In his new book, “Fly Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass,” author John Field goes deep on the tendencies and biology of large stripers and the tactics and tackle needed to effectively target them on fly. John is quite the interesting guy, having fished all over the globe while producing Larry Dahlberg’s The Hunt for Big Fish. He is no stranger to striped bass either. If you are a striped bass fly angler and are getting tired of schoolies, be sure to read this interview and grab a copy of John’s book!
Flylords: John, before we dive into targeting XL specimen striped bass on the fly, can you tell us a little bit about your angling journey and how you got into writing?
John Field: Thanks for inviting me for this interview Will! I was born in NYC and had a hip condition diagnosed at age three that was treated by non-weight bearing for five years in a wheelchair. I could also walk on crutches. My dad who was not an outdoorsman, had Winchester Arms as a client printing their PR newsletters which included product releases, reviews, and tips by experts. I read them and fantasized. He became friends with the man in charge of PR, Hank Hunter, and enabled him to become our only apartment neighbor. I read outdoors books in his library and saw his wife's 50# sailfish mount below rows of classic shotguns and rifles end to end along the wall below the ceiling. I showed an interest, so Hank told my dad to take me to the Sportsman's Show at the NY Coliseum. I caught trout in an artificial pool on a cane pole and a man named Ellis Newman introduced himself and asked me if I wanted to learn to fly cast. He said he had a camp in the Catskills for people of all ages to learn hunting and fishing, including handicapped kids. Ellis was also a tournament caster and known for casting a whole fly line without a rod. I took him up on it and weeks later, I was demonstrating fly casting from my wheelchair at a bank (I think Hanover Savings) on Broadway to raise money to send others to his school near Roscoe, NY. He also taught me that hand-casting technique. We took the plunge from weekenders to NJ residents on a big farm in 1968. My dad had a wetland dug into a trout pond for us to fish in. He commuted to NYC and brought fly equipment home from Abercrombie and Fitch on Madison Ave. He introduced me to a dry fly purist friend of his to teach me his game and I found saltwater anglers to mentor me in inshore and offshore trolling and surf fishing the Jersey coast. I knew as a teenager that I wanted to be knowledgeable about the outdoors and write about it. In high school, my favorite English teacher let me sign papers "Ernesto" in the handwriting of Ernest Hemingway.
Flylords: Ok. Stripers. For fly anglers in the Northeast, striped bass are almost the perfect fish. You can catch them in so many different environments, and oftentimes flies are the better presentation to get a bite. And while the possibility of a big fish is always there, schoolies (fish up to 30” or so) are an absolute blast on fly rods. What was your entry into the striped bass community and fishing in the Northeast?
John: I caught my first big striper in 1972 in Cape Cod Bay but mainly fly fished hard for them on NJ beaches after their recovery in the 1990s with a spin-fishing buddy named Augie Scafidi. This was during my four years traveling intermittently with Larry Dahlberg filming the ESPN fishing show, Hunt for Big Fish. Augie and I mainly caught schoolies on the shore and knew where our friends with boats were getting big ones, so we bought boats.
One of our fishing friends was Jim Freda who helped us learn the ropes while he built Shore Catch Guide Service. He asked me to get my license and join him, but I said it would interfere with my fishing. My introduction to big-bass hunter Brad Burns in 1999 was pivotal because he put me onto the guides who specialized in rip fishing New England. People like Peter Jenkins, John Morin, Bob Popovics, Dan Blanton, and others helped connect me with current tyers and guides for this project.
Flylords: Ok, let’s get this out of the way…Biggest bass on the fly and how did you catch it?
John: I’m not sure which was biggest because I was more interested in returning the fish than further risking their survival. I caught several on fly well over 40 inches on my own boat alone in the NY bight and with guides off Nantucket and elsewhere. A big one that stands out is the one with Capt. Steve Bellefleur off Niantic, CT swinging a purple Humboldt Squid on a rip and the one I caught this June with Capt. Michael Platt in the Long Island Sound on a white and olive Beast Fleye during a blitz of big stripers (See below).
Flylords: You’ve fished up and down the Coast, what is your favorite way to reliably (yes, that’s loaded) catch large bass on the fly? (Thinking method, season, structure you look for, etc).
John: My favorite is swinging flies on the rips in May and June on sand bars or rock reefs. As far as reliability, that depends on squid and striper abundance and seasonal water temperature variances. Once you’ve done it for a while, you get the feeling when things are right. Besides waiting to ambush squid in rips, big bass will literally jump on big baitfish imitations. I’ve experimented there with two-hand vs one-hand rods, fly-line densities, weighting flies, fly sizes, and various monstrous poppers. To me the rips are like a laboratory.
Flylords: You know I’ve always held this belief that most saltwater fly fishermen would benefit from throwing gear on a boat or picking up the surf rod to fish the rocks. You clearly have done a lot of different types of conventional fishing during your time on Hunt for Big Fish. What do you think are some of the best insights a fly angler can gain from spin-fishing for bass by boat or shore?
John: Learn to fish safely at night on structure or even on sand if you can't rock hop. Big fish can get shy of boats, so cast far to fish or spots. Big topwater flies have great potential but you have to read the mood of the fish and use the right one. I watch how they react to a companion’s plugs and pick a corresponding topwater. Do they want subtle or splashy, sliding or popping, wiggling or darting, pausing, or continuous?
Flylords: I’ve caught some pretty big bass on the tease and switch–I mean it’s just flat-out effective and exhilarating when you get the teamsmanship going. What are your thoughts on it?
John: As I wrote in my book, I recommend trying to catch fish without it and if they refuse, tease and switch is an effective alternative. I think if everyone uses tease and switch exclusively, it takes away many of the challenges. I don’t treasure my tease and switch catches as much as those I caught “organically”.
Flylords: Ok, tackle and fly talk: you have only one setup (reel, rod, line, leader, fly) to target big bass with the rest of your life…what are you picking up?
John: I would take a 9′; 11wt G Loomis GLX Crosscurrent, Tibor Gulfstream, 30# Dacron backing, 500ish grain Type 7 integrated line with a 4′; leader- 40# shocker, and a 12″ Beast Fleye tied on.
Flylords: Striped bass remain overfished and over-harvest has been a consistent issue throughout the 21st century. How have you seen the fishery change? Are you optimistic for the future?
John: I’ve mainly witnessed adaptation to climate change and its effects on reliable reproduction and survival. I've also seen shortsightedness to regulations protecting against overharvest. Many anglers are myopic and only see their local abundance and don't care about your shortages. Fish will spend less time in the mid-Atlantic and Southern New England in summer as water temperatures increase and head north. We have missing year classes of Chesapeake stripers due to lack of relatively consistent spring snowpack runoff and damaging storm floods. I have faith that striped bass will adapt and that there are bright spots in their natural and introduced range. Unfortunately, there will be winners and losers in nature. As far as regulations to protect them, I think the majority wants to rebuild the stocks. I’m hopeful that good science will help managers make good long-term decisions instead of ones that cause feast or famine.
Flylords: Obviously, our readers should pick up their own copy of Fly Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass to learn more, but do you have two overarching tips for the diehard bunch looking to tango with a real cow?
John: First, learn how to cast extremely well with your biggest flies and in wind. Then, contact a big-fish catching guide and tell them your goals and ask if they can fit you into their schedule this year, or if not when?
Flylords: How can people find you and buy a copy of your book?
John: You can buy a copy at The Saltwater Edge, The Compleat Angler, ask your local fly shop, or on Amazon.
5 Consecutive Years of Poor Striped Bass Spawning in the Chesapeake Bay–Can the Stock Rebuild?
https://flylordsmag.com/how-to-fly-fish-new-england-rips-for-striped-bass/
Last Updated on July 26, 2024 by Will Poston
