t is no secret anymore that the Central NJ coast is the place to be in June and July if big trophy striped bass is what you are after. Each season big bass in the 30 to 60 lb ranges are caught as they migrate into our area feeding on the prolific bunker schools that are present. As long as the bunker are around the big bass will hold giving both beach and boat anglers a shot at a trophy fish of a lifetime.

In the last 7 years the bunker have been hanging around longer and longer which has been great for us. I am extremely fortunate that millions upon millions of bunker call the waters of my guiding area from Sandy Hook to Island Beach State Park their home in the early summer. This upsurge in the population is a direct result of the reduction in the harvesting of this species in coastal waters. The passing of bunker reduction bill in January of 2002 by the NJ State Assembly pushed the big reduction boats out of our waters.

What this has meant for our ocean fishery has been astonishing. When the bunker boats were in our area it didn’t take long for these floating factories to quickly wipe out gigantic schools. My friend Capt Terry Sullivan shared, “The bunker, fearing for their lives, would disperse and scatter and push way up into Raritan Bay for safety. This was one reason why the big bass fishery used to be legendary in these waters”. But since the reduction boats have disappeared the bunker have been spreading out more and more along the oceanfront only being harassed by an armada of recreational boats and some commercial bait boats.

To catch these trophy bass most anglers will use the preferred method of fishing which is casting live or chunked bunker. When bass are actively feeding in a pod of baits hook-ups will come easily by this method. Surfcasters too can reach and snag baits or will hook into these big bass by casting large pencil poppers or custom wood swimming plugs.

But what about the fly fisher? Is it possible for the fly fisher to hook into a 30-50 lb bass on the fly? The answer to that question is yes. And it is yes because these fish will be right where you are casting. They will be swimming around in front of you so the opportunity is there. But will these striped bass strike out at your fly? That is a totally different question. And the answer to that one is maybe.

The probability of catching these big trophy bass on the fly is low but not impossible. I know this for a fact because many fly fishers including myself have tried many times on many different occasions only to come up with an occasional taker. If these big bass hit the fly with a vengeance like the much smaller bass do at the end of our season we would be seeing amazing photographs of fly fishers draping the covers of all the fishing magazines with huge bass and fly in hand. But we don’t. These big bass are so keyed in on the real thing that a big fly obviously doesn’t make the grade. But as I said it is not impossible to catch one with the fly since they are there.

Fishing the Flies
Traditionally most fly fishers will throw large synthetic bunker flies to imitate adult bunker. These flies can be a big as 14 inches long. Some of the nicest flies that I have that are this length have been tied buy noted fly fisher and tyer Dave Skoks. These 14 inch flies are tied with yak hair. This makes them light weight and easy to cast as they shed water easily.

Bunker flies in the 8-14 inch ranges are usually fished in the traditionally manner by casting out into the pod and retrieving back. The flies can be fished near the surface on floating or intermediate lines or allowed to sink down below to the bottom of a pod by using quick sinking lines. Retrieves will vary as sometimes the bass want it fast and at other times slow. So varying your retrieve is important to see what the big bass want on any particular day.

One method that has worked over the years for us has been to let these bunker flies sink to the bottom of the pod and then twitch them slowly along the bottom. This emulates a fresh dead bunker that has sunk to the bottom. Big bass will usually inhale the fly in one swipe so be ready for a quick hook set. Have no slack in the line as you stay tight to the fly. The Rio T-14 Custom Cut Outbound line is a good choice of line to use when fishing by this method.

But here’s another method that I have been experimenting with in the last several seasons and I believe that if you are going to get a big trophy bass on the fly this is the way it is going to happen. Rather then fish big bunker flies try fishing big poppers or boilermakers up on top. My thinking here is to make as much commotion on the surface that you can to get the attention of the bass. This method is very similar to what surfcasters do when they cast big pencil poppers from the beach out into a pod. They have a high degree of success with this method so it leads me to believe it will work for the fly fisher too.

One of the reasons I believe this is so is because when all kinds of commotion is taking place up on the surface the bass go into a frenzy. As a result they innately strike out at the source. They don’t take a long look at the object like they might a slowly fished bunker fly. Rather they are attracted to the splash and commotion and instinctively strike out at the object with the hope that it is a juicy bait. Therefore this will work in your favor.

I believe if a 50 or even 60 lb bass is going to come on the fly in our area it will be by this technique. My partners in Shore Catch, Capt Gene Quigley and Shell E Caris, have been tying this custom poppers and boilermakes that I have been using.

A couple of weeks ago my client Kevin McCreesh from Basking Ridge had his shot at a big trophy as we had acres of big bass push bunker to the surface right at dusk. After getting several on pencil poppers and swimming plugs Kevin grabbed the fly rod that I had rigged with one of Shell E’s custom tied boilmakers. Kevin casted into the melee and after a couple of strips he hooked into a 30+ lb bass. It was quite a thrill to see his fly rod pretzeling over the gunnel of the boat with his line being pulled down to the deep. After about 15 minutes of the battle I slid the net under the big brute and success was had. A fish of a lifetime on the fly!

Some Other Tactics
One of the most important things the fly fisher can do to have a chance at catching a trophy bass is to keep the fly rod in your hand. This is much easier said then done especially when your partner next to you is pulling one big bass after another with every live bunker or bunker chunk that hits the water. The fly can quickly become demoralizing.

Patience and persistence is going to be the name of the game with the fly. If you are out for four hours then fish the fly for the entire trip. This will give you the best chance of hooking up. However the reality of the situation is usually different.

When I have an experienced caster on board that wants that trophy on the feathers they will usually stay with the longrod for 75% of the trip. The other 25% is spent pitching baits or chunks on conventional gear. This way one can still walk away with some satisfaction of catching several of these trophies if none are caught on the fly.

Another thing you will want to do to increase your chances with the fly is to seek out pods of bunker that have big bass actively feeding in them up on top. These are easy to spot as you will see and hear the bass thrashing through them. Many times this will be when there is just enough light to locate where the bunker schools are. This makes it important to get out there early and be the first boat on a pod. There have been many days in the still and dim light of an early summer morning when the sounds of big bass thrashing through the bunker have pinpointed their location for me. When you do locate pods with this type of activity cast your fly directly in the center of the commotion. If you miss this sweet spot with your cast or drift away from it, quickly and stealthy move back into position and try again.

Tackle
If you are going to target big striped bass on fly tackle than you need to be prepared with a rod that can generate enough power and leverage to subdue the fish. I have always said you can catch any fish on any weight fly rod since the fish doesn’t know what you have in your hand but this is no place for light tackle gear for this particular type of fly fishing.

At minimum you will need an 11 weight fast action rod. Leave the 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s at home. I prefer to use the St Croix Legend Ultra 9 foot, 12 weight model U9012.4 fast action rod or their Legend Elite 12 weight model ESW9012.4 fast action rod. Using a 12 weight gives me even more of advantage when fighting a 30 plus pound fish. And the nice thing about these rods is that they fish like a lighter 11 weight rod. If you are a proficient caster you may want to consider using the 9 foot 12 weight fore grip models U9012.4.FG or ESW9012.4.FG.

For reels you will want a fly reel with a drag system that will be able to put enough pressure on the fish without having a drag system that can fail. For this reason I will use the large arbor Tibor Gulfstream spooled with a Rio Outbound floating line. And for leaders I use 8 feet of 40 lb Sufix Invisiline fluorocarbon.