Marshes with backdrops like this are increasingly rare.

Crabs scurried into exposed holes, grass shrimp dimpled the surface and schools of Atlantic silverside spooked from the hull with each thrust of my pushpole.

I marveled at all the life, and prime fish food at that, along the spartina-lined sod bank on this windless spring morning. As we crept toward a creekmouth, an egret stalked the far shore deliberately, then lifted its head and took off, gliding across the water as we closed in. To our surprise, several large fish spooked in its shadow, darting toward deeper water, leaving large boils in their wake. The water settled and we began to make out subtle wakes pushing the surface of the murky water. There was one, two, no...three good fish moving parallel to the sod bank, dorsal fins protruding in sequence.

“Okay David, you’re gonna get a clear shot here. Don’t screw it up,” I said from the poling platform. I guess I put undue pressure on him, because his cast fell well behind the lead fish, spooking the other two. As he cussed under his breath, he stripped the fly once anyway and the water erupted.

“Wow, wow, wow!” David yelled as the big striper shook his head, red gill-plates flaring. As the fish zipped across the mud flat David danced to keep his fly line from under his feet, finally getting the fish on the reel. After a 10-minute fight, he triumphantly lipped the hefty striper, and we took a minute to admire its purple, iridescent flanks glistening in the sun. I forgot to say we had the marsh to ourselves.

Many Northeast U.S. anglers overlook salt marshes, choosing to focus their efforts on more traditional, relatively deepwater shoreline habitat. But the Northeast’s many estuaries and salt marshes provide topnotch shallow-water fishing. That’s not surprising considering Northeast salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Every fall, marsh grass dies off, and by spring has decomposed, providing the detritus that bottom-dwelling scavengers such as worms, shrimp, snails and crabs feast on. Furthermore, the stems, leaves and roots of spartina grass provide shelter for numerous species of baitfish.

In short, there are lots of things in the marsh system for stripers, blues and weakfish to eat. Consider this in light of the fact that most Northeast salt marsh habitats have been dredged and channelized to make way for boat traffic and other development. For sure, this has created its own set of problems, but it has also made these areas more attractive to big predators that enjoy the security of deep water. The combination of this natural crustacean and baitfish habitat in the shallow water, adjacent to sometimes drastic dropoffs where the depth dips 20 feet in the space of a few yards, results in wonderful opportunities for large predators to come out of the deep and feed in one or two feet of water. What more could a sight fisherman ask for?

Capt. John McMurray spends thousands of hours working to save New York's marshes. Here is one of his many rewards.

An April Awaking

As the ice melts and the cord grass begins to green, the marsh comes alive. Fishing action begins in most areas by mid-April, triggered by prolific hatches of grass shrimp that feed on detritus and algae. Although these critters are year-round marsh dwellers, their eggs hatch en masse very early in the spring, resulting in thousands of these critters populating relatively small, shallow mud flats. Various species of grass shrimp are native to Northeast marshes, and once the water temperature reaches the high 40s, expect to see grass shrimp come out of the woodwork, particularly on sunny days.

Undoubtedly, this is the bait hatch that triggers the initial striper bite. Early season fish tend to be on the smaller side, ranging mostly from 20 to 26 inches, but it’s not uncommon to find a few larger fish in the mix. Target these early season stripers over shallow, dark mud-bottom flats; such areas tend to warm quickly when the sun shines. Fortunately, because of the decaying grass and the resulting peat deposits, many marsh mud flats in Northeast marshes do have dark bottoms.