Bass Fishing Information

Bob Bastian asked:


Once you make the decision that you want to become part off the world of fly fishing, you have to then decide if you are going to keep your catches or release them back into the water safe and sound. Some fishermen keep all the fish they catch, others release all that they catch, and some choose to use a combination of the two.

These fly fishermen keep only what they are going to eat, or give to other people to eat, and release all of the other fish they catch.

If you decide to practice fly fishing using the catch and release method, it is very important that you crush the barb of the hook you are going to use. The other choice is to use a hook without barbs. This is done to avoid any unnecessary injuries to the fish. It is also important to keep the fight as short as possible so the fish does not become overtired. At the first opportunity, bring the fish to hand but do not take it out of the water. While holding it under the water, remove the hook using a pair of fishing pliers.

If the fish seems to be too tired to swim away, hold it gently just under the surface of the water with one hand around its caudal wrist, which is just ahead of the tail. With the other hand, support the fish under its belly. Rock the fish gently back and forth making sure that the water enters its mouth and flows over its gills. Using this method, the fish should gain its energy back quickly. When you feel the fish try to pull away, gently release your hold on it. Using the catch and release method of fly fishing can be very rewarding.

Often fishermen believe they should release the smaller fish that they catch and keep the larger ones. They might not be aware that the larger fish usually represent the more genetically suitable spawner. They are the ones that are the most valuable fish for keeping a healthy species. It is wiser to keep the smaller fish to eat and release the larger ones back into the water.

Some people while fly fishing, feel that it is all right to catch as many fish as possible as long as they release them all. However, catch and release is not foolproof. Many fish are injured during the process and some even die. At times, even though the fisherman doesn’t keep any of the fish he catches, the overall fish mortality rate for that day is higher then if he had caught and kept the legal limit. Most fish, even if they are not physically injured, will sulk for a while after they have been released because of the trauma of being caught and released.

Catch and release fly fishing can be a wonderful way to experience the sport. Every release of a fish contributes to the conservation efforts that ensures the future of having future stocks of fish.

Bob Bastian asked:


For fly fishing for bass can provide some of the most exciting fishing in the country. The largemouth bass is probably the most popular game fish in America. The popularity of fishing for bass is partly because no other freshwater fish has a wider distribution. Largemouth bass can be found from southern Canada to South America. Smallmouth bass are also excellent for fly fishing, but they prefer slightly cooler waters and are not as ever present as the largemouth variety.

Generally, the warmer the water, the larger the bass will grow. For example, a four or five pound bass may be large for a northern lake, but warmer southern waters regularly produce 10 pounders and better. The temperature of the water is a key factor not only in fly fishing, but in all fishing. When fishing for bass it is an especially important factor.

The best fishing will take place just after the bass have spawned, which is going to vary according to the temperatures. For largemouth bass spawning takes place when the water temperatures reached the low to mid-60s. In Minnesota for example, a female bass may not deposit her eggs until mid-June, while in Florida the female bass may spawn as early as February.

The behavior of the largemouth bass is also influenced considerably by the top temperature of the water. On hot summer days, they usually feed during the early morning hours and then again during the last few hours of daylight, when the sun isn’t as bright and the water temperature is cooler. Bass are generally found in areas of the water that have a lot of vegetation and cover. They spend a lot of time near the water’s edge among the grasses, reeds, and other plants.

Many fly fishermen fishing for largemouth bass use bass bugs and poppers. Poppers were designed as a surface lure to be skipped across the top of the water in a series of quick retrieves. Other good fly patterns for largemouth bass or the Muddler Minnow and the Wooly Worm. There are some fly fishermen that prefer to use streamers and bucktail.

When fly fishing for bass the fly is worked differently than it is for trout. Poppers are worked not only for their appearance but also for their sound. Generally, when a fly is cast for bass it should be allowed to remain unmoving for a longer period of time then for trout. It is estimated that 60% of bass strikes are made on a still fly. Bass tend to inspect your fly for some time before making the decision whether to take it or not. It is important to remember while fly fishing, that the warmer the water, the longer it will take the bass to take a fly.

At times fly fishermen like to tease the bass with repeated casts over the area where they think he’s holding. Teasing can sometimes be a very effective method in bringing a lazy fish up for a strike when nothing else seems to work

Fly fishing for largemouth bass can be a wonderful, exciting experience.

Wayne Smith asked:


Fly fishing, in all it’s variations and sub-areas (casting, fly tying, etc), centres around a single goal - To successfully tempt a fish (Most commonly a trout) to take an artificial fly as a food item. Sighting, hooking, playing and landing the fish are also important parts of the successful fishing experience, not to mention being able to get the fly to the fish in the first place, by the unique casting methods utilized solely in fly fishing.

However, along with all that work, and the practice of the skills involved in bringing it all together at that crucial moment, comes that pivotal element of convincing the fish that what they are considering is indeed food-like in nature. Without this key element, we can forget the rest, and this is the one step of the exercise which is dependant upon the decision of the fish, rather than ourselves.

In this, fly fishermen spend untold amounts of time researching, studying, and imitating countless insect types in aid of presenting a believable decoy to their quarry. We tie our flies, the fish takes it, our efforts paid off, right?

But is everything as it seems? Did we deceive the fish for exactly the reasons we thought?

Although there are many factors involved in getting that fly to a timid fish, and fly fishing itself was obviously designed around overcoming all of those obstacles, considering it’s significance, understanding the ‘Feeding behaviour’ of the trout has probably taken somewhat of a back seat, compared to some of the other areas or skills of fly fishing, we fishermen often seem to focus our efforts on.

The feeding behaviour of trout is the sum of two main factors:

Firstly, through the fry and fingerling stages of development, the identification of specific ‘Food Recognition Keys’ are ingrained resulting from the repetitive feeding pattern of their natural survival instincts.

Secondly, as they get larger, they can manage larger diet articles. Supplementary behaviour is then learned out of a reactive response to the local fauna they find in the area where they are hatched or released. Local knowledge is naturally beneficial here and this is normally what we focus on when fly fishing.

The behavioural patterns of trout vary significantly between the species, the size and the circumstances in which they are found. Trout habits also change through different times of the day, and again depending on weather conditions. Feeding habits and behaviours also change between faster and slower waters, and so on.

As in most types of fishing, there is not just one single or simple answer. If there was, it would have been made common knowledge, a long time ago. What this does tell us, is that to increase our odds of convincing the trout of the validity of our fly, it’s going to be far more beneficial to concentrate on presenting specific ‘Recognition keys’, which remain consistent, rather than the far more subjective; ‘Circumstance-specific learned behaviour’ which will often vary greatly from fish to fish, and particularly from place to place.

There are many pieces to this puzzle. The more pieces you can find, understand and put together, the more it multiplies your fly fishing results. What this methodology does do for us especially, is simplify and sharpen our learning curve by quite an incredible degree.

Therefore, instead of studying dozens, even hundreds or more, of insects and the flies designed to imitate them, I’ve found that in nearly all circumstances, you need only a few fly patterns, each designed to do a specific job in the varying circumstances found on the stretch of water you’re fishing.

Trout Flies then induce fish ‘Takes’ by the use of food ‘Recognition Keys,’ rather than by intended imitation. For this method then, local knowledge becomes relatively irrelevant.

This means flies do not need to imitate anything to catch trout. What!?! Say that again.- Flies do not need to imitate anything to catch trout. Certainly nothing specific anyway.

Flies can then be tied to counter stream or water conditions, or to counter, and or take advantage of, various aspects of trout behaviour. This, then (Not being restricted by specific imitation), opens up possibilities for us to incorporate the use of innovative strategies, tactics and trout fly construction, to give ourselves a far greater edge than previously thought possible.

The more time we have spent fishing with incorrect or insufficient knowledge, the more time you have spent developing the mindset that the trout is a vastly superior, cunning and unpredictable adversary, and results like mine become seemingly unattainable, and without such knowledge becoming available, the practical reality remains precisely that.

Normally it takes years of studying these fish, trial and error with different fly patterns, different fishing techniques, different innovative designs and methods with the right focus to get to a place where you understand these creatures adequately for the outstanding results we normally only see the Pro’s achieving.

Fortunately, with the right focus, we can now be achieving much greater success in much shorter time frames by understanding and taking advantage of these ‘Recognition keys’, combined with other behavioural patterns of the trout species we are targeting and just some basic skills of fly fishing.

Steve W Sharpe asked:


When you mention fly fishing to people, many times they think you are fishing exclusively for trout. However, there are some amazing spots you can fly fish for trophy sized bass as well. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass abound in rivers and lakes, so why not try your hand fly fishing for bass?

Many experienced fly fishermen report that bass fly fishing can be extremely challenging as well as extremely satisfying. Bass have larger mouths than trout, so your choice of lures is much more diverse. They strike hard and fight strong, so when you are fly fishing for bass, expect to be exhilarated by the fight in these guys!

Experts suggest that you use a 6-7 weight rod, but if you are especially experienced, you can use a 4-5 weight rod. If you choose the smaller rod, you may have trouble casting the larger flies, so be aware of that. You can use a floating or a sinking line with a weight forward taper. You should have a 7 ½ to 9 foot leader tapered down to a 10 pound test.

Most bass are opportunistic feeders and will bite at anything. In general, however, flies for bass fishing are usually larger and influence a bigger bite. Try big muddler minnows, clousy minnows, wooly buggers, poppers, leech patterns, and crayfish patterns. Size 8 or 10 would be a little on the small side while size 2 or 1/0 would be a little too large, so opt for something in between.

Largemouth bass live in shallow water habitats among reeds, water lilies, and other vegetation naturally found in the water. They are adapted to warm waters in the 80 degree range and are seldom found deeper than twenty feet down. They prefer clear waters with little or no current. They stay fairly active year-round, but tend to stay near the bottom in the winter months.

Great bass fly fishing can be found in various locations throughout the United States. In the northeastern United States, try the rivers and streams in the Adirondack Mountains such as the Mohawk or Black Rivers. There are also some prized bass in the Great Lakes region. Southern Ontario in Canada can also provide some great opportunities to catch trophy sized bass.

Bass fly fishing can be a great experience for both the beginning fly fisherman as well as those with a little more experience. Fly fishing for bass requires a little bit of finesse and some tenacity when they bite. Stay with the fish and pull a whopper out of the water you can be proud of!