Smallmouth University: Dear Professor

[Gavin]

Nothing to add....accept for some of my favorite flies...and a link with some tying directions. When I want to fly fish for smallies, one of these will be tied on before I get to the river...The sparkle minnow may look like a wooly bugger...and you can fish it that way....but my buddy Greg developed the pattern...He ties the dark colored versions with a weedguard and uses them like a tube jig around submerged rocks & wood. Have fun.

http://www.ozarkflyfishers.org/fly/spminnow.html

[mic]

As a newbie to fly fishing for smallies last year I can only add a couple things I experienced.

1) If wading you gotta move slow and make long casts...smallmouth are pretty spooky on the small shallow streams.

2) i agree that bigger flies or bigger buggers are probably better. I did not have much luck with the smaller size.

3) I had most of my success throwing poppers of some sort on the shallow creeks. As long as the fish didn't see me I caught them and they would often hit the top water stuff aggresively. If they new I was around forget about it...

4) Fly fishing for smallmouth is a ton of fun...and they way I like to fish them...but your catch rate will decrease significantly from using convential tackle.

So that will take it from an average of two to one

[mic]

I should actually should clarify, I'm not going to "float and fly" the buggers... more of a float and twitch. I use a wieghted bobber just to cast out the size 4 buggers. I can cast them up to 30 yards that way. Then I twitch them back just like stripping them. It worked for large bluegill, crappie, and whites out at Carlye Lake last year. So, I thought I would try it on moving water with bigger flies. Just something about catching fish on your own gear. "No Rules" right I just tied up a Peanut Butter and Jelly: brown and purple marabou tied like Brian did in his last video, brown chenille, purple hackle, gold wrap, black rubber legs striaght out the back, and clear/white legs on the side. I'm not a smallmouth, but it looks super fishy.

Needless to say, I'll have another box with traditional gear. Actually, I'm working with a four box set. One with top water, one with minnows and cranks, one with buggers, and one with grubs and worms. That should get me started for pond fishing and moving water. Thanks again for all the help everyone.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thanks Al... that makes perfect sense to me. Sounds like you have some explaining to do with Chief.

Why? I don't care if he uses synthetics. Heck, everybody knows the first step to recovery is admiting.

[Al Agnew]

Well, Chief, you're right, of course. I use a lot of synthetic material, but what I meant was that I never use jigs with synthetic hair (unless you include the silicone skirts that I use on jigs in warm weather.) For wintertime fishing, I want rabbit, squirrel, or marabou, and on my homemade twin spin I use bucktail. In flyfishing, I seldom use woolybuggers, and my streamers are tied with rabbit and squirrel.

[Mitch f]

They do make some good craft hair nowadays but there is something about the action of real hair or fur. I suppose the reason is that each individual hair is tapered, unlike a synthetic. I must admit I'm a bit of a softy regarding raising animals on a game farm for their fur only. That's why I would rather see an who's meat is harvested along with their fur. Although my favorite fur is either raccoon or arctic fox and there aren't many people eating those two animals!

[Flysmallie]

but what I meant was that I never use jigs with synthetic hair (unless you include the silicone skirts that I use on jigs in warm weather.)

You are starting to sound like a politician.

Wooly boogers are good for smallmouth. Not sure why some would say they don't use them and then recommend something that is almost exactly the same. See that all over the internet. And forget about needing to cast 30 yds on the river, that's just not necessary plus it's not going to be very effective.

There are a lot of good techniques and scenarios that you will never learn from the internet. Your best bet is to find a willing party to spend a day on the water showing you some different things. It's much easier to show you how to fish a rootwad or a tailout while standing in the river than trying to put it to words. And from there you can find your own style. For the half-dozen or so that have responded you probably have that many different ways of fishing one of the specific features.

[mic]

You are starting to sound like a politician.

Wooly boogers are good for smallmouth. Not sure why some would say they don't use them and then recommend something that is almost exactly the same. See that all over the internet. And forget about needing to cast 30 yds on the river, that's just not necessary plus it's not going to be very effective.

There are a lot of good techniques and scenarios that you will never learn from the internet. Your best bet is to find a willing party to spend a day on the water showing you some different things. It's much easier to show you how to fish a rootwad or a tailout while standing in the river than trying to put it to words. And from there you can find your own style. For the half-dozen or so that have responded you probably have that many different ways of fishing one of the specific features.

You volunteering . Actually Smalliebigs and Greasy B have already. The books and videos give me a foundation and get me through the winter. I can't remember the last time I was this excited for spring... maybe when I was a kid. I love tieing the bass flys and jigs. There is a lot more freedom of imagination then for trout.

[Flysmallie]

You volunteering .

Sure. Once you get done jacking around with those guys head on over and I'll show you how it's done.

Or more importantly I will show exactly what does not work. I'm really good at that. But you would still have a lot of fun, can guarantee that. Try and fish with as many different people as you can and pick up on the little things that make them successful.

A little to add to the conversation. If you have never skated a gurgler, yes skated a gurgler, across a tailout you have not lived. It's not what you could ever consider a solid pattern, but when it happens it's awesome. All you need is one fish to explode on that and you will skate a gurgler or a booger across and through every tailout that you come to.

[exiledguide]

Mic, if you got a spare 10 min I can show you everything I know...............