Choosing 'flies' for bass fishing...

Now, how we choose what we put on the end of our lines is at once very simple and the most complex and difficult decision on bass fly fishing.

You can make the choice via two methods.

The first is to use what you want to catch fish on. While that sounds limiting, and in fact is to a degree, that?s the most common method in use for the vast majority of bass fishing, not just bass fly fishing.

Here?s how it usually goes: You see the Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Orlando Wilson, or other TV fishing show, and the ? well known expert angler who always cleans up on fish host of the show? is fishing with the brand new, just released, but readily available at your local Megasportsmart Store, SUPER STROLLING GUITAR COPTER LURE. You run out, buy a bunch of them, tie them onto your line, and head to the lake.

Alternately, you are in your local tackle store/hang out and talk fishing spot, and the clerk/owner or one of the local anglers is telling all and sundry that he just cleaned up at the local fishing hole using the ?(fill in whatever suites you here)?. Again, you buy a bunch and head for the lake.

Or, it really IS a matter of choice for you. You PREFER to catch bass on topwater baits (or any other type of, or even a particular, bait), so that?s what you fish with. You know in advance that this will limit your catch, but you accept these limits in order to catch them just how you like to catch them. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you realize the limits you place on your fishing. I do that often, more and more these days, for a number of reasons.

The second method is to choose the bait based on where the fish are and/or what they are doing.

This will often be the most productive method, but requires knowledge and experience. So, in that regard, the ?first? thing you have to figure out is ?where are the bass?. Most of the time, that?s the real ?key?. ?What? the bass is doing is only applicable during certain times of the year.

For this to work for you as a bass fly fisherman, you?ll need baits for your fly rod that will let you ?cover the water column? effectively. This means that you will have to either buy or make (?tie your own?) flies that will work in all of the depths that you choose to fish. You?ll also need baits that will work effectively horizontally and vertically. You won?t need hundreds of different flies (you can have that many if you want, some folks just like to have tons of baits), but you will need a decent selection for each ?type? of water condition you choose to fish.

Good Luck!

Buddy