Salt Water Fly Fishing in LBI

[WVULax22]

I'm looking for any advice anyone can give me on salt water fly fishing in LBI. I just recently rented out a house with some friends for the month of September and I'll be down there every weekend this month. I've been fly fishing the northern streams for a long time now but I've never brought the fly rod down the shore. I figure I'll do some crabbing as well.

I have a 5/6 weight rod and reel that I use for bass in the summer, will that suffice? I'm not looking to pull blues or stripers out of the surf, just more or less strip a few streamers through some calmer salt water areas and see what happens.

Any advice is appreciated. Effective streamers, places near LBI that I can fish (the house is in Ship Bottom), leader recommendations.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Oliver10]

I'm looking for any advice anyone can give me on salt water fly fishing in LBI. I just recently rented out a house with some friends for the month of September and I'll be down there every weekend this month. I've been fly fishing the northern streams for a long time now but I've never brought the fly rod down the shore. I figure I'll do some crabbing as well. I have a 5/6 weight rod and reel that I use for bass in the summer, will that suffice? I'm not looking to pull blues or stripers out of the surf, just more or less strip a few streamers through some calmer salt water areas and see what happens. Any advice is appreciated. Effective streamers, places near LBI that I can fish (the house is in Ship Bottom), leader recommendations. Thanks in advance guys.

Your rod is a little bit light. I have never had much luck at lbi with the fly rod. The surf always kicks my ass. Take a drive up the island to Barnegt Light. Park there and walk down the jetty. If the wind is going the right way you can fish the inlet well. If the wind is the other way go all the way to the end where it sticks out into the ocean and you can fish the other side a bit. The rocks are not super safe so be careful.

The sedgebanks in and around highbar harbor up there could offer you some good oppertunities too.

 

[Oliver10]

This has good info too.

 

[thrashers.wheat]

Oliver's map is pretty spot on for the north end of the island. the dyke, the mushroom head off the northwest of the island, is a really neat place. you can legally park and there is public access to the dyke. meyer's hole is listed on that map, the top left arrow. walk the shoreline and fish. it's fun. bring a case of beer.

keep in mind access to the edwin b forsythe nat'l. wildlife refuge is legal after sept. 1st. you can walk all the way down to the southernmost point, which is essentially the inlet of the great bay. my friend shark fishes there. look this up on a topo map to make sense of it all.

you could fish the jetties, too

 

[golden beetle]

Oliver's map is pretty spot on for the north end of the island. the dyke, the mushroom head off the northwest of the island, is a really neat place. you can legally park and there is public access to the dyke. meyer's hole is listed on that map, the top left arrow. walk the shoreline and fish. it's fun. bring a case of beer.

Are these names real?

I laughed a bit when I read this...

 

[Oliver10]

Are these names real?

I laughed a bit when I read this...

My name is real.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Get yourself a 9 or 10 weight or two-handed surf rod if you're serious. Late September is Albie time in the surf and the North Jetty at IBSP is a prime location for that speedster. Bass will more or less only show at night unless you get a rainy day until later in October and November when they can be caught in the surf in daytime. Big blues and medium sized blues are where and when you find them, but a 5 or 6 weight won't get the job done. That size rod is only good for any snapper blues or small fluke you might bump into.

 

[thrashers.wheat]

GB,

Yes, these are real names.

But, is there actually anything called the A-Rod Fly? OR is this just a general term given to any fly that strikes out all the time?

Are these names real?

 

[skipper3245]

I have done alright all over the beach. Depends on where the wind is. If there is wind def head for the dyke but I like the back bay areas when conditions are well. I would for sure recommend a stripping basket. Never thought it would make THAT much of a difference but its huge, at least for me. 6 weight wont do you any good down there. 7-8 wt. minimum.

 

[Oliver10]

So How did you make out? You had great weather.

 

[WVULax22]

So How did you make out? You had great weather.

Well, I ended up taking the 5 weight out and trying my best down on the southern tip of the island. The wind was a little much and the five weight had a little trouble with the heavier flys. I eventually gave up there.

I did find a dock/boat launch after the wind had died down last weekend though. I stripped a clouser minnow through for a couple hours and caught maybe 5 or 6 snapper blues. Nothing big or interesting, but fun nonetheless.

I think if I'm going to continue venturing into the salt water realm I'm going to need to pick up a seven weight or something along those lines. It could double as a steelhead set up I guess.

As for the island- this is the best time of the year to be there. Bars aren't too crowded and there's lot of girls. Every weekend in September there were bachelorette parties going on at Nardys.

 

[trico mike]

If your gonna to get into the saltwater fishing do yourself a favor and pick up a 8 weight at minimum. A ten weight is even better but you can get away with an 8wt and that can double for a steelhead rod. My biggest bass on the flyrod was28lbs and I landed him on an 8 wt. I also lost two flylines in two nights to monster bass that I could not stop. They ended up going under a trestle I fish and sawing off my backing on barnacles. That's when I switched to a 10 wt. I'm thinking of getting a 12wt in the future.