As with all sight fishing, the head-on shot is best when the fish are coming right at you. The fly should be placed no more than three feet to either side of the striper's track and far enough in front to allow it to sink to the bottom before you start a retrieve to draw it away from the fish.

Time the delivery of your cast so that approaching waves or receding wash won't drag the line and ruin the presentation. Be mobile and move with the fish down the beach; always stay ahead of the fish. Your casting distances will be limited by the surf conditions and how well you can see the fish. It will usually take within three strips of the fly, but some fish will follow the fly right to the rod tip before striking.

Unlike bonefish, stripers have eyes placed well atop their heads, which gives them exceptionally good overhead viewing. Any fish that follows the fly long enough will eventually see you. If it does, it may cease following; to blend with the background, you should wear drab-colored clothing, especially hats and shirts, and be prepared to crouch low to keep from being seen by close-in fish. And a reach cast is an ideal technique to keep the fish off a direct approach to you; I use it whenever I cast head-on to stripers at 30 feet or less.

There are four rules on retrieve that apply to all presentations:
1. The fly must be on the bottom before the retrieve starts.
2. The fly must move to increase the distance between it and the fish. Retrieving the fly across the fish's path won't move it toward the fish, but this violates the rule and spooks most stripers.
3. Once a fish follows the fly, don't vary the cadence of the retrieve or the fish will quickly lose interest.
4. The speed of the retrieve should suit the speed of the fish; bigger fish prefer a slow strip.

You can use surf currents, such as rip-tides and receding wash, to enhance your presentations. For example, casting slightly upcurrent and letting the fly swing into the fish's track is most enticing.

Using the surf in presentation.

Stripers don't always give you head-on shot opportunities. Fish cruising the beach well outside the wave-break (breakers) and fish swimming out of the sun's glare into your viewing window are two common occurrences that call for a second presentation strategy called the "perpendicular strip" technique (see perpendicular presentation illustration). Here's how it works.

Perpendicular Presentation.

Make the cast perpendicular to the fish's track and place the fly directly in the fish's path or slightly inside by no more than three feet. Present the fly so that it moves off the fish's track and draws the fish off its path for a follow. Casting beyond the fish's track for a retrieve that crosses its path won't work, because the distance between fish and fly is closing. It's unnatural for the fly (prey) to swim toward the striper. Your ability to make a curve cast is a strong asset in this situation: It ensures that the fly moves away from the fish when the fish first spots it.

I use the "drop-and-twitch" technique when stripers are reluctant to follow or when I want to imitate immobile prey such as worms. I drop the fly directly in the fish's path and allow it to settle on the bottom. As the fish comes into range, I give the fly a twitch to entice the fish to inhale it. The take is subtle, and a slowly tightening line is the only indication that the fly has been eaten.