Smallmouth

[Redneckr3bel 0]

What is y'all's favorite smallmouth bass flies

[heavynets 0]

Clousers and poppers.

[feathers5 0]

Crayfish patterns and Clousers.

[flymanaj 0]

Slumpbusters!

[williamhj 0]

Black wooly buggers and tongue depressors. Trying slumpbusters this summer love them for trout and bet they'll clean up for bass.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've caught them on many different fly patterns. Have caught them while fishing for trout on wet flies, terrestrial, nymphs, streamers & dry flies.

In bigger waters, like the Susquehanna River I've caught them on big saltwater type patterns.

 

I also like to go outside the box & use flies that are normally not used for SM.

I've caught them frequently on Skunk & Intruder patterns popular for Steelhead, as well as the various deerhair topwater flies such as Wakers & Bombers.

 

I doubt there's any type of fly they won't take.

 

When targeting them, the patterns & fly types I'll choose depends on the size of stream or river.

 

Typically, I'll use the following:

Clouser Minnows

Clouser Half & Half's

Murdich Minnows

Lefty's Deceivers

Woolly Buggers & the many variations

A Clouser Minnow style Leech

Seaducer style streamers

Poppers & Sneaky Pete style sliders

Big foam hoppers, crickets or Stonefly dry flies (Western style dry flies)

Terrestrial patterns, worms, beetles, etc. - mostly for small streams

Various large nymph patterns, like Hellgrammites & Stoneflies.

Various types for imitating crayfish, including Carp patterns, plus Bonefish, Redfish & Permit type patterns typically used in saltwater as shrimp imitations.

Various deerhair bugs & dry flies. (Bass bug, Salmon & Steelhead dry flies)

Rabbit Strip patterns.

Various other flies I'll experiment with, such as the Salmon or Steelhead flies mentioned above.

 

If you like to tie & try different things, Smallmouths are the perfect fish to experiment on, particularly in rivers & streams.

 

Here's some pics of flies I've caught SM's on that are not usually used for SM. Some of these were purchased, some I tied.

 

Intruder style

 

MOAL style fly.

 

Deer Hair Dry.

 

Foam Hoppers & Stoneflies.

[Brian Myers 0]

Crayfish patterns,dumbell/beadchain eye carp patterns, simple sculpin patterns ( taneycomo sculpin streamer), clousers and floating minnows (holographic mylar cord over foam - longer than normal popper body / tapered face). I usually don't start the year fishing until around now so water conditions are low and mostly clear , surface patterns with a tapered head like a sneaky pete are more productive than a flat or cupped face. Bass get spooky in low clear water conditions around here unless all you want to catch are dinks.

[ditz2 0]

Muddlers and Marabou Muddlers can be fished many ways to imitated several kinds of a SMB menu. Minnows, some larva, and even leaches and crawdads. Another versatile fly is a blind Squirrel which works as a nymph and other water bugs and small craws depending how fished. For the top one should always carry some poppers and hair bugs of various styles including sliders.

[essequamvideri 0]

Double XL Bomber in White and Chartreuse

 

Michaael

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Those bombers look interesting. Kinda like something we used to use for Atlantic Salmon. What style and size hook would be good for SMB?

[MVHagey 0]

Deer hair crayfish

[jonathan creason 0]

I've caught them on many different types of flies, but I'd say a good 75% of the fish I've caught have been on some sort of crawfish imitation. Granted, I've only been fly fishing for smallies for a little over a year now, but an olive crawfish, dropped behind large rocks in the river has been very consistent.

[Rocco 0]

For seriously covering the water...

 

Large -- #6 and 8 -- weighted strip nymphs tear them up when they are deep in strong daylight conditions. Mickey Finns and other simple hair streamers unweighted and stripped fast do the trick in dim light.

 

Goofing around, I like the strikes on hair bugs and mice on top.

 

Rocco

[tidewaterfly 0]

 

 

Those bombers look interesting. Kinda like something we used to use for Atlantic Salmon. What style and size hook would be good for SMB?

 

Chuck, those are the same style that some use for Salmon. When I was tying commercially, I had some orders for Bombers, so decided to try them for SM. They're not a lot different than other deer hair flies popular for bass, so I tied them on 6, 4 & 2 size hooks. I'm sure they could be smaller or larger for targeting bass, depending on where your fishing, but these are the sizes I've used most. We have a tremendous "white fly" hatch in the area, & that white Bomber is perfect for that hatch.

 

I've tied & used Waller Wakers, Glitter Bugs & that Pink Deer Hair Wog for SM too.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

 

 

 

Those bombers look interesting. Kinda like something we used to use for Atlantic Salmon. What style and size hook would be good for SMB?

 

Chuck, those are the same style that some use for Salmon. When I was tying commercially, I had some orders for Bombers, so decided to try them for SM. They're not a lot different than other deer hair flies popular for bass, so I tied them on 6, 4 & 2 size hooks. I'm sure they could be smaller or larger for targeting bass, depending on where your fishing, but these are the sizes I've used most. We have a tremendous "white fly" hatch in the area, & that white Bomber is perfect for that hatch.

 

I've tied & used Waller Wakers, Glitter Bugs & that Pink Deer Hair Wog for SM too.

 

Thanks so much Tidewaterfly. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bombers in your SMB arsenal. I often thought they might make good bass patterns and your post confirms it. Dead drifted or skated they provide a bold profile on top water and should make for some exciting action. Cheers.