[Boykinballer]

Hey all,

Just picked up a new skiff, but I am about two weeks from getting very busy at work. I live in the central FL area, and with my upcoming schedule the chances of me getting to hit the salt for the first half of summer is going to be pretty slim. With that said there are a lot of lakes around that I can sneak off to when leaving the office Saturday around lunch.

Any strategies/ flies you guys can suggest? Never been a big freshwater guy but I cannot stand the thought of my new ride collecting dust in the garage for the next 3-4 months.

 

[OED]

Deer hair frogs or any top water for that matter. I've had success with dragon tails tied with a foam head like chicones tuscan bunny as well as SF Blend baitfish (white belly + tan/copper back)

 

[flyclimber]

Wooly bugger.

 

[Ferrulewax]

Boogle bugs, double decievers, stealth bombers, double barrel poppers, gamechangers

 

[marshrat]

x2 on deer hair frogs, wooly buggers, and baitfish. Those are my top 3 bass patterns. Side note, I really like to crimp barbs on the frogs especially. I've had a couple bass push the hook straight into the vessel between their gills, and I think it's because the hook is always straight down. Going barbless will greatly decrease the chances of complicated de-hooking when that happens.

 

[texasag07]

I really prefer to only sight cast to them, usually from the shore but at times from a skiff or canoe. I prefer small size 8-10 hoppers, and green or black weedless leeches 3 ish inch length that don’t have much weight to them and are weedless so you can stop them and let them sit on the bottom.

Put it 5-10’ away and move it very slightly till you get their attention and then just let it sit once they have seen it. Sometimes they will stare it down for upwards of a minute or more before eating it.

 

[el9surf]

I live in CFL. The bass in my lake will absolutely smash a mouse either in deer hair or foam. It's probably not their normal diet but they don't care.

 

[permitchaser]

Ive caught them on grass hoppers, buggers and crease flies. Any bait or crawfish will do

 

[fishnpreacher]

Wooly Boogers, deer hair frog and mouse, and try a wooly booger with a rabbit strip tail instead of marabou

 

[Backwater]

I've caught more bass in Lakeland on a simple white shminnow tied on a size #6 to #4 black nickle hook, than you can imagine. Also just a plain Pecks yellow and black or chartreuse and black bluegill popper. It's fun to watch them crush that fly.

Go take a drive up to Dade City via Hwy 98 and go to Swann's Fly Fishing Outfitters, there at the 301 truck bypass next to the Ford dealership. Ask ole Jim Swann to hook you up with some good bugs to use for bass in the Lakeland area. You can tell the ole codger that Ted said hi!

 

[crboggs]

Gurglers...same ones you might throw for snook. Its pretty much the only thing I throw at them in the neighborhood lakes if I can't get to the salt.

 

[acesover]

#8 popper when fishing for bluegill

 

[OED]

@Backwater thanks for name dropping Swann's. Had no clue and it's pretty much in my backyard!

 

[MatthewAbbott]

EP baitfish sized and trimmed to match baitfish for your area and gurglers.

 

[Rick hambric]

Ep minnows, deer hair frogs, poppers/ howitzers, crawfish patterns. Hell I’ve caught plenty on clousers and deceivers. They’re an ambush predator, just put something that looks like food in front of their nose....

 

[Backwater]

@Backwater thanks for name dropping Swann's. Had no clue and it's pretty much in my backyard!

I've known him for about 25yrs. He's a corky ole codger, but ties about 100-200 flies a day. He's probably got more freshwater flies than all the fly shops in Florida, combined. His shop is cluddered with all sorts of stuff, but definitely worth the road trip. I've been in his shop about 100 times and still manage to find something I need or can use. Lots of natural fly tying material there too.

 

[Scott Kor]

All these fly suggestions are great. It probably goes without saying that you will need a weed guard on your fly more often than not, due to how bass relate to cover.

Another important attribute of any good bass fly is movement. Hyper realistic flies with no movement catch more fishermen than bass. As Texasag07 said, you can often let a top water fly sit a long time before the fish takes. If your fly has the right components for movement, it will keep producing micro movement even when you think it is sitting completely still.

Most of these suggestions cover top water and shallow fishing but you will find that bass often move deep in certain conditions. fishing a popper/dropper rig can often cover both top and mid depth, while fishing a weighted fly or sink tip can cover deeper fish.

Good luck! I love bass fishing. I just won a charity fishing event against conventional anglers using my fly gear. They taunted me before the start saying that I would never land a big bass in heavy cover using a fly rod. I weighed in three 5 pounders and a 7 winning both the tournament and the big fish award. These fish were all spooky and heavily fished. Throwing a fly was both stealthy and something they had not seen. Attached is my poor attempt at a selfie.

 

[Boykinballer]

I've caught more bass in Lakeland on a simple white shminnow tied on a size #6 to #4 black nickle hook, than you can imagine. Also just a plain Pecks yellow and black or chartreuse and black bluegill popper. It's fun to watch them crush that fly.

Go take a drive up to Dade City via Hwy 98 and go to Swann's Fly Fishing Outfitters, there at the 301 truck bypass next to the Ford dealership. Ask ole Jim Swann to hook you up with some good bugs to use for bass in the Lakeland area. You can tell the ole codger that Ted said hi!

Thanks Backwater, I'm in Lville as well hit me up if you ever need a fishing partner!

 

[RaspberryPatch]

I prefer a wooly worm, versus bugger, as the water warms, as I have noticed short strikes.

 

[saltydg0089]

Gurglers are about the only thing I throw at bass anymore. Cant keep them off the darn things!