The rips are practically around the corner from me. It's been very slow for stripers so far, which is normal. I went out yesterday and couldn't connect with anything, but it sure was a nice day for a boat ride. Guys that are catching are chunking herring and/or using bloodworms, typical early season stuff. The rips are a different game, though. You should do well bouncing big white jigs off the bottom. Herring is the main forage right now. Depending on which rip you fish, it may be hard to fly fish. Some rips have standing waves in them, while others show themselves with just a slight ripple on the surface, easy to miss. Your guide should be able to put you on the right rips.
nless you have a super fast sinking line, like at least a 500-grain sinktip, you're pretty much wasting your time in the early season. The water is fairly deep and running through there, so you need a very heavy line to get down to the fish. You might get lucky and fall into a herring blitz on the surface, but it's still pretty early for that. The water yesterday barely made it to 48 out in the bay, so the action is still slow. By next week it may warm up though. 55 and up is the temp you're looking for. I heard of one herring blitz last week during that warm spell, but that was it.
Flies to use would be something that will make the bass move for a hearty meal. Heavy and wide half & halfs, big chunky deceivers, slab flies, and anything else that looks like a big herring will work. Here is a quick shot of one I recently tied up on a 4/0 hook. It's not pretty, but looks good in the water. 7" is actually a little on the small side, but workable. 10" or more is a good sized herring fly, but I didn't feel like going to the trouble of putting mono extensions and all that into it. I'd use a 6/0 or even 8/0 for a herring fly bigger than 10".
By the way, no blues are around yet, so wire leader won't be needed. A good 5' shot of 20lb leader will work fine with a sinking line. I'd use nothing less than a 10wt in the rips. An 11 or 12wt is even better. For a loop-to-loop system, just use a bimini twist on the backing. Bimini twists are much easier than people make them out to be, too, so don't be afraid to use it as it is a 100% knot. A spider hitch will work as well and is 100%, but it's not as dependable. Both can be found with a search on the web. If the loops that were provided on your line are of the braided kind, cut them off and whip new loops in the line. Braided attachments are fine for trout, but will fill fail on large fish, which you'll probably get in the rips. If the loops are spliced into the line, then you're fine.
Don't forget, don't ever touch the gelspun with your fingers if you have a fish on. Those superbraids will chop your finger right off!!
