NGPC news release, 5/6/08:
Nebraska Outdoor Notebook by Tom Keith
...Use a Fly Rod and Deer Hair Bass Bugs
Do you want to know how you can save gas money, fish new waters close to home and have more fun catching bass than you’ve ever had before? Just get yourself a fly rod and a half-dozen bass bugs.
(c) NEBRASKAland Magazine/NGPC
A diver-type deer-hair bass bug floats on the surface then dives and floats slowly to the top again when properly retrieved.
Fly-fishing is most often associated with trout fishing, but in recent years anglers have learned they can take most game fish species, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, white bass, wipers and panfish on fly-fishing equipment.
The largemouth bass is a cunning, opportunistic predator. It’s coloration allows it to hide unseen in the weeds or near other cover and ambush unsuspecting insects, small fish, amphibians and even mammals that venture too near.
Using flies to catch largemouth bass requires the angler to move along the shoreline, casting to each bit of cover, probing each small pocket in the ragged edge of a shallow-water weed line. Many spots can be reached from shore, while others are best fished by wading or floating along the shoreline in a float tube, canoe, or small boat.
There are hundreds of small public lakes and farm ponds across the state and most offer good fishing, which makes it unnecessary for anglers to travel greater distances to fish the large reservoirs where most people go to fish. Landowners will usually allow fishing in their ponds, but the law requires you to receive permission before fishing private waters.
An 8-weight, 9-foot graphite rod, a weight-forward, 8-weight floating line with a bass bug taper and a 9-foot knotless leader with a 7- to 10-pound tippet is a good choice for most largemouth bass fishing in Nebraska. A second reel spool wound with 8-weight line having a 10-foot extra-fast sinking tip that can be used for fishing the mid-depths or near the bottom is useful for fishing deeper water.
Many bass bugs are made with deer hair, which is hollow and floats like a cork. Deer-hair poppers are a type of bug that has a flat or slightly cupped face, which makes it act like a wooden or plastic popper and allows it to make a kissing sound as it pushes water and bubbles ahead of it when jerked along the surface.
Seeing a bass explode through the water’s surface to smash a deer-hair bug is a thrill that will excite any fisherman. There’s no mistaking the strike of a largemouth bass hitting a floating bass bug. Often there is a splash and the bug disappears as the bass slices across the surface in an arc, engulfs the bug, then dives toward the bottom.
Occasionally, there is a sudden eruption of water as the bass propels itself into the air from beneath the bug, its entire body clearing the surface before it falls back in a larger splash. When the hook is set and the fish feels the relentless pressure of the line pulling against it, it may leap into the air, twisting and shaking its head, attempting to dislodge the hook from its jaw. Now, that’s entertainment!
A good technique is to cast a deer-hair popper into a pocket of vegetation growing along the shoreline or under heavily-leafed tree limbs bending out over or into the water, and let it sit motionless on the surface for as long as 30 seconds, then twitch the rod tip just enough to make the popper shimmy a little, creating little ripples by the movement. If there is no strike at that point, allow the popper to sit motionless again for a few seconds, then sharply raise the rod tip, making the popper dart forward. Let it sit motionless again, then make it pop a second time. Chances are, if there is a bass hovering in the weeds watching the popper, it won’t be able to resist striking the lure.
A hooked bass usually heads for cover, which can spell disaster for the angler. If the leader becomes tangled in weeds the hook can be pulled from the fish’s mouth, or the leader may become damaged and eventually snap after being rubbed over a rough surface such as tree bark, rocks, dock supports, submerged foundations, etc. The angler’s job is to keep the fish in open water, away from weeds and cover until it can be landed.
Diver-type deer-hair bugs are constructed to float on the surface until a sharp jerk or steady pull causes them to dive and swim beneath the surface. When the forward motion or pull of the line stops, the bug floats slowly back to the surface.
Fish the diver parallel to the ragged edge of a weedline, along the side of a log stretching out into the lake, or along the deep-water edge of a shallow flat. Cast the bug as close to the weed line as possible and allow it to lay motionless on the surface for 30 seconds or so. Jerk the rod tip upward to make the bug dive, moving it maybe a foot or so through the water, then let it float back to the surface. No strike? Try it again. If it does not draw a strike, make it dive and then swim it several feet before stopping the forward motion and letting it float to the surface. Most strikes occur as the bug dives after floating quietly on top for several seconds.
During periods of bright sunlight and during the heat of the day, largemouths spend time in deeper water, often near submerged weed beds where they can feed on minnows and insects in the comfort of cooler water and subdued lighting. Often the best fishing action occurs the first couple of hours after dawn or in the evening before dark.
Many anglers find largemouth bass fishing to be very addictive, but until you experience catching a four- or five-pounder on a fly rod, you have no idea what real addiction can be. Do yourself a favor and give it a try this spring.