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Bobbers for Bass

  STRIKE INDICATORS! Now that sounds way more hardcore than a bobber. Not sure what it is but there is something about saying strike indicators that makes using a bobber with a fly rod sound more appealing. But whatever you feel like calling it if you’ve got a few monster indibobbers sitting in your bass fly fishing bag you’re on your way to the style of fishing that I commonly refer to as 0-60mph fishing. One second, you’re bored watching your bobicator, and the next you’re trying to figure out why your hands are burning and your bass fly and line are plunging out of sight into the depths below. Indicator or Balanced Leech fly fishing for Bass of all types is a really fun way to get out on the water near you be it the bays or local lakes it should provide some fun fights and memories. Now this is a good ole down and dirty fishing blog explaining some basics on bass fly fishing.… LET’S GO

Balanced Leech For Bass

 

THE BASS FLY FISHING GEAR

 

INDIBOBBERCATORTHINGS

  I like to use the one inch Air-Lock Biodegradeable Indicators personally because they can hold up a double bug rig with plenty of weight under it including the bass fly to keep a tight line and minimize the drift slack. If you are planning on fishing depths of 10ft or greater you will want to pick up a BREAK AWAY INDICATOR like the Taped Slip Strike Indicator. Those allow you to cast bass flies at any depth you want but still give you the ability to reel up and land your fish without having to hand line in your leader when you’ve reeled up and have your indicator at your rod tip.

BASS FLY FISHING BUGS

  Balanced leeches for bass flies are rather easy to tie, and we have some kits at the shop and online in sizes 6-8-10 with a bunch of different bead color choices and a nail included to take some of the guesswork out of the guts of this bass fly if you want to make your own. We also have a bunch of them available for purchase already tied in all the solid go to colors that we use for the wide variety of fish that love these as a snack. We carry a few different Balanced Leech Fly Patterns.

SPLIT SHOT AND WEIGHTS

   The Loon 6 way assortment is what I have on hand for my split shot selection. The 6 way covers you from the biggest ones being the SSG all the way down to a size 4 split shot. The amount of weight you add on top of the bass fly depends on how fast of a drift is happening when you have your bugs in the water. The faster the current or wind drift the more weight you will need to add to take the slack out of the line between the bugs and your indicator. Always stay on the side of more weight rather than less but obviously don’t sink your indicator with what you’ve added, and remember a good presentation is more important than what bass fly you are using.

LEADERS

  Now this part varies, and the major player is going to be the depth you are planning on fly fishing with bass flies at. If you are fishing water in the 5-8 ft range, then you can stick with your standard tapered leader. When you’re looking to hit depths beyond that I would recommend doing a straight shot of Rio Fluorocarbon. Normally I stick with 1x or 2 x for the top section here of line and depending on the type and size of bass you are targeting.

FLY LINE

  A floating bass fly line is all you will need here. I prefer to use something with a pretty aggressive short taper like an RIO OutBound Short or the Rio Grand line. That will help to throw longer casts with the long heavy indicator rig you will have on.

STRIPPING BASKET

  Keeping your line and bass fly out of the rocks and out from under your feet is key so make sure you bring your stripping basket. A personal favorite is the AHREX FLEXISTRIPPER.

RODS

  Bass can fight and they are angry so personally I am a fan of using a fast action 7-8wt rod. It’s not a necessity but I have a few 10ft 7wt rods that I prefer to use for this type of bass fly fishing. A little extra rod length makes casting easier, and I feel like it gives you a little more advantage on the bass flies and hook sets at longer distances. I really like to use the Echo EPR and Echo Ion XL. Also using a Trout Spey or Switch in a 4 to 6wt.

CASTING

  A Belgian style of casting is great for indicator rigs that are long or heavy and big streamers. It will do two things for you. First it will keep your bugs from tangling up with each other or your indicator. Second it keeps all those bass fly hooks further away from the person casting.

THE RUNDOWN

  It is way too easy to drone on and on about the infinite combinations of bass flies, knots, depths and tricks that you will over time come across while experimenting with this type of still water fishing. What I am going to do here is keep it as simple and straightforward as I can. Then it is up to you to get creative with different rod and bass fly combinations so you can fine tune your rig for the bass you are targeting and waters you are fishing. For this blog we will concentrate on Largemouth, Calico and Spotties mainly but EVERYTHING that swims and eats baitfish will eat balanced leech flies so let your mind wander with this and don’t be surprised when you pull up a few monster bluegill, crappie or a halibut with your bass flies.

Calico Bass on a Balanced Leech

BASS FLY FISHING FOR CALICO AND SPOTTED BAY

  In a boat or from the shore this can be a solid way to fish for bass, but you’d better be quick on the set and ready to strip line FAST! These two fish are not subtle, and your indicator will disappear as they dive back gripping your bass fly for the cover to try and break you off. Minimizing slack in your system is very key in a quick solid set. From the reels all the way down to your bass flies you want to try and keep that slack as minimal as possible.

The overall appearance we are trying to achieve with our bass flies here is a couple of baitfish just hanging out ready to be eaten. For the calico bass and spotties I normally try to fish an overall depth of about 8-10ft in the bays. You are going to want to find structures such as rock jetties and other spots where the drop off is close to shore. I start the rig with a 9ft 2X Tapered Fluorocarbon leader. I am targeting a max depth of 10 ft most times with this style of bass fly fishing for these fish, so a tapered leader is fine and will help with turning over your heavy set up. When adding the indicator to this tapered leader make sure that you don’t add it too high in the thick section of line, but instead closer to the end with your tippet and bass fly. I try to add it on the thinner end of where the most dramatic section of taper is. With a 9ft leader it seems to be about 5ft down the thick section on line. The thicker line will be held up in the current and make slack in your system causing your bass fly to look unnatural, so try to keep it thin coming out of the indicator to your bass fly.

  At the end of the tapered leader I add a 25 LB SA Micro Swivel or a Rio 30lb Tippet Ring. Use whatever knot you’re most comfortable with. Off of that you will add about 5 ft of 2X fluoro tippet remembering that we added the indicator roughly 5 ft down a 9ft leader so 4ft plus 5ft. Overall depth at this point should be about 9ft before you add your first bass fly. Tie on a balanced leech with a perfection loop or any loop knot but it should be free to jig itself around with no restriction from the knot.

  Now this next step is how I do things and by no means is it the right way because there is no right way when fishing with bass flies, but this is how I do it and it works for me for a couple reasons. Take another section of fluoro tippet either more 2X or drop to 3X if you want. Add it to the end of your fly line using a double surgeon knot. You’ll have to put the bass fly through the loop twice just as if it was the regular end of your tippet so give yourself enough room. Now tension your knot and try to make the tag end with the bass fly attached about an inch and a half long. Snip off the top tag end. Then you tie the second bass fly below on the tippet you just added using another loop knot. What this does is keep your bass flies from tangling up as often and keeps it out and away from the added line for free movement and jigging ability. Almost ready! Add a BB sized split shot just above the double surgeon knot that you tied. This way your weight can’t slide down and you don’t have to crimp the life out of it to get it to stay place which results in a crimped line often and snaps you off on trophies. Now you have a double balanced leech fly rig set up with a depth range of 6-10ft.

  Far casts are not ideal in this type of bass fly fishing unless you want to challenge yourself on the hook set. You’ll want to maybe throw it 30-40ft max. If your line is super far out there you have a lot of slack to take up and gain during the hook set and a lot of times you will miss the fish because it was just too long of an attempted set. The longer the time you can soak your bass flies the better your chances. That being said, the more movement you can give your bass flies, twitches and short jigs and strips, the more productive you will be as well. So that together is a fine line to walk. I use a mending technique for the jigging motion that seems to give you a little more soak time while still moving the bass flies around enough to get the fish’s attention. I call it the JUMP ROPE because that’s what your line looks like when done correctly. You do a short fast flick with the tip of your line lifting about ½ to ¾ of your line off the water about 2 ft high and in a small circular motion. This will jig your indicator and lift your bass flies forward a few inches, but the slack created by the JUMP ROPE will be taken up as your indicator is pulled slightly back out with the weight of your bugs as they sink back down. If your line is too tight your bass flies will simply sink under your indicator making everything move back in further rather than your indicator moving back to your bass fly. That probably makes no sense now but go try it a few times and you’ll see what I mean.

  Now just go fish. Throw that bass fly fishing rig out by the rocks and off drop offs and slowly work your bass flies back in. When you get bit, you will be ripping that bass fly and line slack in trying to get that fish back up and out of the cover or structure that they are diving for so be ready.

 

BASS FLY FISHING FOR LARGEMOUTH, SMALLMOUTH AND OTHER ANGRY BASS

  All of this can be applied for largemouth bass as well in the same concept. You will want to locate structure or drop offs to target your bass flies and try to use the same techniques of jigging it with small flicks and twitches. Working shorelines from a boat or walking should be equally effective. I’ve been out fishing large balanced leeches for bass flies at local San Diego reservoirs for a while and the bass go nuts. When spring comes around try this style with your bass flies. This works for everything that swims and eats other fish though so if you’re curious if something will eat this try it!

 Bluegill on a Balanced Leech