what is the proper fishing method/retrieve for clousers fishing for large mouth bass?
Printable View
what is the proper fishing method/retrieve for clousers fishing for large mouth bass?
Sometimes I swing it dead drift and other times I swing them dead drift with some action employed during the swing. There are times I swing it, and at the end of the swing, I strip it back to me slowly or sometimes swiftly. Where I fish for trout they seem to dictate how they like them on a given day. I've even hooked fish by throwing upstream and fishing it dead drift like a nymph. The fish will tell you. I think the main thing is to keep them sparse when you tie them. Hope with was some help to you.
Sorry, I missed the part about Largemouth Bass.
Depends on location, but here is what I try and go for...
Start fast on retrieves, then I start slowing it down until I catch something, periodically pausing as well.
A Sinking line really helps get it down quicker, for me, I need it to get down to the weed line, and I run it just above, or parallel to the weeds through the lanes. Most times, the bass will be in the weeds and come out and hit it hard. I use 0X leaders when fishing for bass. I haven't really had the need to go smaller, and I fish in crystal clear lakes with 20+ feet of visibility.
I try to make it behave like I'm throwing a suspended depth rapala lure if that helps at all.
Lastly, check out this series of videos. It really helped me out when I decided to go after LMB's this year! http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/video-...ss-fly-fishing
Paul
I don't think there's a right or wrong way to use them. They're my "go to" fly for bass, walleye, white's, and hybrids. The retrieve depends on conditions and what the bass want. Heavy eyes and a sparse tie for deep, quick retrieves. Lighter eyes, bushier ties for slow, jerkbait type presentations. I fish them on an 8 with shorter, heavier leaders. In the boat, one rod has a floating line, the other a sink tip. My best color is a firetiger type. We don't have much clear water here in OK, so that seems to work best. Black over white, yellow/white, or blue/white, are also decent colors around here. Plain black or brown if I'm going to bottom bounce them. I usually have one tied on a 9 if I'm having to throw into heavy cover and need to horse them out. I also make a few up with mono weedguards. I consider them the crankbait of fly fishing.
I agree with all answers, especially the one that goes, "There's no wrong way to fish one". Bass are notorious for NOT reading the books that tell us how to catch them.
When I am fishing anything like a streamer, my first couple of retrieves are always the same. (1) Strip the lure back to you as fast as you can. Even if it doesn't result in a hit, it seems to draw the fish's interest. (2) Then, on the third or fourth cast, I'll try to make it act like it's been injured. Quick jerks with pauses, but I am always pulling it towards me. (3) After a few retrieves like this, then I'll start dead sticking it. I'll let it sink and set until I can't stand to wait, then I count to 30, then I jerk it and wait again.
Here's my philosophy for this procedure. If there's a feeding fish beyond your target, (1) the bait fish are running from it. (2) Then bait fish that are a little too slow, but still got away, will be tired, perhaps injured. (3) Then will come the ones that got clobbered by the predator but were ignored while the predator swallowed others.
This is not a "clouser", but one I have handy to show the "firetiger" color. This one is on a #2, brass eyes, craft fur, sharpie for the stripes. Top to bottom is black, green, chart., flo. orange. My son has my good box. Sorry about the pic quality, but you can get the idea.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D550/ry%3D400/
I fish Clouser minnows tied on size 10 through 4/0 for LMB depending on local forage.
As noted it is difficult to fish them wrong.
A couple of tactics I use not yet mentioned in this thread:
1) I fish small clousers tied on size 8 or 10 hooks suspended below an indicator and moved with a very slow stop and go retrieve. In my waters this can often be very effective in early spring and late fall when the water is cool and the fish sluggish
2) I sometimes fish a small Clouser as a dropper about two feet behind a splashy surface popper, gurgler, or crease fly. I do this sometimes when I find bass chasing baitfish like threadfin shad yet seen heasitant to take either a topwater or subsurface pattern. For some reason the combo seems to draw strikes at times when the individual fly does not. This rig can be unwieldy to cast and use off a smaller Clouser is recommended.
I tie many of my Clouser minnows with mono or wire weed guards as I like to cast them into cover. It's hard to find commercially available Clouser minnows with weed guards but you can find some at shops that cater to tropical flats anglers. They Re usually listed as "bonefish" or "skinny water" clousers or something similar.
fr8Dog ... why do you say that's "not a clouser"? According to every tying video I've found ... it looks just like one.