20 replies to this topic

[bluegill576]

So I have gotten down my fly fishing skills and fly tying skills pretty good and the last year or two have been catching up to 5 lb bass. This spring I really want to catch an 8 lb + largemouth. I know a couple ponds that have fish well over 8 lbs and have caught one 8 lb one just not on the fly. I have the rod and all the necessary gear but need some idea for flies. I am thinking I will need some really big and specifically tall streamer that would represent a panfish. Does anybody have some patterns for this? Thanks

[brad432]

hm. i have a fly that i really like its just white bucktail with red in the middle then more white on top. its quite big, about 4 and a half inches long and its pretty fat.. otherwise, i baught a streamer a couple years ago before i started tying, its just a large saltwater deceiver i wanted to try on bass, but i never did try it out. light blue and white hackle with silver feathers and red thread. i woudlnt go with anything to complicated really. if you put it by a big bass the right way, hopefully hell hit it. i got about a 8 or 9 pounder on my spinning rod last spring on a popper in the local pond over here in raleigh.. was a great explosion. anyways good luck!
Brad

[rich mc]

why not a big calcasieu pigboatfly use colored rubber strands for a bluegill effect rich mc

[TheCream]

I am in the same boat as you. I am plus-sizing a lot of my bass stuff this summer. Big Deceivers are one thing on my list, some larger EP-style streamers, and I especially want to try some of the "hollow style" bucktail streamer patterns. The hollow style give a real broad, panfish-like shape. I'm trying to focus in on larger streamers with good water shedding qualities so they will cast a little easier. Deceivers are one of the easiest-casting big streamers there are, I am also thinking about trying another big saltwater pattern, a Seaducer. I tied some of those for a salt trip, and for as simple as they are, they look killer in the water. I should be able to bump them up into the 5-6" range pretty easy. I'm also bumping up the size of my topwaters dramatically.

[Stippled Popper]

A Bass Fisherman and tier in my part of the country is making Bass flies based on Pike Flies
and having good results.

[tidewaterfly]

I often use big flies for bass, even flies that I might also use for saltwater species. These guys have given you some great suggestions.

There was a recent post about Pike flies made with foam heads. That might be the way to go. Here's a link for one of the flies.
Pike Fly

If there are Shiners in that pond, they would be a good choice for your imitation. Big bass like big Shiners, and it will be a much easier pattern to tie up. If you go with the foam head type fly, you might want to change the flash to a finer type, something that "swims" a bit better, perhaps regular Flashabou or a combination of Flashabou & Krystal Flash.

Tall patterns are often difficult to get a good profile, and will be more wind resistant, making them difficult to cast. Besides, I feel when a bass has a choice, they are more inclined to eat a longer, yet bigger meal like a big Shiner than a big Bluegill. Much easier to swallow. From what I've read, most of the really big Florida bass are caught on big, live Shiners, so that should be a good indication.

Unfortunately up here, in the waters I fish, a 5 lb bass is a big one, there are not many around, and I have yet to reach that goal on a fly. (4 lbs 13 oz was my biggest) Still, I use big flies, and have caught numerous bass, from 5 to 10 inch fish, up to 4 lb fish. They'll all eat a big fly, or attempt to!

If I was you, I would take a look at those Pike flies, and some big EP type patterns. (Although, I much prefer natural materials, it limits your sizes somewhat!) They will allow you to tie big flies, yet keep them light weight. I would try some Congo hair, from Fly Tyers Dungeon, much less expensive than EP fibers, but still give you a very similar result.

I use big Deceivers & Seaducers quite a bit. I've also added some EP style flies, and those big foam head Pike flies will be added to my boxes when I get the chance to tie up some. Of course my bass flies are also the flies I use for Stripers, so I keep a variety tied up anyway. You should too!

[Kirk Dietrich]

No personal experience with large bass but I witnessed it some years ago with a guy in Texas. He fished sinking lines with a deer head streamer. The tail was made out of 6 - 8 long saddle hackles approximately 8 inches long and the head was spun deer hair clipped to a kind of ball shape. This guy routinely caught 4lb plus bass including a 10lber. I only witnessed the 4lber the day I was with him. I caught more fish than he did on my deer hair diver fished on the surface but he caught a 3 and 4 lber and my fish were running 1 - 2 lbs.
I think for big bass, long is most appealing. The deceiver is a real good idea too.

Kirk

[TheCream]

Found this pattern this morning on YouTube, I am thinking in slightly smaller sizes it should terrorize bass:

[tidewaterfly]

Cream, that's an interesting looking fly. I agree with you, particularly in off colored or stained water. All that flash should get some attention!

[TheCream]

Cream, that's an interesting looking fly. I agree with you, particularly in off colored or stained water. All that flash should get some attention!

It's sort of a "souped up" bigger and badder version of the Murdich Minnow variation I used on bass pretty effectively this year. When you tied the Murdich in more muted colors with a more neutral flash, it actually did very well in gin clear water where I fished it. I liked the bulkier body on this fly, it should push a lot of water and present a little bit bigger meal to Mr and Mrs Bass.

[tidewaterfly]

I'm also a big fan of Murdich Minnows, Joe Cornwall's variation in particular and Bluegill might do well with it as a Shiner imitation. I don't fish water that is very clear very often, but would bet something with some copper, bronze & black Flashabou would be a good choice for such water. I often incorporate that type flash in flies (and jigs) I tie for Smallmouths, and have had some real good success with it.

Do you have a specific recipe for the muted flash Murdich? I'm just thinking, something like that might also be a good fly for Bluegill to use for imitating other panfish that do not have much flash to them, like Bluegills & other Sunfishes, without the bulk of a broad profile fly.

[bigpikeflies]

I have two trains of thought. I throw my pike flies for local largemouths and also take alot of big smallies on the rivers when piking. In the lakes I prefer a gizzard shad pattern (attahced) I tie, but in the rivers I target pike and the bass are just a by product. We do not have pike in the lakes, so I target them specifically there.
The other train of thought is to pull out your three or four top conventional tackle and match them as closely to size and function as you can. They have become your stand by's for a reason.

Attached Files

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[buzzin frog]

Look at the Bart-o Minnow on youtube

[TheCream]

I'm also a big fan of Murdich Minnows, Joe Cornwall's variation in particular and Bluegill might do well with it as a Shiner imitation. I don't fish water that is very clear very often, but would bet something with some copper, bronze & black Flashabou would be a good choice for such water. I often incorporate that type flash in flies (and jigs) I tie for Smallmouths, and have had some real good success with it.

Do you have a specific recipe for the muted flash Murdich? I'm just thinking, something like that might also be a good fly for Bluegill to use for imitating other panfish that do not have much flash to them, like Bluegills & other Sunfishes, without the bulk of a broad profile fly.

This is one pic I have of a color that did well in clear water:



-Tail: white bucktail, pearl Flashabou, rainbow Sparkle Hair
-Cheeks: white sculpin wool
-Head: clear Ice Chenille (Sharpie'd back)
-Eyes: Jurassic 3D eyes

I use Ice Chenille for the heads on my Murdich's, and that one was "clear" ice chenille that I touched purple on the back with a Sharpie. The flash in it was some sparse pearl Flashabou and a flash mix I buy at my local Orvis shop called Sparkle Hair in "rainbow" coloration. It has a mix of pearl, light pinks and blues in it. This is another I used at the AEP ponds with great success this summer, and the water there was very clean/clear:



That one is as follows (funny you mentioned black/copper flash):

-Tail: purple bucktail, black and copper Flashabou
-Cheeks: gray sculpin wool
-Head: purple Ice Chenille (Sharpie'd back)
-Eyes: silver 3D dome eyes

They look much prettier on the vise:

[rich mc]

another pattern to google up is the kinky muddler.its on my to tie list for 2012 rich mc