Top Quality Fly Fishing Flies from $0.50US. Worldwide Postage is FREE!

A GUIDE TO FLY FISHING BASS BUGS
www.flyfishing-flies.com

BASS BUG FLIES

All bass are active aggressive predators. When young they feed on tiny crustaceans, insects and their larvae, rodents, worms and tadpoles. They soon add to the range of their diet and progress onto larger food such as frogs, crayfish, leeches and other fish. The largest bass has been known to take small waterfowl.

Floating bass flies whether constructed of wood, plastic, foam, or our favorite deer hair all seem to be lumped into the same category of "bass bugs". A few are tied to imitate specific bass food like mice, leeches or frogs, but others are 'attractors' that try to give the impression of something living and edible. Since bass are keen predators they will eat anything that looks like food. They will  attack a bass bug that suggest a living creature struggling at the water's surface. Flies that attract attention and appear to be a vulnerable are the most successful. Deer hair bugs can be shaped to look and perform like a hard headed wooden poppers, yet they are a fraction of the weight. When dry, they are virtually weightless. Thus, they are good to use in situations where you want the fly to land softly in shallow or clear water, and not spook the fish. The flat faced popper bass bugs, like our red and white or green and white bass bugs are meant to "pop" and "bloop" along the surface much like a cupped face hard foam popper to attract the fish's attention. Click here to see our red and white or green and white bass bug. The drawback to deer hair bugs is that they inevitably soak up water. There are methods to delay the process, but you really can not eliminate it altogether. The best solution is to have a few duplicate flies on hand. (With the prices we charge that is not  hard to do.) As one gets wet, clip it off and tie on it's twin, with yet another fresh one waiting in your flybox. By rotating flies it is possible to keep bass fishing with a good floating deer hair bug all day long. Even so, I do treat my deer hair flies with a waterproofing spray.

Diving bass bugs are a brilliant fly. The deer hair above the head of the diving bass bugs have been cut at an angle to make the fly dart and dive into the water when the line is stripped during the retrieve. It makes these bugs appear alive. They become very attractive, fascinating animated prey for the larger predatory hunting bass. T

Also consider having a selection of smaller deer hair muddler flies. Most of the muddler flies have a rounded face so that when it's pulled through the water, it doesn't make as much noise as the larger bass bugs, but rather leaves a wake behind it like a small boat. They are especially useful for skitterish smallmouth bass in clear streams and rivers.

NORTH AMERICAN BASS FISH

The species of fish collectively known as black bass are the largest members of the Centrachidae family (which also includes bluegill, crappies and sunfish). They include two of the most important sporting fish species in North America: the smallmouth bass and the largemouth bass. (The Sea Bass of the Moronidae group found in Europe, Australia and North America are classified as a different species)

Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieui) is a hard fighting fish and is the most highly prized black bass. It is a bit larger than the Northern largemouth bass and can reach a maximum of about 12lb (5.4kg). It prefers clear lakes and streams with rock or gravel bottoms. They can often be taken on muddlers, Clouser's minnow and  black or olive woolly buggers. 

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) has huge upper jaw that extends to behind its eye and has thus given rise to its name. It prefers weedy, mud-bottomed waters. The jaw of the smallmouth bass does not extend beyond its eye. The northern largemouth bass very rarely exceeds 10lb (4.54kg) but the Florida subspecies largemouth bass (Micropterus Salmoides floridanus) can reach 20lb (9.1kg)

Redeye Bass (Micropterus Coosae) in the Southern States of USA has a white tipped orange tail fin. Young redeye bass also have a brick red dorsal and anal fin. It of course has a red eye as you would expect with a name like 'redeye'. It is one of the smaller bass species normally not growing more than 1lb (454g) but they can grow to 8lb (3.6kg).

Suwanne Bass (Micropterus notius) is a small fish that rarely gets bigger than 12oz (340g). It can be found in the Suwannee and Ochlockonee river basins of Florida and Georgia. It has an overall coloration of brown with black marks but the adult male has a distinctive blue belly, breast and cheeks.

The Guadalupe Bass (Micropterus treculi) of central Texas has distinctive dark bar markings down its side. It is a small fish and seldom gets larger than 1lb (454g)

The Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus) of the Mississippi basin area gets its name from the rows of small dark spots on its belly and flanks. It grows to about 5lb (2.27kg). There are two local subspecies: the Alabama spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus henshalli) and the Wichita spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus wichitae).

 FISHING WITH BASS BUGS

Practice your casting to get expert at hitting the target area. You must establish control quickly. Bass often strike the fly as it falls or immediately as it hits the water. You must be ready for a strike at any time. Do not use the rod tip to move the fly. This causes immediate slack line and loss of fly control. Do not use the rod to pull or jerk the fly over or through obstacles. For best results, continue to use straight line-hand pulls. As the fly hits the water, before all the fly line settles on it, point the fly rod straight at the fly. Drop the rod tip to the water's surface. This will stop fly-line slack and fly movement caused by a high rod-tip angle which is common in trout fly fishing. Pull in any slack  without moving the fly. There should be a straight, tight line from your hand to the fly. You do not want the fly to move until you start the retrieve. Do not twitch your rod or use the rod tip to move the fly. This causes many feet of slack line to form so you cannot feel a strike. You lose control if you don't feel the take, you lose strikes.. Control the line by squeezing it against the rod handle with your index finger of your rod hand. Relax your grip as you pull in the fly line with your line hand. Make a strip of about 18  inches, coil the line in your palm. Then grasp the fly line at the rod again to begin a new retrieve.

Most bass prefer to ambush a helpless or careless creature rather than go on tiring high-speed chase of a terrified prey. Most fishermen make the mistake of moving the bass bugs too quickly. A lot of big bass will attack when a bass bug is accidentally or purposefully let sit for a long period (ten seconds or more) or when moved it only slightly just after it hit the water.

You can get good hit rates by inching the bass fly in, over, or around structure, as if I were trying to sneak out of danger. There are times when bass will chase and strike rapidly moving bass bugs. No one retrieve is always the best. Foods, temperature, water conditions, and individual fish habits vary. 

To imitate the movement of frogs and snakes (for which you can use the our big leech bass bugs) you cast the bass bug and allow the sinking-tip to sink. Make short strips of the line and the fly will work on the surface. An abrupt or longer pull causes the bass bug to splash or pop and dive following the sunken line tip. If you keep pulling the fly swims to the depth of the fly-line tip. Now stop pulling and the fly turns head up and returns to the surface as long as the line tip does not sink deeper than the length of the leader.

When you suspect a bass is under an object. Put the fly as close to the stump, log, or rock as you can, and keep it there. In a small open space of water in lily pads or cypress stumps where the bass will not or cannot move far it will usually respond well to the sitting fly.

Another method is to cast the fly to where you think the bass are. Let the fly sit in one place for about three to five seconds, then twitch it an inch or so. Pause and repeat several times, then make another cast.. If you're using a surface or diving fly, vary the twitch from a silent move to an audible pop or bubble. More noise works best on rough surfaces, and in dark, murky, or densely structured water. You want to try and imitate helpless creatures or one that's relaxed and moving slightly. Varying the retrieve can help. Rapid fly-line strips of a few inches long up to a couple of feet in length imitates a panicked bait fish such as a minnow..  

Big fish can be provoked to attack large big bass bugs that intrude on their territory. Try retrieving a bass bug past some water-lilies where these predators lurk. Large flies can also draw a strike from migrating salmon for the salmon reason. They are sometimes known as a 'piss-them-off' fly. These salmon have changed to a bright color on the migration back to their spawning areas. They do not feed much but defend the territory they have staked out for themselves. The small dark flies that you used with such success in the summer will not work. You need a big colorful fly to provoke an aggressive strike reflex. Bass bugs also catch pike!

Top quality fly fishing flies from $0.50US at www.flyfishing-flies.com

You can e-mail us at fly.fishing@virgin.net

The English Fly Fishing Shop
Estate and Country Sports Equipment Ltd, 5 Woodland Way, Morden,
Surrey SM4 4DS, England (Established 1978)