The Essential Fishing Handbook. Joe Cermele

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      JIG YOURBUCK

      A

      B

      C

      D

      E

      TROPHY BUCKTAILS:(A) Bucktail jig;(B) Mickey fin;(C) Frankie Shiner;(D) Hot Lips saltwater jig;

      (E) Clouser Minnow

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      32

      Make Flies,

      Not Bugs

      Flies either imitate natural bugs or they aract the aention of fish. A new synthetic called Ice Dub, when wrapped into the body of a fly, does both. Classic nymph paerns like the Hare’s Ear and Prince look just as realistic when they are tied with Ice Dub, yet they also flash and draw eyeballs—especially in low-light conditions—beer than the same paerns tied with natural fur and feathers. In flyfishing, seeing is half of the believing equation for trout, and Ice Dub commands notice beer than anything else.

      CATCH A

      TROUT’S

      ATTENTION

      Winter is when many people get serious about tying flies for next spring. Make sure your materials are sealed in plastic bags together with a few moth flakes. Otherwise, dermestid beetle larvae may start chewing and destroying them. (These are the same larvae that taxidermists use to clean animal skulls.) Be especially wary if you borrow or are given a rooster neck or bucktail from someone else, or you might find your entire collection infested.

      33

      The essence of flyfishing f

      or

      JOIN THE BASS

      BUG REVOLUTION

      bass is a kind of laid-back antidote to trout fishing’s match-the-hatch intensity. Bass bugs are fanciful rather than factual, full of wanton wiggles as they pop, slide, or slither among the lily pads of summer. Here’s a close look at some of the best.

      TOP PICKS Poppers and sliders are both essential patterns for topwater fishing, and new dense foam bodies float better and last longer than older cork versions. Soft silicone-rubber legs, meanwhile, add lifelike movement that drives bass nuts. Cup-face poppers make lots of surface noise when twitched, stirring up lethargic fish. Sliders, on the other hand, make a slow and quiet surface wake when stripped with intermittent pauses. Not all modern bass bugs are high

      floating. The Polk’s Dirty Rat swims with only its nose above water when retrieved—just like a mouse. There’s also the Chubby Gummy Minnow, a fly caster’s version of the soft-plastic jerkbaits used by conventional bass anglers. Its soft, shiny body is a great imitation of the threadfin shad that are common forage in many lakes.

      FLY LURES Fly anglers are now imitating other bass lures, and the results can be terrific. They’re heavy enough to sink but not so much that they rocket to the bottom. Because bass often hit while the fly is sinking, a slow drop can be a good thing. There are equivalents for soft-plastic worms, too, based on a long, flexible strip of wiggly rabbit fur. That soft fur has more bass-tempting wiggle in the

      water than even the softest of plastics. The fly also has a lightly weighted head to give jiglike action when retrieved. Rabbit-fur flies do raise one critical point: Fur soaks up lots of water, and the weight becomes very difficult to cast with lighter gear. Although smaller, lighter bugs can easily be cast with trout tackle, bigger flies require a heavier line and rod. Eight- to 0-weight rods are not too big for larger bugs, and they’re best coupled with a bass-taper fly line. This is not dainty stuff. When a 6-pound (2.75 kg) bass smashes your bug, those same heavier rods have enough power to keep the fish from diving back into cover. So not only will you have the fun of awesome surface strikes—you might even land the fish, too.

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      EXPERIENCE FATAL

      ATTRACTION

      

      Absent an obvious hatch, you want a fly paern that’s buggy enough to earn interest, gaudy enough to cause a reaction strike, or just plain meaty-looking enough that the trout cannot let it float by. You want an aractor. Here are four of the best. Don’t fish without them.

      TYING TWEAK

      For dirty water, increase the flash with a sparkle-

      dubbing body.

      Remove the conehead weight for soer presentations

      to lake fish.

      Mix and match head-dubbing colors to find the

      real money mix.

      Dab a spot of glow-in-the-dark paint on the head so you can

      see it at night.

      HOW TOWORK IT

      Dead-drift the fly tight to banks. The seductive legs will

      do the rest.

      Bang the banks, then retrieve the fly with fast, erratic

      strips.

      Make it the lead fly on a double rig and dead-drift it

      through deep runs.

      Make short, erratic strips toward the shore, above runs,

      and around cover.

      WHEN TOFISH IT

      Spring through fall, especially

      midsummer.

      It’s not a fall-only pattern. Fish it

      year-round.

      Year-round, but it’s most deadly in

      spring and summer.

      Summer nights when big trout are

      on the prowl.

      Replicates a range of natural insects, from stoneflies to

      caddis to hoppers.

      WHY IT WORKS

      A brown body gives it crayfish appeal, and the rubber legs

      drive trout wild.

      It’s a Prince Nymph on steroids with sohackle wing accents

      to oscillate in water.

      No natural food packs more protein power than mice; a

      big meal for big fish.

      THEPATTERN

      Rubber-Legged Stimulator

      Autumn Splendor

      Mercer’s Lemming

      Twenty Incher

      3

      5

      Get

      Scoop on Fly Reels

      

      

      A spinning reel that costs $30 is going to function mechanically the same as one that costs $,000. Fly reels, however, are different. If you’re in the market for a new one, understanding