Bass Masters Classic

The trout fishing is really good right now, and after a week in the Moosehead region chasing squaretails and landlocks it was a fun change of pace to link up with my brother at 5 am on Saturday morning and hunt down some largemouths. This is the Central Maine version of fishing the flats.

Fly rodding for bass is an absolute riot. Mongo flies, heavy leaders, and vicious takes are what it is all about. We spent the morning poling around a big grass flat, filled with downed timber, old stumps, and floating grass islands. Find some fishy structure, cast, strip, strip, BOOM!

The flies don't need to be complicated, poppers, gurglers, and Clouser's will usually get an eat. Just because the flies aren't complicated doesn't mean that bass fishing isn't without it's challenges. Dead accurate casts are often necessary when fishing in heavy structure environments with a lot of vegetation. Often times you are dumping a popper into 3 foot circle in the weeds at 4o to 50 feet. With that said, really fast rods that produce super-high line speeds allow you to punch really tight loops, which are necessary for accurate presentations.

One of my favorite bass flies is a foam popper tied with craft-foam from the local mega-department store. The the foam is tied to the hook facing forward and folded back to form the body. Leave a pocket on the top piece of foam so that the fly works like a popper. Add some rubber legs and a marabou and grizzly tail, and you are in business. The fly rides low and makes some nice bubbles and chugs when stripped sharply.

Kermit the Frog

Hook: 1/0 Owner Cutting Point

Thread: Yellow 6/0

Body: Craft Foam (Green Back, Yellow Belly)

Eyes: 3/16 Yellow "Stick On Easy Peel" - superglued to the foam

Rubber Legs: Montana Fly Company Centipede Legs (yellow/black) and Spirit River Silicone Grizzly Leggs (pumpkin/green/black)

Tail: Yellow Marabou with 2 Olive Grizzly Hackles splayed out at 45 degree angles

Have fun out there!

Tyler