heavy and very uncomfortable brown waders from a certain big box retailer. We want to change this. Bootfoot waders do not need to be heavy, do not need to be uncomfortable, and can make a subzero degree day feel like a summer evening on the beach. Bootfoot waders are really the only way to efficiently keep your feet warm when water is under 40 degree. Cold feet is the number one reason people will stop fishing in the winter months and bootfoot waders solve that. Another great use for bootfoot style waders is fishing in the surf or on sandy beaches. If you have ever warn stockingfoot waders when fishing in the surf, you know that no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to keep every grain of sand out from between your neoprene stocking and wading boot. Sand getting into a wading boot is the number one reason for failed neoprene and bootfoot waders completely solves this problem.It would not be recommended to walk long distances on the beach, or anywhere for that matter, but if you are taking a short stroll from your car to a hole on a freezing cold river or to a sandy beach close to a public parking area, you may want to reconsider boot foot waders. For the best Bootfoot Waders on the market click HERE

Wet Wading

When the water is warm enough, this is always your best bet. Wet wading takes away the need for waders and only requires a pair of wading socks, and your favorite wading boot or shoe. Especially when dealing with saltwater environments wet wading can save you a lot of money due to the harsh nature of wading in the salt. Simms freesalt boots paired with a wading sock and gravel guard is our favorite way to wade here on the Maine coast, especially on rocky shorelines and can also be applied to our rivers and streams around the state. If a rugged boot meant to be warn with a wading sock is too much, another option is using a flats sneaker or bootie that can be warn barefoot or with a lightweight sock. This can often be the best choice if walking very long distances or roaming skinny water flats all day long.

CHECK OUT OUR WADERS AND BOOTS HERE!

If you have any questions about types of waders/wading gear or are curious about what would work best for you, please give us a call or shoot us a message!

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