Maybe unfinished business from my week in the south got into my brain. Maybe I’m feeling nostalgic for fifty fish days on the same ratty piece of chenille and wisp of marabou on a hook. My brother is firing up his new boat next week, getting out on the Great Lakes for the first time this year. The warmwater fisheries I grew up with are calling my name.
I actually spun deerhair and packed it for the first time since high school.
Maybe it’s because I inherited a fifty-year old skiff that’s not good for much else. I may have lost my mind, but at least it will be good for the blog. How many posts do you need to read where we cleaned up on a possie bugger and mega-prince? Or we wound up on some great piece of steelhead water that we can’t say anything about? So keep your eyes peeled for me on the bass pro circuit. And if you have any recommendations or helpful hints on warmwater opportunities, pass ’em on.
-MS
OMG! I have been wishing for the day more bass talk would pop up on this blog. I live in Portland and am on a mission to get into good bass fishing since there are some good spots basically within walking distance. I have caught a few but I just have not figured out the willamette bass yet. Please please please post some bass fly tying videos and tips on how and when to fish them!
I love trout and steel but the long drives and cold winter days are starting to wear me out.
I applaud your effort to acknowledge bass as a viable option for the fly angler. For some reason, it seems fly fishermen rank bass very low on the hierarchy of sought after fish. Perhaps it’s the aggression levels of bass that make them seem “easier” to catch than trout, steelhead, salmon, etc., and we therefore equate ease of catch with unintelligent or second rate fish. Maybe it’s because bass aren’t normally found in the swift water we’re all accustomed to targeting and fishing slower water seems boring. Maybe we hold some sort of grudge against the bass because they have been illegally introduced into some Oregon waters and pose a threat to some trout populations. Maybe we shun the bass because those hordes of bass guys depicted on T.V. zipping around on lakes in 6000 HP motorboats just seem flat out silly to us civilized fly gentlemen. Maybe we take ourselves too seriously. Maybe it’s a combination of all of the above.
Having grown up in the Midwest, I grew up a bass guy through lack of choice. That’s what was in the water, so that is I chased. Largemouth, white bass, smallmouth, and perhaps the poor man’s steelhead: the hybrid striped bass. Smallmouth and hybrid stripers were my two favorites to chase, both powerful fish, the smallmouth with their vicious topwater strikes and aerial displays and the hybrid with brute reel-screaming force and long runs.
I love trout fishing, but I know my roots. If it were not for those bass, I would likely not even be an angler. So thanks for the post about bass. Maybe a few more fly anglers will come forward and admit to enjoying catching bass. Maybe a few will try it for the first time. Hope you get into some of those fifty fish days.
-Matt
Nice post Matt. I too grew up fishing bass but it was on the east coast. I admit that for the last half dozen years I just forgot about bass thinking that Trout and Steel was what I was suppose to do. I have seen the light and am looking forward to getting back into bass.
i will eat the carpe diem outa some local bass anyday!
Excellent post! I read OFFB quite regularly and do get tired of seeing the same thing day in and day out. I have been fishing Oregon waters for trout with a fly rod since I was a child and have always tried to experiment with other fish and such. While fishing for big fish with big gear, and travelling all over the world to fish are exciting topics, I enjoy seeing stories about local anglers branching out and exploring all this state has to offer. I have never understood why fly anglers regard some fish as second rate. Each fish offers its own unique set of challenges, and scoffing at fish because they’re not traditional is a something the fly community needs to get over.
Bring on the bass attack! Anything that focuses on targeting the local invasives is much appreciated. Oh and anything in the salt would be awesome.
Bring it on, Bassnugget!
Kiss my Bass!
I’d be down for a bassacre! well, to see some pics of one anyway ….
McKay Reservoir in Pendleton.
Matt! How can I reach you?
Jen