Top 5 Early Season Striper Flies for Maine

Written By: Joe Webster

The time is certainly near and one of our favorite local fish, the striped bass, will soon be returning to the Maine coast in search of abundant bait and preferable water temperatures. Here are 5 flies that we would never leave home without when targeting striped bass in May and early June in our local waters!

For our FULL collection of striped bass flies click HERE

1. Crouser Fly

Designed here in house by our own Joe Webster, and now produced by the fine folks at RIO Products, the Crouser (half crab, half clouser) has become one of the most used flies for targeting early season striped bass here in Maine. This fly excels in rivers, marshes and estuaries where abundance of small bait such as crabs, shrimp and small baitfish are present. And the best part about this fly is it could really imitate any of them being a vague, creature bait style fly. Olive/light olive and brown/olive are Joe's favorite color combinations as they represent green crabs and shrimp well, however tan/white and olive/white have become local favorites, especially those fishing in Casco Bay just north of us. This fly was designed to be dragged directly on sand or mud bottom with a sink tip fly line. However they also work well with an intermediate or floating line when sight fishing or when the bottom has too many obstructions to drag a fly on (mussel beds, rocks, sea weed etc.) Check them out HERE!

2. Bucktail Deciever

A Bob Popovics classic, the Bucktail Deciever is likely the most versatile bait fish patterns out there. These can be tied as small as 3"-4" and in excess of 12" long when utilizing the use of extensions. Simply match the hatch with size and profile with this fly and don't worry about matching exact colors of baitfish. If anything worry about tone vs color, meaning a darker (or black) fly for low light conditions and stained water, and white or pastel colors for clear water and high sun. This fly can be fished on a floating, intermediate, or sink tip fly line. We have a great assortment of these flies HERE!

3. Half and Half

For when you need to get your baitfish pattern a little deeper, or through heavy current and swells, the half and half is a must have when classic unweighted deceivers aren't getting the job done. We are particularly excited about our new Jiggy Half and Half and encourage you to scoop some up before they're gone! Click HERE for link!

4. Hollow Flat Wing Deciever

Especially for those who are looking to target larger fish, a wide profiled larger baitfish pattern is certainly a requirement, particularly if fishing around outflows and river herring runs. The 6/0 version of this fly hits the mark perfectly and is a great size and profile for this occasion. These flies will also  work very well off of rock/ledges where a wider variety of baitfish such as pollock or mackerel are also present. All sizes and colors of Hollow Flat Wing Deceivers are available here!

5. Little Black Clouser

Couldn't make the list with out including this little guy.  A small size 2 matte black 3" long clouser is a not so secret local favorite that has been catching up bass for years. Before the crabs and crousers, there was the little black clouser. Drag directly on sand or mud bottom with a sink tip line for best results. Little Black Clousers found HERE!