INSIDE THE ULTIMATE FLY BOX
Flash forward to the first week of Scientific Anglers 11-weight Striper
October 2000. I was in the middle of a intermediate line mounted head-first
streak of unbelievable luck. I caught with a 400-grain shooting head blind-
and successfully released four stripers spliced to the end of the SA Striper’s
over 48 inches, all pushing 40 pounds running line. I was definitely using
in just over three tide-cycles along the cooler—and much more expensive—
barrier beaches not far from home just tools! In October 2000, I was using the
north of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Conomo Special, exclusively. I was
The wind was very strong from the tying it on 4/0 TMC 600 SP hooks
southwest, blowing contrary into my using mostly natural and dyed polar
right side. It suppressed the onshore bear as tail, collar and wing materials,
breakers a bit but the surf was still running with EZ Body as spreader and head
one to three feet. The water was full of material. Each fly was about eight to
acre-wide schools of immature menhaden nine inches long—I was definitely
(peanut bunker) being consumed en
Rich Murphy
using bigger and cooler flies.
mass by herring gulls and mature
Fly Tier—Georgetown, Massachusetts
Dave Chouinard: The biggest
stripers. Most were keeper-sized: difference in how I fish for stripers
greater than 30 inches. Some were big, Rich’s innovative fly patterns today compared to when I first started
say, 50 pounds. If I could keep up with
for striped bass are gaining an
lies in one word, depth. Water depth
the littoral movement of a school of
enthusiastic following in the
and the exact depth of the feeding
menhaden, I had an excellent chance stripers are critical to success in my
of connecting with a keeper on any
Northeast. During the height of
fishing area. I grew up a trout fly fisher.
cast. Let’s look at some contrasts, then
striper migrations he spends
Many of my trout techniques were
versus now.
every free minute on the beach.
absorbed in my striper fishing automatically.
In October 2000, I was using the same However, there is one major difference.
double-haul stroke I developed naturally In the Northeast I never had a problem
while teaching myself to cast as a kid, getting my nymphs down to the bottom
about waist deep in snow during my CONOMO SPECIAL in any of the rivers I fished. In salt
eighth winter. A forward cast to clear water, we not only have incredible current
line, a back cast and haul to load the
HOOK: TMC 4/0 600SP
but also great depths of up to 30 feet
THREAD: Fine monofilament
rod and a forward cast and haul to
T
which these fish hold in. When I first
AIL: Natural polar bear seven to eight and a
shoot the line—clear, load, shoot; one, half inches long with shrimp-pink started, I paid slight attention to the
two, three. I carried the line over my left
Krystal Flash highlights
water depth, but now it is a huge part
SPREADER: Large EZ body
(downwind) side by angling the rod tip of my overall thinking and game plan
COLOR: Sparse natural polar bear four to six
and letting the wind force multiply my inches long applied top, sides and bottom, on hooking stripers.
double haul while staying face front to the
flared against the spreader, pearl-ultraviolet
Krystal Flash highlights on the sides,
I have worked very hard in perfecting
breaking surf. An old lesson I re-learn
red Krystal Flash beard on the bottom
various techniques to catch stripers in
all the time is that false casting and fly
WING: Herring back ultra-violet Krystal Flash
over dark-olive Ultra Hair (five to six
all water columns. We do have bass
fishing the surf are very rarely compatible inches long) over olive bucktail (four to that come into shallow water and are
activities. And never turning your back
five inches long) over lavender bucktail
(three to five inches long) over pink
fair game for the fly rodder, but the
to the surf is absolutely critical to safety
bucktail (three to four inches long)
majority of truly big or huge fish are
while fishing in breaking surf. In
HEAD: Large EZ body colored with permanent
ink markers (dark-olive over lavender over
lazy and lurk in deep water, waiting for
October 2000, I was fishing with a rod bronze). Add a thick coat of 5-Minute a really big juicy fly to come bouncing
I built myself from a G. Loomis 10-foot
epoxy to the forward half for durability
by. The only problem is that at times
EYES: Three-eighths-inch diameter black-on-
10-weight GLX blank (outfitted with silver stick-on prismatic we are talking 20 to 30 feet down in
all-titanium hardware), complemented the current. That changes the game a bit!
with an Abel Super-10 reel holding a
64 FISH& FLY
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