If a guy wanted to catch smallmouth bass on the fly rod out of his floattube, when is the best time of year to do it?
I'm hoping to float on Jordanelle or any other suggested places and catch them on top with poppers.
Can someone fill in a trout bum like myself with some smallmouth 101?
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June, July and August are awesome.
We actually had a ton of success in Mid May throwing chironomids at bedding bass. They hate those things landing on their beds.
Good Luck!
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SMB and fly rods go together like peanut butter and jelly.
I find that SMB, like their big mouth cousins, put on the feed bag before the spawn, and work the shallows hard, so that is the time to go after them with poppers and streamers, and don't forget the crawfish patterns.
Depending on water temperatures, seasonal adjustments, and of course the year itself, I would say start hitting the rocky and/weedy shores with some drop off nearby starting in middle May. Don't spend too much time in one spot until you have fish, and once you find fish, look for similar spots.
My favorite spots in Washington had rock and weeds, and you could wear yourself out on SMB and a fly rod. My favorite spots in Colorado were mostly rock, but again, you could get a sore arm when the SMB were in.
I bass fish Jordanelle (a lot) almost exclusively from a float tube and may be able to help.
Speaking only of Jordanelle, The areas most conducive to float tubing (meaning no power squadron) usually start being productive for bass about the second or third week of June, depending on runoff and the ambient temperatures. Once it starts, it is usually awesome along the shorelines for 2-3 weeks, then they move out into margins of aquatic grasses and channels for about a month. They then move out a touch deeper, but good action is to be had until early September. After that, it can be hit or miss and the trout fishing starts to get good, so I don't go as much. [
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If your heart is set on popper action, it is best early or late, but I would also try leech patterns in greenish colors and flash during all times of the day. The trick is finding where the fish are at. A fishfinder and local experience helps a lot. I mostly use gear but tell myself each year it would be fun to do more flyflinging for them. As it gets closer, feel free to send a PM and I might be up there when you give it a go.
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SMB love themselves some damsel and dragonfly nymphs too!
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[quote T-DOG91]If a guy wanted to catch smallmouth bass on the fly rod out of his floattube, when is the best time of year to do it?[/quote]
As soon as the water hits about 57 degrees....if you wanted to play it safe, 60 degrees. At that point, game on.
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The north end of Deer Creek should be SMB heaven for a tuber. Any minnow imitating streamer would be great. Larry Dalberg had a series of Bass Streamers that he introduced back in the 90's. Check some of his patterns if you are a tyer or know of someone who can tie em for you. Would recommend at least a 6wt rod, preferably an 8wt, with either a sink tip or slow sink line. Level leader, 6-8 ft, 6-8lb fluro. You can launch at the old ramp close to the river inlet. Work to the south and east from there. You can also launch from the Island area, but it is a longer kick over from there. Work the 6-10ft depth. May catch a walleye or two also, even a brownie also. Have fun, fun, fun !! Time of year, any time, they are there all year .
[#0000FF]Anytime between spring spawn and fall cool-down will have the smallies hanging out along many stretches of shoreline on both Jordanelle and Deer Creek. That is roughly June through early September.
If you wanna go for the grins, throw a popper right at daybreak. After that you can use a wide variety of buggers or other subsurface patterns. Think crawdad feeds in Deer Creek...baby perch buffet in Jordanelle. Basic black or white/crystal are two almost universal colors. If you find the fish, presentation is often more important than flavor.
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