Best Smallmouth Bass Flies – My Top 4. How To Find Winter Largemouth Bass In Open Water, Mystery Tackle Pro Box Unboxing (Multi-Species January 2021), Mystery Tackle Box Bass Elite Unboxing (January 2021), Mystery Tackle Box Bass Unboxing (January 2021), 7 Crappie Lures You Can Rely On All Winter Long. These are the highest quality, proven patterns that are hand-picked by our ReelFlyRod Pro Staff as the most productive patterns we have fished. The fly rod I like for most of my smallmouth bass fly fishing is 9 feet long that balances with a seven weight line. The lofty regard serious river anglers express for the deer or rabbit hair jig is amazing to … Bring a selection of tubes, drop-shots, and a drift sock – when it blows on Erie, you’ll need it. In actuality, the main reason for the obscurity is due to a 21 inch size limit, 1 fish bag that prevents tournaments from visiting. The Berkley PowerBait Minnow is another good one along with the Zoom Tiny Fluke. Zudbubbler. Habitat: Smallmouth bass behave very much like big river brown trout, staying deep during the colder months and coming to the surface once the water temperatures rise, so choose your flies seasonally. October 2, 2019. By Pete Robbins. I’ve always found trout sexier. Other locales like Sister Bay, Ephraim, Egg Harbor, Chambers Island, and the Strawberry Islands also have tremendous populations of giant bronzebacks. Find all the Best Smallmouth Bass Flies from top brands Umpqua, Rainy’s, Fulling Mill, and Catch Flies. Local anglers routinely catch 4 and 5 pound fish, and getting 20-50 bites a day is the norm. Best Fly Fishing Gear For Smallmouth Bass. … No list of smallmouth fisheries would be complete without mentioning the greatest of the Great Lakes. If you took all the things necessary for major smallmouth productivity and threw them into a hat, shook it up, and dumped it on the ground – the pieces would probably land in the shape of Lake St. Clair and its 430 square miles of dynamite smallmouth habitat. The object is to present the fly so any willing fish doesn't have to move in order to eat. Meat Whistle. Hook: 90-degree jig hook. Therefore, it is the best time to target them with flies. Although the fishing is great in many ports along Erie’s shore including Buffalo, Dunkirk, and Erie, the Sandusky Ohio area has a pedigree of giant smallmouth. Campgrounds populate the river and surrounding areas and Baxter State Park is nearby and worth exploring in the summer. Along the way it carves out some of the most picturesque gorges, cliffs, and rapids east of the Rockies. Hair Jig. It’s big water, so prepare accordingly. Elk Hair Caddis: for when the waters aren’t so calm. Latest. The size limit is in place to protect the bass though, which grow extremely slowly in Lake Superior’s cold waters – its working too, as catching a 5 pound smallmouth is a daily occurrence for Chequamegon Bay regulars. The 10 Best Fall Smallmouth Hotspots . The Murray's Heavy Hellgrammite, Black size 6 was a fly the late Charlie Brooks helped me develop. Copyright © 2021 Field & Stream. This streamer is deadly for smallmouth bass in moving water. Lake Erie, Sandusky OhioAlthough it’s the smallest Great Lake, Erie probably holds the largest … This snowstorm-like hatch brings smallmouth, trout, carp, and even catfish to the surface in a feeding frenzy. No votes so far! As recent major tournaments by BASS and FLW demonstrated, it’d be foolish to leave Lake Ontario off any list of top smallmouth locations. For southern anglers, that comment should be taken only one way; if you haven’t gotten a chance to go somewhere where the smallmouth grow big and mean, make it happen. Body: Diamond braid. Tail: Rabbit strip. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Best Time to Go Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass. Be sure to check out our ReelFlyRod Ultimate Fly Selections for a great value in premium, durable flies. It also puts out smallmouth like one of the Great Lakes. Cone: Tungsten. They are also fond of river systems, and the best of them is the New. It has a strong tip to help pick up the large heavy nymphs and streamers and a medium butt section to blend with the wind resistant nature of our bulky surface poppers and deer hair bugs. At 132,000 acres, Minnesota’s Mille Lacs is big water that in many ways resembles one of the Great Lakes. In 2013, it took over 80 pounds to win a major tournament out of the 1,000 islands area, and nearly that again this year. For smallmouth, I typically got with a lighter wire swimbait. Field & Stream may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. The finest bronzeback fishing of the entire season has arrived. The first fall is generally the period that writers mean when they hype “fast fall fishing.” Water temperatures are still relatively warm (above 57 degrees) but food sources are declining, and the smallmouth bass’s energy requirements are high because of developing gonad production. Smallies love to take a fly and fight hard, from the hookset to the release. The Zudbubbler is a revamped version of Tom Loving’s Gerbubble Bug, and it absolutely … https://www.theflyfishers.com/C/370/BestFliesForSmallmouthBass Usually during the month of September cold fronts start moving into the area and can cause a change in movement and feeding activity of the bass. This can all add up to those “died and gone to heaven” days that smallie fans fondly recall years later. After suffering through a stretch of lean years after 2000, the waters that produced David Hayes almost 12 pound world record in 1955 are back with a vengeance. Flies from tyers such as Bob Clouser, Dave Whitlock, Harry Murray, and Ed Shenk are all excellent choices. Winter fly-fishermen need to break the pool down into two-foot wide grids and make a cast into each grid. They become somewhat reckless as they chase baitfish near the banks and in the shallow flats of river systems. At a recent major tournament in smallmouth country, a top touring pro was quoted as saying “Catching big smallmouth is just about the most fun you can have with your pants on.”. It’s got abundant offshore structure, massive schools of shad, and plenty of rocky habitat that big smallmouth love. A lot of anglers are going to … Be the first to rate this post. Coldwater smallmouth bass tend to bunch up and can be difficult to locate. https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/best-smallmouth-bass-flies/151841 Therefore, the best time to go fly fishing would be around spring or summer. 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