Pictured Above: This bass fell for a sand-eel sample tied with SF Flashblend to mimic the iridescent colours of a reside sand eels.
Sand eels are the king of the Northeast,” says Capt. Craig Cantelmo of Fin-Addict Fishing and Van Staal Reels, “and the whole lot that swims will key in on them.” This bait is vital for a number of causes. First, they’re cherished by striped bass, bluefish, bonito, false albacore, bluefin tuna, and even sea robins. Second, they’re extra resilient to temperature adjustments, that means they’re round from late summer time via fall and into early winter. When they’re dense alongside the seashores, it retains gamefish from heading south too quick.
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Sand eels, additionally known as sand launce, are discovered alongside the Atlantic Coast from Labrador to Cape Hatteras. In near-coastal waters, they congregate in big plenty at lumps and ridges; within the fall, they usually mass on the fringe of the surf in huge abundance. Many of the surf motion occurs from Massachusetts to South Jersey, however from Delaware and south, their surf appearances skinny out. Veteran saltwater flyrodder Don Avondolio confirms, “Sand eels are an essential bait from Martha’s Winery via Lengthy Island and the New Jersey coast, however they don’t actually present up under Delaware, though pods could also be seen within the outer waters off the seashores.”
About 3 to six inches in size, I as soon as noticed sand eels a few years in the past at Jersey’s Island Seaside State Park that have been practically a foot lengthy. The striped bass have been rooting their noses into the sand after every receding wave on the surf’s edge within the north jetty pocket, pushing the baits out of the sand. Because the eels slithered out of the sand, bass chased them with their backs completely out of the water, at instances flopping on the seashore till the subsequent incoming wave floated them free. What a sight! The spin-fishing guys have been throwing 10-inch Alou Eel lures and catching fish on what appeared like each forged. The few fly guys on the seashore again then have been fishing lengthy, skinny Deceivers in all-white or white and yellow.
Stormy climate and water temperatures affect the relative abundance of sand eels alongside the seashores, pushing the pods onto or away from the shore.
The Enticer
An abundance of sand eels has been one of many the reason why Martha’s Winery and Lengthy Island waters are so productive within the fall for albies, bonito, striped bass and bluefish. Avondolio fished each areas for about 40 years and developed a novel fly he calls the Enticer, a fly sample that gained third place within the saltwater fly class within the 1999 Better of the Bench fly-tying contest. Don’s sample has been catching bass within the surf for over 20 years and he notes, “The Enticer is a good looking out sample that constantly attracts fish from a distance when waters are nonetheless.” Fished on a floating line, the Enticer runs at or close to the floor due to its small head, and the strikes are sudden and thrilling. Tied on a long-shank 2 to 2/0 Tiemco 811 hook with a chenille physique and pearl Krystal Flash for a rib, it includes a popper head to present it a novel motion. Don’s favourite colours embody all-black, chartreuse-and-pearl and olive-and-pearl. He often ties them with marabou tails.
E-Z Physique Sand Eel Fly
“The EZ-Physique Sand Eel Fly is my go-to sand-eel sample, says professional fly-tyer Brad Buzzi of BuzFly Merchandise. “I tie them on 2/0 to five/0 J-hooks or 60-degree jig hooks in weighted and unweighted variations. Relying on the shopper’s wants, I tie them from 4 to 12 inches and in the preferred shade schemes of olive-and-white, black-and-purple, and yellow-and-white. The tails are often bucktail, however I generally use an artificial. I additionally often add flash and peacock herl for a prime wing. For sturdiness, I take advantage of Salarez light-cured acrylic for the top.”
Capt. Isdanavage can also be a believer within the EZ-Physique Sand Eel and he ties his in quite a lot of lengths from 2 to six inches on 1/0 and three/0 hooks; different instances, they’re for much longer and should be prepped with quite a lot of lengths. “My favourite colours are yellow-over-white and black-over-purple for early morning or night time fishing. I additionally prefer to fish them on tandem rigs with 5- to 6-foot leaders and both intermediate or sink-tip strains, relying on circumstances.”
Weighted, Sparsely Tied Baitfish Patterns
Capt. Robby Barradale does the sink-tip factor too, as do different members of the Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders. Robby tweaks his flies in order that they reliably experience with the hook level up and explains, “There are tons of sand-eel patterns: epoxy heads, Clousers, Jiggies, EZ Bodys and lots of extra, and so they all work nice if tied sparsely. My favourite is tied with a slight bend-back to the hook and with two to 5 turns of lead wire just under the hook bend. I do that as a result of it creates a pleasant keel to maintain the fly monitoring true. Different flies, when stripped quickly, are likely to their sides.” In keeping with Robby, this causes quite a lot of missed strikes. The slight bend-back of the hook shank and the lead wraps practically get rid of the issue.
Surf Sweet
Though blues are scaling down by late November, you by no means know when ol’ yellow eyes will unexpectedly present up, so it pays to have a couple of flies pre-rigged with quick items of single-strand or knottable wire. Rick Ferrin of Lengthy Island recollects a morning on the south shore close to Montauk when he bought bitten off a number of instances in fast succession till his small provide of Surf Candies was gone. “The pod of 10 pounders I bumped into that morning bit off the whole lot I had in my surf bag. I needed to hike again the truck, get extra Candies, and tie quick wire to them.”
I additionally like Surf Candies for the autumn and tie them extra-long to resemble sand eels as a substitute of anchovies, and I usually tie them with the physique positioned far again on the hook (near the bend) so the shank serves as a brief chief. And, I’ve a half-dozen pre-wired flies in a zip-close bag prepared for obligation. It’s good safety towards bluefish cut-offs, and the bass don’t appear to be bothered by a couple of inches of American Fishing Wire’s camouflage shade knottable wire.
Fly Rods, Strains, and Leaders for the Sand Eel Run
A 9-foot rod is the weapon of selection for many fly of us, though some coastal areas in New England and New Jersey have hard-core teams preferring a 10-foot (or longer) fly rod constructed both as one- or two-hand designs. In quiet water, a floating line is an efficient selection and tracks properly although small surf; nonetheless, the grubbing-in-the-sand way of life of sand eels makes a sinking line a extra helpful selection. It’s additionally a clever selection when the wave motion is larger than three ft or extra. Most of the most skilled surf flyrodders choose a rod with a barely softer, average motion when launching sink-tip strains. A barely extra open casting loop is way simpler to manage.
With the ability to get down a bit under the floor will be essential. Avondolio associated a story a few night-fishing session with a pal of his at a river on Lengthy Island’s North Shore, the place they caught quite a lot of 20-inch bass. “On the finish of the night time, we tallied our catch, stated Don, “and my buddy out-fished me by a 5-to-1 ratio utilizing a medium sinking line. I used a floater.”
Utilizing full-sink or heavy sink-tip strains within the surf is the last word option to go deep for boating fly fishers heading out past the seashores, however heavy strains are additionally very efficient within the surf. Properly-known fly-tier Steve Farrar bought my head screwed on good with some ideas for heavy sink-tip strains within the surf that I’ve used alongside the central Jersey seashores between Manasquan and Barnegat inlets. By casting a 350- to 450-sink-tip or full-sink line, I may pull a sand eel via the sand to mimic the burrowing hide-and-seek motion of reside eels. At low tide, the trick is to make the forged to the skin fringe of the bar after which retrieve the fly over the bar. I used to be nearly carrying out the shock tippet, and flies too, because the nostril of the fly dredged proper via the sand. The striped bass positive appeared to love that retrieve.
Barradale likes to maintain line and chief rigging easy. “My go-to seashore and boat outfit to throw sand-eel patterns is a 9-foot Orvis that I fish with an intermediate Royal Wulff, besides after I want to actually get deep. For that, I take advantage of a 250- to 350-grain sink-tip. My chief and tippet are easy—3 ft of 30-pound blood knotted to three ft of 12- or 15-pound check. It turns over properly and wind knots are scarce.”
Striped bass will eat sand eels all day lengthy if circumstances are proper, but the daybreak and nightfall time frames are particularly productive. Flyrodders who reside close to the seashore have two good photographs each day. In the event you reside inland, nightfall provides extra fishing time as a result of you’ll be able to carry on casting, and catching, properly after the solar goes down.
If Mom Nature graces us with fishable climate and average temperatures so our palms don’t freeze up, there will be glorious sand-eel motion properly into December, a good way to finish the fly season on a excessive observe.
