Joe Pheifer Bio
I am a passionate salt water fly fisherman and fly tyer. I grew up at the Jersey shore, but now live in Hoboken and work in New York City. Most of the time, I cast my flies into the surf between between Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park, NJ for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, false albacore, fluke and hickory shad. I've also fished along most of the East Coast, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela and the Bahamas. My ambition to fish foreign seas is limited only by vacation time and funding--but I love my home waters just as much.
I was drawn to fly fishing because of the flies. I had fished the surf and jetties with spinning gear since I as a kid, and had already been tying simple flies to use as teasers in tandem with plugs and jigs. Not only did I enjoy the tying aspect, but catching fish on something I made myself appealed to me--as well as not having to deal with treble hooks! Since I knew nothing about fly fishing, in 1997 I took advantage of a class organized by Joe Keegan of the Ramsey Outdoor Store. Little did I realize that the class instructors were an All-Star team: Bob Popovics, Ed Mitchell, Tom Gilmore, and Ken and Lori Vanderlaske. Most of the class took place over a weekend on Martha's Vineyard, a fly fishing Mecca and one of my favorite destinations ever since that first visit. Several years ago, I joined the Coastal Flyrodders, a fly fishing club, which has led to wonderful friendships and greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the sport.