
Illustration by Duane Raver via USFWS
Among the more widely distributed game fish in North America, and now around the world, the largemouth bass is prized for its aggressive feeding habits and violent strikes. A big bass blowing up the water around a popper chugging across flat water is a thrilling sight, and the ensuing battle often includes several acrobatic leaps. Although fly-fishing for bass has always been popular in parts of the country, in recent years there’s been a resurgence of interest—as evidenced by new, high-tech tackle; the rise of fly-fishing-only bass tournaments; and even several films dedicated to chasing largemouths with the long rod.
The Money Fish
The largest members of the sunfish family, largemouths are divided into two subspecies—northern (Micropterus salmoides salmoides) and Florida (Micropterus salmoides floridanus). Although the two are virtually identical to the naked eye, the Florida strain grows much larger. One famous Florida-strain fish, nicknamed Dottie, measured 29.5 inches long and weighed just over 25 pounds when she was foul-hooked and landed in 2006 on California’s Dixon Lake. No one ever caught her legally, and she was found dead on the surface later that year.
The hunt for a world-record largemouth—which many anglers call “The Million Dollar Fish” because of the endorsement money the lucky angler would supposedly earn—has been ongoing since George Perry caught (and ate!) a 22-pound, 4-ounce fish from Georgia’s Montgomery Lake in 1932. The world record for a fly-caught fish belongs to Larry Kurosaki, who landed a 16-pound, 12-ounce beast on California’s Castaic Lagoon in 2009.
Range and Habits
The original range of the largemouth bass was from the Mississippi basin east and stretched north to the Canadian border, but bass have been stocked in lakes and rivers in 49 states. (Only Alaska is without.) The trophy qualities of the Florida strain has led fisheries managers to introduce subspecies from coast-to-coast, and the giant fish regularly caught from impoundments in Texas, California, and Northern Mexico can trace their roots directly to the SunshineState. Largemouths have also been exported to countries such as South Africa, Europe, Guam, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
One of the things that makes largemouths easy to stock is that they can live in a wide array of habitats, including small creeks, swamps, and even estuaries. Because they prefer warm water—up to about 92 degrees—they generally stay near the surface, which makes them more available to anglers. Low levels of dissolved oxygen in very warm water can cause fish kills, and in the northern end of their range, bass can be stressed by a similar situation in frozen lakes.
Depending on the body of water, the fish can hug the shoreline, congregate around structure, or (less commonly) even school in open water. In general, you’ll find largemouths around weedbeds, structures or debris, or irregularities in a lake or river bottom. They prefer the shade of trees, docks, lily pads, and logs, from which they can ambush prey.
Flies
Naturalist William Bartram described Florida residents in the 1760s catching largemouths (which he called “trout”) by dragging across the water a fist-size “bob”—made from three hooks, the white hair from a deer’s tail, colored feathers, and “shreds of a red garter”—using a 10-plus-foot pole. Fly tiers later refined the concept to create poppers made from cork, balsa wood, and spun deer hair. The number of flies designed specifically for largemouths has grown exponentially in the last decade, and anglers can choose from among dozens poppers, sliders, divers, baitfish, crayfish, and worm patterns. The advent of synthetic materials has even allowed tiers to create facsimiles of many popular lures, such as spinnerbaits and rubber worms. But you can still hardly go wrong with a Tap’s Bug, Dahlberg Diver, or a trusty Woolly Bugger.
Great article! Love slaying bass on the fly.
Super exciting video – catching bass on top water flies is one of my favorite things to do, and I’m sure I’m not alone. One question, though – does lip-landing larger fish cause them damage? I’ve heard that fish over a certain size (maybe 3 pounds?) shouldn’t be held solely by their lower lip as it could cause permanent damage. The resulting injuries could prevent them from being able to close their mouths again and, thus, prevent them from being able to feed. Is this true?
My understanding is that you shouldn’t hold a bass horizontally by its lip without supporting the rest of its body.
“…and even several films dedicated to chasing largemouths with the long rod.” What films are you referring to? I’ve seen the Todd Moen clip above as well as Frogwater, which I think was on the blog last week. Would love to see more! I’m just getting into Largemouth fishing after learning to tie deer hair divers. My recent success has really got my itching to catch more Larry’s!
Thanks!
Bam!: https://vimeo.com/search?q=fly+fishing+bass
Awesome! Thanks Phil!
Scott, Check out GeoBass! its on youtube!
Thanks!
If you look at my store purchase history…you will see dozens of yells dahlbergs…nothing works better. Open water smallies up north…or small rivers down here for big bass. Bassin on the fly.
https://vimeo.com/21556980 -Lip rippin video!
While I enjoyed your article, I wanted to point out that your statement on the original range was incorrect. The statement “The original range of the largemouth bass was east of the Mississippi and stretched north to the Canadian border,” is only partially true and leaves out all of the original western range of the bass that ranged from Texas north and east to the Mississippi River. Your statement would have been more correct if you had stated Mississippi River basin. You need to check your facts before you put them in print.
Native Range: St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins from southern Quebec to Minnesota and south to the Gulf; Atlantic Slope drainages from North Carolina to Florida; Gulf Slope drainages from southern Florida into northern Mexico (Page and Burr 2011).
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/speciesmap.aspx?SpeciesID=401
Thanks for the correction, Robert. I’ve fixed the description above.
Everyone talks top water flies but no one talks about the bottom flies for largemouth
Interested to hear any comments about that
Hi Phil Monahan how about answering my question above
I’m going to assign this to someone today! Stay tuned.
Ask and ye shall receive . . . .
https://www.orvis.com/news/fly-fishing/pro-tips-top-5-subsurface-flies-largemouth-bass/