I’m headed to New York for a work trip next week and one of my clients is taking me fishing for bluefish and stripers on Friday. I’ve never fished saltwater, and am a relative novice at tying, though I want to tie my own for the practice and fun of it. Anyone have a couple recommended (hopefully fairly “beginner”) patterns I could tie up this weekend before I go?
Thanks!
clousers in chartruese,pink,blue,or green over white work well. Deceivers in the same colors I use a mylar fly also out there with a bucktail tail then a mylar body and a bucktail wing really easy to tie and very effective as well
Some of the easiest saltwater bucktails to tie are the Brooks Blonde series
and tied sparse enough, they make a very good sandeel imitation
Besides Clousers and Deceivers, the other must have fly, in my opinion is the Tabory Snake fly
If you’re fishing for blues, you might want to tie some of your flies with synthetics - they will make short work of bucktail and feathers. Gartside Gurgler is an easy fly to tie if you want some topwater action.
Regards,
Scott
I don’t think that you can go wrong with a #4-6 Clouser chartruese over white or an all white Deceiver #2-4. Be sure to use salt water hooks for your flies. Both are easy to tie and you will save a lot of money by “rolling your own.” 8T 
Thanks, everybody! You are all very helpful!
Paul
+1 Good call, dudley:cool:
The recs for clousers & deceivers are great, but Blondes will be simple ties that you can modernize by incorporating synthetic wings/tails or flash.
I use one fly for probably 80% of my striper & bluefish fishing. It’s a Deceiver, size 2/0. I tie it primarily in white with a silver mylar body. I add two grizzly saddle hackles over the top. Many people use Clousers but I’m not a big fan of them. The Deceiver usually works for me if there are fish to be caught.
Simple
Ray’s fly
It’s a bucktail streamer with
6 strands of peacock herl over
12 hairs olive bucktail over
12 hairs yellow bucktail over
12 hairs white bucktail.
All tied in at the head with gold or silver mylar wrapped down the hookshank for a body.
Usually I go with less hairs to get my fly sparser so it will sink a bit faster without adding any weight to it.
It is a fly that is a good producer and can be thrown with any weight rod.
I’ll second the Rays Fly- easy to tie, easy to throw and very effective when stripers and blues are on sandeels and spearing. (Now.)
You may also want some chartreuse Clousers with lead eyes to get deep, (another excellent sandeel imitation) and some larger 3/0 Deceivers to imitate mossbunker (menhaden) White, blue over white, or chartreuse would all be good choices for Deceivers.
To simplify somewhat, you could use size 2/0 SW hooks like Mustad 34007 or the shorter shank 3407 for all the patterns, and just substitute bucktail for the feathers on the tail of the Deceiver (making a Bucktail Deceiver). Keep the dressing sparse on all the patterns to give maximum action in the water and make them easier to cast.
Micropteris has given the dressing for a Rays Fly. You might want to make each layer about a 1/2 " longer than the layer beneath it for a great profile in the water. eg white 2", yellow 2 1/2", olive 3", peacock 3 1/2" for a great profile.
For a Bucktail Deceiver, just use 5 clumps of bucktail about 15 hairs each. (One bunch for the tail the rest for the collar.) To make the collar, tie one bundle on the bottom of the hook, one on each side, and one on top. (The top layer is often a contrasting color like blue or green, with the other bundles being white.) Add some crystal flash or flashabou and a few strands of peacock herl as a topping if you want.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
peregrines
Along with the deceivers and clousers make sure you have some 25-30 lb floro tippet if you are fishing for blues. They cut through my 12lb florocarbon like it was butter.
Pick up a few Bunker flies while you are down there just in case.