Like all other predatory fish, Striped bass will always follow the path of least resistance when hunting down its prey. So, throw your fly into the white water. Yup, all that tumbling water is great stuff. Think about it, the bait fish get caught in there and they get crashed around, spun around and disorientated. So the Striped Bass hang just on the edges of the crashing surf and when their prey makes the mistake of getting caught up in all that surf – they go in for the kill. Here in Maine, we fly fish the sandbars alot but also the ledges. You know, the big rocky formations that define the Maine Coastline. Fall is a great time to fish the ledges. Big grocery flies work well as do all the other flies that you use, and you have a chance of hooking into a nice fish. Big fish just love to mosey along the ledges and who knows, your fly might just pass in front of a 30+ pounders face. I love going out to the ledges because it breaks up the monotony of the sand bar flats fly fishing. Big jagged rocks are covered with kelp. Waves pound against the rocks I stand on and the spray from the ocean hits my face. It is hard fly fishing that is for sure. You gotta get your line out there quick and get it in quick too. I use a sinking line so it would not take much for the ocean to wrap my flyline around all sorts of crazy rock formations or lobster pots. Good luck getting that back. You gotta time your casts in between swells and then watch out for yourself. It would not be fun to become like the baitfish and get caught in that white water – in fact it could be deadly. Then the rocks, they are slippery as slippery could be. Actually you have to walk on the kelp. So with all that, your probably saying, “God, that sounds horrible.” Well, that is what most people say and that’s why they don’t go and that’s why the fishing can be so good. No tourists to get in the way. Just a few buddies, plenty of fish and the ocean.
