Fly fishing for bass for the first time

[TheBluegillMaster]

Instead of driving 20-30 minutes to fish for trout all the time, I decided to hit up a local lake with some streamers that imitated sculpins or chubs, and low and behold these two.

 

[tomgamber]

Think that was fun? Try some topwater poppers and gurglers...

 

[gulfgreyhound]

White popper ,cork and deer hair ,tossed next to lilly pads. Let the rings clear then pop once, wait till the rings clear again then pop again and hold on. GG

 

[Bonzoso]

Was catching smallmouths along with BT during Green Drake action on Pine Creek a week and a half ago. It was a blast. Those buggers fight like hell and jump all over the place.

 

[scs]

Try a purple/yellow stealth bomber. That’s my “go to” top water

Steve

 

[guidedbywire]

I caught a smallmouth on a #16 red copper john nymph the other day. Really weird!

 

[krayfish2]

I saw a guy land a solid 18" smallie swinging a small green soft hackle for trout. When I saw the bend in the rod, I thought he had a doozy of a trout.

Agree that you need to try a little too water action for bass. Good stuff

 

[turkey]

White popper ,cork and deer hair ,tossed next to lilly pads. Let the rings clear then pop once, wait till the rings clear again then pop again and hold on. GG

This is great Art. I like trying to land em on the lily and then gently drop them in. Those bass make a ruckus. A nice change after trying to finesse fussy trout for months.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Turkey, that will work as well. Looking like the bug jumped in the water. I had a habit of hanging the bug in the Lilly Pad. If you like surface strikes bass will give you all you want. GG

 

[JeffK]

By me now is the time for surface fly fishing in shallow park ponds. The window is between when the water warms and when the weeds get too thick to comfortably fish. June is the time for that.

Many local park ponds have surprising bass and sometimes pickerel fishing.

 

[jifigz]

Instead of driving 20-30 minutes to fish for trout all the time, I decided to hit up a local lake with some streamers that imitated sculpins or chubs, and low and behold these two.

To carry on in Tom's fashion.... You think that was fun? Try some smallmouth.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

I’d love to try some smallmouth. Do you guys know if the Potomac River near Frederick is any good? Also, is it possible to catch a catfish on a fly?

 

[jifigz]

I’d love to try some smallmouth. Do you guys know if the Potomac River near Frederick is any good? Also, is it possible to catch a catfish on a fly?

Potomac has smallmouth and yes they're near Frederick, is it good? I don't know. It is definitely possible to catch catfish on a fly but may be hard to specifically target them.

 

[brookieteeth]

I’d love to try some smallmouth. Do you guys know if the Potomac River near Frederick is any good? Also, is it possible to catch a catfish on a fly?

There are smallmouths in the Monocacy, which is practically walking distance from Frederick. Mostly small fish, but it's crazy how hard smallmouth bass can fight. To keep the real small fish and sunnies off, use a fly with a good size hook, like a #4 or larger. LOL, a 4" smallie will eat any fly that it can fit in its mouth, and fight, too. Tugging and jumping. The tribs are said to be good, too https://www.fredericknewspost.com/n...cle_586c3ec6-3cef-535c-9aa7-0f8bdfec202e.html

The fish run a bit bigger in the Potomac, but not that much bigger. Between Harper's Ferry and Point Of Rocks it's like a two-tier fishery, with a lot of 4"-10" fish and an occasional 16"-18" fish. Look for rock gardens and the edges of weed beds. In the summer, night fishing is best. That's the best chance of catching a big fish, they usually stay deep. Get out in the weed beds after dark with a good size fly that pushes some water.

I've caught bass all the way down to below Great Falls. Seneca below the dam can be good. Easy access on the MD side. Mosquito repellent comes in handy.

There's a white fly hatch on the Potomac at night in the summer. Mid-August. Lasts about an hour after dark. A lot of fish on top, enough to make you crazy. Put on a #8 White Wullf, say, maybe with a white wet fly dropper. Just roll cast with a few feet of line out, or dap. But I still don't know how to fish a hatch like that. Flies everywhere, fish everywhere, in the dark. I do better after it's over, fishing deer hair bugs and gurglers.

One hot summer day a few years back, I had some spin fishing guys in kayaks tell me that they cleaned up in the deep channels between Point Of Rocks and Riverbend Park, fishing spinnerbaits and jigs that are easier to get down deep than the usual run of fly fishing, although it could be done with a sinking line or weighted flies. I'd like to try float fishing through those deep holes some time, spin or fly. But from a kayak, it would probably be much easier to spin-fish.

 

[TheBluegillMaster]

There are smallmouths in the Monocacy, which is practically walking distance from Frederick. Mostly small fish, but it's crazy how hard smallmouth bass can fight. To keep the real small fish and sunnies off, use a fly with a good size hook, like a #4 or larger. LOL, a 4" smallie will eat any fly that it can fit in its mouth, and fight, too. Tugging and jumping. The tribs are said to be good, too https://www.fredericknewspost.com/n...cle_586c3ec6-3cef-535c-9aa7-0f8bdfec202e.html

The fish run a bit bigger in the Potomac, but not that much bigger. Between Harper's Ferry and Point Of Rocks it's like a two-tier fishery, with a lot of 4"-10" fish and an occasional 16"-18" fish. Look for rock gardens and the edges of weed beds. In the summer, night fishing is best. That's the best chance of catching a big fish, they usually stay deep. Get out in the weed beds after dark with a good size fly that pushes some water.

I've caught bass all the way down to below Great Falls. Seneca below the dam can be good. Easy access on the MD side. Mosquito repellent comes in handy.

There's a white fly hatch on the Potomac at night in the summer. Mid-August. Lasts about an hour after dark. A lot of fish on top, enough to make you crazy. Put on a #8 White Wullf, say, maybe with a white wet fly dropper. Just roll cast with a few feet of line out, or dap. But I still don't know how to fish a hatch like that. Flies everywhere, fish everywhere, in the dark. I do better after it's over, fishing deer hair bugs and gurglers.

One hot summer day a few years back, I had some spin fishing guys in kayaks tell me that they cleaned up in the deep channels between Point Of Rocks and Riverbend Park, fishing spinnerbaits and jigs that are easier to get down deep than the usual run of fly fishing, although it could be done with a sinking line or weighted flies. I'd like to try float fishing through those deep holes some time, spin or fly. But from a kayak, it would probably be much easier to spin-fish.

Thank you so much man! I’ll be sure to check those out. With such a large river like the Potomac, I think I’m just going to spin fish. I’m new to fly fishing and can barely cast more than 25 feet lol.