Club News

Fly fishing bass against the shoreline is one of fly fishing’s best adventures.  The finesse of dropping your fly inches from the reeds, letting it sink just right…. twitch twitch…. WHAM!  It’s an addicting process yet requires an extremely simple tackle setup.  You can ditch the 5X tippet, split shot, floatant, 2-fly rigs, and strike indicators.  Talk about a breath of fresh air!

Combine some opps at lunker largemouth with some panfish kickers here and there and that’s a fine day on the lake.  We encourage everyone to set some time aside and try to catch a bass of reasonable size this spring. Set a realistic goal, and stick with it!

Simple Tackle Setup for Bass

• #6 – #8 Fly Rod and Reel w/ Floating Line
• Bass Leader – For the cost, this is a must.  It’s a cheap way to help your fly turnover correctly.
• Strong Tippet Material
• Flies – You don’t need a lot, but they should be good patterns.
• Video of Proper Bass Setup

• A Proper Setup for Largemouth Bass

  While I personally prefer the #6, which is really considered a 6+, the #7 is a wonderful choice for anglers buying this rod specifically for bass without overlap into trout fishing.  The right style of rod makes casting these big flies easier and more enjoyable.  If you enjoy this type of fishing, you’ll stick with it long enough to become good at it and succeed.

Strike indicator selection makes an enormous difference in your catch count and enjoyment.  Oversized and overweighted nymph rigs can be a miserable casting experience, and aren’t always necessary.  Varying fly sizes, water speeds, fly weight, depth, angler prowess, wind, and water clarity all play some factor in how you choose what strike indicator to use for varying conditions.

General Tips for better nymph fishing:

1. Efficiency is paramount.  Consider using tippet rings just below your indicator or at a junction if you are using two flies.  Break offs and tangles are more easily patched up.
2. Too much depth below your indicator is more harmful to success than too little.
3. You don’t need to “dredge” the bottom.  Your nymphs should flirt with the bottom but snagging every few casts is a waste of time and resources.
4. Choose the correct strike indicator.
5. Single fly rigs with a Tungsten Jighead Nymph are simple to setup, deadly, and seldom tangle vs. a 2 fly rig. This keeps you in the water more and re-rigging less!
6. Fish drop offs whenever possible. If the water looks “plain” you are at a disadvantage even if there are trout holding there.
7. Hook sets are free. Hit the twitch.
8. Trout are a wiley quarry, give their survival instincts some credit. Approach each cast as though you can see the trout even when you cannot.
9. Longer rods are better. Euro style nymph rods double as tremendous light indicator rods.
10. Learn to High Stick properly.  Keep your rod just a few degrees above parallel to the water, don’t tip it back!