Largemouth Bass fly pattern - Beaux

I got this fly from a fly swap back in maybe 2002. It was the First Annual Tom Nixon Fly Swap hosted by Mark Delaney. Tom Nixon penned Fly Tying and Fly Fishing for Bass and Panfish - among other accomplishments.

This is Mark's take on the fly. I think the hook is 0/1 but I am not sure right now. The first bass I ever landed with this fly was on Lake Swepco in Gentry, AR. Due to Swepco (AEP) generating water to cool the plant, the lake stays warm all year long. The best time is in January when they start spawning on that lake. Especially near the outflow from the plant.

My buddy and I went in January. We fished for only a short while. All the boats were blown off the lake about 9 pm. I landed a largemouth bass about 22 inches in lenght. They stock or still stock the lake with the Florida strain of largemouth bass and you could not take any bass - NONE.

It was a pretty good fight on an 8 wgt. I had the fly on only for about 10 minutes. We didn't catch anything else - not enough time. And my boat motor was having fits - and we got stuck on an underwater branch and had to step off into the water and onto the branch for the boat to move - scary and cold.

This fly helped to me solidify my trust in using streamers for largemouth bass. Even though I do drift nymphs for smallmouth, I started using more streamers for them too.