Once you locate a fish, plan a strategy that positions you in the best spot to intercept it with good presentations. Place the fly where it can be retrieved to draw a strike and not spook the striper. I cover more beach by walking the water's edge or wading parallel to it in knee-deep water, wading at a pace that allows me to scan the surf for advancing stripers, both close to and outside the waves.

Head-On Presentation.

When fish are cruising the water's edge, it's best to stay out of the water and well up the beach face. Walking high up the beach improves your elevation and your view so you can see fish cruising outside the waves. But when the fish are surfing the intertidal zone, a knee-deep wade is best.

The orientation of the beach relative to the sun's track through the sky determines the optimum direction for wading. For east-west beaches, a westerly wade is right for the morning because it positions the sun at your back, providing a westward viewing window. The reverse is true for the afternoon. At midday, you can wade in either direction. North-south beaches have inherent limitations, because the sun is positioned for optimum viewing either in the morning or in the afternoon. These beaches offer half-day fishing at best.

Unlike in the tropics, the quality and duration of daily viewing varies by season in northern latitudes. In June and July, high-quality viewing prevails from about 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. This time frame shortens considerably as fall approaches.

If I have a limited spotting range or the fish are noticeably concentrated in a given area (stripers frequent hot zones due to an abundance of food there), I prefer to wait for the fish to come to me. You must always be ready to cast to fish that enter your viewing window from any direction. Stripers surf the intertidal zone swiftly, so you must make quick, accurate casts when they come: You'll probably get only one shot per fish.