New to Bass on the Fly

[vedavoochris]

I am an avid bass fisherman but have never experienced hooking a bass on a fly rod. I am new to fly fishing in general so I am salivating over the thought of hooking a smallie/ bucket mouth on a fly rod.

I have a 5 weight so I am good in that department but what I really want to learn is what I should be throwing in terms of flies. If you could only take 5 flies with you to try and hook a bass which flies would you bring?

Cheers!

 

[stl_geoff]

Clouser minnow, some sort of crayfish/crawdad whatever you call them, popper of some type, dalhberg diver, and probably Lefty's Deciever. That should cover your fly basics.

 

[gatortransplant]

Geoff is right on there, if I had to change anything I might replace one of those with a bugger, but I don't know which I'd replace, as they're all good!

 

[Rip Tide]

 

[gatortransplant]

Rip, is the second pictured fly a seaducer/homer Rhodes shrimp?

 

[riverbilly]

I'll agree with everyone.
90% of the time I'm throwing a popper, clouser or craw. Must be a thousand craw patterns out there.
For something different, I'll use a white zonker occasionally. Good baitfish imitation.

 

[vedavoochris]

Great stuff, thanks!

 

[biggie_robs]

Popper with a concave face and rubber legs
Beadhead Bugger
Gurgler or Chernobyl Ant (I can't decide)
Clouser
Headstand

 

[freebird630]

Popper
Clouser minnow
Wooly bugger either bead head or not and black is a good color
zonker
Muddler minnow

 

[txshane]

FROGS!!! There is nothing more exciting than a bass exploding on a frog on the surface. They hit frogs HARD, trying to kill them before they eat them (as best I can tell). It's awesome.

I also carry Clousers (chartreuse/white, red/white, blue/white mostly), Beadhead Woolly Buggers (olive, black), seaducers, deceivers, and other streamer flies for the lowly hours during midday when bass are less likely to hit frogs on the surface. But as soon as clouds roll in or the sun gets low and the bass move up shallow again, I tie on a frog. That's fun stuff.

 

[fishingfly]

Kind of depends on the time and place. Right now I'm focusing on water depths so I have:

Topwater: Popper
Shallow: EP Shiner
Middle: Cave's Rattlin Minnow
Deep: Clouser
Bottom: Stan's Bass Worm (blue)

Im hoping for some changes in the lineup and something to TIE, nice post.

 

[sxm]

If I had but one fly, it would be a bead head wooly bugger in dark olive or black.

If I had but two, a popper in addition.

 

[stl_geoff]

yes a wolly bugger is also good to have. I couldnt think of them yesterday for some reason.

 

[gatortransplant]

Shane, I love those frogs. Did you ever post a how-to on the mono springs for the legs?

 

[milt spawn]

To the OP. Some of these patterns may not cast real well with a 5 weight, and be careful with Clousers, dumbbell eyes can damage a rod. milt.

 

[bigjim5589]

To the OP. Some of these patterns may not cast real well with a 5 weight, and be careful with Clousers, dumbbell eyes can damage a rod. milt.

The listed patterns can all be sized for a 5 wt if you're tying your own flies. I'll concur with what milt has said about Clousers & rod damage, but same can be said for any fly with a metal weight added, such as cone heads or bead heads. Just be very careful with your casting.

There are many fly patterns that bass will eat, and there are some that are tied for other species, so keep an open mind about choosing flies. Since you're already a bass angler, you know they'll eat anything! :thumbsup:

I've been fishing for them a long time, and use many patterns, but here is my list.

Lefty's Deceivers
Seaducers
Clouser Deep Minnows
Any topwater fly: Gurgler, Popper, Slider
Rabbit strip fly: there are many, even MOAL flies tied for Steelhead

With a 5 wt, you should be good with most patterns tied on size 1 to 4 hooks, or perhaps down to a 6.

 

[shimloom]

I use some saltwater flies also. Pearl Polar Flash Clouser Minnows and epoxy head flies work great as well. Green rabbit fur streamers and sculpin patterns can be deadly if you have them in the waters you fish. Some of these flies you will need a 6-8wt rod to toss em, but again it depends on the waters you fish.

 

[shakes]

You can also try some Shenk's streamers on a size 6.
2x on the poppers, but you may also want to try some divers/sliders.
Typical dahlberg divers maybe a little big for a 5 wt, but you can pick up a sneaky pete at Orvis or a Shenandoah Slider over at Murray's Fly Shop.
Good Luck on your new endeavors and enjoy.

 

[bocamike]

I agree with all suggested flies mentioned, and I appreciate hearing of a couple I've not tried. I've got a supply of wolly buggers but apparently I don't know how to present them. Also, I have a couple of flies which I think were sold as Bass catchers, but for the life of me I cannot identify them. If I can learn how to insert a picture here, maybe someone can name this pattern for me. (Guess I don't know how to insert image.......... that icon wants me to key a URL as the location of my image......... image is on my c disc). Anyway, it sort of looks like a wolly bugger with eyes and a rabbit strip-accented tail. If anyone can instruct how to insert an image, I think that would work best.

 

[txshane]

Shane, I love those frogs. Did you ever post a how-to on the mono springs for the legs?

Yes sir. Right here: http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/share-patterns/281175-swimming-frog-deer-hair-body.html

---------- Post added at 11:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------

I agree with all suggested flies mentioned, and I appreciate hearing of a couple I've not tried. I've got a supply of wolly buggers but apparently I don't know how to present them. Also, I have a couple of flies which I think were sold as Bass catchers, but for the life of me I cannot identify them. If I can learn how to insert a picture here, maybe someone can name this pattern for me. (Guess I don't know how to insert image.......... that icon wants me to key a URL as the location of my image......... image is on my c disc). Anyway, it sort of looks like a wolly bugger with eyes and a rabbit strip-accented tail. If anyone can instruct how to insert an image, I think that would work best.

Just about anything will catch bass at one time or another. Sometimes color matters a LOT. Sometimes depth matters a LOT. Sometimes speed (or lack thereof) matters a LOT. Sometimes they're just hungry and/or mad and will hit anything that hits the water. Those are the rare days when your thumb looks like rough suede when you go home.

An olive or black woolly bugger will catch any fish that swims. Just experiment with different retrieves - fast, jerky, start/stop, S...L....O....W..., etc. until you find something that works. If your flies don't have much weight on them, consider adding a little split shot or lead tape on the leader to get the fly deeper (if you're not catching fish shallow). I tie my woolly buggers with bead or cone heads AND with lead wire wrapped over at least half of the hook shank underneath the chenille. I like them to sink.

If bass are hitting something in the top foot or two of the water column, then I'm gonna be casting a frog.