Going To Montauk May 16-18

[Tim McDougald]

I will be going to Montauk May 16th through the 18th. Although I have been before, this will be my first time fly fishing. Added bonus I am also learning how to tie flies so I will be using my own flies. Unfortunately, I don't have waders yet so I will, probably, be limited to the bank. Any advice on flies to bring, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

[Jeff Tief]

You can always practice your skills in the C&R area where you can't wade and the fish can usually be caught on a scud pattern.Watch for fishing feeding in the riffles and below the outlet.Montauk can be tough to flyfish off the bank as it is a little more like a normal stream with trees,bushes ,etc. to catch your gear.You can wet wade some of the stream without getting over your knees and get away from the bank.We have been catching a lot of fish on zebra midges,egg patterns and the scuds that I mentioned earlier.

[Tim McDougald]

Yeah, that was my impression - casting room wise - as well. I will have to tie some zebra midges between now and then. Thanks for the info.

[Ill Trout Bum]

Just came back from Montauk. Be sure to have plenty of cracklebacks on hand. I probably caught as many fish stripping this fly as I did using it as a dry.

[Tim McDougald]

I do have plenty of cracklebacks (I learned to tie flies at Feathrcraft and that is one of the first flies they teach)

[10pointer]

I may be down this weekend as well. If I happen to be I can give you some flies that work for me. LIke Jeff said scuds are a pretty good bet! Also see if there are any hatches coming off and try to match

Have you caught anything on the ones that you have tied yet? Nothing more rewarding than catching fish on something you made. Dont be afraid to play with fly recipes either tweak things and you may be surprised at the results. Once you tie your own you will be "hooked"

Good luck!

[Tim McDougald]

I got a very late start today (due to circumstances beyond my control), got down here to discover the cabin (not at the state park) we had reserved had been given to someone else and had to find alternate lodging. I did manage to get in a few hours fishing. The fish were rising and feeding on the surface so I tried some dry flies. Got a few strong bites on a crackle back and a few strong bites on a parachute march brown (both of which I tied myself) didn't get the hook set in time. I will say that a bite on my fly rod has a completely different feel from my spinning rod. At any rate, for my first time out with a fly rod it went okay...even if I didn't catch anything

[kbbgood]

Have you tried any Bead Head cracklebacks? Tie some with gold tungston beads for stripping. It works. Try some black with orange peacock.

[Tim McDougald]

No, but I did have some that I tied with holographic tinsel. They were really interested in bright sparkley stuff. the two fish I caught were caught on golden retreivers - which have a gold estaz body. All in all I had a good trip, especially considering it was my first time out with a fly rod. in addition to the two I caught I had four or five good strikes but didn't get the hook set (too much slack in my line) and one small fry that took a crackle back and then spit it out after about 30 seconds...I didn't mind that one because it saved me the trouble of releasing it. I'm looking forward to next time and hopefully will have waders so I won't be so limited as to where I can fish.