

O those of us who love a fly rod 
for its action, its use and the 
paths it may lead us into and 
prefer to wield it on every fishing trip 
on fresh water, I suppose there some- 
times arises a question covering its limi- 
tations. Does a fly rod have all the pos- 
sibilities that other rods _ possess? 
Merely to é¢atch a fish on a fly is a 
great clincher on the affirmative side of 
an argument in one’s own experience 
and the controversies a fisherman may 
have in his own mind concerning rela- 
tive merits of different kinds of rods. 
On the use of flies and fly rods for 
trout and salmon, volumes have been 
well written; so it is of the bass, both 
large and small mouth, and other fish 
that I may suggest as possible quarry 
for the fly rod. 
Years ago the idea of using a fly only, 
for trout and bass, was welcomed not 
only because that type of tackle most 
appealed to me but also because it is 
interesting to lay a course and fish by 
it. It is the only way to know what lies 
ahead, what pleasant surprises may 
come to substantiate your faith in your 
chosen course. 
You have probably seen in a good 
tackle store, the great many varie- 
ties of flies. Color combinations galore 
and sizes from the tiniest midge to a 
1/0 fly and even larger. 
One has to choose a few patterns and 
learn what good is in them. We are 
beset with a limitation which precludes 
the possibility of trying under every 
condition every pattern of fly in all 
reasonable sizes that might appeal to 
the fish we are after, and that limita- 
tion is a man’s lifetime. 
YEARS ago I went into a tackle store 
and asked for bass flies. I went out 
wondering what lay ahead for me and 
the 1/0 flies that were customarily sold 
to one who asked for bass flies. 
They were tried on a river in Michi- 
gan where small mouth bass were 
plenty. It was new to me then. Full 
of hope I cast for hours a big 1/0 Pro- 
fessor or Grizzly King, and when a 
baby bass about 7 inches long was fast 
to my fly it mattered not so much his 
size. It was a bass fly. That day I 
saw a good bass leap about a foot 
above the water in trying to catch a 
Page 525 
NOY” 
By iW Moen FERRIS 
brown beetle that flew parallel with the 
surface a foot above water. 
Trying with my 1/0 flies, I could not 
interest that bass and it occurred to me 
to get some flies more nearly the size 
and color of the larger insects and 
creepers that bass feed upon. 
The first good bass, about two 
pounds, came to me on a No. 6 turkey 
wing Seth Green. Ever since then that 
pattern has been a favorite. 
One evening while casting the big 
1/0 Professor, thinking that in the dusk 
a large fly could be seen readily and 
would be more apt to coax a bass, I saw 
a fish swirl and take from the surface 
a miller, the dusty kind that fly around 
a lamp at night. The next trip I was 
supplied with some No. 4 Reub Wood 
flies which were the nearest in size and 
color to the juicy. millers. And for 
years a No. 4 Reub Wood at dusk, 
whether on a lake or river for large 
or small mouth bass, has been a favor- 
ite prescription. 
‘THEN came a time when I wondered 
if a No. 4 fly for bass would be 
large enough under all conditions. It 
took many days of fishing to put on 
that self-imposed limit for size and once 
decided upon, never have I regretted it. 
The last time a No. 2 fly was used was 
about seven years ago on a river that 
flows into the Susquehanna in Southern 
New York. It had been twilight a few 
moments. A No. 6 Reub Wood and No. 
6 Seth Green were on the leader. No. 
6 were proper size in that clear water 
in the daylight. It would soon be dark. 
The deep part of a pool was within 
casting distance. It seemed wise to take 
off one of the No. 6 flies and put on 
something larger to lure a good old 
bass. 
I thought a No. 2 Yellow Sally might 
be mistaken by the bass for a yellow 
butterfly and I put it on. You know 
how it is. The best hour of the day, 
a promising pool and knee deep in run- 
ning water, you feel within a song un- 
sung but one that you hope to sing. 
The flies had drifted about a foot when 
a bass was on and and with self-ad- 
miration I was glad to think I had 
known enough to put on a No. 2 fly at 
the right hour of the evening. He was 
no whopper, but a good one for our 
Bass and Flies 
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river. As TI felt the fly to take it from 
his lip it felt small. Decisions were 
forming. He had taken the No. 6 Reub 
Wood. Calmly and looking ahead with 
assurance into the days to come I turned 
to those leaves in my fly book where 
there were a few No. 2 flies and one by 
one dropped them into the current to be 
gone. 
O the possibilities of No. 4 flies as 
the largest were to be revealed time 
after time. 
It was my good fortune to spend a 
few months in Arkansas near the Saline 
River. Those mountain rivers rise 
rapidly after heavy rains and .become 
so muddy one would think it impossible 
for a bass to see a No. 4 fly. Yet 
many of them did and preferred the 
Reub Wood or Montreal. When the 
river was clear, bass rose rapidly to 
No. 6 flies. 
A bass can see a No. 4 fly on a dark 
night, whether it be a Reub Wood, 
McGinty or Seth Green, provided the 
water is clear. Being a farmer at 
present, busy in the daytime, with bass 
in the river a mile away, I just have to 
take my rod and start thence some 
summer evenings about 7.30 or 8 o’clock. 
When one knows the river he wades in, 
it is not so dark but that it is a 
pleasure to cast until 10 o’clock. The 
sounds vary and it is quite different 
from day fishing and one learns about 
the keen eyes of Mr. Bass. It was by 
using one fly at night to prevent a 
snarl that I found bass can see one fly 
as well as two and have less reasor 
to fear. So day times too, I use but 
one on the leader which is not too 
heavy. Leaders classed as 6 ft. heavy 
trout will hold your bass and will not 
be so apt to scare him as the weight of 
gut designated by his name. 
{7 was on two different nights that a 
No. 4 Reub Wood looked so good 
that a Wall Eyed Pike tried to eat it. 
Both were caught, the largest weigh- 
ing about four pounds. When flies 
look good to W. E. Pike (which is not 
usually considered as a fly rod fish) 
then I feel they are well chosen. With 
an assortment including Pale Evening 
Dun, Seth Green, McGinty, Reub Wood, 
(Continued on page 564) 
