Skinny Water Charters
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Capt. Jim Barr
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Hook: 3/0 or 4/0 TMC 600, Trey Combs Big Game, Owner AKI, or            Gamakatsu SC152H
Thread: Fine Monofilament
Tail: Bucktail in Light Pink, White, Olive Pale, Dark Olive, and Pale Lavender
Flash: Krystal Flash in Gray Ghost, Ultraviolet, Shrimp Pink, Peacock Red
Body Sheathing: Medium Pearl E-Z-Body
Eyes: 3.0 mm Black on Silver Stick on Prismatic
Epoxy: 5 Minute two-part to seal the pattern

Rich is quoted as saying…"I developed the prototype of this pattern while on an October vacation to Truro, Massachusetts in 1989. My intent then was to develop a large sand eel imitation I could use to capitalize on the striped bass blitzes that are routine during the fall months at the mouth of the Pamet River when, during the ebb of the tide, literally tons of sand eels are flushed into Massachusetts Bay”

Some of the best places to flyfish in the saltwater are spots that are just down the street and around the corner, and because I live in Newport, I don’t have far to travel to get to many of them. One spot is a beach that is close to the statue of a famous Revolutionary War general, a spot that on a summer night, you can fish alongside the Night Herons in the dim light of the harbor, and if you don’t mind the revelry, you can listen to live music while casting to feeding stripers in very shallow water. A couple of other spots a bit further away, are two salt ponds each with large flats areas on the inside corners adjacent their breachways. All three of these locations have significant sand eel activity, and as darkness falls become active shallow water striper haunts. What is revolutionary about the Burrowing Sand Eel pattern is the use of a dumbbell weight that positions the fly on the sandy bottom at a 45-degree. Per Henry Cowen- “This is the moment when they are most vulnerable, and stripers love to take advantage of it by either sucking the sand eels out as they begin to burrow, or by shoveling them out with their snout just as a redfish uproots crabs.” The Burrowing Sand Eel is a ticket to great fishing in these shallow water environments.
Hook: Size 1 Gamakatsu SC15
Thread: Clear monofilament .006 (fine)
Wing: Olive Polar Fibre
Belly: White Polar Fibre
Flash: Silver prismatic
Head: White E-Z-Body braid, size small
Eyes: Size 1.5 silver-and-black prismatic stick-on
Weight: Size 6/32 black-nickel dumbbells
Epoxy: 5 minute two-part to seal the pattern
Note: If you wish to cover the exposed hook shank, use a layer of white flat waxed thread between the hook eye and the lead dumbell
Rich Murphy’s Pamet Special
Cowen's Burrowing Sand Eel
The Offshore Banger has no hook attached, it is essentially a simplified tube fly. It is particularly effective when wanting to move lots of water to create attention. Monofilament line is inserted into the front of the popper body and pushed through the body. The hook is tied on and snugged up into the popper body and hackle. Orvis twistable wire tippets can also be inserted in lieu of monofilament when fishing for toothy critters such as bluefish.

Bob Popovics Offshore Banger
Body: Live Body foam cylinder
Body Cover: Metallic tape
Eyes: Large, self-sticking prism eyes
Hackle: Wide and long saddle hackle- color to suit
Epoxy: 5 minute two-part to seal the tape onto the popper body

Black Sharpie pen
Butane lighter or candle