Striped bass eat a lot of different things, so a good fly box is really a set of answers to different situations: baitfish, big bunker, sand eels, fish feeding on top, the worm hatch, and crabs. Get one or two proven patterns for each and you can match almost anything a striper throws at you. Here is the box, with a link to each fly.
The all-purpose baitfish flies
Start here. The Clouser Minnow and the Lefty’s Deceiver are the two most important striped bass flies ever tied, one jigs and darts, one flows and breathes, and between them they cover most baitfish. The Half & Half marries the two for a bigger profile, and the durable Surf Candy matches slim, glassy bait.
When they are on big bunker
When cows are crashing adult menhaden, you need a big, breathing profile that still casts. The Hollow Fleye and the huge Beast Fleye are the answer, and the EP Peanut Bunker covers the fall peanut run.
When they are on sand eels
When bass are keyed on sand eels, go thin: a slim sand eel fly matches that needle profile better than anything with bulk.
Topwater
Nothing beats a surface eat. A Gurgler or a Crease Fly wakes and pops across the top for those visual, heart-stopping strikes.
The specialists: worms, shrimp, crabs and squid
These win the days the baitfish flies fail. Carry a cinder worm fly for the worm hatch, a grass shrimp fly for the estuaries, a crab fly for flats fish rooting crabs, and a red can squid for the spring squid run. The sparse, flowing flatwing is a killer at night and in the wash.
Tip Do not overthink color. For striped bass flies, get the size and the profile right first, then keep colors simple: olive, white, chartreuse and, for low light, all black. A well-sized fly in the wrong shade still catches; an oversized one in the perfect shade often does not.
Fish them with a guide
Want to learn to fish these on the water? A Boston or Cape Cod fly and light-tackle charter is the fastest way to get good, gear and flies included. See the trips and pricing.