Mike G

This will soon be available. I saw it in a Bean's catalog. They have SOT and Sit-in models. Click to See

Rob, I am glad to see you are researching the topic. Lefty is consistent in other books also, likeFly Fishing for Bass:Smallmouths, Largemouths, and the Exotics. Let the hook shank hang 30 deg or so below the surface. Brad Miller has another theory. Let the shank be at the surface and parallel to the surface. Now we have to decide whom we go with. I lean to the Lefty on this one. At the age of 21, Lefty caught his first Smallmouth on a fly in 1947 and has been fly fishing for them ever since. Was Brad even a twinkle in his father's eyes in 1947? Were his parents even dating? Both angles will catch fish to be sure. Since I do not have all the time in the world to work this out myself, I will go with Lefty. PS The design of Clouser's EZ Pop kind of agres with this. Then again, Clouser advocates glitter. UUGH!

Cool ride, Dude! I never thought I would say that about a Yak that costs so much, but it really looks like value for the $$.

Clouser's

Rob, thanks for going along with me. The May 1 date levels the field and gives us something like the WI Opener to look forward to. Now watch, based on what ron says, we will all be busting Smallmouths on April 1st. I will make reasonable efforts to secure photos now that I am aware of your adiction to Bass Nosecandy. Here's one to tide you over. Recognize the bug? The tagline is worth a thousand pictures.

TU Article What else is new?

In his latest E Newsletter Brad has a nice intro to the new line of foam bug heads he is selling. It isn't the end of deer hair, but it creates another alternative to spinning, packing and trimming. E Newsletter

It's an earplug, right? The Deul sounds interesting, but I want to change the rules. We are on the honor system. It is no more possible to be half honorable, than it is to be half pregnant. I will not hold you to the photo requirement as you are an honorable person. Besides it is too easy to fake the photo by sticking the bug in a bass's mouth no matter what you caught it on. Can you reciprocate? Next let's make it an honorable fish. By that I mean one that measures as the Pros say, 14 inches. That OK? Another problem for me is the weather cycle. I live and fish near the Wisconsin boarder about 200 miles north of Champaign. In terms of seasonal warmup that is about two weeks difference. I will not see a solid topwater bite till the beginning of June while I suspect that will come 2 weeks earlier down south. I will have to live with giving you that head start, I guess. I like the idea of inviting other guys to join the duel though technically it won't be a duel anymore. We have to call it a shootout. I am looking forward to comparing the performance of this no frills bug to that of my more frilly bugs by alternating bugs every half hour or so.

It is kinda academic here. Traditionally the Smallmouth version would be about 2-3" long on a #4 long shank hook. The Largemouth version would be 3-4" long on a 1/0 long shank hook. Personally I would use the bigger fly for both Smallmouths and Largemouths since the fish are not as fussy as the fishermen when it comes to size. Big fly big fish. You say that popper you use is 4 times larger than the 3.5" Bug. Are you using a 14" popper for Smallmouths? Go for it!

"For largemouth bass, Lefty recommends just a larger version of his Bug with the addition of rubber legs to give it some action in relatively quiet waters." That covers it.

Better yet, Rob. Find a RK coyote.

After posting Lefty's Blockhead, I realized that I did not have any versions of Lefty's original. I fixed that by tying up a few including this Largemouth version. For largemouth bass, Lefty recommends just a larger version of his Bug with the addition of rubber legs to give it some action in relatively quiet waters. I do not have any really long squirrel tail; so I used guard hairs from a piece of coyote hide for the tail to get a total bug length of 3.5 inches. I fought off the temptation to add frills like hackle collar, eyes, and fancy finishes so the bug would be true to the original. I like the look of the coyote tail.

Bassbuggers at the blowout. Have your cameras ready to take pictures of the contest winning fly and the two runners up. Since a lot of work goes into those flies, their creators should be recognized on this site and in the bulletin after the event. It also will also serve to properly document the award. Besides I want to see what they look like.

Craig also has 2-3 videos in the knot tying section. They are fly knots-starting thread, half hitch, and whip finish. Take a look at the half hitch video. That does not look like your average half hitch. Do you tie it that way?

Thanks Terry, I am glad to see it was not me. It works for me now also. It is interesting to see the other SAs' pages also. There is a lot going on.

Mike Clifford mentioned ISA on Facebook in the bulletin. I am striking out searching for the page. INSA, TOSA, and MOSA are there. What am I missing.

Rob, I have 2. Both are about 8.5 feet - 250 cm. 8 ft might be enough if the place where you sit in the canoe is low and narrow. But 8.5 is long enough to use in almost anything called a canoe.

They taste bad too, Rob. Or so I have heard. Just spread the word. Last time I was in Florida all agreed that Baracuda were dangerous to eat. But they are fun to catch. Of course we could tie Smallmouths to cancer. That would slow the keep rate down.

Rob, I use an ultralong kayak paddle with my 15' Wenonah Solitude. Also with my jon boat. You guessed right. It works.

I will work the first shift on Saturday-10:00 to 2:30.

John, There are four by Craig-Bullfrawg, Crawdad, Hairy Fodder, and installing a ringer the old way with sidecutter and needle. I watched two so far. Mike

I guess now we need the story.

Here's an old Bass Bugger tying a few of his creations. Pick the fly tying section. Enjoy. Tying videos

Jim, The #16 is perfect for Smallmouths. As rich would tell you, you use it to catch a dozen or so 3-6" Creek Chubs. Use the chubs for SMB. they should get you Smallmouths from 6 inches on up. Seriously, I do not think a #6 in this safe sex pattern will work on adult bass. It is too big to match the hatch and too small a meal for a respectable bass to bother with. Rockbass, yes!

Got mine Tuesday, thanks to USPS, Davis IL. It is a great issue. In the quest to resurrect the national Smallmouth Alliance, we already have one piece of the puzzle-a world class bulletin. Most articles apply to Smallmouth Bass fishing in any state or province. There are advertizers from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida. The future is here.