Summer Bass Fly Fishing

[Kevin Bogan]

Fly guys are busy lately, chasing bass in backwaters all over the place. The bay has had some cinder worm hatches, and when there aren’t worms, a Barnegat Lighthouse Minnow is a good way to find fish.

[SplitShot]

And I have to agree they're super fun to catch on a fly rod!!

[Davy Jones]

Fun? No way! This is serious business!!

So yeah, cinder worms. That night the red bucktail one caught a couple, and then nothing would bite so it got replaced by the pink marabou one, which got a couple more bites.

It seems that with cinder worms it pays to have a couple different patterns so when it seems like you should get bites but don’t, there’s something you can do about it. Like anything else it might not be important... but it might.

[SplitShot]

Hey DJ..with flies that small do you have to use a super light tippet? Like 6 lb test? Been using fly rod for years with little poppers on lakes at sunset for LMB ... love seeing them explode out of the water and always fun bending the rod!! Now just getting into using for Saltwater

[Davy Jones]

I use 16lb mono as tippet for pretty much everything, including cinder worms. I don’t know if I’d get more bites if I went lighter but I like to put some pressure on a fish and not worry so much about breaking it off.

If you’re getting into saltwater fly fishing around here I hope I can help. Next time you are in Point Pleasant Beach, if you can swing by Kevin’s shop I’ll show you some setups and flies I use for both the river and the beach.

[SplitShot]

I'm definitely going to stop by for some pointers.... I see you guys are building custom fly rods now.... do you also sell flies too?

[Davy Jones]

There are flies at the shop. Just did a bunch of cinder worms. Mostly stuff we tie for fish around here like stripers and blues. Surprising number of fluke get caught while fly fishing for stripers LoL. Also tying bigger flies on heavier hooks that can be used offshore.