Mention saltwater fly-fishing venues and most anglers imagine sun-washed tropical bonefish flats or secluded mangrove creeks. Yet, great fishing locales aren't always in distant or sparsely settled places. A double haul from the most densely settled corridor of the United States lies a fly fishers' mecca. The 100-mile-long New Jersey coast, from Sandy Hook, within sight of the Manhattan skyline, to Cape May Point, at the entrance to Delaware Bay, can be reached by 50 million people in a day's drive or less.

Because of its proximity to so many anglers, the Garden State's beaches and estuaries have played a major role in the evolution of saltwater fly rodding. The waters of legendary Barnegat Bay were home to the first chapter of the Salt Water Flyrodders of America in the 1960s. Today, the Atlantic Salt Water Flyrodders carries the banner and several newer clubs have sprung up along this stretch of the mid-Atlantic coast. Fly shops, too, have appeared to address the needs of these anglers.

Variety
One reason that New Jersey fishing can sustain itself in the face of this onslaught of humanity is the variety of its offerings. Nearly every type of water is here to satisfy the tastes of any angler. First are the miles of pure white sand beaches. Next, manmade rock jetties that stabilize the beaches and limit sand transfer create prime gathering spots for bait and the gamefish that prey on them, as well as casting platforms for shore-based anglers.

Over a dozen inlets interrupt the coastline, meaning that river mouths and inlets provide thoroughfares for fish and the boat fishermen who pursue them. You'll also find hundreds of square miles of open bays, wadeable flats, and sheltered marsh creeks, lined by seemingly endless grassy sod banks. Tidal rivers fish well too, for anglers who have spent time to learn their secrets. The inshore ocean waters are accessible to small boats from scores of ports, and offshore sites like Barnegat Ridge, the Mud Hole, and the Baltimore and Wilmington canyons are within reasonable range of more seaworthy crafts.