Its high noon, blue-bird sky, light colored sand, incoming tide, cool breeze blow-in', standing in 2-3 feet of crystal clear water in June, July and August. Girls in grass skirts surround you (just kidding). Sound like the Caribbean?

Here on the Cape, we have miles and miles of light colored sand flats and crystal clear water that  makes sight casting to 5-25 pound stripers the order of the day. This is probably the most exciting type of fly-fishing you will ever do. They're cruising the flats eating crabs, shrimp, silversides and sand lances, and just waiting for your perfectly cast fly. Sometimes you need to burn up the water with a fast retrieve and at other times using a dead drift with the current is all that is needed. All methods will require distance, speed and accuracy in your casting skills.

You have some of the finest destination flats fishing in the world right here on Cape Cod. Seeing 100's or more fish in a tide is the norm. Test your skills and let's work together to help you along the path to hooking up in paradise.

Flats- A large expanse of shallows, consisting of mud, eelgrass or sand.

Stripers and blues come to this area in search of food. As the sand flat becomes covered with water the baitfish move up onto the flat through troughs, sluiceways and channels to escape the predators. Approximately 2 hours before the high the predators come up onto the flat following these same troughs (like roads) in search of food. This would be a good place to stand.

Sun and no wind make for optimal sight fishing conditions as they cruise the flat. At high tide many times you will find them in 6 inches of water tight to the shore, again, this is where there next meal is hiding. So this would be an additional area to prospect during that stage of the tide.

As the water starts to recede, the larger fish will leave that area and depart off the flat using similar channels and sluiceways that they came up on. This is another prime spot to fish.

Normally they will hold, waiting in ambush in the deeper water for the baitfish to get flushed off the flat. My next move would be to stand close to the edge of the flat and cast my fly into the creek that is flowing off the flat. I’d allow my fly to swing and sink, imitating a baitfish being washed off the flat.

This is a basic pattern that never changes and consistently repeats itself, tide after tide.

While wading one day, we had large bass coming at us from all directions for an hour steady. At one point, we were totally surrounded with bass in one to three feet of water. Martin asked me where he should cast and my response was, "anywhere". It just didn't matter. These same fish continued to repeat this pattern all summer long.

A couple of days later I was treated to a day on Captain Dave Steeves, 18' Hewes flats boat. We had ideal conditions and we counted close to 2,000 bass on the flats in one to four feet of water. There were good #’s in the ten to fifteen pound range. Dave and I both released a fish in the twenty-pound range, plus smaller ones. Captain Dave is one of the top flats boat guides on the Cape.

Again, ideal conditions followed the next day. We enjoyed watching schoolie bass chase bait onto the beach in three inches of water. We knelt on the dry sand forty feet away to keep a low profile. The fly was cast ten feet into the water with fly line never touching it. Two strips of the fly and Bill was hooking up.

We also had fifty or so bass in all sizes stacked up in front of us in a narrow channel feeding on the incoming tide. It reminded me of guiding on the Salmon River in New York for tackle busting twenty to thirty pound King Salmon. Spoiled we were as we could see each fish and pick out the one we wanted to present the fly to and catch. When a smaller fish tried to grab it, we would pull it away. What a hoot!

We decided to play, so I put on a shrimp pattern I designed and drifted it through the bunch on a floating line. We waited until we saw the flash (they often turn sideways when feeding, creating a silvery flash) then immediately set the hook. We never felt the fish hit. Instead we just set by sight! We both laughed and couldn't help feeling like two little kids in a candy store.

The terns can be a great help in locating fish on the flats when overcast and cloudy weather prevails.

Lately, we’ve been spotting tailing bass in the AM. incoming tide on the flats. They’ve been in a foot of water standing on their heads grubbing for breakfast. Their tails are completely out of the water flopping back and forth for balance, oblivious to us. A quiet approach and stealth like stalking are needed when getting into casting position. Or just let them come to you.

July 27 Report

Clouds, rain, fog, major lightning, seals moaning, birds diving, bait spraying, tides running hard and the sweet smell of the salt accompanied us today. No sight fishing today? Actually we sight fished, structure, current, birds, swirls, and fish crashing bait.

At one point John Davidson from England was casting into 6 in. of water and letting the current swing his fly over a 1 ft. drop in the sand (rip). We were imitating a baitfish being swept along in the current. The fish were holding tight along the edge of the drop eating heavily and were more than eager to eat John's fly on numerous occasions.

Total for the day was 10 fish in all, and the 2^nd fish of the A.M. on the 5^th cast topped the day's tally with a beautiful 36-in. bass. John stated, "I've fished around the world, but this is a day I will never forget"! We even had a tea break at 2:00, promptly.

The now "educated" residents have all graduated from high school and are now on their way to receiving their bachelor's degree on what is edible or not. These are our FUSSY fish! To me this is the most challenging and fun time of the year. We're seeing on the average of one to two hundred fish on the flats in a day under the right conditions. Thirty percent of them are big - ten to twenty pounds. Talk about mastering your technique of sight fishing on the sand flats. There's no such thing as an easy fish. All the pieces of the puzzle must come completely together to succeed on the flats. Longer leaders (I2 foot tapered 8 to 10 pounds), Fluorocarbon leaders, smaller flies (crab, shrimp, and white and olive clousers).  Leading fish by thirty to seventy-five feet. Knowing your water to determine exactly when in the tide they will show up on certain flats. Knowing structure, so the fish will be funneled by you, allowing you the most "shots." Believe it or not, we're catching lots of the big ones on bonefish flies. We're just showing them something different and helping with their education. Slowing down your retrieve and sometimes dead drifting the fly to a big sighted fish works. Lots of the time no retrieve at all using crabs is best, and setting by sight is the answer. Achieving speed and accuracy in your casting skills is a must.

From the second we waded onto the flats in the early morning until we pulled ourselves away in the late afternoon, we were sighting large numbers of ten to twenty pound bass in one to three feet of water! Did we slay'em?... I wish! Did we have the time of our lives trying to outsmart them? You betcha! All fish caught were done so on either the dropping or incoming tide. We cast to lots of big ones during slack tide but none were too eager to eat. They were only eating 1 ½ inch sand lances and 1 ½ inch shrimp

Perfect day for sight fishing. I walked, walked and walked and saw lots of fish, fish, fish. More than I have seen in a while (400-Aprox.) Came to one creek and counted no less than 100, just hanging around feeding on the dropping in 3ft. water. Caught some, but got bored, no challenge, moved on. The most productive fly for me has been Tom's rattle crab! Walked a short distance to where the creek empties into a tidal river and found 75 or so hanging around the drop-off. Decided to only present to the biggest bass and could not fool them, so moved on leaving them undisturbed and less educated, if there is such a thing this time of year. Normally you’ll see 100-200 in a day if conditions are right and you know where they feed and travel at different stages of the tide. Monomoy is a huge vast area which, in my opinion, requires lots of T.O.W. (time on the water) to fish it proficiently.  Knowing structure and currents, well help you figure out the routes they travel day after day and take the guess work out of it. Knowing the dominant bait and imitating it exactly will put you in the ballpark (silver sides and sand lances-1-3 in. long, half the thickness of a pencil. Use clear int. lines, long leaders and your rigged for most sight fishing situations this time of year. Hope this will help you the next time you visit my home away from home.

Try holding ten to fifteen feet of fly line outside the tip when sight casting to allow fewer false casts. Don’t blind cast. If you can't see them, they are not there. The commotion generated from blind casting will surely spook any fish just out of sight that you may have had a shot at. Or what usually happens to me after I've made that eighty-foot cast, a nice bass comes by within twenty feet and swims under my line. Ha!

Try leading the fish by forty to fifty feet. Before casting, decide its projected path. Current direction, depth of water and contour of bottom are the keys to success in this determination. By leading the fish so far in advance you are allowing your fly to sink to eye level of the fish and tripling your chance of success. Hoping the fish will rise up to your fly is normally met with a refusal, unless you are lucky enough to be on a hot fish. Anytime you can make it easier for the fish to feed, so fish has to exert as little energy as possible, you'll triple your catch rate. Ever thought about using a 300 to 400 grain ORVIS depth-charge fly line in two to six feet of water to achieve this? I've been doing it for years (Thanks, Bob) and it’s produced some real COWS!

Temperature of water is key. In the spring and early summer search out warmer water, you'll be rewarded with fish. In mid to late summer do the opposite

Matching the Hatch: is just as important in the saltwater as in the freshwater. Look into the water. Size, shape, silhouette, profile, action, density, color are all important features of bait and the flies we use to imitate. Natural colors are the best during July and August.

When I used to guide for trout, the first thing I would do before wetting my line would be to study the shoreline. Id let mother nature tell me what fly I should be using. Id look at spider webs, underside of leaves, tops of rocks and sometimes underneath them. Fishing the flats is no different.  

Next time your out; look on the shallow edges of the water. The bait you see is the fly you should try.

Ever thrown a fly that was so thin, small and sparsely dressed that it almost resembled a bare hook? If you’re on the flats in July and Aug. you should be.

You’ll notice small sand colored shrimp ½ in., mumichogs 1-2 in., 1-3 in. sand lances, silversides 1 ½ - 3 in., and crabs – dime to silver dollar size. Try to duplicate coloration and profile w/ your fly selection.

I’ve been watching 10-20 lb. bass feeding on all the above. Study of bait fish and their imitations is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when casting to educated resident bass on the flats in July and Aug. in 1-3 feet of water at high noon. A great book to help you is called, Saltwater Naturals and Their Imitations. Fishing the Cape has a large inventory of this book as well as others to help open up the incredible world of inshore Saltwater Fly-Fishing.

Matching the natural fleeing reaction of bait is an important ingredient to successfully fooling big stripers on the flats, and will usually mean the difference between hooking up or not

Ever thought about the variety of ways different bait react when fleeing or escaping a predator? All the above-mentioned bait flee differently. Try stepping on a shrimp or throw a pebble into a school of bait and watch the speed, pauses and darting movements they make as they swim away. Scare a crab and it will normally borrow itself into the sand and stay still. This action should become a normal tactic when imitating different species of bait. The action you impart to the fly should imitate the naturals exactly to be consistently successful.

Does the bait borrow itself into the sand for protection on the flats?

Sand lances — I use a Orvis Depth Charge fast sinking line w/ a weighted fly ( clouser) and drag it along the sandy bottom, using a 1 handed fast strip in 1 ½ ft. strips. This imitates the natural’s fleeing movement as well as where it tries to hide. What I’m trying to do with the fly is drag it into the sand so it puffs up clouds of sand. This technique helps when casting to big bass when.

1. They re not feeding aggressively
2. Casually scouting for food.
3. Not in a hurry to feed.

This leisurely approach to feeding normally accurse when there is no moving water, or when the tides are not running hard.

Capt. Rich Benson (Top Flats Boat Guide on the Cape) once told me that the hardest fly to fish is a crab, because you don’t really fish it at all. The following story sums it up.

Bass in 1 ft. water — Another day we were seeing 100's of Bass and all fish caught were between 28 and 40 in! All were caught on a Toms Rattle crab. The largest Bass of 40 in. was taken by leading it, allowing the crab to sink to the bottom. We gave it 2-2in. quick strips to rattle the crab and get the fish's attention. It changed direction and headed straight for it. The fly was left motionless as some crabs naturally remain stationary w/ claws up when being threatened. The Bass inspected it for realism then tipped up on its head with its tail almost out of the water and sucked it deep into the throat. We never felt the hit but instinctively set by sight. Ye-Haa!   I haven’t seen that much orange string in a while.

Tom Thomas is the inventor of this unique " HOT" fly. If you haven’t got one in your box it isn't complete. It works on permit and bones also. Tan, brown and green are the colors. These can be picked up at Fishing the Cape (518) 432-1200.

Shrimp—They tend to flee in 1-foot spurts. On a side note, I created a shrimp pattern by tying a piece of no name material on to a hook and forming it into a shrimp body. Then dipped it in softtex and rolled it in sand. Shape, size, silhouette, coloration and a good sink rate was achieved. And it caught fish! HA.

Silversides—These don’t burrow into the sand, so I normally do a 1 handed strip, 1 ½ foot, quickly, with a pause in between.

I check my fly after every cast. Through thorough study of bass and retrieval tactics, I've seen fish look at my fly with one eye, then the other, put their nose on it and turn away. They won't give it a second glance if it is fouled and/or doesn’t look like the natural. I've even seen bass spook off a fouled fly. Stripers have incredible eyesight and smell so check your fly after every cast. You normally are only going to get one good shot, so make it count.

Keeping in mind these fish have a brain the size of a pea, you would think they would be pretty easy to catch. But remember we are in their environment. Sight fishing is similar to hunting deer or turkey. The amount of noise generated by you, other anglers or boats means one thing - NO FISH on the flat or at least spooky fish who are less apt to eat. Even the water lapping on the underside of your basket will spook fish. Stand completely still or when walking move slowly. Stay as far away from other anglers and boats that may not be trying to blend in with the sites and sounds of the natural saltwater environments as you are.

For best visibility in the morning face west. From I0 a.m. to 2 p.m. face anywhere. Afternoon face east.

When the wind is blowing 15 to 30 knots you can still see them but its tough to cast a long leader into it. Find spots where they'll travel by you so you can cast with the wind. Allowing your leader to fully extend and put more distance between fly and line.

These BIG bass are easiest to catch when they are feeding actively. What initiates this? Most of the time its speed of current moving the bait over, around or into structure. The faster the current the more aggressively they will feed and the easier they are to catch! During the course of a day most flats will have fish on them, but I try to only fish the ones that have moving water. This equation works ninety percent of the time. Moving water + structure = a compressed water flow. Compressed (concentrated) water flow + bait = fish.

Take some time and study current movement. Seek out moving water on the flats and you will be rewarded.

These fish generally travel the same route day after day taking all the guess work out of it once you've put your time into studying it. The routes they take can and will change if there's a lack of food, too much boat or wade activity, seals or water temperature change - too warm or too cold. On the flats everywhere I fish is structure related - creeks, channels, sluiceways, bars, depressions, holes and rips. These types of structure are their highways and restaurants.

Search out areas that give you a height advantage. The higher up you are the larger your visual cone will be, allowing you to achieve many of the pieces of the puzzle we have already discussed.

When I go fishing, I take all this and more into consideration when deciding where to go. In my opinion, sight fishing the flats is one of the most challenging and rewarding types of fly fishing you will ever experience. But to achieve proficiency you need to have a clear understanding of the flats you fish. Then you'll soon be realizing the best part of fly-fishing - FISH ON!!!!

EQUIPMENT: Recommend 9-weight fast action (stiff) rod. Disk drag reels with interchangeable spools. Spare spools should have weight forward wonder floating line, clear intermediate and 300 grain Orvis depth charge line. This prepares you for all conditions.

LEADERS: May-June. 9 foot tapered 15 lb. test leaders. July-Aug. Hand tied 8lb. to 12lb. Mirage fluorocarbon 12 foot leaders.

FLIES: Surface poppers-sliders-gurglers, clousers, deceivers, flat wings, half-n-half’s, crabs, shrimp, squid, epoxy minnows. Thin, medium, wide profiles. Attractor colors and natural. May- any size, any attractor colors. June-All of the above. July-Aug. Natural colors, sand lances-2 ½ inch's long, clouser style. Crabs, shrimp, bonefish flies.

WADERS: May-June Suggest Orvis 2-3 mm. Neoprene Bootfoot. July-Aug. I like Orvis Breathable Lightweight Bootfoot's. Waders need to fit comfortably, as sometimes long walks are needed to reach the best flats. Even though it's summer, many areas we fish have a direct influence from the Ocean. Layering with a thin pair of Orvis breathable wader pants might be more comfortable.

POLARIZED SUNGLASSES: Amber or yellow is the preferred color lenses. Side shields are a necessity when sight fishing. They can be picked up at Fishing the Cape. I like the Orvis Marquesas Aviator in Nylon-Amber. These are not only needed to sight fish, but more importantly for your safety.

STRIPPING BASKET: In the saltwater, a basket is essential.

I’ll see you on the Flats;

Happy Hookin;

Randy Jones

Randy Jones is a thoroughly proficient and professional full-time fly / spin fishing guide with 18+ years of fresh and saltwater experience. He has represented Orvis Corporation as a guide (18 years) and chief instructor of their 2-1/2 day Saltwater Fly-Fishing schools. Randy is dedicated to introducing both new and experienced anglers to the exciting world of freshwater or saltwater fly-fishing.

During the summer, Randy can be found guiding the Monomoy Island area, (Cape Cod) where sight fishing on the flats for Trophy Striped Bass is his specialty. Fall, Winter, Spring Randy runs a drift boat and wade trips on the World Class Salmon River in upstate N.Y. for Steelhead, Coho, Browns, Atlantic's and Kings. Visit his award winning web site.

Home- (315) 298-5999
V-Mail Yr. Rd.- (315) 251-8210
E- Mail- randysjones@earthlink.net
Web Site - http://www.yankeeangler.com/

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