Tag Archives: best herring fly patterns

Black Fly-Day

If you’ll pardon the wordplay, I offer relief to those who are already weary of the crass holiday commercialism that seems to start earlier each year. Here are three favorite patterns that feature basic black. Give yourself the gift of tight lines, and tie one on.

R.L.S. Black General Practitioner. Is it a steelhead fly? Or a striper fly? Do the fish really care?

The Bombardier Flatwing. Treat yourself to an explosion when you swing this big flatwing in the wee hours of a chilly April very early morning.

The Bruiser Big Eelie. Unlike the unis of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby side, this lethal sand eel sports some blurple. Perfect for getting into a scrum with some stripers on a moonless night.

“Deadly Elegance” in the current issue of Surfcasters Journal

If you live in southern New England, right now is one of the better times to try to catch a large striper. Herring are coming in to spawn, and the stripers know it. I’ve already taken three slot bass this year, one of them 15 pounds. My implements of destruction are a long rod, a floating line, and large flatwings fished on the greased line swing. You can read about how I’m getting it done in this new piece, “Deadly Elegance or: How I learned to stop stripping and love the greased line swing.” You’ll find it in the current issue of Surfcasters Journal. Issue #72 to be exact.

Surfcasters Journal is an e-zine, and the current periodical bible for serious striper anglers. Whether you’re a surfcaster or a fly angler, it’s loaded with information you can use to catch more bass — and bigger bass. Some of the best striper anglers I know are contributors.
The opening spread of Deadly Elegance, sans copy. You need a subscription to read the article, and you can get one on the Surfcasters Journal homepage. Those are my Bombardiers, a nine-feather flatwing of my creation and a darn good fly for tempting bass that are feeding on herring.