Bass patterns for rideau and tributaries

[Lil fish]

I went to sail today and picked up a TON of fly tying stuff. Some of it included rabbit strips, synthetic steamer hair, deer hair ect... The only thing is when I sat down at the vise, I didn't have a clue to what the bass like (large and smallmouth). I am very interested in top water or flies that suspend just under the surface but I am open to anything. If you guys have any ideas, let me know! I'll let you know how I do after the opener!

Thanks,
Lil fish

[beachburger]

Hope you bought some foam sheets too.....

I've caught more LM bass on the Stealth Bomber than any other fly (http://littleriveroutfitters.com/little ... bomber.htm). I don't put the legs on it. You can tie this one big or small and I recommend putting a very small SPRO swivel 4-5 ft up from the fly to keep the line twist down. A #8 is wicked for early evening bluegills and crappie and smallies will come in and crush it as well. For big versions of this fly, I use a #2 Mustad 37187 because it has a wide gap.

Bunny leeches and Deceivers are also good ones for bass and you'll need to be prepared to unhook a bunch of pike too.

HTH,
Doug

[Todd B.]

For SM, I like to use small foam poppers (#6), though anything that will cause a wake/disturbance will work. Sme additional patterns are :

Quigley's dragon gurgler
Mr. Rapidan Bass Skeeter

For weightless streamers, I am going to experiment with a small variation of a Tarpon Toad for SM. The regular sized tarpon toad should work great for LM, but it should be tied on the appropriate hook for bass.

Cheers,
Todd

[Lil fish]

Thank you for your replies, I tied up some stealth bombers in four different sizes. I am going to try the smallest out for bluegill and maybe try for some pike with a rabbit strip slidder I tied up too! Todd, I'll tie up some of those tarpon toads too can't wait for the bass opener this year!

Lil fish

[Todd B.]

I didn't get the opportunity this spring but I'm sure some tiny #10,#12 Tarpon Toads would also work for trout. And as beachburger will attest, fishing for trout amongst deadfall with poppers, etc is a blast!