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Three years ago I was told there were smallmouth
bass in a gravel pit just a few minutes up the road
from my house. So after school one day I decided
I would go check it out. I used my spin cast gear
because I didn't know what to use for flies and I
didn't have any bass flies, so I used rapalas. To
my surprise I caught two bass one around twelve
inches and the other was around six inches. That
was the first time I caught bass and I loved it. I could
not believe how aggressive and fun they were to catch.
I was use to catching small brook trout so these fish
were a big surprise to me. I used to use all spin casting
gear for bass but now I use only fly gear.
This gravel pit is about the size of a small lake so the
bass are there in large numbers rather than in really
large sizes. The largest bass I caught out of there was
eighteen and a half inches long, other than that the
largest has been about fourteen inches. When I go
fishing there I usually catch four or more but sometimes
in an evening and you can catch up to ten. The average
size is about 6 or 7 inches.
When I go fly fishing for bass I have three favorite
flies, my favorite is a bright orange hopper pattern I made
up one night at my fly tying bench (the pattern is at the
bottom). The bass here really like orange so I use the
color on a lot of my flies. The second one is a muddler
with a white fur tail and wing topped with peacock herl
and the head made of white deer hair. I put fly floatant
on the white muddlers so they float and give a lot of
surface action. Third favorite is a streamer called a
Mickey Finn, it usually get the bass's attention. There
are so many more patterns that work extremely well,
bass bugs, woolly buggers, most terrestrials, and bright
streamers.
By mid-summer to fall, weeds grow up to almost the
surface so you can use only floating flies. In my opinion
using them are more fun anyway because you can see
the bass explode and attack your fly.
If there are bass in your area I highly recommend you
go and fish for them. In my opinion they are one of
the most fun fish to catch. So good luck in the future
on your fishing trips. ~ Brad Weatherbee, N.S. Canada
Oranger Hopper
- Hook: 94840 sizes #6-12.
- Thread: Black 8/0.
- Tail: Orange guinea over red guinea.
- Body: Yellow mini ultra chenille.
- Ribbing: Clipped brown hackle.
- Legs: Brown hopper legs.
- Collar: Bright orange deer hair.
- Head: Clipped bright orange deer hair.
~ Brad
About Brad
Brad is a 16 year-old from Nova Scotia. He is an accomplished fly tier,
and a regular in the FAOL Chat Room.
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