Pre Spawn Bass Techniques

[Replicant]

Down here on the lower Yak, I find that I'm waiting on the migration. I've found a couple of published paper's that document this migration from the Columbia into the Yakima, and need to reread them, to refresh my memory, but basically, I've never seen an SMB, earlier than Mother's day. That isn't to say, that they aren't there, but the water is still moving fast and dirty at that time, so I find that I need to get something down and deep.

 

[Coach Potter]

Until l I break out the topwater flies in summer, my favorite fly is one that was inspired by our own Stonefish . . . he posted a pic of a rabbit strip leech with some high-vis foam glued to the last 1/2 of the tail years ago on the old site. Brilliant - it adds a bit of orange or green color and it floats the tail up same as the plastic worms on shakey head jigs once it hits the bottom. I generally tie those flies on a 4/0 weedless Gami with a large conehead, a black or brown rabbit strip and a few rubber legs thrown in at the head. Floating line and 12' of 15lb Maxima. Cast it out toward laydowns or docks and wait for awhile after it sinks to the bottom and then begin a very slow hand-twist retrieve.

I like that idea!

 

[mtskibum16]

Until l I break out the topwater flies in summer, my favorite fly is one that was inspired by our own Stonefish . . . he posted a pic of a rabbit strip leech with some high-vis foam glued to the last 1/2 of the tail years ago on the old site. Brilliant - it adds a bit of orange or green color and it floats the tail up same as the plastic worms on shakey head jigs once it hits the bottom. I generally tie those flies on a 4/0 weedless Gami with a large conehead, a black or brown rabbit strip and a few rubber legs thrown in at the head. Floating line and 12' of 15lb Maxima. Cast it out toward laydowns or docks and wait for awhile after it sinks to the bottom and then begin a very slow hand-twist retrieve.

We need pics from you or @Stonedfish

 

[Doublebluff]

I have read these posts with interest, but I have one question. I need perspective on fishing for bass on ponds in Eastern Oregon next week. All typical warmwater fish will be present... but it won't be warm. Nights in the higher 30's, days in the 50's. Any pearls of wisdom? I will report good or bad when I get back.

 

[mcswny]

Reading about smallies online, I came across this and almost spit out my coffee

"This is not a delicate wine sipping trout you are casting to. This is a light beer drinking, pot bellied, red-blooded, football watching, hillbilly of a smallmouth and that fish is just looking for an excuse to blow up on your obnoxious popper. I’m pretty sure that most smallmouth have a ’96 home white Cowboys jersey that either says Aikman or Irvin stashed away somewhere."

 

[Stonedfish]

We need pics from you or @Stonedfish

Matt,
I think I deleted the picture that @doublespey mentioned, but here is foam on the end of a topwater with a chenille tail. Same basic concept you’d use for subsurface to get the tail to stand up but without the rubber legs.
SF

 

[doublespey]

Cool fly Stonedfish! I'll post a pic of the flies I use after I tie a couple more. The lifespan of one of my flies is not long and I'm a subsistence tyer (tie only as needed for the next trip). Just got back from a trip to Texas and sadly my local lake down there had a substantial increase in shoreline weeds, which made it impossible to flyfish from shore. But my new 'darkside' friend the popping frog came to the rescue.

 

[doublespey]

Here's an example of my westside fly. For Texas/Eastside lakes I tie this fly 1-2" longer.

 

[Ryan Smart]

Reading about smallies online, I came across this and almost spit out my coffee

"This is not a delicate wine sipping trout you are casting to. This is a light beer drinking, pot bellied, red-blooded, football watching, hillbilly of a smallmouth and that fish is just looking for an excuse to blow up on your obnoxious popper. I’m pretty sure that most smallmouth have a ’96 home white Cowboys jersey that either says Aikman or Irvin stashed away somewhere."

This is pretty darn funny!

It does make me think back to some of the best days that I've had fly fishing for smalles,, and how some of them do seem to just sip a popper really delicately, like a trout. Then the next one will completely explode on the fly. All of my experience catching them on topwater is in Minnesota and Ontario, but I would think it would be similar here in the PNW?

ryan

 

[longputt]

Brilliant - it adds a bit of orange or green color and it floats the tail up same as the plastic worms on shakey head jigs once it hits the bottom.

Col River smallmouth love downstream migrating immature lamprey...in high lamprey migration areas this is a really effective method. One of the factors for the desire to exterminate Col R smallmouth is protection of lamprey.

 

[longputt]

Last Wednesday on a popper:

 

[clarkman]

Last Wednesday on a popper:

View attachment 10863

hell yeah!

Did you happen to get a water temp?

 

[longputt]

hell yeah!

Did you happen to get a water temp?

Our depth finder said 54 degrees...it was on and off windy and shallow so my guess is there was no thermal layer.

 

[Stonedfish]

Anyone play around coloring either of these up for bass?
SF

 

[Chucker]

Anyone play around coloring either of these up for bass?
SF

View attachment 10874View attachment 10875

What are those made out of?

 

[Stonedfish]

What are those made out of?

I'm not really sure as I've never seen them in person.
I do have some of these, which I think are made of the same material, but I'm not 100% sure.

Fly Skinz Thin Finz — FlySkinz

Fly Skinz Thin Finz X-Large 7 Per Pack Fly Skinz Thin Finz Large 9 Per Pack Fly Skinz Thin Finz Medium 12 Per Pack Fly Skinz Thin Finz Small 12 Per Pack Fly Skinz Thin Finz X-Small 12 Per Pack

www.flyskinz.com

The finz / tails are made of nylon. I remember someone mentioning a commercial name for the material so you could make your own, but can't recall what it is. Almost reminds me of Tyvek, but that is polypro based I believe.
SF