When it comes to lures, the number one topic of discussion is almost always centered around color selection. How many times has another angler asked you, “What color are you using?”. This question often becomes more complicated when you are talking about river fishing for smallmouth bass.

The river environment is very dynamic and water conditions can change in a matter of a few hours.  Based on much of the research I’ve reviewed, smallmouth tend to be sight feeders. As a result, color selection is high on my priority list.  Factors like scent, profile, and action are certainly part of the tube equation but in the spirit of keeping it simple, I”m going to focus on color. Here’s a quick and easy breakdown that can help you narrow your color choices quickly.

In the rivers I fish smallmouth have two primary food sources, crayfish and various minnow species. The most coveted is the crayfish. Of course a tube bait is a great crayfish imitation. Water clarity is my litmus test for choosing a tube color.

In clear water conditions, I’m looking to “match the hatch” and use more natural colors. Smallmouth in clear water seem to shy away from unnatural colors. There are exceptions to every rule but I find this statement to be accurate far more often then not.

If  I’ve decided to throw a tube in clear water, I’ll select colors that match the color of the crayfish in the body of water I’m fishing. When I’m fishing familiar waters, I typically know the color of the crayfish. If I’m fishing unfamiliar waters, I’ll turn rocks and observe a few crayfish then look at my tube selection to find the closest color match. Colors like pumking, carolina pumpkin, and various shades of green or brown work well in clear water. Laminated two color baits can also be great choices because often the bottom of a crayfish is lighter than the top.

Once the water crosses the line to stained or muddy, I start looking for colors that will provide contrast. Again, I’m trying to appeal to the smallmouths sense of sight. In muddy water, I may also go to a tube with a slightly bigger profile. The goal is to make the bait stand out in stained water. Great contrasting colors are dark greens, black, and dark browns. If the water is dark, but the sun is shining I may choose a bait with red, gold, or silver metal flake…sometimes all three!

This quick and easy guide will get you on your way to success with tubes in various water condition. The key is to be aware of changes in water clarity. I’ve been around fishing long enough to know that there are very few “hard and fast” rules and I know that conditions can change rapidly. As fisherman, we need to be aware of those changes and make the right choices. Color is just one of them!

• Stonefly Bugger - size 6
• Franke Hellgrammite - size 4
• Clouser Minnow - size 6
• Clouser Deep Minnow - Size 6
• Gaines’ Sneaky Pete - size 4
• Crayfish - size 8
• Popper size 4 - 6
• Zonkers size 4 - 6
• Bead Head Woolly Bugger size 4-6
• Dragonfly size 4-6
• Foam Slider size 6
• Sculpin size 8
• Woolly Grubber Size 6 - The Wooly Grubber is a Woolly Bugger with a twister tail

• Nail knot - Used to attach the leader butt to the fly line. If you lightly coat this knot with epoxy, it will last all season.
• Perfection Loop - Used to attach two pieces of leader using a handshake loop. This knot has the advantage of being semi-permanent. Disconnecting the loops requires no cutting.
• Blood or Barrel knot - Used to join leader sections and tippets.
• Improved Clinch knot - Used to tie flies to tippets, probably the best all- around knot for subsurface applications.
• Turle knot - Used to tie flies to tippets, particularly very small flies and dry flies.

Always lubricate your knots with saliva before tightening to minimize damage from friction.

Tighten knots slowly and firmly, without jerking.

Clip all tag ends on all knots very close. If the knot is tied properly, the leader material will break before the knot slips.

The George Harvey leader formula is considered the most effective leader formula for trout fishing. Constructed of hard and soft nylon, this leader can be adapted to any fishing situation. Lengthening and shortening the leader sections will effect how the leader behaves in the air and on the water. These changes can be made in seconds, in accordance with casting style, fly size and type, wind, rain - whatever. This leader is not designed to straighten out on the water. Rather, it should lie in a series of s-curves.

Flourocarbon leader material has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Manufacturers claim that it is closer to the specific gravity and density of water, therefore less detectable by the fish. Other advantages to fluorocarbon include increased sinking rate and very good abrasion resistance. Disadvantages include poor knot strength, even poorer wet knot strength, incompatibility with nylon in most situations, and cost - between 10-15 dollars per 30-meter spool vs. 3-4 dollars for high quality nylon. You decide.

George Harvey leader formula for 4 and 5 weight lines:

• .017 10″
• .015 18″
• .013 18″
• .010 18″ (1X)
• .008 18″ (3X)
• .007 18″ (4X)

This creates a base leader tied entirely with a medium to hard nylon. Add soft tippet sections to get a perfect dead drift or swim your fly in any desired manner.

• You cannot make a cast until you get the end of the line moving. On the back cast, the end of the line should be lifted from the surface before the rod is loaded and the cast is made.
• The rod is a flexible lever, moving through varying arc lengths. The more help you need on the cast, the greater the arc length.
• The line and fly are going to go in the direction you accelerate and stop the rod tip at the end of the cast.
• Loop size is determined by the distance you accelerate the rod tip at the end of the cast. The faster you accelerate over that distance, combined with a quick stop, the farther the cast will travel.
• For longer casts, start the back cast lower as you lengthen the cast. All back casts should rise to some degree of elevation.
• For very long casts, you will need to bring the rod well behind your body on the back cast. Rotate the casting thumb 45 degrees away from your body, and bring your forearm 180 degrees straight back from the target (the reel faces you).

Variations on the standard cast can be used singly or in combination:

• Tuck cast -Drives weighted flies to the bottom of the stream bed.
• Bow and Arrow/Roll cast - Used when you do not have enough room for a back cast.
• Double Haul -Increases line speed and distance, especially in windy conditions. Often used by novices to simply increase line speed.
• Reach/Mend casting - Compensates for tricky currents to establish a dead drift, or to swim your fly at a certain depth and speed.
• Dump cast - A slack line cast, very useful for down stream dry fly presentations and when fishing bulky terrestrial flies.

Most people do not fly fish for a living and own a rod for every type of fishing. So naturally they want a rod that can do it all, from Brook Trout to Smallmouth Bass. There seems to be a norm in fly fishing that if a top dog or famous fly fishermen says that this is it, then every body in the industry follows. Keep in mind these guys get there money from endorsements of equipment. Not to say that they don’t give good advice, it’s just not the only advice and not always the truth.

I have always been a show me type person. I do not believe it unless I have tried it. I tried the claim of the 5 wt rod being the best all around rod as most all fly shops say. It is the furthest thing from the truth. I found thru years of Smallmouth fishing and trout fishing here in the Shenandoah Valley and West Va. that when I travel and want only to carry one rod for smallies and trout that the 9′ 6 weight med fast rod is the right tool for the job.

They will tell you at a fly shop the med action fly rod is great for bass and trout. Also you can feel the back cast so timing is easier to learn. You learn timing as an instinct from practice. If you start on a fast action rod and your instructor is teaching you properly, you will have no trouble with timing. Why buy a $150 5 wt rod to learn timing and then have to buy a rod later with enough back bone to throw large fly’s. A 5 weight med action rod cannot cast big bass fly’s into the wind. Let’s face it, when you fly fish… when doesn’t the wind blow? But I can take a med fast or fast action 6 wt and throw size 18 dry’s softly on the water and turn around punch big bass fly’s into the wind. Sounds like to me the 5 wt theory is Myth Busted already.

Last summer I caught dozens of 3 - 5 lb smallies on my Scott STS fast action 6 weight. Odds are if you see me on the river smallie fishing this will be the rod in my hand. If you see me on Mossy creek fishing Brown trout this will be the rod in my hand. Most beginners do not want to put money in a high performance rod so for my students one recommendation I make is the St Croix Premier combos in two piece in Cabela’s catalog for about $130 for complete outfit. I am a Scott man at heart but I have cast these St Croix and they are wonderful rods for the money.

So if you do not order your outfit and go to a fly shop, stick to your guns for the 6 wt all around rod. If it is a good fly shop they will tell you the 6 is fine and not shove the 5 down your throat. If it is a fly shop that caters to the river runs through it crowd and not true fly casters then they will push the 5 wt hard. They want you to come back for the bass rod that can throw something big enough to temp a smallie over 12 inches! And for all those hollering I’ve caught a big fish with small bait, that is true, but to do it consistently takes large bait.

Here are the recommendations I give my students for certain fishing situations. For Brook Trout in small freestone streams I recommend a 3-4 wt slow action rod 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 foot. For Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout in a spring creek I recommend a 4-5 wt medium action 8 1/2 or 9 foot rod. For Smallmouth bass 6-8 wt 9 foot rod in med fast or fast action rod. Largemouth 8-10 wt rod 9 foot fast action. These are not set rules. If the stream holds small fish go to the lesser weight of that type of fishing. If the water holds large fish or you are going to be throwing larger than normal fly’s go to the heavier weight in that type of fishing described above.

By: Allen Campbell, FFF Certified Instructor, Originally Published: 4-07-2004

Shenandoah Streamers School of Fly Casting
E-mail: freestone@rica.net
Website: www.shenandoahstreamers.com

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