So you say August isn't the time to fly fish for striped bass? How about this nice 33" 9 pounder on a 9wt fly rod caught by Carson Marshal. There's three key steps: to success...
"Waiting 15-20 seconds seems like an eternity when fish are feeding around you but"...
Capt. Dave Pecci Orvis Endorsed Guide
One, find the bait, find the bass. Watch for birds and study your fish finder for where the bait is holding.
Two, fish a sinking line. Just because you see a striper busting on the surface the feed is most likely taking place mid water or near the bottom. That busting striper you saw was chasing the bait as it came to surface to escape it fait. Know the sink rate of you fly line and patiently count down to get to a productive depth. Waiting 15-20 seconds seems like an eternity when fish are feeding around you but if you're fishing 5 feet over their heads you're just practicing your casting.
Three, find a strip that works. on the Kennebec to go to strip is a fast 24-30" strip with a deliberate pause between them. But, if that doesn't do it change it up! slow strips, twohanded steady strips, even dead drifting will produce depending on what the bait is doing.
Matching the hatch?
You don't need to perfectly match the bait the stripers are feeding on. Matching the size and profile is more effective that matching the color in the turbid water of the Kennebec.
Tippet size?
This nice fish ate a fly on a 5' leader of straight 25# fluorocarbon. Save those 9' 12# leaders for the flats. They are not needed in the rips and ledges of the Kennebec.