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Fly Fishing the Surf with Flies that Imitate:

Beach Bugs

Small crab flies cast into the surf can produce a smorgasbord of saltwater panfish.

      Here on the east coast, panfishing in the surf with a fly rod has not made much headway.  Most of the angler I run across have experienced marginal success at best.

      I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to live on the Outerbanks of North Carolina for years.   I had more than a few opportunities to experiment with different techniques. 

      The technique about to be described will work anywhere on the East Coast where panfish regularly feed on mole crabs.

      That magical half hour just before and just after the sun pops over the horizon is absolutely the very best time to give this a try.  In the spring  and again in the fall, when the surf runs thick with fish, you may be able to catch they throughout the day.  Most of the time it's best to stick with a daybreak plan. 

 No need for heavy rods and fast sinking lines.  I have the best success with flies presented not more than twenty or thirty feet from the dry sand.  At most you may need a six weight with a five foot sink tip for those mornings when the surf is not flat.  This technique is most productive on fairly calm days.

      I like to stand about thirty foot up on the beach for two reasons, I do not want my profile spooking fish and because I want my line entering the water at a low angle.  Most of the fish I catch are very close to shore.

      Cast just beyond the shore break, allow the fly to sink to the bottom, and make a steady retrieve, about two or three inches per second.  Make sure your fly is heavy enough to stay in constant contact with the bottom.  Strip the fly all the way up on to the dry sand.  Pompano will chase flies so far up on the beach that they fall over on their side because the water gets to shallow to support them vertically.

      Panfish that search the surf for clams, worms, and crabs will take a verity of small flies.  Gotchas, Charlies, and small Clouser will all work.  The prize meal in the surf is a female mole crab.   I like small flies that suggest the profile of a mole crab with a bright orange tag for roe.  

Harry Hall sefly
Guided Fly Fishing