Flyfishing for Largemouth in lakes difficulty's

[jkilroy]

I'm having some terrible difficulty flyfishing for largemouth bass in lakes. I have hooked into two lately and lost both. One big one broke off the 8 lb. line and the other got off. Both were caught on poppers. Those two were were the only two I have hooked. I've been trying topwater, subsurface, annd deep quite a bit. I've been trying clouser's, bunny strip,s deciever's, divers, pig boats and seducers. I use a floating and intermediate line. My rod is a 8wt TFO.

Thanks

[island fly]

Dear Jkilroy,

I have had similar experiences. I also fish LMB and Spotted Bass in Man-made lakes, with a TFO 8WT. Not to sound like a teacher but I have found that many times my hooks were not sharp enough. Try sharpening the hooks even after you take them out of the package. Secondly, Set the hook with a line pull. You get much better leverage and setting power from the line rather than the rod. Lastly go to 12 lb test leader. It is not the line test but the abrasion that gets you. Higher line strength gives you more margin for error. I hooked and relased a Spotted Bass two weeks ago using a Clouser and 10 lb line.

[BassYakker]

JKilroy,

It would help to know where you are and what you fish out of.

I'm in Florida and a few years back, I went from fishing rivers to fishing in large lakes. I fish exclusively from paddle craft. I had marginal success until I switched to a sink tip line, changed from "buggy" patterns to mostly streamers that resembled baitfish, and bought a depth finder. I don't want to sound like a depth finder is a must, but it sure does help in narrowing down the water. You can troll streamers to find fish too.

My favorite fly is Al Campbell's "Crappie Candy" in size 8...it is amazing how good sized bass will take that little fly.

As far as hook sets, I had the same problem. I started using Mustad stinger hooks for my bass flies and I sharpen my hooks as Island Fly suggested.

Another little tid-bit that I think has made a huge difference : read Marv Taylor's articles in the "Lakes/Stillwater" section in FAOL (under "Features"). Although it is about lake trout, many (and I mean MANY) of the techniques, flies, etc. work great!

Hope this helps and good luck to you.

-Phil

[This message has been edited by BassYakker (edited 21 July 2006).]

[This message has been edited by BassYakker (edited 21 July 2006).]

[dixieangler]

Phil,

What kind/style of size 8 hook are you using for your Crappie Candies? Just curious. Thanks.


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Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL

"Flip a fly"

[jkilroy]

Location - Central Pa, Fishing out of a Yak. I only lost one due to hook set. After I lost the big one, which put a BIG bend in the 8wt, I didn't want to lose any more due to tippet breakage. I'm thinking the line isn't getting deep enouph. I may get a Teeny 350 or 400. I have yet to hook one on a streamer.

[BassYakker]

I suspected you were fishing out of a yak. I never had problems with good hook sets until I fished out of a yak. I am convinced that there is a leverage issue with flyrods out of a yak ...but that is a debate for another thread.

Robert: I like hooks along the lines of 3x long Tiemco 200R (White River equivalent WR-002)

[RG/AR]

It takes a lot of oomph to set a large hook in a largemouth's bony jaw, and the truth is that even a muscular fellow can seldom muster more than about 8-10 lbs. pull on a lengthy rod like a fly rod. Going to 10-12 pound test for your leader and mastering a good strip set should solve most of your "long-distance release" problems. In fact, one of the big problems with catching large bass is using too small a hook. It tries to penetrate in the bony lip, and can't, so all the pressure is on the hook point, and not back in the bend. This makes the hook open very easily, and the fish is lost. The trick is to use a hook with a large enough gape to reach around that bony lip, and bury in the membrane behind it. You'll seldom lost a fish hooked like that.

[James Smith]

One other element of this equation that you want to elimate is how sharp your hooks are. Bass do have boney mouths and you need a sharp hook to gget good a good hook set. I fish extensively for LM bass and have switched over to sub surfact flies, mainly polar fiber minnows. Like some of the others stated, when I switched over to fishing out of a kayak, I have had some difficulty in getting a good hook set. I find the strip strike method the most successful method with the rod pointed right at the fish.

Jim Smith

[ohiotuber]

I agree with Jim Smith on the strip-strike. As far as the bunny strips, I tie mine on circle hooks. Just atake the slack out of the line & no more gut hooks.
Mike

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You can call me Mike & you can call me Mikey..Just remember that this site's about sharing!

[jkilroy]

What I really wanted was some tips on how to catch more bucketmouths. I only lost one on a bad hook set. Now I know how to set the hook. I want to know how to catch more bass below the surface.