BASS ON THE FLY

Contributed by David Hulsey International Federation of Fly FishersMaster Certified Casting Instructor

http://www.hulseyflyfishing.com

770-639-4001

Not only is April prime time for angling for our cold-water trout species, it’s also the beginning of great fly fishing for warm water fish as well! When we have a few consecutive days of seventy -degree weather, the water temperature in our mountain reservoirs and rivers starts to inch up into the low fifties and largemouth and spotted bass move a little closer to the shoreline and the mouths of creeks searching out food sources and preparing to spawn. Bluegill, thread fin shad, blue back herring, crawfish etc. are all on the menu. Anything that’ll fit in a bass’s mouth is fair game and that’s good news for the fly fisher! Flies such as Blane Chocklett’s Game Changer, Bob Clouser’s Clouser Minnow, Hada’s Creek Crawler, and various subsurface flies will catch a bunch of hungry fish. Six and Seven weight fly rods with intermediate sinking lines should get the flies down to an acceptable level for the bass. If you are in big bass country an eight weight might be a better choice for pulling a big mouth out on heavy weeds or tree tops. Sometimes, on cold mornings, slowing your presentation down to a crawl may be necessary to entice a strike. Midday fishing may be best concentrating on structure just deep enough to keep the sun out of their eyes. If you find one bass, there are probably many nearby, so work the water in a fan casting mode. Pay particular attention to the depth that you caught or got a strike on because that is probably the location of a bunch more fish. Early season strikes aren’t usually very aggressive, a mushy or heavy feeling to the fly line may be all the indication you will get so pay close attention to your retrieve. Strip rates are normally pretty slow during early spring conditions, even stopping for a couple of seconds can entice a slow moving largie to take a bite. The larger the body of water, the more likely a watercraft of some kind will make locating bass a whole lot easier. Small ponds or lakes can be pretty well covered by the bank bound angler, but big lakes and reservoirs require a boat or kayak to get close to the good spots. If you find bass on a shallow point or in the mouth of a secondary cove, fish it out and then look for similar spots. More than likely, you will find hungry fish on spots that share the same features. Take time this spring to give our warm water buddies a fair shot at a few flies you won’t be sorry!

“TWITCH AND SKITTER”

By Jeff Durniak, Unicoi Outfitters

Welcome to Dry Fly Prime Time on southeastern trout streams. Water temperatures are optimal and springtime hatches are in full swing. We usually have a buffet of mayflies and caddisflies filling the evening air, along with the normal swarm of midges and even a few hefty, clumsy stoneflies. It’s a wonderful time to wet a line on bigger trout waters. Check out my column in last April’s Angler Magazine for your dry-dropper advice. And for this year, let’s take your April game to the next level. That means twitch and skitter! Follow along.

My favorite April color is tan, as the most abundant hatches are light Cahills and tan caddis. I’ll set up my evening hatch rig with a Cahill in front on 5X leader and a caddis trailed 18-24 inches off the back on 5X or 6X tippet. Study the bugs to match their size by using a Home Depot paint strainer over your trout net to catch them. Once you’ve got the sizes right, then start your hunt. Look for bugs on or near the water and noses poking up to sip them down. Most importantly, study the bug’s action and “be the bug” for greater success.

Early in April, bugs are often hatching and just drifting with the current. Match their behavior with your best drag-free drift. Often, however, those freshly hatched duns aren’t just floating lazily downstream. Watch them kick their legs and squirm their bodies in efforts to escape the surface film. Then they’ll get a head start on flight, by skittering across the surface. Later, as adults (spinners) returning to mate and lay eggs, they’ll often dip across the surface, driving trout wild! Now’s the time to add some movement to your flies. When your dead drifts get ignored, try a gentle twitch, let them drift a few feet, and then twitch again. The combo of fly size, profile, color, and MOVEMENT will enhance your score.

Adult caddisflies are the most energetic critters on and over the water. Again, study their behavior and mimic it. In fact, break all the dead drift rules when you see them flying upstream to deposit eggs! Your gold nugget in this month’s column is the “skitter.” Cast downstream, keep your rod tip high, and as soon as your flies land, pull them upstream several feet as they skitter across the surface, just like the real bugs! After a skitter, then drop your rod tip and let it follow those bugs downstream on a 3–6foot dead drift. Then repeat cast, skitter, dead drift. Don’t forget to follow your flies back downstream to ensure that dead drift. Hold on tight, for those strikes will be violent on “escaping” insects. It’s the trout stream version of a largemouth attacking a jitterbug!

When your dead drift gets ignored, try some twitches, and skitters. Have your fly “be the bug” and enhance your April scores! Good luck. For more on the technique, study: https://midcurrent. com/techniques/when-drag-isdesirable/