LM Bass go to fly?

[bassfever]

Question- (Sorry, I am New to fly fishing.)
I like to fish for LM bass, usually at Marsh Creek Lake in SE PA.
With spinning gear, I have alot of success with a version of the "SENKO". My "go to" bait.

Now with fly fishing I am sort of lost.

Is there a favorite "go to" fly/bait for bass for fly fishing?

Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Anything that pushes a lot of water, really. For me, I'm always going to big poppers for the LMB. Green frog type poppers, or big white ones work best for me.

 

[djmyers]

White with a little red has worked well for me in poppers and streamers at Marsh Creek.

Here is the streamer (Movin & Groovin) that has done well there. Was trying to find the deer hair popper pic but couldn't, it is all white except for the front third of which is red.

 

[sandfly]

I use senko flies.....

 

[ryguyfi]

White wooly buggers, poppers, and clousers. I could fish those all day for bass and never miss a beat.

 

[bassfever]

Awesome info- thank you.

 

[bassfever]

Sandfly-
Are these flies you tied yourself, or are they available to buy somewhere?.

Looks great.

 

[pwk5017]

I remember a couple years ago when few people were fishing senkos and it was a legendary bait. They arent nearly as effective now since so many people fish them. I still prefer spinning gear for largemouth, but I have caught my fair share on clousers--classic chart. and white. How big are the bass you target? I know some small ponds where you can have a blast sight casting hoppers to 12" LM. Still like I said, LM is the only fish I do not enjoy pursuing on the fly. In fact, I rarely fish for them.

 

[bassfever]

You're right... bass see the same lure week after week after week- and then that lure is not as effective anymore . I use a smaller version of the senko, it is pretty effective for me. I am a bank beater- usually get 10-12" fish, with occasional up to 16". But thats fun on UL gear.
My thinking is that not very many people use flies for LM... so they will not be so conditioned to seeing the same fly over and over again. Which could make FF better. If i could find a few flies that work.
This thread is very helpful. Thank you.

 

[Fishidiot]

Fever,
Your hunch that LMs don't see many flies and would be susceptible to them for this reason is probably correct. I don't fish pond/lake LMs as much as river SMs, however, I've found fly fishing very effective for LMs if you're fishing from a boat and when fish can be found shallow. With respect to flies, I'd get a handful of generic poppers and streamers. If you look at Sandly's pics, his "senkos" have weed guards. You'll need (obviously) weedless flies if you're fishing in weedy cover, which is likely. Just a simple rabbit strip tied to a hook with a wire weed guard will work. I recommend black for stained water and olive or gray for clear. I'd also recommend flies without weight as you'll be picking pockets in weeds and a light fly will wiggle in the water column longer than a heavy one which will drop into the weeds. Such lightweight flies are a real advantage to flies over lures in this game. Finally, in my experience, pond LMs eat a lot of nymphs. If you're targeting small bass in shallow water - and the water isn't too weedy - try some nymphs (any pattern will work) that are about 1-2 inches in length. Fish 'em slowly under a big strike indicator - a bobber basically - along shoreline cover.
Don't use light tippet - stick with 12-14lb line; 20lb if they're in weeds.

 

[pwk5017]

Seriously, I had some INSANE days years ago when I was one of the only people fishing senkos in my area. I would catch 20lbs of bass out of large ponds in 2-3 hours. That bait was truly mind blowing.

I didnt want to discourage you from FFing for them, but the areas I fish for LM have thick vegetation covering the banks, so shore casting is really difficult, and then landing fish in a canoe with a 10' rod isnt my favorite thing to do, so I just dont do it anymore. As far as flies giving you an advantage, I havent seen the fly pattern to do that yet. A clouser minnow swims and acts a lot like a rapala slash bait or x-rap. The only advantage I can see is that most flies "breathe" more than their hard bait counterparts. The gurgler for example tied with marabou can be a really great surface pattern, because even when its stationary it is still quivering ever so slightly. I have had many strikes on stationary gurglers for this very reason.

If you fish any popular spots, be prepared for some weird looks. People are going to look at you like you are an idiot. Haters gonna hate.

 

[afishinado]

pwk5017 wrote:
Seriously, I had some INSANE days years ago when I was one of the only people fishing senkos in my area. I would catch 20lbs of bass out of large ponds in 2-3 hours. That bait was truly mind blowing.

I didnt want to discourage you from FFing for them, but the areas I fish for LM have thick vegetation covering the banks, so shore casting is really difficult, and then landing fish in a canoe with a 10' rod isnt my favorite thing to do, so I just dont do it anymore. As far as flies giving you an advantage, I havent seen the fly pattern to do that yet. A clouser minnow swims and acts a lot like a rapala slash bait or x-rap. The only advantage I can see is that most flies "breathe" more than their hard bait counterparts. The gurgler for example tied with marabou can be a really great surface pattern, because even when its stationary it is still quivering ever so slightly. I have had many strikes on stationary gurglers for this very reason.

If you fish any popular spots, be prepared for some weird looks. People are going to look at you like you are an idiot. Haters gonna hate.

True. I had a bass boat and ended up fly-fishing almost exclusively in my boat. Lots of strange looks....lol.

As Fishidiot said, when the bass are shallow, FFers have an advantage. BTW, there's nearly always some bass in the shallows buried in the cover or weeds. Floating or shallow weedless flies are the ticket.

I fished with spin/baitcasting guys and was able to out-fish them with a fly rod many times. I was able to hit the sweet spots around or into cover such as logs, stumps, points, clear spots in the middle of Lilly pads, etc.,pick up my fly and cast into the next spot.

My spin/baitcaster partner would try to hit the spot fish it, and have to reel in to make his next cast. I made 3 or 4 casts to his one. Many times he snagged up in the weeds or pads or brush when reeling in. There were many places I could put my fly where a lure guy couldn't.

I will admit, things got interesting when I actually hook up in such places, but I had a ball!

Great fun!

 

[Foxgap239]

I have to try bass this year, I admit I am a trout snob but to hear you guys (and my buddy Delta) talk, I think I'm missing out on something really cool here.

 

[delta_dog]

You'll find out soon enough!

 

[sandfly]

I tie my own,
I use these as well for the bigger fish..

 

[Kabutt]

Sandfly - tell me about the weed guard on that yellow Zonkery thing... That's just heavy mono tied in at the butt, looped around the point, then tied back in at the head?

 

[ryguyfi]

Kabutt wrote:
Sandfly - tell me about the weed guard on that yellow Zonkery thing... That's just heavy mono tied in at the butt, looped around the point, then tied back in at the head?

Yes

 

[RLeeP]

>>That's just heavy mono tied in at the butt, looped around the point, then tied back in at the head?>.

Not just heavy. Stiff. What is called "hard" mono.

The best stuff I've found is from Mason, a small (but pretty old) company in Michigan. It comes in 10 yard coils for a couple bucks.

http://www.masontackle.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=125

A fair number of shops carry it, especially online. So, its pretty east to find or you can order direct from Mason.

I generally use either 20 or 25 lb. test for weed guards. The stuff is so stiff you probably don't want to go any heavier than that. Its stiff to the point that above a certain thickness, it has a tendency to reduce hookups with fish (bass anyway, I don't imagine it matters much to pike or muskies) as well as deter fouling by weeds.

 

[sandfly]

I use ande line for mine

 

[Kabutt]

I grabbed some cheapo 50lb test the other day just to try it out. Seems too thick like you said RLeeP, think I'll have to go lighter. I'll also check out the Ande mono. Thanks fellas.