# what is you most productive fly for smallmouth



## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I have really been struggling catching smallmouth this year. I have lost a few and had a bunch chase just can't get them to committ. I was going to try a sink tip this weekend and see if that changed my luck any.


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## toobnoob (Jun 1, 2010)

With a sink tip I usually tie on olive, brown or black (sometimes white) woolybuggers and swing them through current. Make sure it's on the bottom and it should produce.


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## benjaminrogers (Jul 11, 2011)

This time of year is great for crawfish also. Look into something like a Clouser Crawfish or similar patterns! Use them in a strip, strip, pause (a long one) pattern like a pig and jig. Don't forget to use foam terrestrials on calmer water either!


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## benjaminrogers (Jul 11, 2011)

imalt,

Here is another fly I've had success with if you tie your own. This is a craft fur minnow. Simply exchange out the colors to match smallmouth minnow colors. If you look around the list of flies you'll find where he lists them for smallmouth. Easy fly to tie. The hard part is actually getting a good even head on them. I ended up using streamer hair instead of craft fur also.

http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns3.asp?page=22

Just found the page for the Baby Smallmouth

http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns3.asp?page=23


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

those are some good looking flies. I don't tie to much until the winter but I might tie a couple and try them. I am hoping the sink tip will make a big difference. The hits I have gotten have been on a foam grasshopper in the calmer pools. But I am missing the fish in the riffles and in the pools with current.


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## benjaminrogers (Jul 11, 2011)

It's best to drift in the riffles and current. Wooly Buggers in craw colors would be good. You really don't need sink tip line just put a conehead weight or large bead on the buggers. You need to get them bouncing over the rocks. The Clouser Crawfish would work there in the currents also.


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## WhoolyBugger (Aug 25, 2008)

Yeah I agree... In the river, you shouldn'r need the sink tip. Just a gold beadheaded bugger in brown or olive for clear water and black or white for stained water. I have done extremely well with brown in the last few weeks. Try swingin the buggers in fast water and short stripping in the slack water. Like others say... on the bottom is where the crawdads are so on the bottom is where you fish!!


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## benjaminrogers (Jul 11, 2011)

If you wanted to tie your own they make rust and olive chenille, marabou and saddle hackle that would get you in the right color range.


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

It doesnt seem like the beadheads get down on the bottom. I could try adding a split shot. I am using a 8ft leader. Most of the wooly buggers I use are size 8 and 10s.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Just about all of my buggers have bead or coneheads. I still use some split shot to get it down though.


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## fontinalis (Mar 29, 2011)

In bigger water when i cannot see the fish, chart/white clouser minnow stripped fast. In slow water where i can sight fish crayfish and large leggy dragonfly nymphs have always worked for me.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

caught a few today on olive wooly buggers. drifted, stripped, didnt really matter.


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## SweetFeet (Aug 7, 2006)

I've got a lot of confidence in Olive Buggers. But I've got some brown craws that I'm excited to try.

With spinning gear, I've caught more smallies on orange/green craw patterned hard baits than anything else.


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

You may also want to check out the jim teeny bs100 fly lines.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I'm not one of those people who thinks a fly has to perfectly mimic a prey item to be successful. I'm more of an "Adams" than a "CDC Loop Wing Sulphur Emerger" sort of person. Look at one of the best smallie baits for conventional gear: the tube jig. It perfectly mimics nothing specific but tears up brown bass year in and year out. In a lighter color maybe it's a wounded minnow. In a darker color maybe it's a crawfish. My #1 smallie fly is pretty much the same concept, one that I call the Bunny Baitfish. It's a zonker strip tail with a few strands of flash, body of zonker strip and flash spun together in a loop, with a brass conehead. I usually tie it on a #6 3XL shank streamer hook. In light colors it might be a baitfish, in craw orange/brown/olive maybe they see it as a crawfish? All I know is the smallies tear it up, and that fly gave me my best fly rod smallie from the Hocking at about 18.5". My #2 option would be the chartreuse/white Clouser.


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## Bwana J (Sep 12, 2010)

When I'm fly fishing bronzebacks I almost always throw Poppers. My favorite color has to be red and white, about the size of a quarter. Top water hits sure gets your blood flowing in a hurry. Rockbass love them too.


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I caught 9 last night on a olive spider. I missed a gar on a clouser couldnt get the hook to set. I need to make a rope fly. It was a fun night though.


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## Bronzeback60 (May 20, 2009)

I fish both lakes and creeks in the Franklin Ohio area and have found that wooly buggers and poppers are the 2 best flies to use

Depending what the water clarity looks like will be the way to choose my colors but I always start with light green or light brown

I have also tied my own flies that are basically a wooly bugger but I place a popper cone on the front

This drives the bronzeback's wild in Twin Creek

Good luck hunting those bronzeback's


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

thanks bronzeback. I used to live in franklin and fish twin creek all the time. There are alot of nice sm in there.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

__________________


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Black bugs - the more legs the better. 










That said - the clouser has probably produced more SMB on the end of my line but the slowed down bug/craw style of fishing is what i prefer and do very well with them.


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## jschoenherr (Mar 6, 2012)

I have a lot of success on clouser crawdads, clouser minnows (chart./white), and woolly buggers. For woolly buggers, I use olive, white, and black. If there's a lot of helgramites in the stream you fish for smallmouth, black buggers work very well.


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## Live2Fish (Apr 7, 2004)

The Cooper Bug is my favorite top water
http://www.cjtu.org/flytie/flies/cooperbug_beaver.html

The Cooper Bug may be tied in many other colors, including one particularly popular variation tied with dark deer body hair pulled over a peacock herl body. This pattern is also known by other names, including Devil Bug and Doodle Bug, and there are several different schools of thought regarding what this fly represents. Don't underestimate the value of this simple fly.

Hook: Dry Fly or Nymph, 1x long, size 8- 14
Thread: White or Red
Body: Red Chenille
Tail, Shellback and Head: Natural or White Deer body hair 

Sometimes I hackle the body too to make "legs". Depending on how the head is trimmed it can be a popper or slider. Saturday fishing the Olentangy I caught a dozen rock bass and eight smallies on it. Most of the smallies were only a pound to a pound and a half except the last one ... three and a half pounds. All the rock bass were a nice size.


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## Rockyraccoon (Jun 19, 2012)

Poppers are a lot of fun. I'm a big fan of sneaky pete's. Quick pop and long pause.









Another great pattern for bass, trout, stripers, etc. Todd's Wiggle Minnow with the fire tiger paint job. Wiggle minnows act a lot like a Rapala for the fly rod. Can be fished on floating line and used like a popper, or on any sinking line to probe deeper. Great pattern.









And as mentioned, Woolly Buggers, Clouser Minnows, and rabbit strips are great producers. Use Tungsten cones and beads to help get them down in faster water.

Hold on and have fun.


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## toobnoob (Jun 1, 2010)

AtticaFish said:


> Black bugs - the more legs the better.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey Attica, what material do you use for the back on those? Looks like a great helgramite pattern. I need to tie some of these up!


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

toobnoob said:


> Hey Attica, what material do you use for the back on those?.....


Well.... everything is black so i'll just give a general supply list. 

- 8MM Hematite Bead: threaded on 20lb mono then tied to hook
- Dub Mix: craftfur and black baitfish emulator roughly chopped
- Shellback: radiant raffia synthetic (would prefer stretch skin but raffia is cheap)
- Tail: craftfur or rabbit zonker


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## toobnoob (Jun 1, 2010)

AtticaFish said:


> Well.... everything is black so i'll just give a general supply list.
> 
> - 8MM Hematite Bead: threaded on 20lb mono then tied to hook
> - Dub Mix: craftfur and black baitfish emulator roughly chopped
> ...


Tanks for the list! Much appreciated.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

Clouser minnows! Chartreuse or olive/white all day! Even brown and orange works together! I think they think its a crayfish? Try all colors. red/white is good too!


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## Rockyraccoon (Jun 19, 2012)

I had a great day yesterday fishing various foam hoppers into the eddy lines.

Only changed patterns when the current pattern got chewed up and falling apart beyond recognition.


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## mullskinner (Aug 20, 2007)

crawdad imitation i tie it's called "Devils Reject" pretty wicked on smallies it has 10 wraps of lead wire goes pretty deep and still can be cast with a 3wt. 
i tied up 13 of them for the Michigan sportsman bass fly swap a couple years ago no complaints they must work in Michigan to ...


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

The fly in the rock bass' mouth has been one of my go-to flies for smallmouths(and crappie and stocked trout) this year and last. I usually tie them in sz 10s, yeah, on the small side for bass and I get a TON of smaller fish(<11in) on them, but I have caught my fair share of lunkers too. I've been experimenting with some crayfish patterns too lately which have produced some fish, but my top two flies have been the white bugger thing in the pic and just a plain bead or conehead brown bugger.


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