YFG,
A big component to consider is whether you will be fishing rivers or lakes. I much prefer rivers/creeks for FFing for bass. For one thing, being able to see fish (just like trout fishing) matters a lot with bass success and most of our state's bass rivers are shallow - and get shallower during the summer months with bass dispersing throughout the shallow runs and riffles. Lakes, by contrast, will see bass much deeper during the warmer months. You certainly can have a blast bass fishing with a fly rod in lakes in the summer but you will be spending a lot of time chasing largemouths in the very early morning and evening and around a lot of rooted vegetation which will require somewhat heavier fly gear. Obviously, there are exceptions to this but you will find this often the case. If you lack a boat, lakes get even tougher to fish.
As for feeding, yes, bass will rise to hatches but in my experience they are much less predictable than trout in this activity. River smallies will do this more than bass in lakes. However, I will admit to being confounded by surface feeding bass - I really don't know why they do it on some days and not on others. I have seen blizzard like white fly hatches on bass rivers and not a single fish rising. I have even seen days when catfish were rising but no bass. Also, when bass do rise, it is often the smaller fish (along with fallfish). Anyway, when you do hit a day with rising bass, you'll have a blast and count your blessings as it may be awhile before you see it again.
Don't discount high stick nymphing for bass in rivers/streams. Use a basic trout style nymph, maybe a bit larger, and fish it dead drift. I have had some very good days for both largemouth and smallmouth bass nymph fishing.
Good luck.
