Fly Fishing for Bass

The number one question people ask when our members tell them about our fly fishing club is, “Where do you fly fish here”? It is an understandable question given the distance Tucson lies from any substantial trout water. But, the truth is that you can fly fish for any type of fish and anywhere you can fish with lures or bait.

Stocked trout are available in local lakes (not SaddleBrooke ponds) during the winter as well as in the Salt River, on the Mogollon Rim, and in the White Mountains (wild trout also exist in these last two locations). But, fishing for other species such as panfish (like bluegill or perch), bass, carp, and catfish greatly expand local opportunities to enjoy fishing with a fly.

The speaker for the SaddleBrooke Fly Fishers’ (SBFF) March meeting was member Walt Balek. Walt has fly-fished since 1960, learning the sport in Minnesota and continuing once he moved to Spokane, Washington. One year ago, he and his wife Julie purchased a home in SaddleBrooke and snowbird here before returning to Spokane each year.

Walt’s presentation to the SBFF was not only very informative but relevant to the times and our location here in the Southwest. Although for many fly fishers, cold water fish (trout, steelhead, salmon) are “where it’s at”, climate change and pressured fisheries, (too many people fishing on popular streams), are prompting anglers to consider other options.

When asked why smallmouth bass are one of Walt’s favorite species to fish for, he said because “they like to jump and put up a real fight”. These fish are distinguishable by vertical lines that present more subtle against their body’s coloration, connected dorsal fins, and a jaw not extending beyond the mid-point of their pupil. They like the cover, but don’t hang out in it, preferring to hunt around it, even chasing bait fish into open water. Great flies for smallmouth bass are muddler minnows, zonkers, poppers and woolly buggers.

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Largemouth bass grow much larger than smallmouth and have a break between their dorsal fins, a spotted horizontal line that is usually black or of dark contrast to their green body, and a jaw thatextends beyond the eye.

Walt uses many of the same flies for bigmouth as he does for the smallies, but they are often larger. In addition to damselflies, he likes flies representing minnows, mice, and frogs. Largemouth bass love cover, (even holding in it to feed), from stumps and rocks to weed beds, brush piles, and grasses.

The SBFF meets the fourth Monday of each month at 4 p.m. in HOA-2’s Catalina Room next to the Mesquite Grill. For more information about the Club, please email us at SaddleBrookeFlyFishers@gmail.com.