Saltwater Fishing Flies, Baitfish Imitations

Most saltwater flies are tied to imitate baitfish. Two books that show how to imitate baitfish with flies are shown on the right.

My personal favorite is the Deceiver. This fly can be tied in various lengths, fullnesses, and colors to imitate many of the baitfish that striped bass prefer. Examples are shown in the table below.

DECEIVER FLY - IMITATIONS OF BAITFISH

Baitfish	Fly	Length, in.	Fullness	Color
Anchovy	Deceiver	2-4	Sparse	Olive and White
Silverside	Deceiver	3-4	Sparse	Olive and White
Sand Eel	Deceiver	2-7	Sparse	(Yellow or Green) and White
Peanut Bunker	Deceiver	5-10	Full	Yellow and White
Herring	Deceiver	4-10	Full	Blue and White
Mullett	Deceiver	4-5	Medium	Blue and White

Deceiver Flies of Different Sizes and Colors - link to larger image

Colors

Most baitfish are white on the bottom. Most smaller bait fish are olive on top.
I like olive and white for smaller flies, and yellow and white for larger ones.
If they had to pick one color, most fisherman would pick white, except at night when they would use black. Some, however, swear by chartreuse. There is a saying:
" If it ain't chartreuse, it ain't no use." Actually, some fisherman recommend chartreuse for use when the water is murky with the idea that it stands out more.

It also has become popular to add a red chin to Deceiver flies. This is to make the imitation baitfish look injured and bleeding under the gills.