Confidence Flies 2018 - Top 10
“I wasn’t a good enough fisherman to be disdainful of tools. I carried a boxful of flies...” – Norman Macclean
We’ve all been there... A tough day on the water and you can’t get any Smallies to eat. Next thing you know, your external fly patch is short on real estate. You look like a Christmas tree walking down the river with flash and brightly covered flies hanging off you everywhere. You finally stick a fish and snap a picture, but the picture merely reminds you of how tough the day was because in the background it looks like a school of baitfish on your external fly patch.
It’s now been over 2 hours since you stuck that decent fish... You open your streamer box like it’s a Bible and you’re looking for answers. You scrutinized and poured over these flies when they were on your vise, but now they look like crap. In disgust, you open your top water box and suddenly even those pretty little terrestrials or those boogle bugs look like garbage. I could have sworn I had a box of fish getters... soldiers...right?
Especially when you’re wading, it’s important to maximize your real estate and take consistent flies with which you have confidence. Experimental flies or those with which you have limited confidence should occupy a corner of your wading box until you’re confident they’re fish getters. I’ve had a few requests, so I thought I would put together a short list of 10 flies, (5 topwater/ 5 streamers) that consistently work for me. These flies usually will look good and usually will work! If you have these 10 flies in your box... you’re headed down the right path.
Out of the 10 flies on this list, I’ll catch 80% of my fish on one of these. Next to each fly, I’ve labeled the approximate percentage of fish I caught on each pattern last year. Of the 1000+ fish I caught last year, this should give you an idea about which flies to prioritize.
1. BoogleBug Popper: 30%
BoogleBug is a company out of Alabama that makes easily the best popper on the market. The bugs come in a size 4-8 and sit on a Mustad hook. They have several color options (electric damsel-blue, orange, pearly white, solar flare, black, green, yella fella). The bug itself is a cork body that is coated in some sort of plastic that makes them far more durable than a normal foam or cork popper. It’s normal to catch 50+ fish on these poppers without noticing any damage. The popper body has silicon legs that stick out the side that give it some extra movement and look like insect wings from below.
My favorite is the size 6 in black, but the size 4 fishes well. I buy a good supply of blue, black, and white that vary in size between 4 and 6. You can dead drift these flies or pop them aggressively. A must have for every river smallmouth guy. If you want to fall in love with fly-fishing... get a 16+ inch smallmouth to take a BoogleBug. You’ll be forever a fan of the long rod. In late summer, they’ll sip these bugs like a trout, but generally they go ape over these little gems.
2. Amnesia Bug: 10%
The Amnesia Bug is another BoogleBug product. Instead of the cupped face of a popper, it has a flat, but slanted forward contact edge. This results in a subtler “pop” when you strip the fly, which is more like a slide across the surface. The subtleness of this bug helps entice those spooky fish. You’ll find that in late summer the harsh “pop” from a cupped face popper will spook big fish. The Amnesia Bug is about the only topwater fly I’ll occasionally fish in a size 8. I Especially downsize in early October or late September when the water is gin clear and low, the Amnesia bug is a big fish killer. Also, it has the hardened cork body and Mustad hooks like the popper.
3. Fat Albert: 8%
Terrestrial time starts in late July and goes through late September. Break out the 12’ leaders and wait for them to sip these like a badass version of a trout. The Fat Albert is a go-to when the water is super clear. They imitate a hopper? beetle? Cicada? Who cares... they work. I like black with a red bumper and I like a tan colored version as well.
4. Umpqua Swimming Frog: 2.5%
The Swimming Frog is a great fly for aggressively feeding Smallmouth or lower light conditions. A lot of guys use FlyAgra and harden the bottom of these things with UV cement. They’re pretty good right off the shelf. Down side, they take up a lot of space and they start to sink after a couple hours. Plus side, they work pretty well even when they sink because they look like a frog swimming right under the surface. Also, Smallmouth go pretty bonkers when a frog is in the water. Guaranteed aggressive strikes when they finally take it, but around here it’s either hot or not. This is too much fly for the 5wt guys, especially after some water has soaked into the deer hair.
5. Todd’s Wiggle Minnow: 2.5%
What a peculiar little foam weirdo. I know a few guys who do well with a fire tiger color. Since I don’t have confidence in those super bright chartreuse or orange colors, I only typically tie the white or black ones. Also, out of the four flies mentioned above, this is the only one I actually tie.
The front end is slanted, which makes it dive under the water when it’s stripped. For conventional gear guys converting to fly fishing, the action is similar to a square bill crank bait. This fly has high wobble when it’s swimming and the action of the fly floating back to the surface after being stripped is irresistible in the right conditions. If the fish are on a hard baitfish pattern and you still want a topwater strike, this is the meal ticket. They’ll either t-bone it under water or take it big on the surface. I’ve also had some success dead drifting this fly.
6. Swingin’ D: 15%
The Swingin’ D... This fly is dynamic. The “D” is my favorite sub-surface fly upon which to catch Smallmouth. My local shop said it would never work... They were wrong. You can fish the Swingin’ D almost all-year round. The foam diving head prevents it from diving too deep or diving too fast. At a dead drift, this fly imitates a wounded minnow about as well as any fly possibly can. The marabou, feathers, and flash make it irresistible. Conventional fisherman will recognize similarities between this fly and a hard jerkbait. When you strip it, it darts back and forth like a wounded minnow. Just cast it cross-current and let the water do the work.
The fly is articulated and sits on two sharp hooks that give you extra security for short strikes or those big fish you hate to lose. Plus, the weight of this fly is not ridiculous and it’s relatively easy to cast on a 7/8wt. This is a bit much for the 5wt Smallie guys that want a bit of extra fight. You can buy these flies at Orvis or at Schultz Outfitters.
This is a video of the fly creator, Mike Schultz, tying the Swingin’ D fly. The video shows a few of the fly’s believers. (hint: they’re fish... big ones)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85wqo8quiSg
7. Feathered Game Changer: 10%
This is a super realistic and dynamic fly created by Blane Chocklett. The “Game Changer” is mostly known as a Musky killer, but it works spectacularly for Smallies when it’s tied in the 4-6” range. Give this fly one strip and you’ll know exactly why 18”+ fish love it. The articulated body of the fly makes it dart and swim like an actual wounded fish. “Articulated” is shorthand for several segments tied together. The fly literally bends in half and is connected by bite wire.
I tie my Feathered Game Changers at a neutral buoyancy so they just sort of tumble in the current. Umpmqua makes a version of this fly that is made out of carpet and weighs 3 pounds. My advise, buy a Feathered Game Changer from a fly tier, tie your own, or move on to number 8. The feathers and flash tied in give the fly a lifelike quality. Conventional guys will notice similarities to a soft jerkbait.
The downside to these flies: (1) they take forever to tie; (2) they’re expensive to buy; (3) they take up some real estate in your box. Up side: Big fish.
available at: http://tightlinesflyshop.com/product/feather-game-changer/
8. Clouser Minnow: 10%
The classic dumbbell weighted minnow pattern. Bob Clouser created this fly specifically for Smallmouth. Characteristics: two-tone deer hair body, flash, the weighted eyes. You’re not a Smallmouth fly fisherman unless you’ve caught a few fish on the Clouser.
Down side: Almost everyone who fly fishes for Smallmouth has been whacked in the dome with a Clouser due to the unpredictability of the weighted eyes. It hurts.
Up Side: Anyone can tie these flies or they’re cheap to buy and are carried at almost every fly shop. They’re simple and they just work. Great Crappie fly too.
I have confidence in black/white, chartreuse/white, or olive/white. Depending on the water clarity, I’ll use a lot or smaller amounts of flash in the body and darker colors (just like gear fishing). Tips: imitate the prey of the smallmouth in your rivers and vary the retrieve. They’re also a great search pattern so you can locate if the fish are feeding near the surface or near the bottom.
9. Schultzy’s Single Fly Cray 7%
Another fly created by Mike Schultz and Schultz Outfitters. This fly is named the “Single Fly Cray” because it won several one fly Smallmouth tournaments on the Huron River. If you could only fish with one fly for the rest of your life and you had to catch a Smallmouth every day, this would be the selection. You can swim this fly or try to bottom bounce it, but you can’t make it look like anything other than a tasty little crayfish.
The fly has flash, silicone legs, and rabbit fur strips rounding out the profile for pinchers. These features entice eats because they expand and retract under water. Again, just cast cross-current and let the water do the work. A dynamite little fly... You can buy this fly at Orvis, Schultz Outfitters, or get a vise and get to work. Once you see it under water, it will make sense.
10. Dave Whitlock’s Near ‘Nuff Cray: 5%
What would a Smallmouth buffet be without mention of crayfish? The Near ‘Nuff Crayfish was created by Dave Whitlock and works all-year round for Smallmouth. The fly consists of hackle on a long shank hook with feathers giving a full profile and immitating pinchers. There are typically silicone legs that imitate a crayfish’s tentacles and weighted eyes opposite the hook to ensure a fighting stance at the fly rests on bottom.
I have tied these flies, but I usually just buy a base supply on ebay. If I’m noticing the crayfish are molting, I’ll tie a few that match the “hatch.” However, when you can buy them on ebay for about $2.00 a-piece, it’s not worth it to tie them.
When I’m having a hard day, I’ll go to this simple crayfish imitator for about 30 minutes. In general, crayfish make up the majority of a Smallmouth’s diet, so this fly is a dinner bell. It’s not the most enjoyable fly to catch Smallies on, but catching Smallmouth is more enjoyable than not...
Cons: You’ll catch Rock Bass, small fish, and multi-species (not necessarily a con sometimes), kind of a boring take sometimes, you’ll lose a lot of these flies.
Pros: They catch fish when other patterns can’t.
TIGHT LINES!