Flip Flops and Smallmouth Bass

We had a cold snap last night. The temperature dropped to 58 degrees compared with high 70's to mid 80's. The stream was chilly and I think the fish were a bit sluggish. Action didn't spark up until about noon. Before then I tried hoppers and poppers and crawdads. I had landed only 1 fish. Then I found an area on the stream in which it was a bit rocky with some cover and deep holes. I was casting against the bank and letting my Flip-Flop fly rest for about 5 - 10 seconds and then stripped it once. Those bass were hammering that fly. If the bass missed, it hit it again and again. There wasn't much current . . . not as much as last weekend. The stream had dropped quite a bit. I could see mot of the bass play the fly. It was a nice pool. Cool water and the sun on my back.

I caught about 10 bass and some nice hefty bream. Those fish put up a strong fight. I tried filming some action but it's hard to do with only one hand. I decided to use a foam fly because I was casting against a rocky bank and I had disintegrated a cork popper on a bridge earlier - I tore up my popper on my last trip out too.

Over the years, I've learned that bass fishing can be a game of patience. I used to go out and hammer that water. That's one of the reasons I love bluegills, they are mostly aggressive and active.

One of the ways I catch bass is drifting nymphs to spotted bass. They are smaller and skittish. Sometimes, they school in the riffles or pools and seem smug because they ignore everything you present to them.

Anyways, on to more bass!