Beachcomber & Times Press

By Mark Sampson

Fly fishing, to many, the very term congers up images of a clear mountain stream where an elderly gent in baggy waders, knee deep in the cold flowing water, casts tiny dry flies to native brook trout that are "rising" to feed on a fresh hatch of mayflies. Extra flies are stuck to the square wool patch on the chest of the gentleman’s fishing vest. A wicker creel hangs from his shoulder by a leather strap. Ready to accept his catch, the container is lined with cool green ferns he picked from the creeks edge that morning.

Such is the image often portrayed on the cover of so many sporting magazines. Fly fishing can be considered as a gentleman’s sport of fishing with finesse. The supreme light tackle challenge, where proper presentation of the lure, and hooking a fish is often more important than the fighting and landing of the quarry.

Fly fishing is not about filling a cooler with "keepers" or stocking a freezer with fillets. It’s about someone trying to catch a fish for no more reason other than to enjoy doing just that. Fly fishing is "fun fishing" - period.

Every year the ranks of saltwater fly fishermen grow as more and more anglers get hooked by this exciting and challenging technique. Perhaps no place on earth is there more evidence of this growth industry than right here in Ocean City.

Until recent years, someone casting a "buggy whip" rod in local salt waters would have seemed as strange as a bow hunter in a duck blind. How times have changed! Today fly rodders can be seen casting from the surf, piers, beaches, and skiffs throughout the entire bay area as well as from sportfishing boats miles from shore. No native brook trout around here, but when it comes to fly rod opportunities, Ocean City waters hold a variety of fish that will please beginning to expert fly casters.

A common and popular fly catch is the bluefish which of course can be found in the bay, surf, and offshore ocean waters. One to four pound bluefish typically represent the bay, inlet, and surf catch and are ideal targets for beginning fly-casters.

Offshore ocean bluefish will push the scales from six to fifteen pounds and are a perfect choice for advancing fly rodders who want to test and hone their skills on decent size ocean gamefish.

Experienced fishermen looking to battle monster fish will pitch their flies at dolphin, tuna, billfish, sharks and any other denizen of the deep willing to strike an artificial. This could be considered "extreme" fly fishing as anglers push their tackle and skills to the limit in quest of the catch of a lifetime and possibly a place in the light tackle record books.

More representative of Ocean City’s typical fly fishermen are anglers who fish the bay and inlet waters. Here, anglers using light to medium weight rods typically enjoy catches of speckled and gray trout, flounder, small sharks, rockfish, and of course bluefish.

Experienced fly-rodders learn to read the surface of the water as well as the underwater topography of the bay. Not unlike "back country" fishing in the Florida Keys, fly fishermen will often work the shallow water over bars and shoals, as well as structure like bulkheads, jetties, piers, and under-water structure. Rips and marsh cuts can be places were baitfish are funneled together by swift currents and are likely feeding areas of larger predators. The right pattern streamer fly properly worked through such a feeding zone can produce exciting results.

A handful of local tackle shops now carry full lines of saltwater fly fishing tackle and equipment and staffed with knowledgeable fishermen who are happy to help even beginning anglers get started in this wonderful sport. These shops can also direct fishermen to local charter captains and guides who run inshore and offshore fly fishing charters.

Saltwater fly fishing has become one of the fastest growing segments of the fishing industry and for good reason - it offers fishermen with some of the most exciting, rewarding, and purely "fun" fishing opportunities possible.