September is a magic month for fly fishermen. Shorter days and longer nights mean more time to fish for striped bass because, if you believe the old saw, “For every bass you catch during the day, you’ll catch ten at night.” Stripers are at ease during the night shift; prowling the surf, inlets and back bays taking advantage of their unique ability to see much better at night than we humans. Water noise is near zero so the fish are relaxed and not so skittish. You’ll lose a little shuteye but gain the rewards of significantly improved bass-fishing.
Heroic casts are not needed, and may even hurt your fishing success. At times the bass will strike just as the fly is about to be lifted from the water to make the next cast, as did one of my best stripers, a 36-inch beauty. This fat fish struck as I raised the rod tip to grab the leader to check the fly for weed. I almost jumped out of my waders! Because visibility is reduced, short-line casting reduces line tangles, and with less line in the air, imbedding a hook into your sleeve on a breezy night is less worrisome. Nonetheless, it’s always a good idea to wear protective eyewear.
An 8- or 9-weight is a good choice for most night fishing, unless you’re planning to fish the open surf where a 10-weight might be a better choice when chucking bigger flies. Much of my night-shift fly fishing is wading in quiet back-bay waters where I use a 7-weight matched to an Islander LX3.6, this combination is light in the hand even after two hours of steady casting. When fishing around docks and bridges I prefer a more powerful 9-weight, a rod with the perfect striped bass “attitude” to haul fish away from pilings.
Many dark-side fly casters up-line one or two lines heavier than the rod’s rating. It’s a good idea. A 40- to 60-foot cast is usually more than enough to cover the water in front of you. I usually retrieve the fly until the leader butt is a few feet from the rod tip because so many hits occur this close. By up-lining one or two line weights, the rod is properly loaded with a shorter length of a heavier line requiring less false casting and less arm fatigue.
When wading in quiet water, make several 40-foot casts from left to right to cover all the water in front of you, then extend the cast 50 feet, and then 60 feet. By increasing the distance in increments you avoid “lining” stripers that are close to you, and spooking them. If no fishi seem interested after working a spot, shuffle off several feet and work the next piece of water. Many strikes will come as the fly swings in the current, just before the line straightens. With a floating line, I often pause for two seconds in between strips. You’ll be amazed at how successful this technique can be.
I met Leo DiSanto as the Somerset Fly Show where we talked about our mutual appreciation of bridge and back-bay fishing. With an electric trolling motor to maintain position upcurrent of the abutments, Leo’s 22-foot Pathfinder is perfect for Long Island fly fishing. Fine tuning the motor’s rpms to hold steady in the current, he steers right and left to crab back and forth while casting to the abutments and the shadow line. Although he often sees many surface bass, Leo believes the bigger bass feed deep. His go-to outfit is an 8-weight with a 250-grain sink tip, but he has a floater rigged in reserve, both to cast to surface feeding bass and to fish along the sod banks.
A big surf at night is not Long Island fly-caster, Bud Stevens’ favorite time to fish. “I like a calm night when the surf is about 2 to 4 feet so I can work my fly better. Waves move shoreward in series, and I like to cast to the flat water after a wave breaks.” Bud says he also casts at a 45-degree angle to the beach so the fly is in the trough longer. “I catch stripers right in the wash only a few feet away from the edge of the beach. A slow-sinking line minimizes the effects of the moving water, and I often don’t wade into the water, but stay on the sand so I can retrieve the fly through every inch of the wash.”
Night fly fishing is more relaxed, and so is the pace of the retrieve. Capt. Ray Szulczewski specializes in catching stripers on the fly in the clear, shallow water around New Jersey’s Cape May and Wildwood sod banks and creek mouths after the sun sets. He says, “I use black gurglers and black siliclone mullets with rattles, which make them really deadly. I work the gurglers with short, slow strips and a floating line, and the mullets with long, slow strips on an intermediate. If the water is dirty, I use brighter colors and I look for structure like drop-offs off a marsh point or creek outflow on a dropping tide.”
Fishing with a guide or a buddy is helpful if you’re new to night fishing. It’s easier to become acclimated by fishing at dusk so the transition from light to dark is gradual and your eyes have time to adjust. It’s also a good idea to visit places you plan to fish in the daylight and at low tide, to get the “lay of the land” so you know where you’re going in the dark. You can check out parking, walking paths to the water, the shape of the beach and the bottom structure.
To carry your flies, leader spools, pliers, bug spray, line clippers, more bug spray, water bottle, spare fly line and anything else you might need, bring small jetty bag or a wading jacket if you’re on foot, or a gear bag if you’re boat fishing. Hang a small red-lens nightlight around your neck as well as this will allow you to see enough to retie without spooking the fish or ruining your night vision.
