Bass flies

[Zach M]

what are your favorite patterns for largies? i am just really starting to get into bass fishing and so far all that i have used is a purpe rubber legged wooly bugger. also I have a buddy who is working on a house on lake tapps so any of your favorite patterns for smallies would be great to. cant wait to see what new patterns turn out thanks!

[cabezon]

Hi Zach,

I haven't fished for smallies in this side of the continent, but the ones in the Penobscott River in Maine loved black wooly buggers, especially with a little flash.

I'm a big fan of taking bass at the surface with popping bugs. I've crafted a few of the bodies out of balsa wood, etc, but that takes a lot of time and you can purchase them pretty cheaply. Spun deer-hair bugs (green with patches of yellow or black with patches of red) and gurglers are a blast in the late evening. If damsels are hatching, even the biggest bass will prowl the edges of the lily pads looking for a tasty meal; cast a damsel nymph to within a few inches of the pads, let it sink, and strip back.

Steve

[hedburner]

Here's some of my favorite top water bugs. Don't really think color matters as much as movement, but why have just one?

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Zach,

I don't tie many bass bugs, but my wife loves spinning deer hair so she ties up most of them. Here's some samples.
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s275/eagleelk/DSCN1251.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s275/eagleelk/DSCN1243.jpg

[yuhina]

Zach,

I don't tie many bass bugs, but my wife loves spinning deer hair so she ties up most of them. Here's some samples.
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s275/eagleelk/DSCN1251.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s275/eagleelk/DSCN1243.jpg

Those are awesome tie!

In here Alabama those flies are killers...fish will explode!

When I fish for river spotted bass in the summer time (water low and clear). Cast "quietly" to the eddie or log jam... twitch a bit (wait... don't strip too fast, those hunters want to hunt... )...then start to strip... then hang on... the bass will just explode out of water. In the winter time, I use weighted purple zonker to fish deep hole... cast upstream... dead drift and let the fly sink... keep in touch with bottom... then swing the flies at the end of drift. Bass will hook by themself.

In pond fishing... I use olive (or tan) wooly bugger a lot... vary the strip speed until you start getting hits.

some crayfish patterns I fish in clear water condition. I have post the tying instruction in the fly pattern forum. http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php?t=38752
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/markyuhina/Crayfishpattern.jpg

[Mike Wade]

I haven't done much bass fishing but ran into some by accident a week ago in E. Washington. I used a Bow River Bugger, a cross between a Wooley Bugger and a sculpin. The smallmouth loved it. I used that fly because it looked more like the plastic lures I see on tv than any of my other patterns.

[kruggy1]

We do alot of bass fishing over here in ohio for both large and smallmouths, here are some pics of flies Ive tied and been successful on. All tied on size 4 and 8 hooks, There are a couple more that I will post pics of later.

[Zach M]

thats what i came up with. What do you guys think?

[Dinker]

That looks nice and wiggly Zach. I wonder how many strikes you will get just on the tail, with them missing the hook? I think if you tied that with a stinger hook it would be down right lethal! Nice looking fly.

[Derek Day]

saturday I caught some nice smallies on a pattern really similar to kruggy's --crawled along the bottom. I also did well with a crease fly on both a floating and sinking line. The floating flies on a sinking line have a great effect. Let the line sink, then strip really fast submurging the fly, then stop and let it float/swim back to the surface. It's killer.

[kruggy1]

Here are a couple other flies I tied and use for bass in ponds and rivers. We are heading out tomarrow for some smallie fishing since the cool front came in 80 degrees...lol it was 90. Anyways one is a bucktail streamer and the other is a cat whisker, both brown with pearl krystal flash. Hope you all dont mind some fish porn? These two smallies were caught on white clousers with pearl flash wrapped around hook shank two weeks ago, ENJOY!!!!

[yuhina]

Zach,

Nice tie! I have a purple leech pattern just like that use for winter bass. You can dead drift them and swing through the current at the end. Work very well down here for spotted bass, even the weather is cold about 35-40F. A story about this pattern, I gave one to a friend who just start to FF last winter. And he got this bass as his first fly caught fish. http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/markyuhina/n696069198_593831_7747.jpg

[Flintriverrat]

I live in Georgia and spend most of my time on Bass. There is a wealth of information on this link: http://www.georgiariverfishing.com/. Go to the message board and fly fishing forum. There is a thread for favorite flies. I can't see why if they work here for bass, they won't work there. At least it will get you some ideas for the bench.