With all the shows that have bombarded our senses in the last two months every fly fisher that I know is now ready to put a bend in their rod. The time for watching, listening, and practicing are over and its now time to play the game once again. But at this time of year in the early spring you can’t let your enthusiasm lead you to just anywhere or to fly fish in just anyway. There are specific locations and tactics that you need to know to be successful in this the first quarter of your new season. Here are ten tips for early spring success that you should include as part of your game plan.

1) If you are heading to the ocean side in the early spring you are heading in the wrong direction. Look to work the back bays, estuaries, tidal rivers, creek mouths, and flats. These areas will warm much more quickly than the ocean due to their shallower nature and warm water run-off from spring rains that are draining into these areas. Mud flats in particularly will be very productive as their dark bottoms absorb the sun’s rays.

2) Look to target stripers as the first species to become active in the early spring. When water temperatures begin to approach 52-55 degrees striped bass will take flies that are fished slowly near the bottom. For this reason concentrate on using sinking lines such as 300-450 grain lines and don’t be afraid to dredge the bottom. Weighted flies such as clousers, jiggies, and half and halfs will help to get you deep.

3) If there is a strong current present in the area that you are fishing try using Rio’s T-14 sinking head. This is a tungsten head that acts and feels more like a regular fly line since it doesn't have any lead in it. It will load and cast easily on a ten weight. Use a 28-30 ft head to your running line.

4) For the warmest temperatures in the location that you are fishing look to fish the outgoing tide particularly if it occurs at the end of the day. By this time the sun’s rays will have warmed the water the most. Water temperatures can rise as much as five or six degrees by the end of the day. Combine this effect with warm water runoff and it stimulates bass to feed. Incoming tides in the early spring will bring in much colder ocean water and turn the bite off.

5) A good indicator to use to determine whether or not you have a chance at catching any striped bass in the area that you are fishing is to observe the anglers that are fishing bloodworms. If they are not catching fish then more than likely your chances are slim that you will catch fish. If they are than at least you know that stripers are in the area and are on the feed.

6) Some of the earliest baits to become concentrated again in our back bays waters are spearing and other small baits such as killies. For this reason you will want to size down your offering to be in the one to four inch range.

7) Power plants, such as the GPU facility at Oyster Creek in Forked River, are ideal locations to begin your spring fishing. The warm water discharges from these facilities produce a false environment in the bay that attracts bait and fish. Many holdover fish from the winter will also be present around these locations.

8) Back bay waters or tidal creek mouths can often be discolored due to runoff from heavy spring rains. For this reason use brightly colored flies such as chartreuse, yellow, fluorescent oranges or pinks with a little flash tied in. These colors will reflect the most light and get the attention of any stripers that may be in the area.

9) Besides mud flats other backwater structures are equally important to concentrate your efforts on. These areas are rip lines that develop around creek mouths, outflow pipes, or at the back of inlets as they turn around points of land. These rip lines will be most evident usually around mid-tide. You should concentrate on fishing the tail out sections of these rips. Spring bass will have a tendency to hang in these areas due to the slower water velocities present here when compared to the neck section of the rip. Bass do this to try to conserve energy while the water is colder in the early part of the season. Other structures include ledges and drop-offs that run along the sides of banks or flats. Bass will hang along these drop-offs and pin baits along their sides as they are swept through these areas on the changing tides. Work your fly so that on your retrieve it comes up along the side of the drop-off. Make sure you don’t pull your fly to quickly from the water as it gets closer to you. Many times strikes will occur right at your feet.

10) Use a non-slip mono loop knot to tie all your weighted flies to your leader. The loop in the knot will allow for more freedom of movement in your fly. When used in conjunction with a strip-pause type of retrieve your fly will stop and drop since there will not be any drag on it from the leader. This action quickly gets the attention of any bass that are on the prowl.

You can expect a lot of small bass to make up the bulk of your early season catch but larger baits such as anadromous alewife and blueback herring will be arriving from mid April through May. We will also see our adult bunker coming off of their offshore spawn and entering into our back bay waters to feed on plankton during the same time. When these bigger baits arrive you can expect much bigger bass to show up on the scene. When they do you will want to switch to much larger herring and bunker patterns in the eight to twelve in ranges. Last spring, which I am sure many of you remember, was one that went down in the history books as the striper season of the thirty to fifty pounders. When these big bunkers arrived so did the big bass and they stayed with the baits through the entire spring season. If this spring is half as good as last year it will still be a banner one to remember. So get out there as your cure for cabin fever is just a cast away.

Good fishin!………..Flyfishing that is!