Getting a bit of cabin fever here. Really love fishing for smallmouth, I’m trying to figure out what new patterns to try in the spring for them. I fish for them in a medium sized river with alot of rock on the bottom. I’ve had luck with muddlers last summer but nothing else was too consistent, so I kinda got stuck in a rut with patterns. Just curious what others use as a “go to” fly if smallmouth are around and how you fish them.
Janus
Most of my smallmouth fishing has been in lakes, only one river near here is a smallmouth haven. However I have two recommendations. Smallmouth love crayfish - and they prefer freshly molted ones with small claws, so tie some cream/light orange crayfish or WBs. If you put lead eyes on them like on a Clouser the hook will ride up. Also, pay attention to the ‘hatch’. This might mean dragonfly nymphs at the beginning of the year, developing/white minnows in July, and larger leeches in August, but you get the idea. This winter I am tying some Gartside Gurglers (small size) for the frogs that will appeal later in the season - and at dusk.
Hello Janus, here’s a favorite of mine on the local smallie rivers. Works in the lake on lmb also.
#6 streamer hook, any brand really…this is a ‘utility fly’.
Use your creme hen or other hackle that sinks easily as I don’t weight this fly. You can even ‘dye’ some white hackle in strong coffee. Dirty looking is the idea here.
Tye on with medium black thread, I use whatever I can get my hands on…again, a utility fly…not a shadowbox item. Tye back to the bend, quickly select 4 hackles about 3" long and tye them all in at the bend, tips back, two facing each other, the other two facing away from each other.
Tye in 2 or 3 more hackles about 2.5" long and run the thread forward to an eye width behind the eye. Quickly and crudely palmer the hackles forward and tye them off, form a medium bulky thread head and you’re done.
I double whip finish these and since they last so long…have literally caught a hundred or more bass on one of them…I’ll usually put a drop of head cement (your choice) for insurance. Give it a try and you might be surprised. I do the same thing for the lake for lmb with #4’s and I use black hen…those I tye up to 7" overall and the lmb love them.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Janus,
Terry Wilson’s “Bass Bully” in olive has been working well for the smallmouth in the rivers here. Here is a link for the instructions
http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/corner.asp?page=9
Steve
My go-to smallie flies are
- Olive #4 rubber legged crystal bugger (fished stripped slow and jigged, alot like a tube bait).
- White/black #4-6 Rainy’s popper (topwater, let it sit until the rings disappear from the water, then twitch it before “popping” it.)
For river smallies my favorite fly to fish is the Clouser Crippled Minnow
I found two pictures online…both wrong.
I believe you can find a proper example in the book Clouser’s Flys
In still water, a sneaky pete
Janus,
One of my favorites is the Whitlock Near Nuff Crawfish. It is weighted and does a good job imitating crawfish here in West TN. I fish it with varying length pulls/twitches to simulate a crawfish scurrying around. It’s reasonably easy enough to tie, if you wish to do so. I like them in brown and olive colors for smallmouth here; check out the color and size of crawfish in your waters and try to replicate them. Most of the stream forms of crawfish in the streams I fish are of the genus Orconectes, with narrow claws which are tipped in orange. I feel a touch of orange paint on the feathers used to represent the claws is a trigger for strikes. I also use a bit of copper or red flash in tying my crawfish patterns.
Clouser minnows, gotta have 'em. Chart/White, Black/White, Pink/White. Use some red thread, give those minnows some gills.
Harry Murray’s Strymph. Olive, black, brown, and white. I like to make mottled ones with more than one color of rabbit in the dubbing loop.
Kiwi Muddlers olive, black, gray, chart, yellow, red. Mix these colors as well head, collar and tail. example: olive zonker/black collar, and head.
Conehead Zonker Leeches. Olive, Black, and Brown. I make mine a soft hackle by adding a couple wraps of woodduck flank in front like Peter Frailey’s conehead combo.
Matukas, in a variety of configurations Ones with grizzly and olive grizzly are always nice.
Fun Fur Conehead Combos red/white, orange/green, black/yellow etc.
Holschlag Hackle Fly, black, olive, sandy brown, root beer. Use Tim’s “crayfish hop”.
Where I generally fish for smallmouths I’ve discovered they are not as much top feeders as the largemouths, although they frequently do hit surface flies and poppers, but usually smaller sized. For me, streamers have been more productive for the smallmouths; they seem to do more just under the surface of the water. I particularly like the black wooly bugger and the black matuka. Clouser Minnows and weighted muddlers have worked well, too.
Dale
The Mallard Minnow is an oldie, but goodie. I started throwing it last year for Smallies and it is a winner.
http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/pc-2131-239-mallard-minnow.aspx
Janus, I have one smallie fly that I have not heard mentioned here. It’s the Chicago Leech. I tie it a couple of ways. Both in size 10 2xlong hook. Black thread, gold bead head, black marabou tail with some Chartreuse krystal flash. Body of either black leech thread, or UV Ice Dub in Olive/black. Brush the body out to make it shaggy and comb up and back. Really works. javascript://PDF/Flies/chicago_leech.pdf This link will tkae you to a recipe with photos and instructions.
For Smallies, my go to fly is a Puke Fly.
The book “Fly Fishing Warm Water Rivers” by Joesph D. Cornwall is, in my opinion, a well written publication that covers a myriad of information on fishing for smallies. Included are patterns for smallmouth flies.
I highly recommend you get a copy of this book.
Tim
Top water I like Sneaky Pete style flies. Fluorescent Yellow plus the colors below. I tie them 1 1/2 to 3 inches long.
Subsurface various bait fish patterns, 1 1/2 to 3 inches long
OK,
My SmallMouth fly is this:
Size 8 Mustad streamer hook (ref:9672)
5-7 gold glass beads all the way to the hook eye.
At the bend use black thread and tie in some Yellow squirrel tail.
That?s it.
Let the fly sink and use small strips to bring it in.
Eric
Wow thanks for all the suggestions…really appreciate it.
Janus
Lil Bugger, Brown over Tan or Black on Black…can’t be beat…send a PM, I send a few size 10’s and you can send your favorite tie.
RAW shops (and fishes) where I do and YEP the Mallard will produce well.
The lil bugger is fished like a nymph…constant, Ohio producer, will also fool Pannies, Crappies, Trout and LM’s!
This past season, my most productive smallmouth fly, was the Foxee Red Clouser. Basically you are tying a Clouser but using red fox tail for the wing. I had my best luck with a #8.
Funny how those big fish hit the little flies as well as the water gurgling, big, topwater fare???
I’ve been tying bass flies over the past few weeks, and my favourite is a simplified version of a sparkle grub. I tie it just like a wooly bugger on a #6 streamer hook, and it’s very easy.
Tie in a set of 1/60 oz. (or whatever you wish) nickel plated dumbell eyes near the eye of the hook (you can add wraps of lead wire behind the eyes for extra weight…I usually do). Now, tie in a brown marabou tail with three strands of root beer crystal flash on either side of the tail. Now, tie in a length of root beer estaz, cactus chenille, or whatever the heck it’s called, as you would for a wooly bugger. Advance the thread to just behind the hook eye. Wrap the estaz forward, tie off, and whip finish. No need for hackle. By the way, the estaz can be medium or large.
If you’re sight fishing for smallies in a river, cast it out in front of a bass, let the fly sink, and work it slowly across the bottom. If it lands anywhere close to a hungry bass, the fish will take it before you have to work it!
This fly catches me a ton of bass every year (I would say hundreds) and I’ve taken smallies exceeding 21 inches on this fly! I also use it in white and black.
Cheers,
Andrew