I’m guilty.
I have called them ugly fish. I have shown a lack of interest in bass largely due to their color palette. Then, just the other day I noticed the fin on this large mouth.
I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong.
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There have been days when I have called them much, much worse…
Yep, compared to steelhead or trout, they are ugly. Even been referred to as “hogs” by some. But when a big 5 pounder + hits a dry fly or popper and heads south striping line and tail walking, it is still fun, even if they are ugly!! 🙂
While not as pretty as Salmonidae, I still think they’re far prettier and more worthy quarry than the much-maligned carp (although that opinion seems to be changing). Perhaps I think that just because I’m a long time bass fisherman.
I don’t think bass are ugly at all. I’m also finding it a lot more challenging to catch them on a fly rod than trout or steelhead even though I fish for them much more frequently. I don’t have a boat and bass like to hang out in places that are very difficult to access with waders. They also like to eat large, hard to cast flies. I’ll take a big bass over a big trout any day.
I have a 14′ 6/7 weight spey rod that I can get a 90′ to 100′ cast with. I can put on a big deer hair fly or a popper and still get to some of those hard to get to spots when wading. Love catching those big lunkers! I winter in some pretty good big bass country in central TX and get some pretty strange looks though when I show up amongst the rubber worm crank bait guys with a 14′ spey rig. I take some good natured kidding, but they get pretty quiet when I out fish them some days.
Hi Jeff,
I was thinking of trying a Spey rod. I took a Spey casting class and got a 8/9 wt. switch rod that I’m fishing in the salt. I’m overhead casting it well, but I’m not doing so well with spey casting. I think using a full sized Spey rod is the way to go when you have no room to back cast. It’s tough to figure out what rod / line combo will work best.
– Keith
The 8/9 weight might be a bit much for most bass fishing. I really am happy with my 7/8 weight. As for getting a spey rod/reel/line that is balanced and will work well try calling the guys at the fly fishing shop in Welches, OR. Their gear selection is excellent and you can talk to their staff and get good advice from people who talk the talk AND walk the walk. I have attached their email address below. Good luck on getting set up!http://www.flyfishusa.com/
Keith, Jeff, I live here in central TX and fish for bass almost daily. You don’t need a long spey rod to cast big flies. In fact, large Game Changers like those from fishchaseflies.com are sweet for bass! Even small bass will eat a 6-7″ GC. I use a micro-skagit line on an 8′ 6-7wt glass rod for the Hill Country rivers. It’s still fun for small bass and blue gill but has enough guts to handle a 6-7lb largemouth. I find oval casts with extremely large flies best. Even with the micro-Skagit line. Check out my blog post:
http://pureskagit.net/2019/02/02/oval-casts-with-a-skagit-line/
I luv catchin some ditch-pickles!!!
I am first and foremost a chaser of bass. Jeff has it right – there’s nothing like a big bucketmouth flushing a deerhair popper and going all arial on ya.
Right on Mike!
Kent
As a lifelong fly angler for trout, and a guide in NC, VA, TN and WY, MT for the past 26yrs …..and a lifelong angler of bucketmouths if you asked me which is easier to do…catch large trout consistently on a fly or catch large bass (smallmouth or largemouth) on a fly its without question trout. They are far more challenging over all aspects than trout, and far less predictable than trout.
Trout eat a diet of lots of tiny bites in a lot of cases, even large fish, while bass eats on a few times a day and usually larger food items. That alone is one reason bass are much more difficult to target, locate , and catch consistently. Add in weather patterns, depth of water, locating them in what is usually a much larger expanse of water than trout…..that’s a challenge.
With trout and fishing in rivers and streams there are only so many places they can be.
Great stuff…always enjoy your G& G stuff. Keep it up guys
Lots of fans here in the Tar Heel state.
Calling BS here. My daughter is an intermediate fly fisher. She lived and fished in Montana over five years and only caught a couple trout over 20 inches, despite having regular opportunities to do so. She moved to Virginia last year and within weeks was sending me photos of 5 plus pound largemouths she was catching almost every day. She’s already bored with them.
I’ve never seen the attraction. Just overgrown bluegill. I’d much rather fish for Esox, pike or even pickerel, which often share the same water with bass.
Bass being ugly had never crossed my mind.. not my favorite fish but never heard ugly before. I didn’t grow up near trout waters or trout bums though! To each there own. Cool pic.
The need for a stout rod is not just the size of the fish but the fact that the bigger ones live in heavy cover,You “experts”should acknowledge that rod weight has much more to do with the size of the fly and not the fish.Not easy to fling badmitten birdie on a 6wt or pull an 8lb predator out of thick weeds with one.,You can keep your overcrowded trout waters and leave the bass,carp,and other wonderful “warmwater”fish to us rubesI can catch 10 species of fish in a 100 feet of shoreline..Kind of funny that bass range from Canada to Cuba,So i guess they live in coldwater too.
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Here’s a big vote for bigmouth’s cousin, the smallmouth bass. If the had hands, they’d grab a rock and smack you with it. Super fish. I find them in pretty clear, smooth flowing streams, and have used 5-6 weight rods. What a ball! Try ’em sometime.