Okay… we’re soon going to be at that dreaded stage where the water is too thin to walk on and too thick to throw a fly through. So, let me pick your collective brains with this scenario.
You are limited to 2 flies, one top water and one wet to take the Biggest bass in your given system.
I have about 4 patterns that consistently take quality fish for me but limiting it to two; they are:
(my variations of - I add this because the poor guys who invented these flies would cry if they saw how I’ve “butchered” their great creations )
The Stealth Bomber
and
The Bunny Leech
Probably 80% of my bass flies are tied on a 1/0 Stinger style hook or a Gamakatsu SC15. The leeches have epoxy heads with either chain bead or dumbell eyes.
SInce I consistently catch the larger bass subsurface, I rarely use top water when I’m after big fish. My top producing sub suface fly is an all black minnow pattern tied with Icelandic sheep hair on a size 1 or 2 streamer hook. The fly is usually around 7-8 inches long. If I do fish top water, I use an all black version of the gurgler with a longish tail.
For me it’s subsurface unweighted leech patterns in black…#4 streamer hook tied with either maribou and the longest black hen i can find or just black hen, 4 big feathers out back and 2 more palmered to two eye widths so i can tye off and add a red or orange thread head.
If i went topwater i’d use something like a #4 stimulator only tied at the hackle area with spun and clipped deer hair so it would sit low and not push too much water or pop. My local lake is pretty clear water and the big buckets are fairly shy after 7am or so but can really get going towards dark and will insanely attack anything that hits the water. That mouse is pretty cool !
This is some of “funnest” fishing. Love it! HideHunter you have some nice flies shown.
For me it’s a cinch because I rarely go down for my LM bass (as opposed to smallies) but Montana M. I’m going to have to try a few of those unweighted streamers you posted. They sound nice. Do you tie 'em weedless and toss 'em back in the weeds or work just outside the weedlines?
Me, I’m typically going with a med size Dahlberg Diver tied weedless. Tossed back in the reeds…it’ll make your day when they explode topside on them!
Doing this I also use a braided supple wire leader because I’ve been well known to take pike or three and depending on the lake an occasional muskie too!
Hello Jeremy, well it is the ‘funnest’ fishing isn’t it ! Ok, the streamers i described are just plain. There isn’t even a body…just feathers since i want them to sink ever so slowly. I don’t tye weedless but they could be with mono i suppose…which come to think about it would help them suspend longer…so good idea…i might have to try that. I do the latter, i.e. ‘work just outside the weedlines’ but you may remember i’m working from shore so i have to be careful with that. My whole thing with this is that i’m sight fishing mostly. I’ll cast down the bank ahead of me as i move along the shore or out past the weed drop then just watch the leech sink slowly.
Sometimes the takes are fast, sometimes they’re lazy but the best part is that i get to see the take and then sometimes i let the bass turn and head back from whence it came then i simply lift, then game on. So far i’ve not landed the largest i’ve hooked…something always happens but it sure is fun. I used to love the topwater to be honest but this lake doesn’t seem to work that way most times i’m there so i gave it up mostly.
Since i go for smallies a lot too, i better mention that i tye on a #6 streamer for them but i switch to white hen…the smallies here must be taking that for shad fry i’m guessing, either that or a flesh fly because of the salmon. For the smallies the #6 seems to be the size of choice and i tye those so they come out about three inches long.
Hope i’m not hijacin’ HideHunter, my apologies if i am.
To limit it down to two flies is too hard for me, but I will share some of my favorites. During daytime hours I have been most successful catching bigger fish on following patterns. First is a version of the Bullfrog slider(last weeks fotw) and second a Kelly Galloup streamer, either a zoo couger or a sex dungeon depending on water clarity. I have found that anytime I am fishing less than 5 feet of water the Bullfrog slider gets the big ones attention better than any other topwater that I have tried. I will say that I have had a lot of success fishing stealth bombers as well, but in the lakes and ponds that I fish I can’t seem to keep the 13-15 inch bass off of them long enough to catch the big boys(which isn’t all that bad of a problem).
With all of that said, I consistently catch my biggest bass at night. I have found that many flies work well at night(gurglers, poppers, stealth bombers) but if I want to focus on catching big bass then I will throw a fly that I call the bass toad. It has such a wide footprint on the water that I feel the convinces the big fish that it is worth their time to eat whether they are hungry or not. What ever their reasons are for eating it, I really don’t care as long as they continue to eat it.
Thank you very much Dave… but let me say, though I “target” big bass. I consider myself astronomically lucky for the quality of fish I have been able to take. As you well know, Iowa is not big bass country.
Uh oh Freak… sex dungeon ?.. bass toad ?.. Hope Google is my friend. Do you have a link you’d share? Pictures maybe? I really want to try and work up that frog, but I need to put the tools together.
HideHunter,
Kelly Galloups sex dungeon should be pretty easy to find. Here is a link for Charlie Cravens version http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=151
The bass toad is a variation of the Location X foam tarpon toad that I have modified to give what I consider a great large frog silhouette at night. Even though it has a very wide profile it is easy to cast (which is pretty important at night). I will try and take a picture of one tonight.
HideHunter,
If you haven’t been out night fly fishing for bass your missing out on some off the greatest fishing I have every experienced. There is nothing like the sound off a big bass smashing a topwater offering less than ten feet from you. I don’t know what part of SE Iowa your from, but if you ever want to get together and try some night fishing your more than welcome.
I didn’t have time to tie up a new bass toad, but I found one that I used last year to take a pic of. It’s a little beat up, but you can at least it will give you an idea of what I am talking about.
Man. you’re right. That thing makes a “foot print”. Cast like sock? 'Course at night you probably don’t need to cast far anyway. I can about guess the width. How thick are the “leg?body” strips.
I’m on the Iowa over here north of Burlington. I can count the flyfishermen over here on one hand and have enough left over to still hold my drink. We ought to try and make that happen. I’d like to meet a few folks from the site.
The fly actually doesn’t cast too bad on my 7wt. Like you said you don’t have to cast as far at night, but I can still make all of the casts that I want with this fly. I think it actually cast much easier than a popper of the same general size. All the body is are strips of foam x-wrapped to the top of the hook shank.
I am always happy to get together with a fellow fly angler. Your less than a couple of hours away, so I could easily meet you over there, meet in the middle, or show you around my neck of the woods. I also think that it would be fun to get together with as many of the Iowa faol members as possible.
So, let me pick your collective brains with this scenario.
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