smallmouth bass

[flybum]

i'll be fishing the olifants and some rivers in the cederberg at the end of september. if there's any members that can recommend some extra ordinary patterns or colour combos / accent colours for this area it will be apreciated . thanx to smallie specialist - leroy- for his input.

[Shamwari]

Hey Fly Bum

I am not sure how far you will be from Bulshoek...but the section where the river feeds the dam, awesome SM fishing there...ps: do not forget to try for Clanwilliam Yellows boet

[flybum]

Hey Fly Bum

I am not sure how far you will be from Bulshoek...but the section where the river feeds the dam, awesome SM fishing there...ps: do not forget to try for Clanwilliam Yellows boet

that spot is already on my travel arrangements.

[Shamwari]

that spot is already on my travel arrangements.

It is flippen gorgeous there...

[LeRoy]

thanx to smallie specialist - leroy- for his input.

Hehe, I like that.. even though I'd like to fish a few more rivers before I go that far!

Here's some flies I use for smallies regularly.. the two buggers may be accused of looking like half chickens, but I prefer to call them smallie buggers, cos that's what I fish for with them.. You can vary the length of the marabou tail to your heart's content, but I find that too long a tail, and too much wavy undulating action can put the fish off. I normally tie them a little longer than in the pics, though.

A short breakdown of what I like:

Base colours: black, brown, olive for bottom fishing flies, olive and white midwater to surface.
Trigger/accent colours: purple, orange, blue, red, yellow and chartreuse.

Accept for black and brown, I usually keep the base one colour. They don't seem to go for flies with too many colours in them. While my favourite colour combo for smallies is undoubtedly black and brown, in the crystal clear waters of the Cederberg area, light shades of olive may be good colours for your flies.
Flies can be anywhere between 5 and 10cm long, depending mostly on the clarity of the water. I like them big cos it scares off the little ones.

I fish the buggers SLOWLY on the bottom or dead drifted in current, clousers retrieved at a slow to medium-fast pace mid-water to bottom, and fritzes and other reaction flies (murdich's minnow type things, etc..) stripped fast as I can, mid-water to top. As usual, vary the speed and rhythm of the retrieve 'til you find what they like.

If you're fishing from a boat, poppers chucked to the bank and popped back at a constant rate (very short or no pauses.. forget "let it sit"..that's for largies!) are reportedly very productive in the Clanwilliam area. I know it works in my area, but for consistent catches I prefer clousers and buggers.

This isn't exactly the last word on the subject, but it works for me. Many patterns and colours will take smallies. Sometimes they'll hit just about anything. But wait til you make the perfect presentation to a staging smallie and she swims up to the fly, turns head down and stares at it for minutes on end.. "Eat it! Eat it!" you shout at her.. Twitch the fly and watch that bad girl disappear for good. LOVE IT!

Damn, I'm JEALOUS! Enjoy!

LeRoy

[Korrie]

Fishing crab patterns in rapids and where the rapids goes into pools, have produced very good fishing.

Almost like czech nymphing, where the crabs are washed of the rocks and washed down stream. Then letting it swing across.

[flybum]

wow - thanks leroy !this is awsome info / pics
thanks for all the trouble you went too - this is the kind of respons that makes info hunting on the forum a pleasure!
i'm sure others who read the thread will benefit as well.
me and my boet will put it to gooood use. 5 days of non-stop smallie huntin'

[flybum]

Fishing crab patterns in rapids and where the rapids goes into pools, have produced very good fishing.

Almost like czech nymphing, where the crabs are washed of the rocks and washed down stream.

i've had some good smallie action on diablo crabs in the streams closer to CT.you got any specific pattern?

[LeRoy]

My pleasure, Herman! Can't help myself when smallies are in question!
Re the crabs.. No1 item on the smallies list of groceries by far! I use the short fat buggers to imitate them, and fish it just like Korrie said. The red and brown bugger specifically imitates the colour of the crabs in my favourite stretch..
One of the best places to look for smallies with any fly is where rapids enter pools. They also like stacking up in areas where marked changes in bottom composition are visible (caught my biggest in this situation..). In areas with flat/level gravel/rocky bottom interspersed with boulders, and where the current flows relatively evenly (difficult to explain, but think of a wide piece of river where a drag free drift on a long cast will be relatively easy..) should also be searched properly, especially the tail-outs of large pools. Fishy, flashy patterns come into their own here.
In the end it's just important to search wider than you would for largies, because smallies are less inclined to hug cover and ambush prey than their largemouth cousins.. any place where the current is deflected or slowed down a little is good. Shallow cover with deeper water nearby is nearly prerequisite, although I have in the past found smallies in two foot deep water with no deeper water nearby, in mid-summer no less!. It's also well known that they prefer rocky cover to the woody stuff that largemouth hang around.

So there's two more cents.. got a pic of that Diablo Crab?

Cheers!

[LeRoy]

5 days of non-stop smallie huntin'