Summer may be coming to a close here in Minnesota, however, that doesn’t mean that the bass fishing is wrapping up. With the cooling weather, bass go into a frantic frenzy to eat tons of food before winter sets in and their metabolism slows, making fall a great time to target bass on the fly rod.
Bass, both smallmouth and largemouth, are one of the hardest fighting fish that I have caught. Due to their hard fighting nature, it is a lot of fun to chase them on a fly. While bass aren’t always super picky they can get in moods so there are some flies that outfish others. None of these flies are super original or revolutionary, however, we have found them to produce well when chasing bass. In general, like all bass fishing resources would say, I have found natural colors to work better in clearer water or to moody fish, and brighter colors to work better in cloudier water. Another important note for bass is that their is not magic size. Any size will work, but I like to toss something on the larger side to weed out the smaller fish. Here are our favorite streamers for both smallmouth and largemouth bass:
#1. Bunny Leech
This is an iconic streamer in the fly fishing community, that I have found to work well for bass, smallmouth and largemouth alike. Any color will work, but I like to tie and throw tan, brown, purple, chartreuse, and black. I always like to fish cone-head leeches, however, I always make sure that I have few weightless ones in my box for a different presentation.
Hook: #8-1/o streamer
Thread: 6/o Uni
Bead (optional): Conehead or standard brass
Wire (optional): add in a little lead-free wire right behind the bead to add more wieght if desired
Tail: Bunny zonker
Body: Bunny zonker (same color as tail)
#2. Crayfish
This next one is a standard in a smallmouths diet… The Crayfish. I have been working on this pattern for a while and found that it can get fish in the net. I like these guys in more natural tones with a good variety of colors.
Hook: #6-1/o Streamer
Thread: 6/o UNI
Bead/Eyes: Large dumbell eyes
Wire: Lead-free a few wraps infront of the eyes (this add extra weight to the fly that gets it down to the bottom)
Tail: Two strips of bunny zonker tied on their sides. I’ll also add in some longer strands of crystal flash for antennae.
Legs: Standard rubber legs (I try to match them to the color of the rabbit.)
Body: Flash Chenille or Ice dub in similar tones to the rabbit. Then I fold over another rabbit strip just like you would fold a wing case on a trout fly.
#3. Meat Whistle
This is a beefy fly that is highly productive. I originally tied this pattern for smallmouth’s green relative, the largemouth bass. I tie these smaller for smallmouth, but I have found them to be just as productive. This pattern will sink quickly and will, therefore, work for deeper fish. I tie these in both natural and bright colors, but I prefer natural ones.
Hook: #4-2/o jig hooks (Regular hooks will work, but they give a very different presentation.)
Thread: Any color of thread will work.
Bead: Cone-head bead
Wire (optional): Lead-free
Tail: A strip of bunny zonker
Body: Flash chenille with a bunny strip folded over it.
Colar: Wrapped marabou
#4. Murdich Minnow
This flashy fly pattern swims higher in the water column, which is perfect for shallow water fishing. I usually tie this pattern in brighter colors, but will also tie them in more natural tones. My favorite colors for this fly are gray and chartreuse.
Hook: #6-2/o
Thread: Black thread
Wire (optional): Lead-free in order to achieve a faster sink rate
Tail: Deer tail with flashabou on top. Then a tuft of pseudo marabou on each side.
Body: White flash chenille with the top half colored.
Eyes: Glue-on eyes.
#5. Clouser Minnow
It should come as no suprise that this straemer makes it into a smallmouth list. This pattern is a classic, as it is simple but efffective. The bucktail creates the profile of any minnow and the weight of the dumbbell eyes gets it down to the fish. I have found it to work for both aggresive and shy fish.
Thread: 6/o Uni
Hook: #8-1/o
Eyes: Dumbbell
Overwing: Color (ie. Red, Chartruese, Brown, etc.) Bucktail, tied on bottom of the shank
Underwing: White Bucktail, tied on top of the shank and folded over the eyes
#6. WoolyBugger/Worm
Another classic streamer… I like these flies for their profile in the water and how they suspend when fished slow. I will fish them both weighted and unweighted. Another bonus to having them in your box is the ability to trim the tail in order to make a Wool Worm, which gives you yet another presentation of this versatile fly.
Hook: #8-4
Thread: Black 6/o
Bead: Brass bead to match hook
Wire (optional): Lead-free
Tail: Marabou with a few strands of flash
Body: Chenille or dubbing, then wrap over with hackle
Colar (Optional): I like to add either a dubbing loop of ice dub or a couple wraps of soft hackle.
These patterns are not the only flies that I fish, but they are the ones that I always keep stocked in my box. I have found these to be very productive, and they cover many of the basic profiles for smallmouth. You might have noticed that there are no topwater bug’s on this list. Thats not because of bass not loving to blow up on poppers or other topwater flies because they do. Actually, that may be the most fun and exciting ways to target bass on a fly rod. But this post was written to cover the best streamer patterns we have found. So, the topwater fllies may be coming in a part 2 of this post.
Hopefully, you found this post helpful and that by adding some of these patterns to your box you will maximize your time on the water and get more big fish into the boat…
Tight Lines!
Noah
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