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
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.
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).]
Phil,
What kind/style of size 8 hook are you using for your Crappie Candies? Just curious. Thanks.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
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.
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)
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.
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
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
You can call me Mike & you can call me Mikey…Just remember that this site’s about sharing!
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.
I’ve had a very good year for Ba$$ this year here in Central TX., a 27 1/2"(my all time best on the fly), 23", 21 1/2" and lots in the teens. I fish subsurface using minnow imitations with epoxy heads I tie. I also use a portable fish finder which puts me over fish. You must fish a water which is also known for large Ba$$ to catch them.
jkilroy,
I suggest picking up some books on general bass fishing that cover the behavior of the fish. Whether you are using flies, hardbaits, or soft plastics, the behavior of bass is the same. I came to fly fishing for bass after many years of fish bass with spinning and baitcasting gear.
My strategies for catching bass on any particular day are based on my understanding of bass behavior (I am hardly an expert), previous experience plus whatever intellegence I can gather from other anglers fishing the lake regardless of the type of gear they are using.
An example: Two weeks ago I fished a small local lake from a float tube. There was no cloud cover in the morning and very little shaded shoreline so I expected to find bass over rock piles or in flooded brush 8 to 20 feet down. As I was kicking to a spot that I thought would be productive, another angler shared with me that he had been having success on a deep diving crankbait fished at a medium speed. A crankbait fished at a medium speed on a baitcasting reel still moves faster than I can retreive a fly by stripping. I had a rod rigged with a Teeny T-200 line. I started casting to the areas I was targeting, counting the fly down to about 12 feet, and made the retrieve as fast has I could. Caught 8 bass in a couple of hours. A slower retrieve produced no strikes.
To complement my reading and intellegence gathering, I make sure I have an arsenal of equipment that allows great flexibility. I usually carry at least two rods and four flylines with me. The lines: a floater, intermediate, fast sinking integrated line like a Teeny, S.A. Streamer Express, etc, and a lead core shooting head. I can fish from the surface to 30ft down. I complement these with a set of flies that immitate local forage fish as well as acquatic bugs. Some of my favories are Lefty’s Deceivers (sinks slowly) , Blanton’s Whistlers (greater bulk with jigging action), Clouser Minnows (slender with jigging action), Gartside Gurglers, Crease Flies, Dahlberg Divers, damselfly immitations, and the old standby woolly buggers. All of my baitfish immitations and many of my buggers are tied with wire snag guards so that I can fish them in thick cover. Lots of other patterns will work. I make sure I cover target areas thouroughly and with different types of retrieves. I make sure I work tight to cover, or right in it. I usually loose at least a couple of flies on every outing.
Some of my favorite books on bass fishing that are specific to flyfishing are Terry and Roxanne Wilson’s "Largemouth Bass Fly-Fishing: Beyond the Basics: and Jack Ellis’s “The Sunfishes” and “Bassin’ with a Fly Rod”.
I don’t want to start THE argument again but:
A 3 inch trout type worm*, which cast’s like crap, is very effective for me in NC. I have found that the amber with sparkle inclusions is accepted well by our Bass.
*Berkley
Thanks Tailingloop, that’s the info I wanted :lol:
If you’re fishing primarily ponds and lakes then I’d advise against the use of the 350 or 400 for a couple reasons. First, 400 is a LOT of weight for an 8wt. Your rod is undoubtedly faster than my Orvis 6.5 midflex 8wt, that said I’ve found my Orvis isn’t really compatible with anything over 250 grains. Second, the Teeny Lines are truly excellent for moving water applications. The floating running line causes a bit of “loss of feel” in stillwaters, imho. If you’re looking for a line to present hare worms, deep hover-bugs and other bassy stuff on, I’d suggest a type 4 or 5 density compensated full sinker. Don’t go ultrafast, a slower sink rate is better. It allows you to work the fly more methodically. A type 3 5wt DC sinker gets me to 10 feet deep in about 20 to 25 seconds, so no big deal on waiting for the thing to work its way down. A type 3 8wt would hit the same depth in about 15 to 20 seconds.
YMMV.
Joe C.
I have a type II full sinking line. It sinks good with heavy flies however unweighted decievers and seaducers don’t like to sink using that line. My 8wt is fast action. I just want to catch a bass on a bunny leech just to see what it’s like.
hi there,
Just got here. Perhaps some [url=http://www.gink.com/GG-Products-StreamSide-Xink.html:4d003]Xink[/url:4d003] might get them to sink better? Or a tiny bit of split shot on the nose.
Picked up a deadly technique from Homer Cicle about 25 years ago. He was using a full sinking line with a hair popper with lots of floatant on it.
He had about an 18 inch 20 lb leader attached, and the undulation of the floating popper underwater with each strip was just driving the bass crazy. Used it at the San Mateo Sportman Show to pick up a 12 inch LM Bass in the tank on a popper with the hook cut off, I had the bass a foot in the air and dangling for a couple seconds before he released the bug. The bass pros that couldn’t get a rise from the same fish were pretty surprised. I had at least 6 takes before this bass grapped it.
I was out on a small lake last night. I missed on on a bug, and I think I had a few strikes on a bugger type. Maybe a faster sink line would be the ticket. Noone else on the lake was settin the world on fire. I’m getting ready to setup the fishfinder on the yak.That should also help. Lakes never were my piece of cake.