Frustration Relieved.

[fishinwrench]

Bass (LM and SM) wont hold on to feathers and fur like they do plastics, so knowing when the fly is in the fishes mouth, and having quick enough reflexes to get him stuck is the trick. The best way to know you've been bit sub-surface is to see it happen, try flies tied with a little bit of highly visable material (pink, chartruese, white, ect) and fish it in the zone where you can just barely keep an eye on it..... When the little pink, chartruese, or white light disappears, set the hook immediately.

An olive rabbit strip leech (unweighted or lightly weighted) with a collar of bright material makes a deadly sightfishing fly for smallies, as do muddlers with a white or chartruese head.

You may be getting tons of bites on those crawdad flies and such....but you'll only be aware of a small percentage of them if you can't see the fly. Because of what i call "the ol' Suck and Blow".

Even soft spun hair bugs like the one Ronnie posted wont get held onto like you'd expect...they'll rush over to it, suck it in...and blow it right back out, and this takes place in a half a mili-second unless BY CHANCE the hook momentarily hangs up on his lip as he's trying to expell it.

[Flysmallie]

Sometimes Bass (LM and SM) wont hold on to feathers and fur like they do plastics,

Fixed it. But I agree with you, they just don't hold on like they would on plastics. I have had some luck fishing a furled worm and getting them to hold on to it long enough to figure out that they are there, but still get by butt handed to by a buddy fishing plastic.

[ColdWaterFshr]

Tim Holschlag's "Smallmouth Fly-Fishing" is a pretty good book on methods, tactics, and flies to use. Still, I'm convinced that you're going to a lot of extra trouble to fish this way for smallmouth though. Fishinwrench is right about feathers and fur not being as effective as plastics. And show me a fly that can walk the dog, or buzz like a buzzbait. They don't exist.

[Flysmallie]

The Pole Dancer will walk the dog.

[DaddyO]

I can catch fish all day on a spin cast. I've, recently, given up all my spin cast stuff in favor of the fly rods. Not because I'm being snobbish. I just enjoy catching fish on the fly rod more than I do with the spin cast. I, very rarely, keep fish. I, mostly, fish for the pleasure and relaxation and stress relief. It's a choice.

[fishinwrench]

The Pole Dancer will walk the dog.

Yes it does...quite well too. So does about one of every 5 Crease flys I tie, I haven't figured out how to make a Crease that walks ON PURPOSE....but one out of 5 or so do it really good.

Hey Ronnie, ya think we could make the Klansman walk?

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[Flysmallie]

On the crease flies I think you need them to slope up in the front and put a little junk in the trunk to make it ride right in the water.

And yeah, I think the klansman has potential.

[fishinwrench]

Yep, the walking crease flys have been accidents, and I think what makes it happen is a little too much epoxy towards the rear. But everytime I get one that does it I fish it until it gets shredded without studying it much. LOL

Oh well, the flats machine will be ready in a few weeks...come up and we can put all kinds of crazy ideas to the test.

[Flysmallie]

Oh well, the flats machine will be ready in a few weeks...come up and we can put all kinds of crazy ideas to the test.

Cool. I have some crazy ideas in my head that I need to apply to a hook. Let me know when you are ready.

[ColdWaterFshr]

yeah, well, those flies I guess will kind've walk, and I've got a few that do that too, but nothing like a Sammy or a Spook will. Just not enough mass there, and they can't churn and push water. And if you made a fly that had enough mass, you wouldn't want to cast it or retrieve it with a fly rod.