My friends are always trying to get me, a pure trout man, well almost pure, to hit the beaches with them. Because my oldest daughter lives in Wynthrop we go to Boston on a regular basis. My wife also likes the sea shore while I, prefering the mountains and streams, end up splitting vacation time to cover both. A couple of times I saw a line of fishermen on a beach and so gravitated toward them. Turns out I knew a couple of them (from the shows). “What are you after,” I asked? “Blues,” came the reply.
There was a comotion in the water a little while later, seagulls and terns were dive bombing and the guys were lining back up in a tighter formation.
Suddenly as a wave was about to break I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a wave that seemed to be made up entirely of fish. Wave after wave. Seemingly 10’s of thousands of fish! Guys cast their lines into this melee and had immediate hook ups, then backed away, dragging the fish ashore! For some reason it reminded me of the snaggers that used to populate the banks of the Salmon River in Pulaski NY. Although it was actioned filled for a while until the fish moved on and I was repeatedly offered a rod, I just did not see the sport of it. There was no unknown involved. Everyone caught fish, every cast they caught a fish and if one missed the fly another would hit it immediately.
Okay guys, what am I missing? What’s the big deal with salt water fishing. I am refering to fishing from shore or wading a bit , or a boat near shore and not big game fishing Hemingway style.
Hey Mantis,
The situation you described is contrary
to any I’ve experienced. I don’t know how
common it is to pull them out of a wave like
that. My blues have normally been at
extreme casting distances and were most
reluctant to give ground. I have found them
to be hard fighters and good sport. Warm
regards, Jim
with the salt you never know what your gonna pull in. you may be targeting snapper blues, but there could be some bigger fish underneath.
and i would have to say blues are one of the best fighing fish for thier size, they dont seem to know ehn to quit.
roger
princess anne, eastern shore of md.
Sounds like there was a blitz going on, I haven’t seen one quite like you describe since I’ve been fly fishing. Seen them just off the beach while trolling. My buddy and I trolling with 6 lines and a fish on every line. When blitzes happen it’s as crazy as you describe, but it’s the matter of being in the right place at the right time. The more common scenario is what Jim described. It encompasses all the same aspects you use fishing for trout. Knowing the area you fish, reading the water, matching the hatch, sight fishing on the flats, trying to lay the fly in the fish’s feeding lane.
The difference is the fish. They’re bigger, not all of them, but if I had my druthers, an 18 inch blue or striper will give a much better fight than a similar size trout. They’re meaner. An 18 inch blue would make cat food out of an 18 inch trout. Which means if you ever do join your friends on the beach, be real careful of those blues. A big one can take your finger off. A small one can leave a lot of pin size holes in your finger, that I can vouch for.
Give it a try, particularly on a day when there are no blitzes. Get out there before dawn and watch the sun rise slowly from the ocean. See if you can pick out the rips or current seams that hold fish. Try and spot the nervous water, as school of baitfish is being balled up by the blues or stripers. There’s more to fly fishing than trout.
In July and August, in Maine, one has the real chance to hook up with 12-18lb Blues, in the 30-35" range. Pound for Pound they are the hardest fighting fish up here. At least for those of us that can’t afford to chase Bluefin Tuna.
The past couple years have brought 30-50lb. Schoolie Bluefins close to shore. I hear those things are a kick in the pants on a 12wt. Never done it personally.
Don’t judge all Salt-Water Fly Fishing by just one type. What they were doing is similar to what fresh-water fisherman call ‘jump-fishing’, and it is usually for white (sand) bass, and stripers. Blues behave similarly to these fish. When a school of Stripers (or bluefish)locates a large school of baitfish, they go into a kind of feeding frenzy and attack anything that gets near them. It is short-lived, violent, and they move on after the baitfish scatter. The fisherman then watch the gulls (they join in as well) to see where the fish will attack next, and move to that spot.
There are many other kinds of Salt-Water Fly-Fishing. Fishing the flats for Permit is one of the most demanding types of angling there is. They are spookey, can see and hear almost to the point of the supernatural, and are very suspicious. It is every bit as hard as fishing spooky Brown Trout on a small stream. Then there is Bonefish, Mackeral, Specks and a host of others that are similar to stalking Rainbows. And if you don’t mind taking a chance on tearing your equipment up (and maybe your body, as well), you can go for the gold with Tarpon and even sharks, and other ‘bluewater’ species. I have had a 4’ barracuda jump into the boat off of Destin, Fla., after I’d hooked it with a Deciever. It was a bit intense for a little bit, not knowing who was fishing for who. It can be very exciting.
Salt-Water Angling covers a whole lot of ground, just like freshwater angling. I’d give 'em all a try at least once before I’d write if off. It’s a blast!
And the bottom line is…Any fishing is better than none at all!
Semper Fi!
Well presented fly, Pure Trout Man. ;o)
A bust up is something that is all too rare to see when fishing from the shore. In the years I have been fly fishing the UK shoreline I have probably only seen three or four, usually mackerel working the shore line and the technique is to run and cast to keep in touch with the moving fish. Those who have witnessed me running and casting have usually had to stop fishing from the pain of laughing so much. Usually I am laughing my head off a just the pure fun of it. Watching the macks chasing the fly, shouldering each other to gain the advantage whilst you are running out of line in the water is pure comedy. When they are gone; well it is usually back to blind casting features, structures, rips and trying to get a quick shot out to the odd sighted fish.
I have only fished the coast in MA a few dozen times, and although the bust ups are not quite as rare there and they have much better fish to catch they can also be all too ethereal. The story is similar the blues will often compete for the same fly and often the trick in the deeper water is to try and get the fly below the blues as usually there will be some nice stripers hanging about. All a sudden the fish are gone and it is back to the usual techniques. Having witnessed this once you would be very mistaken in jumping to the conclusion that this is all that SWFF is all about, to the contrary, it is hard work and in my experience you have to work your apprenticeship and gain the skills. If you were to ask me; someone who has fished rivers for trout and grayling for many, many years, fishing the sweet stuff is easy. I cannot remember the last time I turned up to fish freshwater and blanked. I can probably tell you of at least a dozen times this year when the briney has left me wanting.
If you are fishing the salt and the sun is shining and the wheat is ripe, then make hay, tomorrow it might rain.
Me; well I am back to the river this Sunday, the SWFF is just too darned difficult at this time of year and I need to catch a fish.
JME
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I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to…
To really be content, one must appreciate what is served on the platter and not be so worried as to what “else” is around. The best is what is presently available. The rest is what dreams are made of.
If it’ll pull on the string and gobble a wad of feathers…we LOVE it. Still looking for the “perfect” piscatorial partner and hoping we don’t find it. Some ARE close… 
Mantis
You witnessed a blitz.
I presume that the men were using spinning tackle, “they backed away, dragging the fish to shore”. I have seen alot of rods and reels blown up doing that kind of thing. Did there rods look like broom handles? the local meat fisherman (they feed their family and most of the neighborhood)use set ups like that with 60# line.
Try blues in the high teens with a 9 weight from the beach. A half hour later you’ll be asking yourself why did I do this?
Seeing the bait fish being chased by the blues in the waves with the sun behind them is beautiful.
Give it a try, you’ll be hooked.
Larry
I guess the big deal is that you rarely get those blitzes from shore. It is much more often looking for the fish, finding them for a while and then looking for more. Once you get them on the end of the line, and you are using appropriate tackle the fun begins. Anyone can horse in a Bluefish with cable or 60 lb test. Doing it with 8 - 12 lb test can be a different adventure all together.
If you draw an analogy to trout fishing, most often you have to find a hatch or figure out what food is in the water that you can match. Then you have to find the fish. Walking into a major hatch that is obviously a #14 Elk Hare Caddis is the same as walking into a blitz. Cast, catch, cast, catch.
jed
As someone who mostly fishes the salt, I can guarantee that’s not how it usually is. I will say that trout fishing and just about any salt fishing is completely different, but there is skill, art, and most definitely frustration involved in most salt fly fishing.
Ed Mercado
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