If you are going to catch a bass, act like a bass. This doesn't mean you have to eat frogs and harass cute little baby ducks. But you need to think like a bass. When I talk to bass fishers, I often get a similar reaction. Fishing for bass inclines you to stalk them like they stalk their prey. Trout are more refined, gentle fish. Trout in a lake, you wait for. You can troll, but basically most trout fishing involves keying into the basic fact that trout in a lake are on the move, cruising. They do some stalking, but they don't have the explosive body/muscle type that makes a bass attack like a linebacker through the weeds and into their prey.
Fishing for bass reminds me of fishing for trout in rivers. I enjoy anticipating where a trout lies, and then stalking them. Fishing for bass forces me to have a similar degree of awareness, observation and anticipation. To stalk them. To be careful and quiet and patient. To use all my senses just a little bit more than I would for trout.
I try to anticipate any potential ambush point. A small rock pile. A pile of brush half submerged in water. Logs diving into the water. And my favorite-- yard-wide floating islands of tules and bulrushes. These little moving forests may not be the ideal bass location, but they fascinate me. Try picking one up out of the water, and you'll see what a perfectly messy little, moving shield they offer for a bass. I usually fish the shady side of these little islands. But, to be honest, visit your local library. Fly fishing, more so than any other sport, is a sport of active participation mingled with active reading.
My point is that the behavior of bass to lie in wait for their prey causes me to do the same. This way, I'm always anticipating something big about to happen on the water. I also don't get as bored as I often do with trout fishing, trolling around hoping to intercept something.
Bass fishing has everything trout fishing has, only scaled up: lots of impressive top water action; strong long fights; big, very big fish; fishing and hunting challenges. The reason more trout fishers don't consider bass is probably a matter of perception, and down right lack of respect for the fish. And maybe some uneasiness with fishing near others who are looking at you quizzically slinging a line when you should be slinging powerbait trailing behind the latest techno-plug. But we're flyfishers. We don't fish with other people. So find an isolated piece of water to practice your new sport. And when others see you haul in a 4-pounder on a fly, they might be back with a fly rod. Or they'll throw beer cans at you.
Typically, though, I find myself more alone on bass waters than on trout waters, especially fly-only trout waters. It is a great thing that lakes can become catch and release (and a shame more bass water doesn't), but once a lake becomes catch and release, it becomes marked. Which, again, is a good thing, but then all the flyfishers show up expecting great things. Bass waters tend to have fewer people, with notable exceptions, such as opening day, pleasant warm summer weekends, and bass tournaments.
Fishing for bass reminds me of fishing for trout in rivers. I enjoy anticipating where a trout lies, and then stalking them. Fishing for bass forces me to have a similar degree of awareness, observation and anticipation. To stalk them. To be careful and quiet and patient. To use all my senses just a little bit more than I would for trout.
I try to anticipate any potential ambush point. A small rock pile. A pile of brush half submerged in water. Logs diving into the water. And my favorite-- yard-wide floating islands of tules and bulrushes. These little moving forests may not be the ideal bass location, but they fascinate me. Try picking one up out of the water, and you'll see what a perfectly messy little, moving shield they offer for a bass. I usually fish the shady side of these little islands. But, to be honest, visit your local library. Fly fishing, more so than any other sport, is a sport of active participation mingled with active reading.
My point is that the behavior of bass to lie in wait for their prey causes me to do the same. This way, I'm always anticipating something big about to happen on the water. I also don't get as bored as I often do with trout fishing, trolling around hoping to intercept something.
Bass fishing has everything trout fishing has, only scaled up: lots of impressive top water action; strong long fights; big, very big fish; fishing and hunting challenges. The reason more trout fishers don't consider bass is probably a matter of perception, and down right lack of respect for the fish. And maybe some uneasiness with fishing near others who are looking at you quizzically slinging a line when you should be slinging powerbait trailing behind the latest techno-plug. But we're flyfishers. We don't fish with other people. So find an isolated piece of water to practice your new sport. And when others see you haul in a 4-pounder on a fly, they might be back with a fly rod. Or they'll throw beer cans at you.
Typically, though, I find myself more alone on bass waters than on trout waters, especially fly-only trout waters. It is a great thing that lakes can become catch and release (and a shame more bass water doesn't), but once a lake becomes catch and release, it becomes marked. Which, again, is a good thing, but then all the flyfishers show up expecting great things. Bass waters tend to have fewer people, with notable exceptions, such as opening day, pleasant warm summer weekends, and bass tournaments.
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