Saltwater flies for fishing Cape Cod & Islands

Fly fishing the Cape for stripers or blues and tunas doesn't require six boxes of flies and dozens of patterns.

You wouldn't be handicapped with only one clouser and one deceiver if that were all you had. A complete fly selection would have to match a dozen saltwater forage species in half a dozen conditions for four species. A freshwater selection would match a half dozen forage species in fewer situations but for more than a dozen game fish.

The pictures below are intended to remove the mystery from much of what you may have read elsewhere or on other pages of this site. They are not meant to be either comprehensive or exhaustive in their depiction. Use them as a guide to your own choices of flies or efforts at tying. In short, an adequate collection of saltwater flies would be: Clousers, Deceivers, Bunnies, Sand Eels and perhaps a "Bonito fly". A freshwater collection might suffice with just Wooley Buggers in various sizes and colors but the addition of: Clousers, Muddlers, a Hornberg and a dry like the Yellow Humpy will cover just about everything.

 

Cape Cod Big Deceiver

Big Deceivers can do the trick when the herring are running or they are chasing forage in the rips. 100% at right. Sizes down to #1 in: white/white, blue/white and green/white are all effective striper (and bluefish) flies.

 

 

 

 

Cape Cod black Bunny fly

 

Black bunny fur flies, used at night in the bays and coves from shore, offer a big profile and a soft presentation to feeding stripers. Seen 100% at the left...White below is a fine herring imitator when they are running and a good topwater when fish are feeding on fry.Cape Cod white bunny fly

 

Another big deciever for the ocean and rips. 100% on a 3/0 hook.Deceiver fly

For Clousers, the following are workhorses, seen actual size.

Cape Cod chartreuse clouser fly olive clouser fly clouser fly

John Molander clouser fly

Chartreuse/white, olive/yellow are the bet forage matching colors.

 

Sand Eel (Lance) patterns come in many materials, try to choose the softer ones for better action.John Molander sandeel fly
Cape Cod squid patternHaving a squid fly, or two, in the box when fishing the sound or ocean is wise when you see 'em flying from the fish below!

 

 

 

Sliders and Eel flies fill the bill when they're boilin' on top or hiding deep.

John Molander slider fly for striped bassSeen actual size on the left, smaller sliders down to #2 in: black and yellow work well in the surf.

Eel fly for stripers

 

Imitating american eels, large eel flies, can be very productive at night in shallow water. This and the bunny fly are the night time choices to start.

 

One "Bonito" type pattern. Barring, flash, eye and profile are more important than imitation.

hornbergHornbergs are a popular fly for both stocked trout and yellow perch. Try adding a dropper with a #8 crayfish pattern.

muddler The Muddler Minnow is expecially effective on Largemouth Bass and bull Bluegills in the spring.

Yellow HumpyYellow Humpy's are a good all year, all 'round dry for Cape ponds.

Wooley Bugger #8 for bass

The Marabou Muddlers should be called the "Cape Cod Fly". Incredibly versatile, in brown and green for everything. Tied weedless, this is a "killer app" for deep summer largemouths in the pads. Tie a few with steel leaders for big pickerel along shore sticks. Tied in black on a #6 hook, this fly fished on a sinking line off points finds big bluegills deep. Add a bit of yellow to a greeny for perch.

 

 

Xmas Clouser by Michael Eichenseer for smallmouth

Clousers, in red/black, red/green and blue/black are very effective Cape smallmouth flies. Take along the striper flies for variety. Orange is the spring color.

 

 

Monomoy flats from afar. A mecca of shallow water sightfishing for stripers.Cape Cod, Monomoy flats, striper fly fishing grounds

Here are some more resource pages for the fly fisherman interested in fishing Cape Cod.

 IGFA

 Basics

 Islands

 Charters

 Stripers

 Bluefish

 Tuna(s)

 Solo

 Tackle

 Flies

 Boating

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