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jamesbrock3

What to tie for Large Mouth and Small Mouth Bass? Materials?

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I just started to tie my own flys for fly fishing, and I'm looking for some basic flys that will be effective for bass. I have tied one cork popper that produced very well, but I don't want to tie just topwater. Also if you can tell me how to use the flies I tie that would be very appreciative!

 

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Clouser Minnow - there are a couple things to keep in mind, such as placement of the eyes and amount of hair used. Bass have told me they like white/chartreuse very much.

 

Wooly Bugger - super simple tie. I rarely fish them but have had good action on all white and white/pearl/grizzly versions when the bass are on shad.

 

Calcasieu Pig Boat - rubber legs, hackle and some chenille or other body material. Add a tail of marabou or bunny strip if you like. Otherwise, not much to it.

 

Fatal Attraction - this is a flashy streamer by Dan Blanton. Create your own color scheme to imitate 'gills or shad or anything else.

 

Whitlock's Eelworm - saddle hackle, chenille and bead chain eyes. Another simple pattern that doesn't get much attention.

 

Don't forget saltwater patterns. Some that can work quite well for bass are Deceivers, Seaducers and Whistlers.

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I'll concur with what's already been suggested. I probably use Deceivers, Clouser Minnows, Seaducers & perhaps Half & Half's more than anything else.

 

Also add the various rabbit strip patterns. They don't have to be complicated, some are, but simply a tail of rabbit strip, and a body of cross cut rabbit strip wrapped along the hook shank works very well. You can use straight cut strips too for the body wraps, but the hair will be bushier looking. A good way to get a bigger looking fly, without actually being bigger.

 

 

You can add any type of weight (beads, barbells, cones or wire under the body) or even weed guards if you wish. I like to add a few strands of flash to them too.

 

Here's a few I've tied & use.

 

Barbell eyes, 2/0 straight shank worm hook

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Size 2, 2X long streamer hook, weighted with lead wire along the shank (under the rabbit)

100_4241A.jpg

 

Another on a 2/0 worm hook, painted brass bead head.

100_4240A.jpg

 

Size 2 3X long streamer hook, gold bead head

100_4238A.jpg

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I like to fish tarpon flies for bass. I catch a good number of largemouth on many styles of tarpon flies

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Wooly buggers in natural colors, but not always. Sometimes a red body, yellow tail, and purple head wooly bugger is the trick.

 

For clousers I use a natural buck tail. Use the white for the bottom. Then use the brown from the center of the tail for the top. That natural brown & white has caught the most for me. Also add just 2-4 strands of Krystal flash in the fly.

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I like to fish tarpon flies for bass. I catch a good number of largemouth on many styles of tarpon flies

 

I've used Keys style tarpon flies too. They were one of the first flies I tied for bass, back when I was a teenager.

 

Here's a couple I tied several months ago, just because I wanted to tie something different. They're tied on a 2/0 plastic worm hook. The thread on the shank is unfinished. I epoxy coat them before using them.

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Then use the brown from the center of the tail for the top. That natural brown & white has caught the most for me.

 

I also make use of the natural colored hair from the back of a deer tail. IMO, it's an often over-looked tying material. The collar on that second tarpon style fly is from the back side of an olive dyed deer tail. Great for tying small jigs too! smile.png

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I also make use of the natural colored hair from the back of a deer tail. IMO, it's an often over-looked tying material.

 

 

I agree.

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Learn to spin deer hair and tie up some Dahlberg divers. These are a great floater/diver pattern.

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You can do a lot of good bass patterns with a small assortment of materials. Bucktails in natural colors, chartreuse, purple, black, yellow. Deer body hair, in lots of colors for spinning poppers. Sheets of foam (Walmart,) and silicon legs for small spiders, beetles, and frogs. Chenille, saddle hackle, and marabou for woolly buggers and variations. Use crystal chenille in the buggers as well. Rabbit strips for worm like patterns, and Zonkers. Strung neck and saddle hackles are fine for collars on bass bugs, and the tails or wings on streamers. Bead chain eyes, cone heads, or bead heads for streamers and bugger patterns.

Crystal flash for accents on buggers and streamers.

 

Here is an easy bend back bass pattern I have been tying up lately. It is easy to tie, and uses only a few materials.

 

Hook: Mustad 3366 1/0 and 3/0

Thread: Veevus 10/0 white (colored with markers.)

Eyes: bead chain

Body: Crystal chenille

Throat: the red fluff from the bottom of a strung saddle hackle.

Wing: Lighter color bucktail, then a darker color. I usually get all my hair from the same tail.

 

 

 

 

post-12074-0-97897000-1370486917_thumb.jpg

post-12074-0-57867200-1370486924_thumb.jpg

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For river smallies , any crayfish pattern in sizes 6-10. Carp Candy is a decent pattern but I tend to tie it in more muted orange shades instead bright orange. Lately I've been using a simplified version , size 8-10 streamer hook or GCO 2302 curved hook , 7/64th or 1/8th black or gold dumbbell eye tied close to the eye, orange marabou or rabbit fur ( from a hareline's crayfish orange zonker strip) tail, one piece of krystal flash (color your choice or even forget it) on either side of the tail and rootbeer cactus chenille (currently using the med. size but have ordered the large to try) tied from the tail right up to the back of the dumbbell eye. Easy and effective small crayfish pattern that can be fished dead drift or bounced along the bottom. 1/8" eye is better for bouncing along the bottom.

 

Another easy pattern to tie is a Jamie's Krazy Carper in whatever color you choose. http://www.flydogs.net/KrazyCarperRecipe.html

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These will be killers if juvenile perch are lurking about with bass. I like this one and will have to try it out. Are you making your own bendback hooks or using off the shelf model?

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I make my own bends in the hooks. I think these were on the Mustad 3366. A 3 or 4 XL streamer hook should work fine. Only a small amount of bend is necessary.

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I have this book and have gotten a lot of useful patterns and ideas for new patterns from it. It is divided into sections: Poppers, Sliders, Floating Divers, Floating Critters, Fly Rod Spinnerbaits, Crayfish, and Subsurface Flies. Starting at $14.00 used.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Bass-Flies-Patterns-Tactics/dp/1571882855/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385488306&sr=8-1&keywords=hot+bass+flies

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