Of specific interest to flyfishermen are the baits present in those waters so that we can imitate them with "match-the-hatch" type flies. Spring time brings with it an influx of herring, squid and sand eels. Herring are clearly inhaled by stripers and live-lining herring is known as an excellent big fish technique. Squid inhabitat the in-shore waters in the spring but move off-shore before the summer. Certainly fly casting big herring and squid patterns will land a share of nice sized fish. Spearing and mummichogs can also be found particularly in the brackish waters of the estuaries.

Without a doubt the American eel also plays a large role – many a cow bass have been taken swimming live or dead eels and eel patterns!

In my opinion, the most important bait present in the waters of Cape Cod and the surrounding islands is the American sand lance (Ammodytes americanus) or sand eel (common name referring to their eel-like appearance) which remains throughout the fishing season as a significant near-shore resident. Although there is another closely related species of sand eel referred to as the northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius) which also inhabitat these waters, it tends to remain offshore in deeper water. Sand eels are found from the Canadian Maritime provinces to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The size of this baitfish ranges from 3 inches (obtained after 20 months post-spawning) to lengths of 7 inches after approximately 6 years. They are slender shaped with a protruding lower jaw, pointed snout and small yellowish eyes with prominent black pupils. Sand eels can range from ¼ to ¾ inch in width when viewed from their vertical profile. Their elongated shape which is slightly compressed is defined by long dorsal and anal fins. These physical attributes give them the appearance of small American eels. The dorsal coloration ranges from olive to brown to bluish-green and their sides range from silver-blue to pink-pearlescent. They emerge from the sand or mud at dawn, swim in tight schools during the day along the shore and burrow into the sand or mud at dusk. The timing of these events at dawn and dusk with fishing can be extremely productive.

There are a variety of flies which are productive sand eel imitations. The key to a good sand eel pattern is the size, shape and color as noted above. Importantly, the fly should be sparse giving a slim profile and should range in length depending on the size of the sand eels present in the water. My favorite patterns are clousers, deceivers, jiggys and a particularly sparse snake fly. In general, effective color combinations are olive/yellow/white, chartreuse/white and blue/white during the day while black and purple are best for night. Of course this may change on cloudy days and moon-lit nights. Personally I believe size and shape play a more important role than color but there are those days where the color of the fly can trigger the strike.

Do sand eel flies work? There is no doubt in my mind!! On a recent annual spring migration to Cape Cod, I was joined by fellow Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodder and friend Gil Verwey for a trip which turned out to be one not long forgotten. Gil and I hit the beach Saturday morning coming off a night where we landed 20-25 stripers each with the size ranging from 14 to 27 inches. Although it was a great night that type of fishing can be the norm in this area of Massachusetts for flyrodders in the spring. As we walked down to the water that next morning we had no idea that the night before would seem almost unproductive compared to the sequence of events which were about to follow. The tide was on the downside of peak high, the water was moving and the fish were feeding. We both hooked up on our first casts. As we worked our way down the beach towards one of my favorite tidal pools we caught striper after striper which were banging our olive/yellow/white clousers and jiggy flies like there was no tomorrow. In fact, the fishing was so good that Gil decided to tie on a dropper loop with a Ray’s fly and began to catch two fish at a time. Eventually Gil mentioned he was going to tie on yet a third fly but I reminded him the mackerel were offshore (although I’m sure a mackerel rig would have worked just fine – imagine 5 schoolies at one time!). During the first couple of hours we caught over 40 fish apiece beating the previous night. When we reached the rip which forms on the ebb tide, we began casting to the edges, letting our flies swing onto the flats and ultimately setting our hooks into more bass. As the outgoing tide began to slow down, we continued to fish the sand flats that form at the mouth of the tidal pool. The edges of the rip and flats continued to produce fish. This seemed great but the best was yet to come!

As we waded the flats, I noticed a boat crusing the shoreline out of the corner of my eye. The 18 foot old white center console turned towards shore and headed directly our way. Although there was more water than a whole armada of boats could cover, it appeared that we were going to have some company. Up until this point we had not had seen many other fisherman on the beach that morning which is not unusual for the Cape in the spring. I thought for sure the fish would get spooked as the boat motored towards us and that would be the end of a good morning. As the boat got within close range the fellow running the boat (wearing sunglasses the size of welding goggles) yelled over to us in a rather convincing voice - "I call them in like dogs!! ". Gil and looked at each other and laughed as we watched him move into 2-3 feet of water. As he slowed the motor he tied a large rake to the side of his boat and began to move in a tight circle about 30-40 feet from us. It turned out he was raking for sand eels. 

At this point he shouted that there was at least 100 bass following him and we should begin casting our flies into the circle being formed from the wake of his boat. I was using a long but sparse olive/yellow/white deceiver and Gil had tied on a chartreuse snake fly. As our flies hit the target the stripers began to wack our flies with reckless abandon practically ripping the fly lines out of our hands. The fish were in a frenzy from the sand eels now acting as chum. The guy in the boat (now considered our best friend) was hooting and hollering as he watched the bass exploding on our flies. He was having a blast and only cautioned us to play the fish away from the boat so as not to tangle our lines in his motor. We continued to catch fish after fish on every single cast as the stripers continued to gorge themselves. The bass were all in the 22-26 inch range weighing approximately 6 - 10 pounds. Their bellies were swelled to huge proportions from inhaling large sand eels (ranging from 4-7 inches) and accordingly their weight increased by the minute. The boat worked its way down the beach over the next 3 hours with Gil, myself and the bass tagging along. Even after the boat finally departed with a large haul of bait we continued to catch stripers for the next 10 minutes as the last of the sand eels were devoured. Walking back down the beach toward the truck with our thumbs worn thin from lipping stripers and our arms and backs aching we figured we caught over 125 bass each during the morning - simply incredible!!

So the next time you are fishing the Cape think about those sand eels. You may have the fishing experience of the sort that brings back memories for a long time!

Note: A few words should be mentioned concerning fishing etiquette. While I’m sure most fisherman have the common sense and courtesy not to begin casting flies or lures at someone raking sand eels (or anything for that matter) from their boat, it is important that you ask or be asked before intruding on someone’s livelihood or even recreational practices. At the same time this can be a nuisance to somebody it may also lead to injuries to the individual (from faulty casting) or damage to a boat (especially your fly line in their prop!!). The bottom line is please respect other fisherman’s rights and privacy – be it for a commercial or recreational purpose.