The cinder worm hatch is a rite of spring for Northeast fly anglers, and one of the great match-the-hatch challenges in all of fishing. On warm, calm evenings in late spring, marine worms rise from the bottom of the salt ponds and marshes and swarm near the surface to spawn, turning the water reddish with wriggling worms, and striped bass lose their minds.
What happens
The worms (small marine polychaetes) emerge in huge numbers, often around the new and full moons on warm evenings, and swim frantically at the surface. With so much easy food, the bass feed lazily and selectively, sipping worms with barely a swirl and refusing anything that does not look and drift exactly like the naturals. It is the classic too-much-bait problem.
Where and when
Look for the hatch in the protected salt ponds, marshes, estuaries and coves, the warm, sheltered water that fires first, on calm, warm late-spring and early-summer evenings. The famous Joppa Flats worm hatch is one classic; there are many others.
Tip Presentation beats pattern during the worm hatch. Cinder worms drift and wriggle at the surface, so fish a small worm fly on a dead drift with no drag, and lead a sipping fish so the fly arrives naturally, twitching a worm fly against the current is the number-one mistake.
How to match it
Fish a small cinder worm fly, a reddish or orange slim pattern about the size of the naturals, on a floating or intermediate line, and drift it drag-free into feeding fish. Patience and a clean presentation are everything.