How often does anyone catch a large bass, say 3lbs or more on a panfish size fly? I’m just curious as I just starting on my fly fishing journey and don’t know what to expect.
I myself don’t see any reason a 5lb bass wouldn’t eat up a spider floating on topwater.
Byron in Kentucky
Byron, I don’t fish waters with big bass so am not able to answer your question other than to say that from my reading it happens just often enough to make it a good possibility but not often enough that it becomes common.
Welcome to FAOL, always nice to have someone new to talk with.
Eric
All I can say is you better hold on tight to that rod… And have fun
Hi Byron;
I caught at least a dozen bass over 2 1/2lbs. last year on a size 10 Gurgle pop. This was a lot of fun on a 5wt rod, one bent the rod completely over had to land fish by grabbing line. It was my most productive top water bass fly last summer.
Wayneb
I’ll catch three or four 3+ lb bass a year while fishing for bream using flies tied on size 10 or 12 hooks. My experience is that large bass generally like large baits. The two largest bass I’ve ever caught were justa shade over 10 lbs and they were on the same pattern, an 8 inch all black minnow pattern in stained water.
Jim Smith
Thanks for the quick replies. I guess I’m not the only one itching to get on the water. To make matters worse for me I just bought a Sage outfit, a 9ft in a 6wt. I decided that I just had to tie my own flies, so I’ve started that already. I also sold last years boat and bought a new one. I’m still working on getting it outfitted just right.
Byron, who has an employee that caught about 20 crappie this week!
Hello ironbyron, welcome to the board…I have to agree with James Smith regarding the larger
all black minnow patterns. Mine pattern is actually tied to imitate a leech but the idea is the same and I tye it with either marabou or simply black hackle on #4 streamer hooks, 3x
long from Eagle Claw. Good luck !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Although I usually use larger patterns when specifically targeting bass, I have caught many bass on size 8 and smaller flies over the years. My local lakes have good populations of bass and bluegill so there is always a good chance of catching either in any given location. I even caught a 3lb bass on a size 20 midge emerger once when fishing for trout. When bass are eating from clouds of bass or bluegill fry, I often use a size 14 Bird’s Nest. I have caught lots of 2 to 5lb bass on size 10 and 12 woolly buggers and leech patters.
Hi Byron -
Just wanted to extend greetings and a welcome from SE Idaho.
Don’t do any warmwater fishing around here, but do enjoy following the threads on the Warm Water Forum.
I guess this will serve as fair warning that some moving water trout guys / gals might be looking over your shoulder !!
Good luck getting some bigger bass on the smaller flies. And watch out for MontanaMoose, 'cause he fishes for trout, too, and steellhead, and probably other things that swim.
John
Byron,
First, of course, it depends on where you fish geographically.
If there are a lot of larger bass being caught where you fish, then you are likely to get your share.
It also depends even more on how often you fish. Finding your panfish fly in the mouth of a bass in the 3 pound class is mostly luck. The more you fish, the more likely it is that it will happen to you.
Another issue, of course, is where in a particular body of water you fish. Finding ‘spots’ on a given lake or reservoir that hold the larger fish will up our odds.
You just need to understand that using small flies is not the best way to catch larger bass. You will get a few, though.
Some little known ‘facts’ about largemouth bass fishing in general:
Most largemouth bass that survive from fry are genetically incapable of reaching three pounds. The vast majority live their entire lives as 1-1 1/2 pound fish. Bass over three pounds are rare in comparison to the entire population.
The ‘average’ size bass caught by anglers in the United States is right around 10-14 inches and about 1-1 1/2 pounds in weight. The factor of bass caught over that size differs from location to location, but in ANY body of water there are about 100 times as many bass caught UNDER 12 inches than over it.
Most anglers report the size of bass inaccurately. Overestimation of bass weight is normal. Often the ‘average’ 12-14 inch bass is reported as ‘two pounds’ by even experienced anglers. Using a scale or tape measure regularly will help you learn to correctly judge the size of bass.
I can’t count the number of tiems I’ve had fishermen in my boat that confidently stated that a fish was over 16 inches or weighed ‘three pounds’ only to find that with the scale in hand, these fish were ‘average’ fish that were under two pounds.
If you don’t have a scale and want an ‘easy’ conversion from length to weight it’s: Length cubed divided by 1600. (With this, you don’t have to spend the time to measure the girth, and it’s ‘close enough’ that many major tournament circuits use it).
Buddy
I think Buddy pretty much nailed it, depends on the size of the Bass where you are.
When feeding or defending there area, Bass strike, period.
Plop a fly down where a Bass is staged, it’ll generaly strike…, especially so if the “trespasser” is small…your fly.
I think its a big part of the fun of fly fishing , casting a #10 or #12 popper to panfish when your suddenly hooked up to monster bucket mouth. Just watch your drag sing and hang on.
Buddy Sanders wrote :
Most largemouth bass that survive from fry are genetically incapable of reaching three pounds. The vast majority live their entire lives as 1-1 1/2 pound fish. Bass over three pounds are rare in comparison to the entire population.
That’s very interesting. I’ve always had a notion that buy keeping the largest fish anglers are actually exerting pressure on the fish to decrease in size since the smaller ones were more likely to survive and reproduce. I saw an article in In-Fisherman magazine that said as much but I don’t remember what species of fish it was about or which issue of the magazine it was.
I catch some each year. In farm ponds it depends upon having the larger bass returned to the water.
I fyou get a smaller fly in front of thed bass they will take it.
They will not chase small things very far as it requires more energy than they will get out of it.
Rick
Around here, bass over 3 lbs are not rare at all. I catch them all the time.
When I bluegill fish, I use 6wt, because I often hook into large carp, bass, gar, bowfins, catfish and other bruisers while chasing bluegills. I guess the two worse things I’ve ever hooked bluegill fishing was either a nutria, which just about tore all my equipment up, or one of several water moccasins I have hooked. I have also hooked ducks, bats, and numerous turtles, so I go big on equipment…just in case. Even though I fish in Fl. a lot, I’ve been lucky by not hooking a gator, yet…
That’s what I’m talking about! Never knowing what’s on the other end of the line is a good thing! Unless it’s a water moccasin. I had them try to get in the boat with me a couple of times before and I wasn’t happy!
Byron
You got that right. I never know what to expect around here. The way the nutria thing happened was that I hooked THE biggest Redhorse Minnow I had ever dreamed about. It was at least a foot long, and fighting like a demon. Then, the nutria swam into the line, and got herself hooked, and wrapped. It was a nightmare. She swam under the canoe and banged on the bottom, climbed on top of a beaver dam, and I finally shot her the second time she climbed up on it, to save my equipment. The Redhorse was still on the hook as well, and I released it.
If you’ve never seen a nutria, they look exactly like a 15 lb. rat ,with webbed feet. And they have a similar attitude. She tasted good roasted, though.
I caught a 17in Bass on a #10 foam bug, 23+ bass on a #10 3x hook and lots of small mouth and large on #10 Accardo Spooks (poppers)! But I can not wait till spring, I just got
my new #10 Boogle Poppers in all the colors from Don at Bream Bugs.com in the mail today.
I advise you guys that are in the know, to use Boogle Poppers and Bullets. They last, I
have a #10 white bullet that cauht over 100 fish and it is still working fine! They are so good all you have to do is show the box they came in and the fish will jump into your hand!
Fishin’ Jimmy
Hey! Did you skin that nuterna out? I heard they make great Zoonker Strips.
Fishin’ Jimmy
Hi Bryon,
I regularly catch some pretty nice bass on size #10 Gurgle Pops but when I’m specifically after big LMB, I go with a nine weight rod and throw some BIG foam/bucktail bugs and Crease flies in the #1/0 to #2/0 range. Often I’ll fish an area thoroughly with the big rod first, let it rest for a few minutes and them rework it with a four weight and the #10 Gurgle Pop. I believe what the bass pros say. Big fish like big bait. Just my 2% of a dollar. I’m sure others will disagree. 8T 