Sight Fishing for Birds on the Flat

Fly fishing is undeniably more fascinating when you can see the fish. That's why I love flats fishing. Spring, summer, or fall, there's always something to be sight fished on a LIS flat. One of my favorite species to target on the flat in summer and early fall is a species a lot of anglers consider a trash fish. As you all know, there is not a fish on this planet that I think of as a trash fish. So when I say I love targeting sea robins it shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Sight fishing on the flat for them is some of the most fun fishing you'll ever have.

Yesterday they were busting bait. Not the sporadic, infrequent jumping or busting that is most frequently observed. This was constant, aggressive, loud blitzing by a species often wrongly accused of being a bottom feeder. They would frequently injure large silversides, which would come to the surface and skip along with the orange, brown and white winged goblin right on its tail. The kill strike was nearly always loud and quite spectacular.

Put a sz. 2 chartreuse and white clouser near a busting fish or in front of a cruising fish, it will at least take a look. Often a fish that s a little suspicious will sometimes follow the fly 40-0 feet, often from the time the fly hit the water till the time it gets to your feet. I've had sea robins do circles around me before chasing poppers.

Robins are not really a schooling fish but they do tend to hunt in little packs, the most I've seen at once was about 6.  Yesterday I saw a few schools of three. If you have a buddy with you these fish are really easy to double up on. If not you can still get it done because they tend to follow each other around during the fight and it is not impossible to unhook and lip one fish and immediately catch his buddy without risking killing the other one. Prime example:

Towards the end of my outing I was hammering school bass at the end of a rip and I had a big robin follow one of the stripers in. I quickly unhooked the fish and got it back in the water. the robin slowly circled around me, too close for me to actually use the rod. Using my and I dropped the clouser right on the toe of my boot. The fish came around my left side and started looking for the fly which it had clearly felt fall. I twitched the fly and saw and felt the robin eat my fly right off the toe of my boot. I set the hook with my left hand and pulled the fish right out of the water. That was a real "wish I was being filmed right now" moment.

Next time you're fishing a nice flat and the stripers or blues aren't cooperating, try for some sea robins. They are just so damn fun.