Short session bass surprise

I wet a line today at a local lake and found some bass in very shallow water. I caught two on polar Fibre minnows and missed a few.The biggest hit my fly in water barely deep enough to cover its back. The leaves are starting to grow back on the trees around our house so spring is obviously very close. The weather was overcast but stable with little to no wind.

I started the day fishing a black fritz about 2.5 meters underneath a large madam X, using the top fly as a form of indicator. In the States one very successful method for cold water fishing is called float n fly. They use a float that suspends a jig or weighted fly to fish very slowly up to a depth of 13 feet. I tried the technique, all be it in fly form, but to no avail. Walking around the lake I spotted a lot of very nervous bait fish and reeds being knocked over which told me that maybe the bass where on the feed much shallower than I thought. playing a hunch I changed tactics. I missed a few that slashed at my polar fiber minnow before eventually one latched on properly.It was not huge but was very welcome. A bit later and I spotted a wake very close to shore. I made a few casts into the area before being rewarded with a viscous take.

 

So how's that for nice winter bass surprise?

Tying and fishing the Polar Fibre Minnow

Tying and fishing the Polar Fibre Minnow

 

Materials

Body- Polar plus or Lama hair

Tail -Polar fibre (http://www.fishient.com/materials/polar_fibre.htm)

Thread- I use red 6/0. When the fly is whet the red thread shows through the body materials and looks like blood vessels. (clever).

Hook-Gamakatsu S10-25 #6 or larger hook for saltwater, tigerfish etc. The Grip 53584BN in #4 to 1 is also highly recommended. (http://www.scientificfly.com/shop/bass-hooks/grip-53584bn/)

Eyes, 3D eyes or dolls eyes.

Glue –Liquid fusion clear urethane glue or other waterproof glue of your choice

Letraset  Pro Markers in colours to suit bait fish imitation

The Polar fibre minnow is fantastic for all game fish and especially bass. It is very hardy and can produce spectacular takes just under the surface.

This fly is easy to tie and the tail does not wrap due to the nature of polar fibre. The fly swims erratically due to the torpedo shaped head and thin tapering tail. I tie mine in white and then colour them with Letraset Pro markers to represent the bait fish in a local lake or river etc. (My set of Letraset pens is over 6 years old and still going strong) I often fish plain white ones though with red gills. The white version works extremely well in any type or coluor of water. I also have  a few all black and fire-tiger variations.

Using the Gamakatsu S10-25 #6 hook the fly ends up being about  7 to 9cm long. This is an ideal size for bass from 400 grams to 2kg. It is also a good length for small to medium sized leervis and elf. You can make them longer by using bigger hooks but the fly will also become harder to cast as the body absorbs water. I normally fish the fly on a 6 weight line. If you up size the fly you may need an 8 weight to cast it further.  The Gamakatsu S10-25 hook is my favourite because it is strong, light wire and extremely sharp. I hook a lot more fish and keep them on because of this awesome hook. I off set the hook point to the right and this also helps with hooking fish.

I love this fly because it swims just subsurface and sinks very slowly when you stop the retrieve. Bass in particular love this presentation where the fly almost suspends when you stop the retrieve. A lot of takes come on the pause. This is a great fly to fish with a floating fly line over submerged weed beds. Most takes will be visual because the fly fishes just subsurface and you will often see the wake of the pursuing game fish headed towards your fly. Takes range from the fly simply being inhaled, to the fish jumping out of the water with it to a huge surface splash and everything in-between. Very exciting fishing indeed. You can also fish the fly deeper using a fast sinking leader or sinking fly line. I have caught leervis, elf, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, smallmouth yellowfish, moonies, bluegill, tigerfish and catfish on this fly so far.

How to tie the fly

Lama hair and Letraset Pro Markers. If you can find these pens, buy them, they last for years and the colours are awesome.

 

Step 1. Put the hook in the vice and crush the barb flat. Start the thread off and tie in the tail facing backwards. I tie in several bunches to build up a nice taper.

Step 2- Cut a length of polar plus or lama hair about the thickness of a pencil and about 2cm long and make sure that the materials lie around the hook. Take the thread and use three thread wraps in the middle of the material to secure it. Lift up the material in front of the hook shank and make three more thread wraps.

 

Step 3- Repeat along the rest of the hook shank. Tie off the thread.

Step 4- Trim the body material until it has a torpedo shape and cut it flat underneath so that the hook gape is unimpeded.

Step 5- Glue on the eyes of your choice. I tie some with 3D eyes and others with Dolls eyes to give a subtle rattle in the water.

 

Step 6- At this point you can start to clolour in your fly to represent bait fish found in your area.

 

Check out Sean Mills DVDs and E books with more exciting fly patterns at www.seanmillsflyfishing.weebly.com