New year, new kind of class at the Fly Fishing Show in Edison, NJ. Rather than a tying class, it’s now the closest thing we can get to an actual lesson in the salt! I’m really excited about the change, and everyone who attended my class in Marlborough gave it rave reviews. So, instead of spending a few hours on a salt marsh or estuary, we’ll gather in a cozy meeting room and learn all about tying and fishing presentation flies for striped bass. If you’ve ever wanted to fish with me, but have been unable to do so, this will be a great opportunity to get some quality instruction.

Jeff took this class at Edison last year. Here’s what he’s been doing since then! Photo by Jeff Carson.

What are presentation flies? They’re flies that rely on specific materials — mostly natural — specific construction — mostly sparse — and specific presentations — to create the illusion of life. Presentation flies are highly impressionistic. They look alive and like something good to eat, even when at rest. Most of all, you don’t need to strip them in, ad nauseum, to get stripers to eat them. In this class, I’ll talk about materials and construction and, if the group wants, demo at least one pattern.

So, how and where do you fish such patterns? We’ll cover that, too. I’ll show you how to build a saltwater team of three flies; we’ll discuss different bait and feeding scenarios; we’ll talk about the different kinds of water where presentation flies shine; and of course, we’ll dive into presentation — you know, that thing you do when you’re not treating your fly rod like a glorified spinning rod.

You must pre-register for this class. You can do that here.