bass flies

Daniel-San wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...

Cool, so the "trash fish" swap is still in the works?

Yep... it'll be a nice break from the Donnelley Company archives. I'll
repost the announcement in a coupla weeks.

Excellent. I'll have to see if I can come up with a "new" fly to
tie for that one.

Plus gurglers ... and clousers ... and hoppers.

In NE Illernoise, I've had crapola luck wth gurglers for bass. Most likely a
problem with the Indian rather than the arrow. As to Clousers, I guess I
just prefer topwater fishing.

Snob. You damn purists are all alike. :-) I much prefer it too,
but the waters I fish (small rivers) almost require that I carry some
streamers with me. It's not even so much a matter of getting flies down
deep (I usually tie my Clousers with small beadchain rather than those
big honking lead/dumbbell eyes), as it is mimicking the predominant food
sources.

Speaking of which, I can't believe I didn't mention woolly buggers.

And I'm guessing that Wolfgang's Pass Lake in large sizes would work.
(And I plan to find out if I can ever get some time on the water.)

I've tied the Pass Lake up to a size 8, IIRC, and have had fair luck with
it, but like the gurgler, it seems to be mostly a 'gill bug around here. The
bass have ignored it so far. Or, perhaps more likely, I haven't put it in
front of enough bass....

I plan to try it to see if I can get a reaction down here. (I'll
even be happy with bluegill.) I tied some as large as #6 (and some tied
more like a Trude, with a big hackle collar), but haven't had a chance
to toss them towards any fish yet.

When I got back from the GSMNP, we had flooding, and my home river
is just now settling down to fishable levels. And the temps have been
in the nineties around here, so I'm finding it tough to get motivated to
hit the water.

...and don't forget the Madam X -- size 6 or so

Ah, so you've been using those, too? I don't know what the fish take
them for, but I've had good luck catching Guadalupe bass down here on
them. When fishing rivers I make a normal upstream cast and then let them
swing downstream from me before retrieving. I probably get almost as many
hits on the swing as on the drift.

Great fly. One of my favorites for warmwater fishing. I've had good luck
with it for bass and gills. I usually toss it to the edge of a weedbed and
fish it as if it were a floating Rapala. Let it sit a second or three, then
a very slow, "twitchy" retrieve. For rivers, I do the same as you with
about the same results. I have no idea what the fish think it is, but I do
have more luck with the rattier, used flies than with the new ones. (Of
course, my "new" flies tend to look a little ratty, so I guess I'm ahead of
the game a little.)

Nothing wrong with ratty flies; in fact, I'll bet most fishermen
would probably say they've had better luck with flies that either start
out or become ragged. :-)


Chuck Vance

Wolfgang wrote:

[Pass Lake]

I tie them exclusively in 14s these days.

Ah, so the one you gave me *was* a #14.

Surprisingly, I've taken a few
largemouths up to twelve or fourteen inches.....while fishing for bluegills.
Bigger might be better, but I've never really thought of it as a bass bug
either.

My favorite target species around here (Guadalupe bass) seems to act
more like a trout than a largemouth, even up to the size and type of
flies it chases. The fish aren't big (state record is maybe 4lbs.?),
but they live and feed in riffles, and can be caught on some very
unlikely "bass" flies such as slightly oversized mayflies and such.

I figure if your Pass Lake works for trout feeding on little yellow
mayflies, it's worth a shot for Guads feeding on larger darker-colored
mayflies. :-)


Chuck Vance (who doesn't pretend to understand this stuff, but
never looks a gift fly in the mouth)

On Jun 14, 11:42 am, Conan The Librarian wrote:
Wolfgang wrote:
by the way, a new text in Nahuatl showed up in PG yesterday.

Whaaa?! I need more info, please.

I'm still laughing up here.

When Wolfgang said "PG" I thought he was talking LC call numbers and
was thinking "but surely books on Nahuatl are in PM!"

Oh, my life is not an easy one....

Bill
(who relies exclusively on #2 and larger "frog" poppers when fishing
for bucketmouth. Too big for 'gills, and if a 'gill DOES manage to
get it into his mouth, it's a 'gill I want to catch!)

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jun 14, 11:42 am, Conan The Librarian wrote:
Wolfgang wrote:
by the way, a new text in Nahuatl showed up in PG yesterday.

Whaaa?! I need more info, please.

I'm still laughing up here.

When Wolfgang said "PG" I thought he was talking LC call numbers and
was thinking "but surely books on Nahuatl are in PM!"

The fact that I (and perhaps some others) find that amusing as well should
not be taken as mitigating geekdom on a biblical scale.

Oh, my life is not an easy one....

Ainna? What do you tell the kids you do for a living?

Bill
(who relies exclusively on #2 and larger "frog" poppers when fishing
for bucketmouth. Too big for 'gills, and if a 'gill DOES manage to
get it into his mouth, it's a 'gill I want to catch!)

I'm thinking it's one I'd want to steer clear of.

Wolfgang
whose attention the resemblance between a frog's legs and his own has not
escaped.

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...
Daniel-San wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...

Cool, so the "trash fish" swap is still in the works?

Yep... it'll be a nice break from the Donnelley Company archives. I'll
repost the announcement in a coupla weeks.

Excellent. I'll have to see if I can come up with a "new" fly to
tie for that one.

I look forward to it. Should be an interesting swap.



Plus gurglers ... and clousers ... and hoppers.
In NE Illernoise, I've had crapola luck wth gurglers for bass. Most
likely a problem with the Indian rather than the arrow. As to Clousers, I
guess I just prefer topwater fishing.

Snob. You damn purists are all alike. :-)

I think it has more to do with relative ability than purism. I am just not
very good at stripping streamers. I guess the relative ease (for me, anyway)
of throwing a dry has led to the possibly mistaken belief that I prefer it.
Maybe I just don't want to learn?

I much prefer it too,
but the waters I fish (small rivers) almost require that I carry some
streamers with me. It's not even so much a matter of getting flies down
deep (I usually tie my Clousers with small beadchain rather than those
big honking lead/dumbbell eyes), as it is mimicking the predominant food
sources.

Matching the hatch, so to speak. Hey, you does whats youse gots to do. For
the lakes near me, come mid-summer, the bass are near the top and not too
picky, so the topwater assortment of deer hair usually serves me well.



Speaking of which, I can't believe I didn't mention woolly buggers.

Agreed. One of the few weighted flies I carry, even if I'm inept at their
use.


And I'm guessing that Wolfgang's Pass Lake in large sizes would work.
(And I plan to find out if I can ever get some time on the water.)
I've tied the Pass Lake up to a size 8, IIRC, and have had fair luck
with it, but like the gurgler, it seems to be mostly a 'gill bug around
here. The bass have ignored it so far. Or, perhaps more likely, I haven't
put it in front of enough bass....

I plan to try it to see if I can get a reaction down here. (I'll
even be happy with bluegill.) I tied some as large as #6 (and some tied
more like a Trude, with a big hackle collar), but haven't had a chance
to toss them towards any fish yet.

I think it's a alot like the para-Adams. A very useful fly for almost any
condition. Please report on how it worked for you.



When I got back from the GSMNP, we had flooding, and my home river is
just now settling down to fishable levels. And the temps have been in the
nineties around here, so I'm finding it tough to get motivated to hit the
water.

Warm here, too. Resisting the urge to turn on the freon. Luckily the casa
has good east/west exposure, so the breezes keep the heat tolerable. At
least until Michelle comes home, then.....


...and don't forget the Madam X -- size 6 or so

Ah, so you've been using those, too? I don't know what the fish take
them for, but I've had good luck catching Guadalupe bass down here on
them. When fishing rivers I make a normal upstream cast and then let
them swing downstream from me before retrieving. I probably get almost
as many hits on the swing as on the drift.
Great fly. One of my favorites for warmwater fishing. I've had good luck
with it for bass and gills. I usually toss it to the edge of a weedbed
and fish it as if it were a floating Rapala. Let it sit a second or
three, then a very slow, "twitchy" retrieve. For rivers, I do the same
as you with about the same results. I have no idea what the fish think it
is, but I do have more luck with the rattier, used flies than with the
new ones. (Of course, my "new" flies tend to look a little ratty, so I
guess I'm ahead of the game a little.)

Nothing wrong with ratty flies; in fact, I'll bet most fishermen would
probably say they've had better luck with flies that either start out or
become ragged. :-)

That second part is undeniable. :-)

Dan

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:52:02 -0500, "Lee"
wrote:

anyone have any suggestions on bass flies? I've tried the poppers with
rubber legs, but all I catch are panfish.

Maybe one problem is that you're not fishing where the bass are? Or
your flies are too small?
--

r.bc: vixen
Minnow goddess, Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher.
Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

Daniel-San wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote ...

Snob. You damn purists are all alike. :-)

I think it has more to do with relative ability than purism. I am just not
very good at stripping streamers. I guess the relative ease (for me, anyway)
of throwing a dry has led to the possibly mistaken belief that I prefer it.
Maybe I just don't want to learn?

I can't argue the fact that dries are more fun, and that they are
"easier" to fish. I've just made a conscious effort to force myself to
learn how to fish streamers. It's partially because there seems to be a
fairly small window when topwater flies are productive around here.
Once the weather warms up, early or late in the day are the only times
when topwater flies (with the exception of hoppers) consistently produce.

I much prefer it too,
but the waters I fish (small rivers) almost require that I carry some
streamers with me. It's not even so much a matter of getting flies down
deep (I usually tie my Clousers with small beadchain rather than those
big honking lead/dumbbell eyes), as it is mimicking the predominant food
sources.

Matching the hatch, so to speak. Hey, you does whats youse gots to do. For
the lakes near me, come mid-summer, the bass are near the top and not too
picky, so the topwater assortment of deer hair usually serves me well.

See above for my situation fish activity.

Speaking of which, I can't believe I didn't mention woolly buggers.

Agreed. One of the few weighted flies I carry, even if I'm inept at their
use.

I've found that the fish don't really seem to care how I use them.
:-) I always carry some brown ones (sometimes with a beadhead) and some
black and olive. The brown ones seem to mimic the crawfish that live in
the river, and I guess the black/olive are close enough to worms/leeches
to get some interest.

I've caught channel catfish by doing little more than tossing the
fly out, letting it sink and then lifting it a tad and letting it sit.
(I'm guessing this is when they're taken for crawfish.)

Other times I've caught fish with a more active retrieve which I'm
assuming is taken for a minnow or swimming leech. I've yet to find a
"wrong" way to fish these guys.

[Pass Lake]

I plan to try it to see if I can get a reaction down here. (I'll
even be happy with bluegill.) I tied some as large as #6 (and some tied
more like a Trude, with a big hackle collar), but haven't had a chance
to toss them towards any fish yet.

I think it's a alot like the para-Adams. A very useful fly for almost any
condition. Please report on how it worked for you.

Will do. I'm hoping I can get some time on the water as a dad's day
"gift", but the weather doesn't look too favorable for this weekend.


Chuck Vance (good comparison to the Adams, btw ... that is my
go-to trout fly ... or *was* until Wolf gave me that Pass Lake)

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:52:02 -0500, "Lee"
wrote:

anyone have any suggestions on bass flies? I've tried the poppers with
rubber legs, but all I catch are panfish.

Try larger flies/hooks, especially if "panhandle" in your addy is an
indication you're in the Florida Panhandle. If it's an indication that
you're in the Texas/OK panhandle(s), try larger "lakes"...

TC,
R