Collection: Baitfish

There is nothing more exciting than fishing with a baitfish fly! They are big, bright, flashy, and designed to catch fish that are truly predators of the sea. Baitfish fly patterns mimic anchovies, ballyhoo, mackerel, sardines, and pilchards, just to name a few. They are usually tied from synthetic materials such as angel hair, super hair, and krystal flash, to make them more durable and withstand the vigor of these predacious fish.

One key to having success with saltwater flies when fishing with baitfish fly patterns, is to sort of “match the hatch” with them. This means, you want the length, shape, and profile of the fly, to match the actual baitfish that the fish are feeding on. For instance, if Dorado or Mahi-Mahi are feeding on 6-inch mackerel, casting a 3-inch baitfish fly at them probably isn’t going to get the job done. You will want to select a discount fly that has that same length with colors to match, thus increasing your chances of hooking a fish.

Another key to successfully fishing with saltwater baitfish fly patterns, is learning how to cast and retrieve them. In most situations, fishing with saltwater baitfish fly patterns will require casting some sort of sinking fly line. Of these, shooting head style fly lines are very common, especially when offshore fishing. This line is designed to shoot quickly, and get saltwater baitfish flies down deep if necessary. When fishing with these lines, short leaders are recommended in order to keep the fly line in touch with the fly. 6’-8’ will be the average length.

After you make the cast, how you retrieve the fly, or swim it back to you, becomes very important. The baitfish fly patterns will not catch fish unless they are retrieved properly. Often times, when predator fish are smashing thru a bait ball, the baitfish are running for their lives. When this fishing scenario unfolds, you will want to make a cast, let the baitfish fly sink for a second or two, tuck the rod underneath the arm that you cast with, then strip like hell using two hands. The faster you swim that fly, the better chance you have at catching a fish. Just make sure you hang on to the rod though! When fish eat like this, they take no prisoners!