Fly Fishing For Bass, A South African Perspective

By Sean Mills

The author of the book ‘Fresh water fishing in South Africa’. Sean Mills writes about the essentials of fly fishing for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass from a South Africa perspective.
The author is an absolute bass on fly fanatic and for him stalking one of these predatory fish on fly is one of the most exciting forms of fishing. If you are a fly fisher and would like to try for bass l on fly and would like to learn from a master, then this is the book to read. Sean Mills has over 25 years of experience and you will come back to the information in this book time and time again.
This E-book is illustrated with full color photographs and color diagrams to help you maximize your fly fishing for bass under South African conditions. The techniques and flies will work anywhere in the World as well. Although very similar to fishing in North America there are several differences in climate and diet which can affect the fishing. Sean also ties several successful fly patterns (a few of which are his own)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sean Mills
• Release date: Jun 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463432150

Sean Mills

Sean Mills is a freelance photographer, videographer, artist and writer living in Cape Town South Africa.

Book preview

Fly Fishing for Bass, a South African Perspective

Bass are among the most popular sporting fish worldwide, and it is not that difficult to see why. These fish are the ultimate ambush predators designed for high speed at short range with excellent camouflage and big mouths to engulf prey. Once hooked, they put up a very acrobatic and powerful fight, although they are not known for the long runs of trout or carp. They prefer to slog it out and try to shake the fly loose before diving for cover.

Although bass are highly predatory, that does not mean that they are necessarily easy to catch on fly or lure. Some days they may prefer one particular colour or type of presentation over another. The trick is to find out what they want. Generally you do not need a lot of fly patterns to catch bass successfully – a relief too many trout anglers that are used to carrying thousands of different patterns to please these fickle fish. Bass eat anything that moves and can be caught and swallowed. This includes small fish, freshwater crabs, freshwater crayfish lizards, aquatic and terrestrial insects, rodents and small birds.

This has opened up a whole new field of imitation to the fly tier. There are now patterns available to mimic all of these food items. Generally, the bigger the fly you use, the bigger the bass you will catch. This cannot be overemphasized. If you want to catch bass bigger than 1 kg (2.2 lb), you need to use flies longer than 10 cm. Sometimes a big 2 kg (4.4 lb) bass will eat a #6 woolly bugger, but generally this is the exception to the rule.

Bass are endemic to the United States. They have been trans located all over the world as far as Australia, parts of Europe, Japan, Africa – especially South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe – and hundreds of other destinations in between. They have spawned a multimillion dollar industry all over the world.

Bluegill sunfish are closely related to the black bass. They are very aggressive and take flies freely. They are mostly smaller, the average size being about 200 to 400 g (0,44 to, 0,880 ounces ) with a monster bluegill exceeding 1 kg (2,2pounds). My personal best weighed 1.3 kg (2,86 pounds) and gave me a great time on light fly gear. I love catching bluegill in lakes using dry flies and nymphs. They are fantastic fun in the warmer months. Trying to figure out the larger specimens can prove to be a challenge.

Bass like warmish water and this determines their range. They can tolerate a wide range of conditions and can be found in lakes, ponds, irrigation ditches, creeks, rivers and inland seas.

There are many different types of bass that live in both fresh and saltwater, but the most popular freshwater angling species are largemouth and smallmouth bass, followed by spotted bass.

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this E-book and that it will improve your fly fishing success dramatically.

A stunning largemouth bass

Bass species

We fish for three bass species most commonly, namely the smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass. The largemouth bass is certainly the most plentiful, followed by the smallmouth. The largemouth grow the biggest, up to 9 kg (20 lb), followed by the smallmouth at about 4 kg (8,8 pounds), although in most waters, 1 to 2.5 kg (2,2 to 5,5 pounds) is realistic for both species. The smallmouth bass has a mouth that ends in line with the eye, while the mouth of the largemouth bass ends past the eye. Spotted bass have smaller mouths and are generally white underneath with very distinctive markings and a dark spot on the gill flap. Largemouth and spotted bass prefer slower water than smallmouth bass. They can withstand higher temperatures.

Largemouth bass

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) caught by Ryan Weaver. Note the markings along the lateral line. The dorsal and caudal fins are not connected.

A largemouth bass. Note that the edge of the mouth extends well past the eye.

Spotted bass

A spotted bass. Note the connected dorsal fin

Note the mouth in line with the eye, the connected dorsal fin and black spot on the gill plate. This spotted bass has largemouth-like markings, although they are not very noticeable on this photograph. The scales on the cheeks are much smaller than those on the rest of the body. In largemouth bass the scales are the same size.

Smallmouth bass

A smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolimuei), also known as a bronze-back. Note the connected dorsal fin.

River smallmouth bass. Note the bronze colour and vertical stripes.

Bluegill sunfish are related to bass and also come from the United States. They are quite plentiful in South Africa.

Tackle

The rod

Modern fly rods are wonderful pieces of equipment that help us to cast and fish effectively. They are thus very important items of tackle. The right rod can make all the difference when targeting bass on fly. Graphite has taken over the market from other rod materials like glass and composite glass because it is brilliant for this application. Graphite is a stiff material with excellent damping properties. The good news is that the modern rods that have been produced in the last few years are vastly superior to earlier models, including the cheaper-end rods. A modern, cheaper graphite rod is superior to a premium graphite rod of ten years ago.

A rod that will handle a 6 or 7-weight line is the ideal tool for taming small to midsized bass. It will also handle large bass in open waters. Waters that contain very