Pat's Rubber Legs and Smallmouth Bass

Caught on Pat's Rubber Legs this summer.

I'm not a fishing Pro - I'm not on any "pro-staff" or catch lunkers.  I wade small streams.  I catch small to medium fish with a few nice ones thrown in every now and again.  But this I do know . . . there are a LOT of people who enjoy fishing creeks and small streams for bass and panfish.  And like me, they don't have to "rip lips" and catch fatties to enjoy the day.

When I started fishing for smallmouth bass, I did what the books and forums suggested and what and where the fly shops suggested to go.  I didn't do so well.  Until, I found flies that worked for me.  I ocassionally caught Smallies on Clousers but they didn't go after it like my Shucker pattern.  I also found that there were a lot of mayfly hatches on some of these streams and that I found out about Pat's Rubber Legs to "match the hatch".  And the Smallies love it. It could match stoneflies, mayflies and possibly a helgrammite or just look buggy enough to pounce on.

Caught and released on a Pat's Rubber Legs and on a 6' fly rod.  Yup, a 6' fly rod this late summer.

That nymph became my savior.  When the bite is subtle, it is my "go-to" pattern.  AND, even if they have lockjaw or shy because someone else just left the fishing hole.  It's my "trigger fly".

A few weeks ago, during an epic 4 hour wade session the Smallies didn't cooperate as they did the previous week or the week before.  I usually start out with my Shucker pattern which is a weighted streamer.  If that doesn't work, I switch to Pat's and then to the Panfish Charley . . .

There are a lot of tying videos for Pat's Rubber Legs - make sure you use wire to give weight to those Pat's.