BaitfishbeginnerNortheast & Mid-Atlantic
Bay Anchovy
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Regional source directory
Salty Fly Tying
Matched on Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, baitfish flies, albacore. Drew Chicone's saltwater tying catalog and learning hub, strongest for saltwater pattern validation.
New England Fly Company
Matched on Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, baitfish flies. New England tier lead for brook trout, landlocked salmon, and coastal striper patterns.
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on baitfish flies, baitfish, broad catalog. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
Sight Cast Fishing Co.
Matched on baitfish flies, baitfish. Texas and Gulf Coast saltwater catalog focused on redfish and inshore sight-fishing.
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The bay anchovy is two inches of silver protein that exists solely to be eaten by everything else in the ocean. It is the most abundant baitfish in the Northeast, which makes sense because the attrition rate is catastrophic. This fly matches the anchovy's diminutive profile with a sparse construction that would embarrass a trout fly. Tie it on a #6 hook, strip it fast, and watch the most selective fish in the ocean -- false albacore -- suddenly become agreeable. In matching the hatch, sometimes less is everything.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
Martha's Vineyard
MA · Rips
Chesapeake Bay
MD · Estuaries
Nantucket
MA · Flats
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Related Reading
region guide
Northeast Stripers: The Blitz Guide
The fall blitz along the Northeast coast is one of fly fishing's most electrifying phenomena. When migrating stripers, bluefish, and false albacore pin baitfish against the surface, the water erupts into a frenzy that can be cast to with a fly rod. This is how you prepare for it.
hatch guide
Saltwater Forage: Matching the Bait
In saltwater fly fishing, there are no hatches — there is forage. Mullet, shrimp, crabs, baitfish, and worms drive every feeding event on the flats, in the surf, and along the mangrove edges. Understanding the forage base and matching it precisely is the difference between a fish of a lifetime and an empty line.
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