Smallmouth Bass

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - January 11, 2023

Smallmouth Bass offer some of the best fishing when things get warm from mid-June through August. Whether you are an angler looking to improve your skills, or you’re an advanced fly fisherman looking for a fun day on the water, spending a half or full-day river on the Manistee River is for you.

Smallies are not only eager to please, but it’s mostly a visual presentation and grab, and they can really put a bend in the rod making them a great alternative to trout. And we fish for them in daylight without the use of headlamps. What’s not to like?

Method

Fishing slow sinking-tip fly lines and a baitfish streamer or crayfish is usually the most effective technique, but there are days when they prefer it on top. Face it — fishing on the surface is a favorite for just about anyone who fly fishes. Sometimes they sip grasshopper/terrestrial patterns other times they explode on poppers — it’s always fun when they eat.

The Smallies’ wavering ways of choosing what and what not to eat is part of the fun as anglers work to solve the puzzle but its easier to do than with trout. And when it comes together the only one not smiling is the fish.

Bass on the Flats

Those anglers looking for smallmouth on a flats setting should consider carp fishing in the Grand Traverse Bays as the two species share a lot of the same water. While stalking the “Golden Bones” of the bay, the smallmouth often provide opportunities some bass anglers never get. When conditions are right (late May and in June), the larger smallmouth bass come in shallow making them the primary target and focus of anglers with a fly rod.

Each year bass fishing TV programs and their hosts either discover or reveal what they have known for a while — that the fishing on Grand Traverse Bays for smallies is among the 10 best in the world.

Related Articles

: Smallmouth on the Bay

: River Smallmouth Fishing

: Smallmouth on Lakes

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Practice Casting Prior to Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 15, 2016

Don’t practice when you get to the river – fish instead.

Each spring we notice the days getting longer, the weather warmer and the fishing season rapidly approaching. But are you ready? What I notice year after year with the majority of returning clients is their casting skills improve only marginally if at all. Often after some casual conversation they reveal that they haven’t fished/practiced casting since the last time we were together . Most of the time they don’t need to tell me this, I can see it.

Just like an elk hunter doesn’t climb on top of a mountain to sight his rifle in on a herd – a fly fisher should have practiced and refined his cast so it goes where it needs to go when on the water.

While not everyone is a natural caster, everyone can improve – but you have to spend some time working on it. First, make it a goal. Second execute a plan. Here are some thoughts on how you can work towards a better cast:

Loop control. If you don’t know them already understand the mechanics of good casting and practice false casting with ever improving loop control.

Fish demand accuracy – especially rising trout.

Aim small, hit small. Just don’t cast – actually practice hitting a target. Some people use hula hoops, but dark patches of grass, yard flags, or even a stick work as something to aim for.

Cast short. In Michigan a lot of our trout fishing is closer than people think. Or practice. Try casting shorter distances with accuracy rather than showing off how far you can cast.

Practice what you fish. If you are likely to cast big or weighted flies, practice casting big or weighted flies. Casting dry flies requires different casting skills and approach.

If you fish in windy conditions, practice in the wind.

Tie one on. Attach a bright, easy to see fly on the end of your leader and cut off the hook to eliminate hooking yourself.

Sporting clays/sporting flies. Bird hunters often practice shooting clay targets on a range where the targets fly in life-like situations. Practice casting similarly – put a target under a shrub or a tree – you know, where trout sometimes often lie.

Like the wind. Be sure to practice when it’s windy because it’s often windy when you’re on the water.

Lesson learned. FFF certified instructors are available for lessons and can flatten the learning curve – especially when you practice what they teach you.

Read & understand fly casting.

Read about it. There are countless books on casting – consider reading more on the subject.

Movie star. After some practice, have someone take a video of you casting and evaluate yourself. With smart phones, this is easy to do.

Build muscle memory. Fly casting is more muscle control than it is muscle and power application. Helping the body develop muscle control/memory can be achieved by practicing often but for very short periods of time. Some people find keeping a rod rigged up where they can go into the yard or neighborhood park for 15 min. makes practicing easy. One customer last year said it was a great way to decompress after work – and it was evident on the water that he practiced!

Dedicate a line. If you replace your fly line, use the old one as a dedicated practice line. This keeps your new line in optimum shape. Or check out the discounted fly lines at your local shop.

Becoming a better caster off the water makes you a better angler on the water.

Good casting and the ability to put a fly in front of a feeding fish or likely fish holding spot is crucial. If you can’t put the fly where and how it needs to be, your success rate will typically go down as your frustration goes up.

There are enough variables in fly fishing to work through, why not control the few you can? Show up to the water a better caster and a better angler.

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Bobble Head Baitfish

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 19, 2015

Gray and White Bobble Head

This multi-species fly pattern is a variation of Jimmy Nix’s Shinabou, with the biggest difference being the head material. Rather than deer hair, the Bobble Head uses sheep hair and is trimmed somewhat bulbous, this – combined with its tendency to hold air, causes it to swim erratically during and after the strip. When stopped, the fly rises slightly in the column while the current imparts movement on the long tail. The result is an alive, but wounded, baitfish look that predatory fish have a hard time resisting. The name of the fly comes from the action the pattern shares with bobble head dolls, often found on the dashboard of a car. Even at the stop light, the bobble head still moves.

Fishing the Bobble Head

Baitfish Eating Salmon

There are a number of lines fly fishers can choose when using this pattern, but much of it depends on the type of water and species they are fishing. In rivers with decent current, I like to use 30′ sink-tips with noticeably long pauses between strips.

When fishing lakes in depths 5-12′ deep, consider a clear sink-tip line and slow strip for a unique neutral suspension as you work weed lines, drop-offs and other forms of structure; this presentation can be deadly, but is more finesse fishing than most anglers accustomed to fishing large streamer patterns are comfortable doing.

If fishing deeper water in lakes, use bigger sink-tips and strip it back a little faster than the clear intermediate lines once you count the cast down to the depth you desire.

Smallmouth Bass

In shallow water / flats, a floating line can be deadly, but you will want to massage water into the fly first to keep it from floating on the surface.

I have used the Bobble Head Baitfish pattern for a number of species including trout, pike, musky, salmon, steelhead and bass. By changing up the color scheme you can alter this pattern to look like other baitfish found in the water you fish, i.e. chub, perch, rainbow, brook or brown trout. If those don’t work, there are attractor colors/schemes such as chartreuse/white, firetiger, or yellow variations (for river smallmouth bass).

Recipe

Hook: Mustad S74SNP #1
Thread: Fly Master + – White
Tail: Chinese Rooster Saddle
Flash: Angel Hair – Polar Ice
Foul Guard: Bucktail – White
Body: Marabou – White
Wing: Marabou – Gray
Collar: Mallard Flank
Topping:              Peacock Herl
Head:                   Sheep Hair – White, Gray
Eyes:                   Holographic Silver – 1/4″
Lead:                   .035 Lead Wire

Tying Instructions:

Step 1. Using 2 -1/2″ of lead wire, wrap just off of center favoring the hook eye.

Step 2. Match four saddle hackles so they are the same size and shape. Select long, wispy feathers
to provide maximum action and movement when fishing. Tie in two feathers on each side of the
hook – convex side facing out, extending beyond the hook bend 1-1/2 to 2 hook shank lengths.

Step 3. Tie in a few strands of Angel Hair on each side and
trim so they don’t extend beyond the tail feathers. See note.

Step 4. Tie in a small clump of bucktail to help prevent the tail feathers
from fouling the hook. I happened to use white on the bottom and gray on top.

Step 5. Select a full and long white marabou blood quill feather and tie in by the tip.
Wrap/Palmer through the body, stopping about a hook gape’s distance behind the eye.
Tie in a few strands of Angel Hair on each side of the hook.

Step 6. Select a full and long gray marabou blood quill feather and tie
in on top of the hook extending approximately to half of the tail’s length.

Step 7. Tie in a mallard flank feather by the tip and wrap a collar by folding the fibers backwards.

Step 8. Tie in 6-8 strands of peacock herl extending just beyond the gray marabou.

Step 9. Tie in a clump of white sheep hair on the bottom side of the hook, then, repeat on top with gray sheep hair.
After tying in, pull the butts backwards towards the bend of the hook and place a few wraps to encourage
the hair to stay there. You want the head to be tied in full because after trimming this will help provide
the shape and ultimately the movement of the fly – hence the name of the fly. Whip finish.

Step 10. Trim the sheep hair top and bottom so the butt ends of the hair transition to the natural tips.

Step 11. Trim the sides of the sheep hair head so they are relatively flat – this serves as
a keel helping the fly to track while providing the preferred profile. (Photo is a top view)

Step 12. Apply a generous blob of Super Fabric Textile Adhesive where the sheep hair tie down section is.
Apply a 3-D Eye to each side of the fly and squeeze the adhesive into the sheep, head not only to
secure the eyes but also to stiffen and shape the head to help with profile and fly tracking.

Finished Bobble Head Baitfish Pattern – 4-1/2 inches long

Notes:

– When varying the pattern’s color, consider using natural or dyed grizzly feathers offering natural barring to the pattern.

– You can tie additional flash/Angel Hair into this pattern for dirty water or low light conditions but trim it away while on the water if need be.

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Seductive Streamer Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 9, 2012

The days of casting a large streamer to the bank and stripping it back aggressively with fish attacking in territorial response are diminishing. Sure, fish still move into the shallows of low light and stained water, and even play our game some days. But years of angler conditioning has some of the larger fish a little smarter, or laying a little deeper, and often in more structure.

Always adaptive, we now fish with heavier lines and have developed even larger flies — heavily weighted and often accessorized like a Dallas Trophy Wife. While effective, this extension of trophy streamer fishing often goes beyond some anglers’ abilities and/or preference to fish. Considering there are more days when conditions include clear water and plenty of daylight, it pays to have an alternative approach — “Seductive Streamer Fishing.”

Tournament Bass Fishing and Trout Fly Fishers

There seems to be a dichotomy between the fly fisher and bass angler, but yet, the two have so much in common. The fly angler can learn a lot from the guys in the glitter boats, since they often have more at stake when fishing in large-purse tournaments and gathering sponsorships. They simply can’t afford not to catch fish.

Seductive Streamer Fishing - Bass Angler Crossover

Chris Sausman, sales rep for Shimano & G. Loomis,
applies his bass fishing skills to fly fishing trout.

If you have watched fishing shows on TV you have seen where large, flashy spinner baits (think big streamers) catch aggressive and often big fish. But if you have watched enough programs, specifically tournament coverage, it’s the plastic bait presentation (worms, tubes, grubs, salamanders, etc.) that seems to be the bread-winner time and time again. Why? When conditions change or when fishing pressured water, having a kinder, gentler presentation is effective, especially when fish aren’t aggressively feeding.

How often do you get to the river after a cold-front moves in, when an east wind is present, water temperatures have dropped, or when “sterile ditch syndrome” sets in — when the fish are simply in an ornery mood, and you aren’t even sure there are any fish? Adapt your streamer presentation to get fish to eat despite these conditions.

Seductive Presentation

Pull fish from cover with subtle but seductive retrieves.

If you have ever watched a runway model move down the platform, you know they aren’t running, but rather walking and “working-it,” often seductively to garner attention and a desired reaction. The angler’s finesse of a twitch, the drop of the presentation, the erratic flutter and motion of plastics tends to seduce fish to eat, even when not in a feeding mood. Why? Because it looks natural and is easy to pounce on without having to chase it.

This is where seductively presenting a streamer, slowly, thoroughly and with a lot of movement and action in and around structure or other likely holding water brings fish to the net – even when the heavy-handed approach of big flies can comes up short.

Presentation and Fly Tips For Seductive Streamer Fishing

Seductive Streamer Fishing - Lighter Lines II

Use lighter density & shorter sink-tips or floating lines.

Use lighter Line. Presenting these flies on lighter, shorter sink-tips helps keep they fly from going immediately to the bottom and allows you to dance, twitch and otherwise flutter the fly. Readjust and fish specific portions of the water rather than trying to cover as much water as possible.

Get jiggy with it. When fishing shallower and/or log-infested water, I often fish a floating line with a bead-headed fly and longer leader (9-plus ft.). When accompanied by thoughtful mending of the line, this keeps the presentation vertical — moving up and down the water column (like a jig), as opposed to streaking across the river (fast moving spinner bait). The floating line option is also a great approach for anglers wading and switching back and forth between dry flies and streamers. Just remember to tie your streamer on with a little stronger tippet as the structure and size of the fish typically demand it.

Fish flies of various weights and sizes
with lots of movement.

Work it. Often the flies fished on lighter sink-tips and floating lines are visible, so you can watch your fly and manipulate it by mends, rod-hops and short-strips. Work the fly as needed and pay attention to how the fish react. When you find something that works, continue that approach, and if a fish is following the fly but not eating, try small variances in your retrieve/strip to elicit the strike. This isn’t much different from the saltwater angler presenting to fish on the flats — “check” often results in “check-mate,” but it takes two to play that game. You want to be the one with the upper hand.

Don’t forget the middle. Depth and structure can be found in the center of the river, so be sure to swim a fly broadside and dance it through these overlooked areas. Not only does the center of the river hold fish, but most anglers are programmed to only cast to the banks, leaving many of these fish unpressured and uneducated.

This fish was caught in the middle of the river.

Go Slow in cold water. As water temperatures cool in the fall and remain cold throughout winter, fish are often lethargic and almost hibernating state. The slow moving fly that stays in their zone longer and looks inviting tends to be more successful than the quickly stripped streamer. If you are going to serve them up something big to eat, make it easy for them.

Fish natural to flashy. Flies for this type of streamer fishing can vary from realistic patterns of a natural food sources, to suggestive patterns of multiple food sources, or to something bright and attractive that aggravates the fish. My go-to strategy is usually to imitate the natural food source first. Then, if not overly successful, go to something a little more provocative. lethargic and almost hibernating state. The slow moving fly that stays in their zone longer and looks inviting tends to be more successful than the quickly stripped streamer. If you are going to serve them up something big to eat, make it easy for them.

Seductive Streamer - Motion Enhanced Streamer

Weighted flies with materials like rubber legs
or marabou help provide a lot of action.

Use flies with lots of action. Using a fly that incorporates materials with inherit action and motion is key. Rubber legs, marabou, flashabou, soft hackle, bunny-bou strips, schlappen, wispy synthetics and countless other appropriate materials make fly tying limitless in design possibilities. Consider taking your favorite big-ass trophy streamer and down-sizing it. A well-stocked fly shop should offer non-tiers a variety of streamers to fit your needs.

Use weight. Seek out the weighted patterns that incorporate cones, beads or dumbbell eyes. The jigging motion created by weight combined with the current’s force on action-packed materials is deadly. Having a few flies with tungsten weights incorporated can really help to get a fly down if necessary.

Add worm weights. Take a page out of the bass fisherman’s playbook – add seductive lift and drop motion to the retrieve by using sinkers designed for fishing plastics. Slide on the line and let the sinker either rest above the fly (put a small plastic bead between it and the knot), or peg it to the line with a toothpick above the fly for even more action. The larger the weight, the more difficult the casting — seek the lighter 1/32 and 1/16 oz sizes.

Lighten up. You can still use the larger rods associated with streamer fishing, but the smaller flies don’t require power. The need to be more responsive and deliberate with the presentation often is easier with a lighter rod – 5 and 6 weights are ideal.

Change it up. Some days big streamers fished on heavy lines is really effective, but suddenly it can stop working. After your rotation of favorite patterns fails to turn the good fishing back on, adjust your tackle and implement the seductive streamer technique. You might find the fish are still on the bite, just not as aggressive as they were earlier.

Use these techniques for more fish than trout.

Fish stillwater. Use this approach when fishing stillwater – for more than just trout or even bass. Fish are fish, and the versatile, adaptive and observant angler is usually successful. Adding significant action near structure can result in takes for the same reason the plastics angler catches bass — it stays close and looks tempting.

With streamer fishing really becoming more commonplace the past 10 years, it seems the fish have taken note of those big flies and have become less participatory. When faced with clear conditions and/or cold water, alter your approach. Adjust your tackle and target specific waters to work fish out of structure when they aren’t aggressively feeding. Slowly and seductively moving your fly in likely fish holding water can mean the difference between possibly catching an aggressive fish or just catching fish.

More tips for streamer fishing »

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Largemouth Bass on the Fly

Posted by Ted Kraimer - August 17, 2012

By the time July and August have arrived in northern Michigan, fly anglers have had months to fish for trout and other cold-water species. As the weather and water temperatures increase, it’s a great time to fly fish for largemouth bass in the local lakes.

While the Traverse City area does not have the huge bass found in the managed ponds of southern states, or as you might see on a Saturday morning bass fishing TV show, we do have good population — some over the 5-pound mark.

Being a versatile angler (fishing slowly retrieved nymphs, streamers on a sink-tip or casting bulky poppers) will not increase the odds of finding what the fish are in the mood for, but it will make you a better fly angler regardless of the species you pursue in the future — it’s a great way to improve while having fun.

Structure

Target Weed Beds, Wood & Drop-Offs

Structure is a great place to start looking for bass, as it is for just about any species of fish. The increased weed growth, swim platforms and docks found on most lake edges are a great place to start.

Large mats of lily pads and other aquatic weeds are a good place to focus. When the weeds are close or adjacent to drop-offs, another form of structure, it’s that much more likely you will find the bigger, more predatory bass. This cover not only provides safety from larger predators (osprey, eagles, loons, pike, anglers), it more importantly serves as a place where they can eat smaller fish, insects and other food sources. In low light, look for fish to become a little more bold, moving into shallower water and flats to eat minnow and other baitfish.

Flies for Largemouth Bass

Poppers and Chuggers = Surface Fun

Some like it on top, others like it down low. Both the bass and the bass angler have preferences, and it’s up to the angler to either figure out what the fish are in the mood for or how they, as anglers, want to fish that particular day. Personally, there is nothing better than chugging a popper near lily pads only to have it inhaled by a bass.

But like most fishing, bass may want a different presentation, and the versatile angler equipped with various fly styles will be able to adapt to the fish’s preference. Sliders and diving flies fished on either a floating line or clear sink-tip are a nice mix as long, slow strips swims the fly from the surface, down and back up covering more of the water column.

Classic streamers like weighted wooly buggers slowly retrieved do a great job of imitating leeches, and have taken their fair share of fish. So have larger, streamer patterns that look like natural baitfish stripped along the weed bed and/or drop off.

The big popper with rubber legs on the surface, Sneaky Pete’s, frogs, crawfish, small poppers, dragon and damsel flies (both nymph and adult) an assortment of streamers all deserve a place in your fly box.

Equipment

Casting Bulky Flies Requires the Right Equipment

The versatile angler will have both a floating and a sink-tip line to meet the demands of the fish. Specialty tapers for bass exist, but I have found some other lines that I feel perform better: Scientific Angler’s Magnum and Titan tapers and Rio’s Outbound fly lines are a joy to cast.

Reels don’t necessarily need to have the most advanced drag system, as the bass aren’t like a steelhead and we are not protecting light tippets — reels simply serve as line holders.

Leaders are more important than most anglers recognize — the tapper and stiffness of a leader trying to carry and turn over a large, wind-resistant fly is crucial; while we aren’t catching 12-pound bass, we often need that much stiffness and mass to cast the fly well and to muscle fish in and out of weed beds. Look for tapered leaders formulated for bass or even saltwater species.

Rod size varies, but most will find 6- and 7-weight rods, 9-feet in length, are ideal. Some anglers choose to have some fun with the smaller rods for a “ultra-light” approach, where the serious big-fly and heavy-cover angler might opt for the power and efficiency of an 8-weight. Manufacturers like Sage, Redington and Scott have developed rods specifically for warm-water fishing with unique lengths and tapers you might consider if you really get into this type of fishing. Just remember, the best rod is the rod you cast best.

Timing

Morning, Noon or Night - Catch Largemouth Anytime

Some times are better to fish for bass than others, but anytime you can get out and fish is a good time. One of the advantages to fishing largemouth is that they are typically accessible and eager to eat at all times of the day.

Some days the best surface fishing is twilight — the time when the sun has gone over the tree line. Other days, after a cool front has moved through, the sun brings them out and gets them active. Often early mornings are good, too, for the same reason as twilight. During the summer, the daytime temperature forecast is usually what helps me and my customers decide when is best to fish — after all — it’s about getting on the water to fish, having some fun and catching.

Seasonally the bass move from the deep water into shallower, more “fly-angler-friendly” depths in May and can be caught through September. To me, anytime you can catch fish is a good time, but when the trout fishing has slowed or you are looking to mix it up, give bass on a fly rod a chance.

Spending my formative angling years using spinning rod chasing bass, I see July and August as time to reconnect with those early fishing memories of northern Michigan lakes using a fly rod – try it yourself if you haven’t yet.

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