Recent hot weather and perfect water conditions on the lower Umpqua river have the plentiful Smallmouth Bass on the grab. We got a late start on the day and did not put in at Woods Ramp until about noon. We tried a couple of new crayfish patterns and another one of Barretts “curly tail” flies. Both caught fish but nothing like the Craby Clouser I switched to later in the day. A two fly system featuring two Craby Clousers #6 was deadly. Casting towards structure and retriving often resulted in two fish on the same line. Ok if you let the first Bass hooked swim around a bit longer than the usual “bass master” landing it worked even better. The Umpqua is a great summer fishery and holds up throught September.–CD
