Cinder Worms

If you fly fish for striped bass in New England, you've probably heard of the worm hatch. The massive emergence in the Rhode Island South County salt ponds during late spring are famous (or infamous?), though worm "hatches" occur all over Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, and the islands though early fall. You could encounter a worm "hatch" in any muddy bottomed cove, creek, or salt pond on any given summer night. And it can really make or break that night. Now, I keep putting "hatch" in quotes because that's not really what it is. Cinder worm swarms, like so many occurrences fisherman call hatches, are not juvenile animals emerging from eggs. In fact, when cinder worms leave the mud and rise to the surface, its typically a breeding behavior. So call it swarm, not a hatch, please. When these one to four inch, many legged, brown to red worms do their mating dance, it usually attracts a fair bit of attention from our old friend, Morone saxatiles. Despite the small size of these worms, bass of all ages can't seem to overlook them. They often get so focused on one prey image that they require very honed and specific presentations. My first encounter with a cinder worm swarm was in a tidal marsh off Cape Cod Bay in 2017. I didn't have the right tools on my to get the job done then. I've felt the need to redeem myself ever since, and the famous swarms in Rhode Island have called my name. But I got my redemption even closer to home than that.

The night was dark and cloudy, and hiding a big moon. It was a high outgoing tide. I wasn't looking for a worm swarm, but they were there and the bass were on them. And I had the right stuff. A five weight, a 15lb leader, a greased line, and deer hair worm flies... finally, it came together. The fish weren't big, but there was only one way to catch them and that was imitating those odd little red worms swimming in the current. Nearly every cast produced a take and most produced fish. If I'd been using a pair of flies, I'd have been doubling a lot.

These weren't big bass, in fact they were mostly very tiny, but it didn't matter to me. This was another piece of the puzzle, more learned about one of my favorite species to fish for, and another check on the list. Like the herring run, like squid over the reefs, like live eels, like flats fishing with crab flies... it's gaps in my knowledge beginning to fill. Because I can never know enough about striped bass, or any fish. There's a lot to do and a lot to experience. Life is too short.

Cinder worm swarms often leave anglers shaking their heads, wondering how they couldn't get so much as a tap with so much surface activity. Fly size, color, and buoyancy matters. Retrieve, or lack thereof, also matters. And sometimes there are just so many worms, getting a fly noticed is nearly impossible. I'd been stumped before and I'll be stumped again, but on this one night in early summer, I went to bed just before the sun came up, with the sounds of stripers popping on the surface still ringing in my ears and a smile on my face.
Until next time,

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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