The Beast Fleye is Bob Popovics' answer to a specific, glorious problem: big striped bass locked onto adult bunker, refusing anything that is not a big, deep-bodied baitfish. Using his hollow-tie method scaled way up, often on an articulated or trailing-hook platform, the Beast builds an enormous, lifelike profile that still casts, which is no small feat.
What it imitates
This is an adult-bunker fly, plain and simple. When cows are crashing full-grown menhaden and a normal baitfish fly looks like a snack next to the real thing, the Beast Fleye matches that big, tall, breathing silhouette.
How to fish it
You need the rod for it, typically a 10-weight or heavier. Fish it around bunker schools with a slow, strong strip that makes the big profile surge and glide. Eats are often violent. This is trophy-hunting: fewer casts, bigger flies, bigger fish.
Tip Casting a fly this big is about timing, not muscle. Open your loop, slow down, and let the rod load, and pick up and recast rather than ripping a waterlogged fly off the surface. The hollow-tie helps by shedding water.
Sizes and colors
Bunker tones, olive or blue over white with a full flank and plenty of flash, in a size that honestly matches an adult menhaden. For a more castable big-bait option when the bunker are smaller, see the Hollow Fleye.