Bass on the Fly

Water temps are on the rise in the urban lakes and that means really great action targeting Small Mouth Bass. Fishing for this sport fish with flies is as much fun as anything else you will do in your life. There are a few things to think about when targeting bass. Use bigger, nastier flies, which means heavier leaders and tippets to as well as faster rods and heavier lines. Don’t forget that bass fishing is an early riser’s sport. Don’t let those “10am Dry Fly Hatch” habits foul your opportunity for fishing here. You’ll need to be on the water and rolling early in the morning.

Check out Weapons of Bass Production, a video starring Landon Mayer and John Barr. It really nails the specifics on some of the most important things everyone should know about going after this great fish. Landon and John cover the equipment from flies and tippet to rods and float tubes, they talk tactics, weather, locations, holding lies and everything else. The final word is that they hook up on some MONSTERS!

Fish On!
–Shannon Long
Hook Flyfishing

The 16-20 Knot

I’ve spent years tying the improved clinch knot on my flies and droppers. I’ve gotten good enough that I can tie it with numb hands in howling winds and blackout conditions. It’s a fine, serviceable knot. It is not the strongest knot, though, and it does take a bunch of steps so I started kicking around ideas about learning a new knot. After trying several, I ended up going with a knot commonly called a 16-20. It is very easy to tie, strong and practically tells you that it’s tied and seated properly with a nice little “CLICK”. This knot is especially great for size 4x-7x tippet.

Steps:
1. Thread down through a down eye, up through an up eye.
2. Lay the tag end parallel to and behind the standing line.
3. Pinch the loop you just made and wrap around the front of the paralleled lines 3x.
4. Go through the loop at the top between the standing line and the top arc of the loop.
5. Lubricate the whole mess and work the knot down to the eye of the hook. Hold the tag end snug and tighten everything up. When feel and hear that distinct “CLICK” you are done.

Fish On!
–Shannon