Bass Fly Fishing Overview and Introduction
Bass Fly Fishing Techniques and Tools
The sport of fly fishing has in the past been all about catching trout. Today though, just about any fish can be caught using fly fishing techniques, whether it be freshwater or salt-water fish. Fly fishing for bass has become hugely popular worldwide, mainly because of the fighting qualities of bass. Bass on the whole put up a tougher fight than trout – the exception being the big steelhead trout species. Bass have quite a flat body shape – this increases the drag when you try to pull them through the water using your fly rod, which also makes them a tougher fight. Although bass fly fishing differs slightly from trout fly fishing, the fly fishing skills and techniques used are the same.
Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing Technique
Smallmouth bass are found in rivers and streams. With fishing rivers and streams, quite often there are trees and bush lining the river or stream, and therefore not enough room behind you to make a full overhead cast. Therefore learning to roll cast is recommended. Take a look at the following fly fishing casting techniques introduction for more information on roll casting. Another option is wading deep into the stream or river which would provide you with sufficient room for overhead casting.
When fly fishing rivers and streams its also important to know how to mend the line. With the different currents within the river there may be areas flowing quicker than others, which may cause the fly to overtake the line, or the line to overtake the fly. This will disturb the natural drift of the fly line, and may spook the bass. The process of lifting and moving a part of the line to re-align it with the drift of the fly is called mending. Smallmouth bass mostly sit and wait for prey in the small pools in the river which are formed by submerged rocks, trees, or other objects. When casting for smallmouth bass, try to target these pools. Using streamers for smallmouth bass fly fishing is quite effective, especially streamers that look like small baitfish or crayfish.
Largemouth Bass Fly Fishing Technique
Largemouth bass are found mostly in ponds and lakes. Largemouth bass flies commonly used are normally pretty big. The most popular flies used for bass fly fishing are deer hair flies and poppers. Terrestrial flies (flies which resemble land based insects that land on the water by accident) are also quite effective. When casting dry flies for largemouth bass, its a good idea to land your fly near to weeds, rocks, lilies or other underwater objects where largemouth bass love to hide when stalking prey. After the dry fly hits the water, just let it float for a few minutes – then make the dry fly twitch, before retrieving the fly slowly. The fly lands on the water will often provoke the bass into striking the fly.
Bass Fly Fishing Equipment
You can use the same equipment for bass fly fishing that you would use for trout fly fishing. Normally a 6 to 9 weight fly rod can be used for bass fly fishing, with a matching fly line weight. It’s not necessary to have an expensive rod and reel for bass fly fishing, and a good fly rod for someone starting out in the sport of bass fly fishing is the value-for-money St Croix Triumph Fly Fishing Rod. You can use the same double-tapered line used for trout fly fishing, but its recommended that you use a weight-forward line for bass fly fishing. Although you can catch bass with normal trout flies, you will have more success with bass specific flies.
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