Fishing in the spring and summer on the mid-atlantic coast is very often more productive as dusk approaches and continues through the night into daybreak . This is the time when stripers, blues and particularly weakfish actively search for forage. Frequently as the sun lowers below the horizon the fish follow the bait into the shallows. This occurs in many of our local areas in New Jersey (as well as others in the Northeast) where there is an abundance of marshes and tidal creeks that are prime estuaries for baitfish and other crustaceans. Predominant baitfish include spearing or silversides, bay anchovies, killies, peanut bunker and mullet which vary in population density depending upon the time of year.

Many fly anglers spend a good portion of their fishing time in the summer from dusk to dawn and the question always arises as to which are the most effective fly colors at night. Black is a natural color for night or low light conditions. This is contrary to the notion that black would not be visible at night but the silhouette produced by black is quite evident against the night sky. Fly anglers would be remiss to not have black flies in their arsenal .

The most common natural materials for tying black flies is bucktail and hackle. Unfortunately black is not an easy dying procedure and requires multiple steps. Black bucktail is very often brittle and readily flairs which makes it difficult to tie tapered patterns reminiscent of the baitfish in our local waters of the northeast. For many years I searched for an appropriate substitute for black bucktail trying many different natural hairs as well as synthetics but none completely worked to my satisfaction.

In order to accomplish this feature, I added bead chain eyes, a crystal estaz body and few wraps of palmered black hackle behind the hookeye which when tied back produces a sparse silhouette over the estaz. The 3-dimensional profile was perfect for a baitfish imitation and depending on the amount and length of material it can profile multiple species of prey. The body size can be increased to imitate larger baitfish by wrapping a few strands of marabou before palmering the hackle. This makes a wider bodied pattern that tapers nicely into the tail. Of course if one desires you can palmer hackle of varying colors including red, purple and yellow
Over the last few years this fly has been extremely effective on multiple species such as striped bass, bluefish, fluke, hickory shad and is a top choice for weakfish. I have fished it primarily on an intermediate line with a slow to medium retrieve rate. Many a night this fly has produced numerous fish while other flies were less successful. In fact it is also a productive fly when used in the white water of a rough surf where a black fly stands out in these water conditions. In addition to its ability to attract saltwater fish it has also had great success on multiple freshwater and brackish species. The fly was eventually named "Black Magic" by a good friend because of its consistent fish catching qualities. His first cast with the fly easily convinced him as he hooked up to a quality 5 lb. weakfish. Many others have also reported great success.

The fly is rather simple to tie and tremendously effective. The materials are readily available and black bear can be purchased at many fly shops but in particular those that cater to salmon fishing. Next time you see the sun begin to set under the horizon reach into your bag for some "Black Magic". I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Tying Instructions

1. Wrap bead chain eyes immediately behind eye of hook and continue to wrap thread down hook shank to bend. Place a drop of super glue on wraps to hold the bead chain in place. Bead chain size can be adjusted to according to the hook but in general the eyes should be large.

2. Tie in a tail of black bear hair with a few strands of black or purple crystal flash or holographic mylar.

3. Tie in black/pearl estaz or cactus chenille at the base of the tail and form the body by winding the chenille to the bead chain eyes.

4. Palmer wide black saddle behind the bead chain eyes. Only 2-4 winds of hackle are needed. Tie off the hackle and wrap the thread a few turns towards the back of the fly. This will force the hackle fibers to point towards the tail and lay over the chenille.

5. Put head cement or epoxy on wraps.