Hi All,

I've been tying up a selection of Bass flies, and was wondering....

Many people on the Forum have mentioned that they sometimes feel Bass picking at the end of a clouser (or similar), in the same way a predator will try and take out a baitfishes tail before eating it.

So.. has anyone tried tying up bass flies with a small trailing treble, in the same way that many sea trout flies are tied? If so, have you seen any increase in hook ups?

Thanks,

N

I've never had bass pluck at a fly like garfish or seatrout so haven't had the need to tie in trailer hooks. Bass typically swipe at bait and the engulf the whole thing in as their mouths are so large. If it were a problem I would try a smaller/shorter fly.
Also trailing hooks are likely to foul the fly or get caught up on weed/rocks.
Simple is usually the best option in saltwater.

Some fish nip and retreat, except bass

Super confident and usually shoaling, they will slash at a fly

Bigger fish just suck in and that vortex created by an enormous gob usually involves a hook up.

They will refuse but once they are committed, even an injunction wont hold them back

If you're hook is ultra sharp, not masked by excessive dressing and you pull the line back, when you feel a hit, then you'll hookup 99/100

It may be your strike, trout anglers lift the rod into a fish, swffers keep the rod pointed at the fish and pull the line back sharply only a foot or so, if your hookup fails, then the fly should remain in the killzone for the fish to have another go.

TL

Haha!

Great, thanks for the tips. I guess they must have been other fish nipping at the fly. Will pollack / mackerel / garfish nip, or will they also all hit the flies hard? Whenever I've caught mackerel on feathers, they always seem to attack regardless, trying to beat the rest of the shoal to the 'baitfish'.

N

Yes other fish are likely to be the culprits - especially gars. Gars and pollock have small teeth so if the fly comes back mangled these are your culprits.

Gars always hit a fly side on, you'll feel a wrench from a good one, and then quite often the gar will spring out of the water, without hook! Damn them! Very hard to get them to stay on. If they miss, which they often do, look out for the telltail S shape of a swirl where the gar has taken a right angle turn at your fly. Quite distinctive. It's rare to hook a gar on a big hook, their mouth is long, bony and narrow. if you see a lot of gar about, a smaller fly might be the answer.
With bass I stick the rod under the arm and strip, only raising the rod when the bass is solidly on, no need to strike, they will set the hook themselves!
I also always use debarbed hooks, as long as you keep tension you'll bring your fish in. The barbs on big hooks do a lot of damage. Whether you're keeping some or returning them all, I think it makes sense to go barbless. My bass flies are 4-5inches long generally, with big eyes.

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one thing I've found with pollack is to try keeping the fly moving, it seems to generate the take more frequently - you will feel the nip, nip, nip but try not to stop at all and THEN...

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Jim

Interesting stuff - wish I could get down the Sussex coast more often to have a go.

Jim - how has your bass season been this year?

Hi Ed

its an interesting question guy - i have had a wonderful season with great people - unfortunately its has been challenging beyond what I have ever experienced in terms of fish returns. Difficulty I can take, its part of the job...but downright standing on the shore in IDEAL conditions at optimum times with capable people and not a fish for hour after hour well.....its not what its about really.

I'm lucky to have a good customer base who took this on the chin and while we had days to remember in between droughts it has been a tough one.

To see the significance take a look at Probassfisher: A challenging season - but who knows why? for some indicators.

I could go on here with many ideas etc but none I can be sure about at the end ofthe day

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Jim