New here

[NEfisherman]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and generally new to fly fishing. I've mostly been fly fishing for bass and bluegill, but I've decided to combine my love of fly fishing with my love of saltwater. I have a few areas I like to saltwater fish on the spinning combo, and I catch some small stripers. I live in boston and I was wondering if anyone could recommend some specific areas to fly fish. I know I have the harbor, but I have no boat and casting room can be limited. Also, I'm guessing peanut bunker patterns would be the best this time of year. I realize that the season wont last too much longer, but I plan on jumping on it next year. Oh, and one more question, can you fly fish for bluefish? If so, what type of leader would on use?

[Warm Water Fly Fisher]

Welcome to FAOL

[LadyFisher]

Welcome aboard! You will find a ton of help in the back archives of Dave Micus who also lived there until recently. The equipment, flies and places are all there.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/micus/

[NEfisherman]

Thanks for the welcome, and I'll be sure to check out those articles

[Jed]

I just got off the Cape and had a ball. I was near Provincetown and if you are interested I can give you some exact locations. From shore on the fly I and others caught many many stripers. All under keeper size but it was a blast. Simply put the Cape is hot right now. We also caught Bluefish. Use a steel tipped leader. Rio has some nice ones. Heavier flurocarbon worsk too. All week I did not use any bite tippet and had only one lost Blue fish. If you have a kayak that works very well too.

Bunker imitations work, but I saw alot of sand eels and had success imitating them with Clousers or Deceivers tied long, like a sand eel. Enjoy and welcome to the board.

jed

[NEfisherman]

Thanks for the tips guys. I don't really get to the cape that much unfortunetly, I mostly fish from boston harbor up north.

Right now I only have a 6 weight, but I realize I'm going to need something heavier so I can cast bigger flies.

[Jed]

Look at the writing of Dave Micus in the Saltwater section. He fished along the north shore and especially the Ipswich river, Plum Island. Good fishing there.

Just to be 100% clear. Bluefish love flies and I love Bluefish on the end of my rod. A great fight and with the right preparation you can enjoy eating one every now and again.

jed

[NEfisherman]

I've been reading some of his writings. Very interesting and no doubt helpful.

[CT Bob]

Saltwater flyfishing is best done at night. That's one of the things I love best about it, the solitude it affords me. Fishing at night gives me my pick of spots with virtually no one else around. Not for the faint of hear though. You need to know what you are doing as far as wading goes. Night time is not the time to be trying out new spots. Best to visit them during the day at low tide to see where you can wade.

The other thing that I find is that if you are shorebound, low light hours are when the fish are most likely to be within reach for the fly angler.

As far as gear goes: There are some folks who fish the salt with a 6wt. Personally I think it's a bit foolish. A 6 or 7 wt rod does have its place-for fishing protected estuaries and salt ponds where the fish won't be over 20" long. The thing you have to remember is that these are not lifiting rods. Fishing river mouths for Hickory or American shad is one place where a lighter rod is great.

When you do fish in the wind (and you will) a 6 or 7 wt just won't work. You will simply wish you didn't even bother to go fishing. Same goes for casting larger flies and poppers. If you are fishing for larger fish or off of jetties/rocky reefs you need a rod with enough backbone to lift the fish.

For an all-purpose New England saltwater rod I would suggest a stiff,fast action 9' 9wt with a fighting butt. You also want to buy the best reel you can afford-one that holds at least 150 yards of backing. Saltwater fishing will test your gear, unlike freshwater. Big blues,bonito, and albies will rip line off your reel like you could never imagine. I have fished for Atlantic Salmon-big freshwater fish mind you, and NOTHING,NOTHING in the fresh water can compare to hooking into a 10lb bluefish,albie, or bonito. You can be deep into your backing in an instant!!!

As far as catching blues on the fly........





Wouldn't want to fight these on a 6wt.

[NEfisherman]

Thanks for the tip. When(and if) its in the budget, I'll check out 9 weights