Fly fishing

[dave]

I don't fly fish but,  my fishing partner does.  I attended an annual event in Annapolis, MD called TIEFEST.   The lengendary Lefty Kreh was there doing a talk and casting demonstrations.  92 years old.  These fly fisherman have a passion for this fishing "art"

I know a number of customers that love to fly fish for bass and it dawned on me that on BR,  fly fishing for bass is never really mentioned.

Do any of you fly fish for bass?

[bassinhole]

I love to fly fish for bass! It is often productive when other methods are not. Especially in the middle of the day when the sun is bright and the wind is dead calm... A popper chugged across the top like a bug can be deadly! 

I have had bass literally jump out of the water to grab a fly as it was making it's approach. That is one of the most amazing things you'll ever see. I never knew you could catch fish before your bait was wet until I witnessed it first hand.

[0119]

Yes it is my favorite way to fish. But very hard to impossible to do in most of the bass waters I fish because of a lack of backcast space.

[Paul Roberts]

Yup!

If you search you'll find there are some threads every now and then. 

[Cgolf]

Yes, I especially enjoy fly fishing for smallies. I have done ok with it on the lake too, but the last few years it has been too windy when I was the only one in the boat. With a 16 foot boat it gets cramped enough with 2 of us casting conventional gear. 

[redux]

I'm in the same boat as 0119. I love fly fishing but it's really hard to get after it from a bank in Florida. Roll casting only works so well for open water and few rods can handle heavy cover. Heck, fly lines are only rated to around. 30#.

[dave]

My fishing partner has been after me  to learn for years.  He is accomplished and ready and willing to teach me.

I don't need another revenue stream going "out"

[jr231]

I'm very interested in this . My 72 year old grandfather just gave me a brand new cabelas fly rod. And I have no idea what I'm doing or how to go about it . This thread wasn't much help. But I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in trying to use it for bass. I guess I'll just have to watch some videos. Kind of hard when you're always on the road. I can't watch videos when I pay 15 dollars a GB. Lol 

[Turkey sandwich]

I've slowly been learning, and several forum members have been pretty helpful in making suggestions.  Smallmouth on the fly are a blast!  

[Team9nine]

I've got a couple fly rods and plenty of flies - a nice change of pace for something different every once in a while, but I'm not overly fond of the technique. Actually did more Tenkara bass fishing this year as I finally grabbed one of those poles. Accounted for my largest smallie of the year so far

-T9  

[J Francho]

16 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Actually did more Tenkara bass fishing this year as I finally grabbed one of those poles.

Looks like a cool way to fish.  Not too far off the way I centrepin for trout, though no reel.  Simple.  Deadly.

[Paul Roberts]

Tenkara smallmouth?! 

[Gundog]

I've flyfished for largemouths but never for smallies. It was a lot easier to learn than I expected. I picked up the basic cast at an outdoor expo in Harrisburg about 20 yrs ago and while I'm no expert I can fool a trout every once in a while. 

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Tenkara smallmouth?! 

I am tempted to try it with a cheap 5 weight I had set up for a small creek, but realistically anything above 15" will probably just break off. Doesn't hurt to try lol.

[Jtrout]

I bought one last week for pretty cheap and my elbow has been hurting ever since! I must b doing it wrong!

[flyfisher]

I do it all the time.  I prefer fishing for smallies with the fly rod and certain situations for largemouth.

Also to whoever said there are few rods that can handle the heavy cover, you couldn't be more wrong.  There are plenty of rods that can handle the thickest cover you can manage and while the fly line may be rated to "only" 30lbs, there is so much shock absorption in the system i can pretty much guarantee you will break your rod before your line breaks.  

I have caught 20lb class carp that took me to the point i could see the spool three times on my 4 wt and the line never broke.

[Bluebasser86]

I have caught lots of largemouth and bluegill on the fly, and actually caught my first ever fly rod smallies a couple weeks ago. while I was chasing bluegills. 

[the reel ess]

I've done it, but it feels like intentionally and unnecessarily handicapping myself.

[jr231]

31 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I've done it, but it feels like intentionally and unnecessarily handicapping myself.

The fight isn't more rewarding ? 

[Neil McCauley]

On the right body of water, fly fishing for bass is not only the most enjoyable/exciting way to fish, it's just plain deadly, too.

On the deep clear lake I usually fish it's not a go-to method. Bass are suspended or around structure 25-35 feet deep about 90% of the year.


But on a few other lakes I fish, a fly rod and tackle is all I even take, if I know the weather is decent. Mostly they are lakes that are shallow (avg 10-20 fow) and have good shoreline cover like rocks and boulders. Small rivers and streams would probably be good also. If you are using topwater productively anywhere and not required to cast >50 yards then you could probably be using a fly rod setup.

And there is nothing, other than maybe a muskie or big trout/salmon, in freshwater fishing like fighting a big bass on a fly rod. The give of the rod and the stretchable line take away a lot of the worry about line break-offs, and the tiny fly stuck in their jaw has very little chance of getting thrown. It is a challenge to control and reel them in, though.

[jr231]

Anyone have recommendations on the best LM bass flies. I already have a suitable rod. And 2 different style poppers.. and a dragonfly looking one.. a spider. And a wasp looking one too. Anything else I should try? 

[.ghoti.]

https://flyshack.com/DisplayCategory.aspx?CatID=15&pg=1&SortID=0

Check out the rabbit strip divers. I used to fly fish for bass a lot, and when I did, these were my most productive fly.

[crypt]

oh heck yeah,one of the best things to do……………….watch a bass rise on a fly,popper etc.   what a rush.it's one of those things you really can't explain. you have to do it.  like skydiving.

[Bluebasser86]

On 10/2/2016 at 6:04 PM, Yeajray231 said:

Anyone have recommendations on the best LM bass flies. I already have a suitable rod. And 2 different style poppers.. and a dragonfly looking one.. a spider. And a wasp looking one too. Anything else I should try? 

I do well with wooly buggers, both weighted and unweighted. I also have very good luck with bonefish flies that are meant to imitate small crabs or shrimp. They're often built on small, sturdy hooks that hold well in a bass' jaw.

[Turkey sandwich]

On October 2, 2016 at 7:04 PM, Yeajray231 said:

Anyone have recommendations on the best LM bass flies. I already have a suitable rod. And 2 different style poppers.. and a dragonfly looking one.. a spider. And a wasp looking one too. Anything else I should try? 

The Clouser Minnow is killer for virtually any game species and was actually designed on the Susquehanna for smallmouth.  Just change the size and you can fish them for anything from trout to bass, to musky, to bonefish.  a Clouser, stripped just under the surface when bass are feeding up is deadly.