My first decent sized large mouth bass on the fly rod.

On June 10, 2011, I was fishing with my SA panfish fly rod, casting a Berkeley power bait honey worm natural color. I was catching and releasing a steady stream of bluegills and golden shiners. Around noontime, I was casting along the shoreline in less then 12 inches of water when a big fish grabbed my little bait. I reflexively set the rather dull and barbless number 10 eagle claw bait holder hook on the fish. Fish on!!

The fish immediately dove down and started stripping line from the reel as I put tension on the fish and tried to steer him toward me so that I could land him. He was having none of that. First he ran to the left toward a sunken branch. I turned him away from that. Then swam back at me while I reeled in as fast as I could to keep the tension on him. That’s when I saw him as he jumped twice trying to throw the hook but I kept the pressure on him. Then he swam to the left where the brush was thick and unforgiving. I turned him back toward me again.

As he tired out I grabbed my fishing net so that I could land him safely. With a nine foot fly rod in one hand and a landing net in the other, I eased him in toward the net. The fish fought me even as I tried to net him thrashing around as I maneuvered the net under him. Finally with the net underneath him I raised him up out of the water to take a quick picture of the best catch so far on my new fly rod. He was a 13 inch large mouth bass. Remarkably he was hooked in the lower lip of his mouth.

Now I know that are some who are gonna say…”aww that fish isn’t very big” and you’re right it’s not a “Big” fish if you are using a Medium to Medium heavy bass rod with 20lb braided line and a conventional reel. I pulled this one in using a 6 weight fly rod with a single action fly reel. The fight was utterly intense and the bass definitely put at strain on the equipment. You would think that with hook as small as I was using he would have swallowed the bait but he didn’t he was hooked in the hardest part of his mouth with a barbless hook the point of which had been dulled by the capture of at least 80 other fish prior to him.

It was totally an exciting catch for me.

congrats when my father used to be into fly rods we had a 6 weight that i would fool around with. i never really got to good with casting while only using it a few times but i did manage to catch a few small bass that same size on small poppers and it does feel like you hooked a 4lber on a bass rod. its a lot of fun even the good size blue gill are fun.

Great catch man! Light tackle is fun, although I can't speak for fly fishing, it's on my to do list. 2# fish on light tackle is def. a great catch. Nice job!!

Thanks guys. So far I am really enjoying fly fishing for panfish. Twice now I have had a small bluegill on the line (About 3 or 4 inches) and I have had a big fish attack the fish on my line. The big fish literally swallows the little fish while it is still on the line and swims away. Both times I tried to bring the big fish in but he ends up spitting out the hook and keeping the fish I had on the line.

It would be totally epic if I could land the big fish in this situation.

totally skip the small fish n throw on a little bigger fly n go for the bass

I am waiting on some flies that I have on order...might be worth it to get a couple of mouse flies.

http://www.riverbum.com/Mouse-Black/

Good post ! Always fun on a fly rod. I fish a 5' 6" Fenwick and even larger Bluegills and Calico's put a good bend in the rod ! Any bass over a foot will put you to the test ... and, try a mouse or large popper and you'll soon be straining on a bass a fair size larger than the 13" ! Of course ... you'll also likely tussle with some toothy pickerel, as well ! Hey ... it's all fun !

Great post and nice job on the LMB on the fly rod. I got a nice 1.5lbr on a woolly bugger a few weeks ago when going for stocked rainbows - and on the fly rod it really is like trying to land a 4lbr on spin or cast tackle. Hoping to get a bass on a popper this season, but it's Bluegill city every time I try with the smaller popppers. And casting the big guys takes some doing on a regular fly rod setup. Try tying an emerger or nymph off the hook of the popper you are using - can be non-stop action with this setup.

Poppers are fantastic! Any time that you would feel comfortable throwing a frog, try the popper. Don't be afraid to work it slow! Have fun and post your upcoming results.

Charlie

Oh the thrill. I actually have bass flies, few mice, crawfish and i have a blast going for bass. Last week while in my kayak i was able to fish the backside of schooling baitfish. I used a grey ghost size 6, and would retrieve behind the baitfish for bass looking for an easy bite.

Something else you should try is a fly rig. The large trout stay well beneath the top few feet of the water. Try this rig. Use some sinking leader then attach your tippet, 3' from the leader attach a nymph (i like hares ear nymphs) using a turle knot, do not trim the tail. A foot after the nymph using the tail piece of the other knot attach a wet fly (i like wooly buggers, in cloudy water and grey ghosts in clear water) with your regular clinch knot. The rig will be heavy so it will sink, and it gives the impression of a baitfish going after a nymph. You can use this in a river but i would then de-barb the wet fly. Good luck

I will have to try that rig out...thanks for the advice.