How to Tie Striper Flies

Striped bass flies use a thin profile to imitate small baitfish.

Striped bass are opportunistic feeders with a baitfish-rich diet. The striper does not feed selectively and you can be successful with simple fly patterns that create motion in the water. Striper flies have a thin profile to imitate natural baitfish, and flash is used to display the reflective lateral lines of baitfish. The weight of the fly is a critical point because stripers feed at different levels in the water column. Locating stripers and determining the feeding depth is the key to successful fishing.

Things You'll Need

• Vise
• Scissors
• 2/0 saltwater hook
• 3/0 white thread
• Lead dumbbell eyes
• White bucktail
• Pearl flash
• Yellow bucktail
• Head cement

Instructions

1. Place the hook in the fly tying vise and clamp the jaws. Start the thread at the eye of the hook and wrap it one-third of the way up the hook shank.

2. Hold a pair of dumbbell eyes on top of the hook shank at the the thread. Wrap the thread around the center bar that connects the two eyes to secure them to the shank. Wrap the thread in a figure-eight pattern while adjusting the eyes with your fingers to secure them in a level position.

3. Wrap the thread until it it positioned between the dumbbell eyes and the eye of the hook. Cut a clump of white bucktail from a fur patch and measure it to twice the length of the hook shank. Hold the bucktail on top of the hook and wrap the thread tightly to secure it to the hook. Continue wrapping the thread until it is on the opposite side of the eyes.

4. Remove the hook from the vise and turn it upside-down. Replace the hook in the vise and clamp the jaws. Return the thread to the position between the dumbbell eyes and the eye of the hook. Cut a chunk of pearl flash from a bunch and measure it to match the length of the bucktail. Hold the flash on top of the hook and cover it with tight thread wraps until you reach the dumbbell eyes. Return the thread to the original position.

5. Cut a chunk of white or yellow bucktail from a fur patch. Measure the fur to match the length of the original bucktail and hold it on the hook shank. Cover the bucktail with tight thread wraps until you reach the eyes. Make 10 figure-eight wraps to secure the fur to the eyes and wrap the thread back to the eye of the hook. Use a whip finishing tool to knot the thread and cut the thread from the hook.

6. Add a drop of head cement to the thread head and leave it to dry for five minutes. The cement protects the fly against the brutality of a striper attack.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove the dumbbell eyes from the pattern to create a shallow water baitfish and add a spun deer hair head to create a floating pattern.

• Striper flies are only effective when stripers are present. Look for schools of stripers feeding on baitfish to increase the success of the flies.

References

• Fly Rod Striped Bass: Striped Bass Flies
• Striper Space: Striped Bass Fishing Flies