With the hot spell we’ve been having across the country, this is the ideal opportunity to put away the trout flies and pull out the bass poppers for some epic top water action. We’re kicking off our ‘Guide’s Fly Box’ for 2024 with a couple of our favourite top water flies for Bass this summer.
Like any species one can target on fly, there’s a host of different techniques and flies one can get caught up in, but when it comes to chucking a fly for Bass, topwater is undeniably the most exciting technique. Explosive takes, big jumps and the anticipation involved can make for some great fishing!
These Fullingmill Bass Poppers are super buggy and one of our go-to patterns when targeting bigger fish. Ideally you want to be fishing these on a 7wt rod with an aggressive weight forward line to turn them over. The key when fishing any popper is the first strip. Once your fly lands, give it a hard strip and then leave it for a good 10 seconds. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how often you get hit while you’re fly sits static. If nothing else, you’re allowing the fish in the area to locate the fly.
The double barrel popper has become one of the most popular popper heads in recent years. The design ensures a big pop, pushing water and making lots of noise, but more importantly, is the soft foam used to make up the head. These popper heads are incredibly durable, easy to cast and great to tie with. We love fishing the small and extra small heads because they’re easy to cast on a 5wt and still catch big fish. If you’re looking to tie your own, you’ll only need a couple materials which include:
- Flymen Surface Seducer Double Barrel Popper Bodies
- Suitable hook depending on the Body size, we would recommend the Gamakatsu B10S Stinger
- Stick on eyes
- Round Rubber Legs
- Neck or Saddle Hackle
- Marabou (optional)
- Flash (optional)
For more information on tips and tricks to catching bass this summer, have a look at our Bass Blog
Tight Lines
