JULY, 1917 
FOREST AND STREAM 
329 
Fly Fishing for 
Black Bass 
By JOHN BARLOW 
W E shall soon be thinking pleasantly 
of our favorite streams and lakes, 
where that lord of the waters—the 
black bass—is to be found. When the 
tackle box is being packed make room in it 
for a few flies; they will not add much to 
the weight of your tackle, but they may 
make a surprising difference to the weight 
of your creel. 
There is an idea amongst men who have 
never used the fly for bass that only small 
fish can be caught in this way. But that is 
as true of any other way—the big fellows 
are not caught every time on any kind of 
bait. I have caught bass weighing four 
pounds on a fly, and no doubt many other 
fishermen have caught much larger fish in 
the same way. I find, too, that many have 
discarded the fly because they had no luck 
with it. When I see some of the contrap¬ 
tions that are sold as bass flies I am not 
surprised. One may as well bait his hook 
with a submarine. 
The outfit for catching bass with the fly 
is very similar to that used for trout fish¬ 
ing: the only difference is the rod should be 
a little longer and heavier—say a rod weigh¬ 
ing about seven ounces and ten feet long. 
The leaders should be six feet, and, of 
course, a little stronger than one used for 
trout. 
T HE flies should be large trout size, 
a number 5 or 6, tied on a Sproat 
hook. These are the sizes with which 
I have had most success. The usual bass 
fly is much too large and heavy and can 
only be used successfully as a troll with a 
spinner. This, I believe, is the reason why 
some have failed to get any good results 
with the fly—it has been too big. The four 
flies that have filled my creel, or helped in 
that direction, are Scarlet Ibis, Dark Mon¬ 
treal, Jock Scot and Royal Coachman. 
This list might be lengthened consider¬ 
ably. Any fisherman could add some good 
flies to it; I am simply naming those that 
have done me good service. I would say to 
the beginner: Get these four flies to start 
with, have them tied on different size hooks, 
from 5s to 8s. A variety in size is far more 
important than a variety of colors. 
Cast them as you would for trout and you 
will get fish in almost any lake or river. I 
have caught more bass on the Scarlet Ibis 
than on any other fly, and nearly always 
have one on my cast. Early in the season 
bass will often rise better to the Royal 
Coachman or Jock Scot, but about July the 
Ibis always takes the biggest fish. From 
about the middle of August the fly season 
is practically over—the fish have gone into 
the deeper water, and then it is more profit¬ 
able to go after them with bait. 
I T is best to fish the fly from a boat, keep¬ 
ing about sixty or seventy feet from the 
shore, then one can fish both ways— 
towards the shore and the deep water. Get 
someone to row the boat and let him push 
you first, then cast to right and left ahead of 
you. If no one can be found to do the row¬ 
ing let the wind drift your boat in the de¬ 
sired direction; should this carry you too 
Under the Manage¬ 
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