You've gotten all the right equipment...The fancy pastel colored, SPF-50, Ex Officio clothing...a quiver of the newest, lightest, super fast action SAGE, G.LOOMIS, SCOTT Branded fly rods complete with the requisite shiny gold anodized, machined aluminum, carbon fiber/cork drag, large arbor "designer" fly reels lined with the latest, greatest, slickest floating and intermediate fly lines (wow..nice descriptive)... The many hours of casting practice have paid off big time...that nasty tailing loop is almost gone and you've gotten your casting to the point that you can effortlessly throw a weighted crab fly 80 feet into a stiff breeze and drop it with pinpoint accuracy into a shot glass...(okay...maybe a garbage can) Your fly boxes are overflowing with painstakingly tied crustacean, worm hatch and baitfish creations that look so real that you're afraid to reach in and grab one for fear it might start gnawing on your thumb...Are we talking about Tarpon, Permit or Bonefishing in an exotic remote tropic location??? Hah...Not even close!!! We're off the coast of Maine and we'd like to welcome you to the world of shallow water Striper fishing!!!
(this nice fat bellied 32" fish was caught in a mere 18" of water)
While our livebaiting & "Butterfly Jigging" trips were very exciting and productive when fishing over deep water ledges...the shallow water Striper fishery presented us with many unique challenges last season. Despite the often difficult fly fishing conditions we faced last year...Overall I would say it was a success with more trophy sized fish being landed than in previous years. The knowledge that I gained from widening the search for fish will hopefully prove to be invaluable for many years to come. We quickly learned what was not working and made the proper adjustments. Our approach to skinny water Striper fishing changed in 2007 and 2008...with far more emphasis placed on sight casting to tailing, waking and laid-up large solitary fish as opposed to chasing the huge blow-ups of schoolie Stripers...Fast sinking lines were replaced by floating and intermediate lines...short 4-6 foot sections of 20# flouro leader were replaced with long tapered leaders more common to steelhead or bonefishing. Big Bulky flies were replaced by smaller sparsely tied shrimp, crab and baitfish offerings. Being able to stalk 15 to 20 lb Fish on the flats...make the cast and lead the fish into explosive visual strikes was fascinating and very exciting. Chasing birds around was mostly an exercise in futility which usually resulted in every nearby fish being spooked into the next county...Many times we'd intentionally ground the "Super Fly" on certain un-named shallow mussel bars(a flooding tide of course) and wait for big cruising Stripers to push onto the flats and into our casting range.(A healthy Striper released on one of Maine's many sand flats)
When the conditions are right Striped Bass make perfect sight casting targets for fly & light tackle anglers. When sight casting to Striped Bass around the numerous Mussel bars and eel grass beds that fringe many of our shallow flats, we frequently encounter Stripers that are "Tailed Up"...yes Stripers do "tail", like an Abaco Bone or Redfish of Florida's famed Indian River Lagoon, Striped Bass often feed by grubbing around on the mud & eel grass flats for crabs, shrimp and worms, leaving their tails wagging like flags in the breeze. A well presented fly presented just up current of the "tailing" Striper...slowy crawled along the bottom will usually yield a strike. "Mud's"(silty clouds in the clear water)are often left by the grubbing stripers and are a dead giveaway that Striped Bass are present and on the feed...most times however, we have challenging task of sighting and casting to "laid up" or slow cruising fish....to the average angler sighting fish on the flats can be a bit daunting, but to a good guide...that Striper might as well be brushed with neon paint. The ideal scenario is to cast up current of your target so that your fly swims down current to the holding fish, hopefully resulting in a strike!!!Maine's shallow water habitat is comprised of surf, sand flats, fast water channels, bays, coves, rips and marsh. All easily accessible and fished with a fly rod!!!
Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We'll be happy help you plan your Maine vacation!!! Depending on which region of the Maine coast you're staying on...we can provide you with info on all the top fishing guides. If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Flats Fishing Striper Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
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