This fly is also ideal for Pike, Stripers, large Trout and Atlantic Salmon when they will not take smaller flies. Stripers (Striped Bass) are normally targeted by the heavy bait fishing fanatics, who use live eels to catch giant specimens but modern fly fishers can cast to 'schoolie' sized stripers from the shore.

DEERHAIR BASS BUG FLY PATTERNS. Hook size 6 - $US each

The Black Leech bassbug can be fished on the surface or under the surface. These flies seem disproportionately small for such a large fish but they are certainly effective. When fishing after dark, nothing seems to bring in the fish than this fly. Lefty's Deceivers, some poppers and Clouser's Minnows work during the day time but these are the king of the night casting flies. Stripers are found on the northeast Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas. They are also found in San Francisco Bay as well as a number of fresh water populations throughout the USA. Cast the fly across the rip current of an outgoing tide that are draining creeks or ponds. Retrieves should be quite fast. The strong dark silhouetted shape presented by the fly makes it very visible to the fish swimming below. Takes can be quite vigorous. You will think you have a much bigger fish on the end of you line than it turns out to be.

Bass can go crazy over a jig fly that sits on the bottom for two or three seconds, then suddenly jigs once or twice. floating fly line and an eight- to ten-foot leader. Allow the jig fly to sink to the bottom or as deep as you want to fish it. Make a fly-line strip, then pause. This causes the fly to hop up and down abruptly or "jig".

A deadly method for fishing deep for big bass in heavy brush or weed cover is to swim a fly deep over the bottom structure, using two to four feet of leader on a fast-sinking, full-sinking line. The heavy fly line sinks to the bottom, pulling the buoyant bass bug with it. Each time you pull or quickly strip in fly line, the fly dives toward bottom and then rises when you stop pulling. If you pull the suspended fly slowly along, it swims without encountering or hanging up on structure obstacles such as moss beds, sunken logs, brush, and rocks.

Big fish can be provoked to attack large big bass bugs that intrude on their territory. Try retrieving a bass bug past some water-lilies where these predators lurk. Large flies can also draw a strike from migrating salmon for the salmon reason. They are sometimes known as a 'piss-them-off' fly. They do not feed much but defend the territory they have staked out for themselves.

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