If you want to catch largemouth bass on reservoirs you have to use baitcasting rods rigged with jig and pigs, crankbaits and plastic worms right? Not exactly. While it helps to know how to use those techniques if you want to score on big bass when they are on deep structure, I am here to tell you that good sized bass can be taken from reservoirs on a consistent basis using a flyrod. That's right a flyrod! While many anglers use flyrods to catch bass and panfish from farm ponds, not nearly as many use the wand on the big lakes. I don't know why. Maybe they are intimidated by all the water with no current to tell them where the likely fish holding areas are or maybe they would rather drive the four or five hours to some famous river somewhere. Whatever the reason, they are missing out on some fine action right in their backyards. If they live in the Triangle area they are really missing out because of the wealth of big fish in our local lakes, Harris, Jordan and Falls. I am mainly going to concentrate on Harris and Jordan but the same techniques and types of locations will work on any reservoir.

Many people equate flyrod bass fishing with flyrods in the eight - 10 weight range. I prefer five to eight weight rods. This is due to the smaller size of the flies I like to use. I am not a huge fan of the huge deer hair bodied poppers so popular with farm pond bassers. Reservoir fish are used to eating shad. You need to match the size and profile of the shad at the particular time of year you are fishing. Therefore streamers and poppers in size 6 to 2/0 do the trick. He makes them in a good variety of sizes and styles to meet any need from panfish to saltwater. I tie my own streamer flies. It is good to think about the size of the prey you are trying to match. In the early season the bass are keyed in on the larger shad from previous years that are one or two years old. After the shad have spawned and the newly hatched babies are of the right size, they will key on the smallest ones in the lake. For early season fishing I like to use a Snake Fly tied on a size 1/0 or 2/0 hook with a wire weed guard. This fly has a lot of action that comes from a marabou and ostrich herl tail. In the summer months I prefer a Lefty's Deceiver tied on a size 4 or 6 hook to match the small bait that are schooled up and being chased by the bass then. For a rod I like a seven or eight weight with a seven or eight foot leader and a ten pound test tippet. Fancy tapered leaders are not needed and I often just attach a piece of ten pound test mono straight to my flyline. I prefer fast action rods so I only need to false cast two or three times and let it go. The fewer false casts you make the more time your fly will be in the water.

I usually start fishing on Harris Lake in late February or early March. At that time of year the bass can be found in pre-spawn mode. The key is to find fish in less than ten feet of water. Not that the water needs to be less than ten feet deep but that the fish are less than ten feet from the surface. This can be either shallow backwater areas that the sun has warmed up (which are good for this time of year) or steep banks that the fish may be cruising along (which are good for early or later in spring). In this early season you need to fish the southern facing sections of shoreline and look for the warmest water temperatures in the lake. This is where the fish will be most active. You can pursue these fish with large streamers or poppers. The fish will be hungry and if you find the right spot, very aggressive. A good technique if the fish are not responding to surface techniques is to use a sinking line and let your fly fall along a steep drop-off bank. The take will feel like a strike on a plastic worm or jig. You will only feel a light tap. That is when you set the hook hard by pulling on the line and lifting the rod. Do not jerk the rod tip in the air! Lift the rod and keep the rod tip down. This may sound odd but it is done by pulling back away from the fish with the rod hand and pulling away from the rod with the line hand. If you think about it you will see that it makes sense. This keeps your fly in the fishes face if you miss the strike and he may come after it again. If you lift the rod tip high in the air the fly will move approximately equal to the distance of the length of your rod. About 9 feet in the case of most of mine! Not many fish will move that far to chase a fly that just jerked out of its mouth!

As the spring progresses the fish will begin to spawn. I don't like to fish for spawning fish so I prefer to find the fish that have not yet spawned or have already. From early May up until the middle of June I like to fish Jordan Lake. At this time of year I fish the steep banks with rock on them and points in less than ten feet of water. There is that magic depth again. If you try to fish water more than ten feet deep with a floating flyline it becomes an exercise in waiting for your line to sink. It is a lot of fun to fish a popper at this time of year. I am not a proponent of the old school on popper fishing. That teaches cast it out. Let it sit until all the ripples are gone. Pop. Pop. Yawn. Snore. I much prefer to cast my fly and strip it back fairly rapidly. Remember these fish are used to eating shad 99% of the time. Shad do not live to make more shad by laying around waiting to be eaten. They go away. Fast. You cannot retrieve a fly fast enough to get it away from a hungry bass. Toss your popper up against that rocky bank and begin your retrieve right away. Strip-strip-strip. Pop-pop-pop! In May and June you will have a good time fishing this way! As the water warms to the 70's and up towards the end of June you will prefer to confine your flyfishing to the early morning and evening hours. This will increase the odds of finding active fish in water depths of less than ten feet. This is also a good time to fish the more out of the way parts of the reservoir because the temperatures will be favorable. Jan Hackett of NC Anglers Fly Shop in Durham (919-416-0951) says, "I like to fish the backwater areas with my kickboat." He goes on to say that, "My favorite way to fish is obviously with a popper but I find that a streamer on a sinktip line will get you way more strikes."

When the water warms up to around the 80 degree mark a magical thing starts to happen. Bass begin to move in large schools to better pursue the shad around the lake. You can do a combo trip on Jordan and Harris Lakes during this time frame. Launch your boat on Jordan before first light. There is a good chance you will see schooling activity around points and humps. Bass will be mixed together with hybrids, white bass and white perch and often can be caught on consecutive casts. This early morning schooling action on Jordan will last through July. I like to use a Lefty's Deceiver of around 2 to 3 inches long tied on a size 2 hook because the hybrids seem to key in on the larger shad. I love catching hybrids on my flyrod. They are strong and determined and do not quit fighting until you let them go or eat them. As the sun rises the fish will move deep on Jordan. At that time I like to take the boat out and head over to Harris. Schooling activity here will last right through the day. Often during the hottest parts of summer you can go out on Harris and find schooling largemouths feeding on shad all day long! For these fish I use a small Deceiver tied on a size 4 or 6 hook. I tie mine with an electric blue back, white belly and lots of flash. It is pretty easy to find the fish on Harris Lake in the summer. I like to cruise with my eyes open for breaking water and carefully move in to that area. As you spend more time on the lake you will have a better idea of what areas are more consistent producers. I believe that there are so many fish in Harris Lake that each point and cove has it's own school! The schooling bass action on Harris will peak in August. Then will start to drop off as fall approaches. In 1998 the water temperature dropped from 88 to 80 degrees in one day after Hurricane Bonnie passed through and the schoolie action dropped right off after that.

A final thought. Many people think that bass caught on flies are always small and many that I speak to at boat ramps are surprised that I catch bass on a flyrod at all. Let me just say that in 1998 I had three bass of over 6 pounds, including one eight pounder, caught on flies by anglers and at least ten more over 4 pounds. There are also 10 pounders caught by flyanglers every year! While that may not match the numbers of some who really know how to fish Carolina rigged lizards over submerged stumpfields in July, it shows that the flyrod is a great way to fish for bass on the reservoirs. And a whole lot more fun, if you ask me!