Triangle Sport recently did a video about All Points Fly Shop and the owner Josh Thelin. Triangle Sport is the company that makes the line/reel winder machine that we use daily at the shop to rig fly reels.
Check it out below!
Here in Maine and many parts of New England, springtime means ice-out and smelt runs. In the early spring, smelt are spawning. Looking for tributaries and other feeder streams to complete their duty, trout and salmon will follow suit. Smelt can enter the river in many different ways, including getting tossed through dams, so they can be ever-present in many different areas in rivers, lakes, and ponds. Trout and salmon are hungry from a long winter and ready to feed. Baitfish meals that are full of protein are high on their list. This means it is a great time to get out those streamers. Some of the biggest fish are present and feeding this time of year and some of your best chances to find these beasts is to fish streamers. Here is a short list of some of our favorite ones at the shop!
This is streamer pattern designed here at the shop that is tied to imitate a smelt. This pattern features a wing with a combination of synthetic and natural materials including Raptor hackle, Steve Farrar SF Blend, and peacock herl. These flies are tied on size 6 Daiichi traditional streamer hooks. With smelt runs in full swing during the spring, patterns that imitate this forage are incredibly important to have in your box. These flies will work well on floating, intermediate, and sinking lines depending on the depth desired. Smelt streamers in general work very well when swung, but can induce bites by being stripped sporadically as well. If you think you will be fishing for trout and salmon that are actively feeding on smelt, be sure to pick up a few of these flies.
Check out this pattern HERE
The floating smelt is an incredibly effective imitation of a dead or wounded smelt. This pattern is meant to be dead drifted on the surface to imitate this but can also be swung in the current with succesful results. The floating smelt works best when fishing on tailwaters that have smelt being washed down and injured through the dam turbines. With so many of our rivers heavily dammed in Maine this is a very regular occurence. This fly is tied with E-Z Tubing stuffed with foam and colored with a marker for the dark back. Tied on a size 4 Gamakatsu B10S stinger hook and features Fish Skull Holographic Living Eyes.
Check out this Pattern HERE
As effective as it is famous, it doesn't make much sense to target Maine salmon and trout without a grey ghost in your box. Originated by the famous Carrie Stevens, this is probably the best known traditional Maine streamer pattern, and for good reason. This fly is very productive in the fall for inducing a territorial reaction bite, but is also a great pattern to be throwing during smelt runs. This fly can be effectively fished on a floating, intermediate, or sinking line depending on the depth desired. We offer a marabou wing version here at the shop that seems to be especially productive in our northern rivers and streams. These flies are tied on size 6 Daiichi traditional streamer hooks.
Checkout this fly HERE
Sometimes you just need the biggest piece of white marabou you can find tied onto a hook. That is what the Montreal whore is. A classic and super effective Maine "attractor style" streamer pattern, the Montreal Whore shines not only during the fall but during our smelt runs as well. This fly is a quick easy tie, but produces a lot of fish. Somewhere in between an attractor pattern and a smelt imitation, this is one fly you should be sure to have in your box. Like the Grey Ghost, this fly fishes well in both Spring and Fall months. Our version of this pattern is tied on size 6 Daiichi traditional streamer hooks.
Check out this fly HERE
As obvious as it is, this one had to make the list. Woolly Buggers just down right catch fish. And in the spring when the trout and salmon are looking for a big meal after a long winter, they cannot resist this super popular pattern. In the spring we like them on the larger size 4 and 6 hooks specifically in olive, white, and purple. Black is also very productive, especially in stillwater scenarios. We have many different sizes, colors and variations at the shop.
Check out this fly HERE
Striped bass start coming up to Maine as early as May. Most of our early runners are very small fish taking advantage of the abundance of small bait in estuaries and marshes. The more comfortable water conditions in these areas also provides a more inviting habit for the stripers. It is not until our rivers are full of larger bait such as alewives and river herring that the bigger sized striped bass make an appearance. Fishing river mouths and estuaries can be very productive for early season big fish. However, once those runs of bait come to an end and the pogies (menhaden/bunker) show up (which they have been doing in big numbers in recent years) the bigger bass will start to push out into deeper water. This in turn means the ledges, rock piles, and beaches become the go-to locations.
Throughout the summer months large striped bass can be caught on both beaches and rocks on the Maine coast. Access to deeper, colder water can be important during the hottest times of the year. As things cool down and our fall run takes place, big striped bass can be anywhere and everywhere. Some fish decide to push back up into rivers or cruise along the mouths to feed on bait dumping out, and some choose to stay out in their summer haunts. As they migrate south they can take advantage of feeding opportunities which will make for some of the best fishing of the year, however it can be very spotty. Fall is a high-risk-high-reward scenario in Maine. It is important to stay mobile and flexible as you never know when or where a massive feed could pop up. Time of day matters less in the fall. By mid-late October most our trophy sized bass have headed south but they seem to come earlier and stay later every year so you never know if that late season monster might still be hanging around in November.
Night time or low light hours is always your best bet at catching trophy striped bass. Fly fishing at night can be a difficult activity, but it is a regular occurrence for big bass to be caught on 10”+ black flies that push large volumes of water at night. The flies that work best are black or black/purple in color and mimic the profiles of either very large baitfish, or long eels. The major advantage with fishing at night is that large bass will often come close to shore in locations that you would only ever see schoolies during daylight hours.
Daytime presents completely different scenarios. On days where we have surf, fishing rock piles and ledges can be very productive. Though high surf is limiting to a fly angler, it is often when the biggest bass are in closest to shore during daylight hours. Maine is loaded with rocky coastline and the bass take advantage of that regularly feeding in the wash that breaking waves create on the rocks. Big bass will take flies a rods length away from you more often than they will as soon as your fly hits the water 80ft out from shore. A big mistake many shore anglers make is casting as far as they can out from shore when in reality the bass are very close in when fishing ledges and rock piles with steep drop offs. Try casting your fly parallel to shore if possible and you may be surprised by the results. Productive flies for fishing rocks in Maine are large hollow flies, beast flies and mackerel patterns all of which will get the attention of a large bass. When Conditions are calm is when a fly really shines over other conventional fishing methods. Maine is a bait factory. We have an immense amount of small forage from Brit herring to sand eels to green crabs and everything in between. When conditions are calm, and the water is clear, sight fishing for large striped bass can be extremely productive. There are certainly times where you can get a large bass to eat a tiny sand eel or crab pattern when they will not touch anything else. On top of sight fishing on flats or in estuaries, rocks can still produce on calm days. The advantage of calm days on rocks is you can usually get out to casting points that would otherwise be unsafe on rough days. Like sight fishing in skinny water, usually downsizing fly is a good choice on calmer days if bass will not commit to bigger baitfish patterns.
It is important to not be under gunned when targeting large fish and hoping for that bass of a lifetime. Trophy bass will often give an extremely long run when they are first hooked. This is especially true in shallow/flats areas. In deeper water, they can make deep dives. This is why a reel with a large capacity for backing is important. 150 yards of backing or more is highly recommended. A smooth and strong drag system is imperative (and ideally fully sealed). Also understand that super light weight reels may not be the best option. With lightness usually comes fragility which can become an issue on the rocky Maine coast. Reels will see rough wading conditions such as rocks/ledges and almost constant submersion while flats fishing. These situations combined with salt water make it nasty on gear. A light reel can also negatively effect balance of a rod when casting heavy lines and big flies. A 10 weight rod and line set up is highly recommended for big striped bass in Maine. Conditions can often be unforgiving and a rod and line with the power to cooperate with wind and waves is very helpful. On top of a 10 wt being a better tool for battling the elements, the heavier grain lines also allow for a wider array of flies to be thrown from 12” long beast flies to a tiny green crab fly and everything in between. Give us a call at the shop if you need help getting geared up for fishing for big Maine striped bass on the fly!
Written By: Joe Webster
The 2019 Maine Bar Fly season is in the books! Last night we rounded off the tying nights at Stars & Stripes Brewing in Freeport. This particular brewery I thought would be a great way to end as it brought the work with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing full circle. Stars & Stripes Brewery is a veteran owned establishment and I had heard great things. We tied two different crab patterns with local tyer Travis Shipman. We tucked ourselves into the S&S tap room and learned the techniques behind a fly that is probably the most talked about here for striped bass anglers in Maine. With a combination of its intrigue and effectiveness, crabs are the single most asked about pattern for salt anglers in my shop. I personally tie a variation of a Merkin/EP crab for stripers, but to see Travis' skill in different versions/patterns was quite cool. I was particularly interested in his "Red Claws" crab which utilizes deer hair, schlappen, and rabbit strips! I'll be trying to add that to my arsenal for the upcoming season. (Side note: this was probably the most technically challenging of all the Bar Flys yet, so kuddos to all the tyers that came!)
I appreciate everyone who joined in on this season's Maine Bar Flys. Not only am I continually impressed with the attendee's willingness to try new patterns and explore techniques they are unfamiliar with, but this year's nights had a specific association and effort raise money for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Everyone who came out were willing to help donate to this great organization. Hard to ask for anything more...
I want to also specifically thank Shaun Baggitt, Nate Wight, Aaron Lockwood, Travis Shipman, and of course Jon Larrabee (HMH Vises) for all their help. Would not be possible without your involvement!
See you next year!
Words + Photos: Josh Thelin
