Your Fly Fishing For Bass Should Be S-L-O-W..... Slow

[fishinwrench]

I totally agree with Wench and Zack

I got yer WENCH right here buddy

[Flysmallie]

I got yer WENCH right here buddy

Geez, one misspelled word and you go all Eric on me!!

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree that faster is the place to start, but smallies can be very stubborn at times and if you don't do it their way, you don't do it. I can remember one river where it couldn't move or be more than 3' from the bank, period.

I've had a couple of nice Bamboo's, but I got rid of them. Sometimes nostalgia sucks.

[trout fanatic]

This thread brought to mind an incident in my childhood where I was fishing a neighbors pond when I heard my mom call me to supper. My mom was not one to be trifled with when she says come home-she means it. So I am cranking my little pfluegar 1494 as fast as I can and that little panfish popper is flat skittering across the surface when it got inhaled by a 10 inch bass. I can recall a few other times when I was reeling in to go home and nailed a bass as well. Sometimes ya just gotta put the hammer down.

[Zack Hoyt]

As with any animal, retreating of a possible food source triggers the predatory instinct. A bug doesn't lie still on top of the water when it falls in, a mouse doesn't do back strokes when it falls in......they know they are in a very vulnerable position and get out of it as fast as possible. I am of the opinion that there are times for a slower retrieval.....but the bigger fish in the hole are keyed in on how a food source should react.

As far as it is from being the same.....its like encountering a bear or other large animal. Worst thing you can do is retreat quickly.

[stlfisher]

While the majority of my fish come with slow presentations I always start off fishing fast and then adjust accordingly. It is easier to start fast and then slow down versus start of slow and then speed up. I also don't want to miss out on those magical days when they are super agressive and chasing down everything. On these days you will catch more fish by fishing fast and covering more water than by fishing slow. If you start of slow you may miss these types of days. You may still catch fish, but not as many....in my humble opinion. I think you can tell quickly if they will respond to fast moving baits. If they don't, which is the norm, then I begin to slow down and go deeper and more methodical.

[drew03cmc]

As one who started flyfishing with fiberglass, then fell madly in love with the first graphite rod I ever laid hands on, I really can't seem to appreciate the feel and action of a bamboo rod at all. They do look sweet, but every single one that I have handled was either way too tip heavy, or way too slow for me to build up decent line speed. I'd take a cheap and ugly IM6 graphite rod over a gorgeous piece of grass, anyday.

Cane is only tip heavy if it is poorly balanced with the reel. Also, a 6wt cane rod is as soft as a medium 4/5 graphite as a rule. They are more powerful for the length and line weight though. I fish fiberglass almost exclusively anymore and, while slow, they are extremely powerful if you let the rod do the work. If you let the rod work for you, line speed isn't an issue. IM6 is the only graphite that is acceptable IMO. Other graphite is waaaaay underrated by the line weight on the blank. Heavy, 2 digit South Bend cane rods are AMAZING for bass. Also, 6/7/8/9 weight glass is ideal for throwing bass bugs. I like my 7'6" 4wt Lamiglas stick with a WF5F line. I slow down one of the SLOWEST blanks on the market already.

I am not trying to bicker, just offering my opinion. I am anxious to fish with you Wrench, especially on the Little Niangua for smallmouth above Fiery Fork. Maybe this summer...

[Gavin]

Depends on the bug and type of water...

Slow current & flat water-I fish slow bugs...

Usually a size 2 Sneaky Pete, or a 1/0 blockhead dressed in Sneaky Pete fashion. Sent a bunch of my blockheads in for the warmwater swap recently. They seem to like those big bugs dead drift, sometimes with an occassional tiny twitch. Cast it out from the canoe, mend and let it sit...They can see it, the rubber legs are doing there stuff. If they want it they will come and get it...if no take in a minute or so, pick a good looking spot 25' down river and try again. You want it to look like a big easy meal. Check the rubber legs often..If they get fouled on the hook you will not get a strike.

Fast Current or broken water is a different story...I usually go with a big streamlined popper in the 3-5" long range......Pencil popper, Crease fly, Dalhberg diver, Coffey Grinder, or blockhead with a long marabou tail ripped across the top often works well in those areas.... Doesnt seem to work very well on smooth water though.

Cheers

[Flysmallie]

They can see it, the rubber legs are doing there stuff. If they want it they will come and get it

Not always.

Granted I spend the majority of my time using some type of surface fly when targeting bass, which is also about 90% of the fishing that I do. Two years ago on the James I was able to position my self up on a bank that was 3 or 4 foot off the water. I front of me were two root wads that had created a nice little pool behind them creating some very still water. I was casting a foam popper into this pool and catching some small bass and goggle eye. As that action slowed I started casting closer and closer to the closest root wad. Every time that I would drag that popper away from the root wad a nice sized spot would follow it out, but never would "take the bait". Only when I started stripping that popper very aggressively did that fish make a move. And it was a big move with a huge water exploding take.

I have witnessed the same thing many times over the years. I have also caught many fish by letting a popper dead drift but most of my success has come from stripping it aggressively, a lot faster than most would consider.

Not saying your wrong Gavin, but next time your letting that popper drift and nothing is taking it you should try varying your retrieve. You never know what will happen.

[Gavin]

Id' agree...There are no absolutes when it comes to fishing. You've got to fish with your brain, and let the fish tell you what they want. Cheers.