When big striped bass are gorging on bunker and herring, you need a fly with a large profile, but big flies are usually heavy, waterlogged and miserable to cast. Bob Popovics solved that with the Hollow Fleye, a hollow-tie bucktail that flares into a broad, breathing baitfish shape while staying light enough to throw all day.
What it imitates
The Hollow Fleye is a big-baitfish pattern, built to match adult bunker, herring and other substantial forage. The hollow-tie construction gives it a full, translucent, three-dimensional profile that pushes water and looks alive, without the mass of a heavily dressed fly.
How to fish it
Throw it on a 9- or 10-weight (or heavier for the biggest versions) with a slow to moderate strip that lets the profile pulse and glide. It is a big-fish fly, fish it around bunker schools, rips and structure where cows are feeding on large bait, often in low light.
Tip Because it is light and sheds water, the Hollow Fleye casts far better than its size suggests, but give it an extra false cast or a good haul to shoot the profile. Let it sink and swim naturally between strips.
Sizes and colors
Tie it in bunker and herring tones, olive, gray or blue over white, with peacock or flash on top, and scale it up or down to match the bait. Bigger is not always better; match the length of the naturals the fish are eating.