Flies That Worked Best for Me in 2017

Does it seem like the most productive fly patterns change each year?  For me it does.  I definitely have my favorite patterns, and I do think that over time the fish get wise to them and learn to avoid them, especially in the waters I fish most often.  So, folks that fish often like I do need to keep trying new fly patterns to keep one step ahead of the fish...or at least just to show the fish something they haven't already seen a few times.

Here are some of the fly patterns(in no particular order) for various species that worked well for me in 2017.

Largemouth Bass:
-Blockhead Poppers
These are basically identical to Tim Holschlag's blockhead poppers.  I just draw eyes on the sides (and one on the bottom) with a Sharpie marker, rather than glue eyes one.  I do like using rubber legs on these, I think they work better, and both the smallmouth and largemouth bass like them.

-Gamechanger (and variants)....This Blayne Chocklett pattern works.  And I admit I was very skeptical.  But bass jumped all over these.  I tied my own, experimenting with various materials for the bodies.  There are still other materials I want to try....some of the Feather Gamechangers look really good.  Mine are ugly.  I know it.  Fish didn't care.  I'm sure I'll get better as I tie more of these.

One thing....they take a long time to tie.  I probably spend an hour each on the 4-5 segment versions.  So, I've tied some up with as few as 1 articulation (probably not a Gamechanger at that point?), and they still have great action when retrieved with an erratic jerk-pause type retrieve, and they still caught a bunch of bass.

-FC Shiner:

-Float-n-Fly jigs:
These are baisically the same as the microjigs/Springbrook Wunders I use for panfish, and bass like the small ones too. These are slightly bigger and heavier (these are 1/32oz) with a bit larger hook.  The idea is to keep these under 3"...and in fact I tied these to be @ 2".  With them, I caught some really nice bass when the water temperature dropped.

-DDH Leeches:
This is a Stu Thompson pattern that catches a lot of fish, and many species.  I caught some nice largemouth bass on them this year, and my buddy caught a bunch of smallmouth bass, and even some carp and white bass/hybrid striped bass on them (and maybe even a trout?). You can read his article and see his tying tutorial on his website:
https://darkwaterdubbing.wordpress.com/the-ddh-leech/

 I also did well with a variety of shad imitations, but apparently didn't take good pictures of those specific patterns.  It seems like ones with flash, marabou and/or craft fur probably performed the best.

Smallmouth Bass:
I successfully used several of the same flies for Smallmouth as I did for Largemouth.  I won't repost the same pictures again...but these flies caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass for me:
-Blockhead Poppers
-FC Shiner
-DDH Leech

Common Carp:
I didn't readily locate my pictures of these flies, but you can find these patterns online.
-John Montana's Hybrid Carp Fly (along with color variations) caught most of my carp this year.
-Black Ops (by Chris at Missouriflies.com)

Channel Catfish:
I caught catfish on a variety of patterns this year, from bass-sized zonkers, to blockhead poppers, to microjigs, etc.  But the following patterns caught multiple fish each this year:
-John Montana's Hybrid Carp Fly
-Black Ops
-small black Woolly buggers with a glass beadhead

Crappie:
-Chartreuse microjigs and silver microjigs/Springbrook Wunders
-Chartreuse mylar chenille buggers....these worked well after dark when the crappies were feeding near the surface out away from shore over deeper water.

Trout:
These worked in NE Iowa trout streams as well as for stocker trout in some urban lakes.
-Gold microjigs/Springbrook Wunders
-beadhead gold Woolly Buggers. 


Did you have some fly patterns that worked especially well for you this year?

Float-n-Fly for Late Season Bass

Here's something we can all use....whether you are using spinning/baitcasting gear or flyfishing gear:

The Float-n-Fly.

Historically for me, bass have stopped biting when the water gets cold, so I usually finish off my open-water flyfshing season targeting trout and crappies.  This year, bass held my attention later in the year than usual.  In September and October, I mainly went to using larger flies, some as big as 4-4.5", like Blayne Chocklett's Gamechanger, and my own variants of that pattern.   That works great for awhile.

But once the water dropped to 45 degrees F or less, the bass didn't seem to want to chase a bigger fly at all, no matter how slowly it was worked.  I switched to using 1/80th oz microjigs under a strike indicator first, and caught some good bass.  But I wanted a jig with a bit larger body, and a larger hook....because those little microjigs aren't really designed to hook and hold a fighting big bass.  They will hook and hold one, usually....but that small hook always worries me when a big fish is on.

I found some 1/32 oz South Bend jigheads that had a decent sized hook, and a head design that let a jig ride close to horizontal when suspended at rest.

I'd read an article that suggested using jigs SHORTER than 3" late in the year.  Most of the ones I tied were around 2" in length.

These are too heavy for my usual Fish Pimp medium-size strike indicator, so I floated one of these with a large size Fish Pimp Strike Indicator.  This rig is still somewhat heavy for a fly rod to cast....I managed it with an extra-fast 6wt Allen Azimuth fly rod overlined with an 8 wt SA Titan Taper fly line.

I was able to leave work around 2pm on Friday, December 1.  I flyfished from 2:45pm until around 5 pm....which is when it is getting dark in Central Iowa at this time of year.

Based on a very credible tip, I visited a pond I don't normally fish.  Fishing wasn't fast or particularly exciting...which is to be expected since the water temperature is so cold and....its DECEMBER in Iowa! :)
I ended up catching 5 bass and 4 crappies.  The bass were mostly pretty nice ones....with the 3 largest measuring 17.75", 18.5", and 20.5" (in that order in the picture below).

These are really nice bass for Iowa...I was THRILLED!

I may have gotten lucky(?)....I tried that pond again the following Sunday, and only managed 2 crappies an 1 bass (17").

I then went to a 2nd pond and managed to catch 4 bass there...with the biggest, again, being 17".

I went to a 3rd pond, and ended up getting skunked there.  I wasn't surprised.
This Float-n-Fly technique absolutely works on late season cold-water bass.  I'd read that folks typically fish this system in deeper water...like 5-15' down.  I tried to fish it deeper in the deeper pats of the public ponds I was fishing....but I ended up catching all the bass closer from water @ 3' deep, with the jig set about 2' below the surface.  Experiment to see what is working for the waters you are fishing.  Give it a shot!