Getting Started in Fly Fishing: Six Essential Smallmouth Bass Flies

[@granyo7882]

You can feel the passion he has through the screen

[@gregkosinski2303]

Much like Dr. Drew, Peter is a passionate, passionate man.

[@bruceallen6377]

Great patterns! Can’t wait to tie some Headstanders! Thanks for your videos, really enjoy them!

[@VOGTLANDOUTDOORS]

INFORMATIVE VIDEO - KEEP 'EM COMING ! I tie a hybrid wooly bugger that's a combination of your wooly bugger with color & a tail that could either be a fish or a crayfish like your crayfish pattern. I'll give your WEAMER a try, as I love being able to CAST all my flies on even a medium weight (340gr) scandi line on a 6-7 wt 10'-6" switch rod -the IDEAL rod for river smallmouth ! Cheers, -Mark Vogt | VOGTLAND OUTDOORS

[@nicolelewis1828]

Peter, thanks for these great patterns. I especially love that Weamer! :-)

[@hooked4lifeca]

The Weamer is an exceptional fish catcher. Just be sure to tie it sparse and use a light wire, up eye hook. I've tried it with other hooks and it messes up the way it rides. The tube fly version works as well.

[@frankmonroe8320]

Great! I had a call this afternoon from a fellow who wants me to tie him up some bass flies. He loves deer hair but I agree messy and time consuming. I'll try to entice him with a couple of these.

[@scottlysle]

Nice patterns; I am just about to sit down and dress a few flies and I am going to try out the weamer, the easy crayfish, and headstander - those all look like winnners.

[@normanmanning4872]

I cant recall many bass i have not found cray fish in them on the grand. They are a go to lure for me and the first fly i have purchased along with a olive wooly bugger. looking forward to opener next weekend.

[@themazamen]

Love these videos. I'm very much aligned with your thinking on your top 6, especially on rubber legs. I'm a huge fan of Dave Whitlock. So I need some of his patterns. I do think you need a hellgramite and a big nymph. So, I'm going with: deerhair popper, Sparrow, Near n Nuff Crayfish, marabou muddler, red fox squirrel nymph, Clouser Hellgramite.

[@stephaniehall1981]

Wow! Great info.

[@mercertevyn]

Again, great work.

[@josephkoziol5421]

Well done crayfish pattern sir. It’s on my to-tie list. I have used sculpin patterns with some success around rocky points.

[@hooked4lifeca]

Sculpin was the baitfish I was trying to remember in the video. My Headstander fly is a fairly decent sculpin imitation.

[@josephkoziol5421]

@@hooked4lifeca yes that fly would be smashed by Smallies here in NC.

[@patrickstjean7646]

I think the strong point with the clouser and the weamer is that they focus on the reproducing only the eyes and lateral line. I would assume in certain conditions or waterbodies, the fish are trained to key into these features, rather than silhouette.

[@cjdking1]

The first bit of advice I was ever given.....”Everything eats a Wooly Bugger”

[@hooked4lifeca]

Yup, just upscale it or downscale it to fit the target species.

[@bobjohnson7207]

I use a size 6 Royal Coachman Streamer in lake's for the 5lb size. Go figure.

[@Ryan-yp7zb]

Do you think a rod such as the Superfine Glass in maybe a 6wt be a good pond rod standing from the bank for smallmouth? I think it would load easy for roll casting and be able to throw the flies and handle the fight. I've never fished fiberglass but slower action euro rods have me thinking it maybe a good choice. I was on a pond with a 7960-4 Sage and it's a lot of stick.

[@hooked4lifeca]

I have a very old, first generation graphite 8' 4/5 wt. that I sometimes use for small bass and panfish. It has the action and the tip heaviness of a fibreglass rod and I find it great for small fish and tight quarters. I've not tried a Superfine Glass, but I'd imagine that it would do a similar job as my old 8' rod.

[@Nrussell11]

I've used a 6wt Echo BAG Quickshot. So long as you throw reasonably sized flies for a 6wt, you should be fine. I've landed some very big largemouth and smallmouth on a fiberglass 6wt......you can apply tons of pressure while being sure there's excellent tippet protection!

[@briantalbot7929]

Can you do six essential walleye flies?

[@hooked4lifeca]

The list wouldn't be all that different from this one. The Clouser and Wooly Bugger would still be on there, only in different colours. The Headstander would most definitely be there. Given the depths we often find walleye, we need flies that get down. My only exception would be the Brown Trout Weamer and then I'd use a sinking line to get it down. Funny enough, I've caught quite a few when swinging gaudy wet flies or minnow patterns like the Weamer, for steelhead.

[@briantalbot7929]

@@hooked4lifeca I've just been struggling trying to find them in the warmer months, colder months was a struggle too but i caught only 5 last fall 😅 and thank you again for the reply

[@hooked4lifeca]

@@briantalbot7929 On the list, try my deep water Wooly Bugger as it has the weight to get down. I find that with walleye, it's more about finding them and the presentation rather than the flies we use. In rivers, look for deep, slow water with fast water over the top of it. Fish those features with sinking lines. For lakes, I'd just follow the tactics of conventional walleye anglers and replicate their techniques with flies. My Headstander, for example, is a fly fishing take on the shaky head method for walleye. I have some unweighted rabbit strip flies that work as worm substitutes and I use a sinking lines or sinktips to replicate the typical setup for Carolina rigged worms. The conventional anglers already have this figured out, so follow their lead.

[@gregkosinski2303]

@@hooked4lifecaanother tip is you can find them in shallower water that’s more heavily stained or with sediment. Walleyes have a competitive advantage against a lot of other predatory fish (and their prey) in low light conditions, so sometimes they can be found in water where you’d more expect smallies.

[@frankwice4864]

I have tried to find out to tye the crawfish that you have shown. Personally I have a lot of problems casting a heavy fly

[@hooked4lifeca]

Sounds like a topic for another video. Bass season opens next weekend in our area. I'll produce a video on casting my Headstander fly on a floating line. It's a gnarly beastie wth lead eyes and a rabbit win, so it'll make for a good example.