I went out and had a great time at my first fishing tournament. Even though I was the only fly fisherman there, everyone was welcoming and we had a good time talking about what we enjoy most - fishing. Although I didn't land any fish, it was an amazing day. The lake was glass smooth, light rain and clouds kept the day overcast. I did see fish but they had lock jaw. I began with a popper but the fish did nothing but slash at it or stare at it. Streamers attracted attention but were not tempting enough. Three was the largest count caught. Other folks mentioned it was a lousy outing.
I used sinking line, floating line, weighted flies, poppers and articulated meaty bugs. A bass followed my fly with his mouth right on the tail end! Even the panfish followed the flies about a foot behind. Small bass were soft striking streamers as they slowly sank. I haven't been to this lake in ages but perhaps it was some sort of post-spawn activity??
Anyways, I'm taking input on flies folks use for largemouth bass. I do fairly well on impoundments but maybe I'm just missing that little something. One of my faults yesterday was that I didn't cover much water. I also stuck with a certain fly way too long. Only 10 fly patterns were used in 6 hours of fishing.
Leave a comment with a bass pattern that is productive for you.
On a good note, another fly fisherman (Freshly) took a smallmouth bass on my Shucker fly pattern.
I love a rabbit strip. I use a # 6 - #2 hook ( wide gap) and the body is built up dubbing weighted to your liking and a collar of red marrabo and rabbit soft fur (black works good) but I think the thing they like best is the long rabbit strip (hide portion is 4-5in long) tail I cut from a tanned skin of grey rabbit. They hit that like a freight train on a long retrieve.
ReplyDeleteThank Joel. Do I tie in the rabbit strip like a Zonker?
DeleteYou can but I tie it more like a woolly bugger with the rabbit strip helping to add to the body mass.
DeleteI also love my scrapyard plug. It kills! http://ayearonthefly.blogspot.com/2012/05/scrapyard-plug-strikes-hard.html
ReplyDeleteSorry about adding the link but its best described there.
Thank you so much. That's my type of fly!! Custom made from scratch, not overly pretty but rugged enough to get the job done.
DeleteGet some x-large chenille (think hobby shops not SJ worm chenille) in appropriate colors and tie on a wide gap bass hook. The general idea is to imitate the tubes and plastic creature baits that are so popular among bass fishermen today. You can use a conehead or barbell eyes to give the fly some weight or just weight the hook and fish it on a slow sink.
ReplyDeleteWorks well on the ponds and small lakes I've used it on.
I made a Gully worm and am working on some more "swim type" baits like the CPB streamer. Thanks.
DeleteI'm not sure if you remember my posts about the Bunny Butt Slider, but that's a great topwater pattern. It has more action than a popper. I think if you used 10 flies in 6 hrs you showed them plenty of variety. Some days the fish just aren't biting, and there's not much you could do to change that.
ReplyDeleteStealth Bomber has been good for me lately too.
ReplyDeleteWill do.
Delete+1 on the Stealth Bomber
ReplyDelete