I recently attended a presentation on saltwater fly fishing by Norm Bartlett, who holds six International Game Fish Association world records and four Maryland Sport Fishing Tournament Records of fish caught on the long rod.
Fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay is booming in popularity, and I fielded a surprising number of inquiries from readers last summer seeking information about the sport.
"A rod taking a 9-weight line is probably the most popular choice on the bay, with 8 weights coming in at a close second," Bartlett told a gathering of the Patapsco Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
"If you're fishing for perch or bass at the top of the bay a 7-weight rod works well, however, if you plan on spending most of your time fishing around the pilings of the Bay Bridges you will probably be better off with a 10-weight throwing a 400-grain sinktip line.
"That's because when you fish for stripers around these pilings, you want to use the same method as you would if nyphming for trout. By that I mean that you need to cast up tide and let the fly drift deeply down and past the pilings because the fish are laying behind them and looking for an easy meal."
Bartlett said that local saltwater fly-rodders should have two basic lines -- a weight forward floating and a sinktip. He also recommends using a leader as long as your rod when using the weight forward line, but only a foot-long leader for the sinktip.
"And don't worry about fancy leaders -- you want them stout because you're going after stout fish," he advised.
Retired Baltimore Sun outdoor editor and saltwater angling pioneer Lefty Kreh said, "A lot of writers and instant experts are trying to make saltwater fly patterns needlessly confusing." He believes a dozen or fewer fly patterns will catch any saltwater fish alive and Bartlett agrees.
"I think there's a lot of baloney said and written about saltwater flies," Bartlett said. "Just about any simple white or yellow fly will catch anything found in saltwater."
Bartlett recommends a selection of popping bugs, platinum type streamers, simple bucktail patterns and keel flies. "Lefty's Deceiver and the Clouser Minnow are the two most popular local saltwater flies. For general striper fishing, I recommend a 1/0 or 2/0 hook size," he said.
"The fish will hold over structure -- rock piles, pilings, that sort of thing, and even buoys. There's a good rock pile at the mouth of the Bush River -- it's on the right-hand side as you go out of the river. Another good choice is the Hollins Point Lighthouse.
"I've also caught a lot of fish just beyond the launching ramp at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where there's a good 10-foot drop that's been dredged out. Just beyond that drop the water rises to 5 feet and I've caught largemouth, bluefish, white and yellow perch plus rockfish from that spot. Another good fly-rodding spot is directly across from there, on the other side of the bay."
Bartlett claims that as long as there is a tide moving, he can almost guarantee good fishing on the points of the Gunpowder as it enters the bay.
"It is especially good for evening striper fishing. At Craig Hill Lighthouse you will find a long shallow bar, and that's a hot striper hole, too," he said.
Other good choices for the Chesapeake fly rodder include Poplar Island and "Cedar Point Light, if you catch the tide just right -- it's great for fishing popping bugs."
If you are interested in learning more about fly fishing, make plans to attend the fly fishing show scheduled for March 18-19 at the University of Maryland, College Park, Reckord Armory.
Trout stocking schedule
Severn Run and Lake Waterford will receive 6,000 trout via Department of Natural Resources stocking beginning next month.
Lake Waterford will get 1,000 trout during the week of March 12, and 750 each the weeks of March 25, April 9 and 16. The lake will not be closed for stocking.
Severn Run will be closed for stocking the weeks of March 5 to 25 and April 16 to 22, when the DNR will release 1,250 and 1,500 trout, on the respective schedulings.