I Fished the Same Spot with Two Different Flies. One Worked and One Did Not!

A couple of weeks ago I was fishing at a lake for a largemouth bass. The lake had been on fire lately and I had caught a lot of small bass and a few nice sized ones as well. On this particular morning, it was hazy with a little fog and no wind. The fish that I had been catching in this particular lake seemed to be in shallow water around structure and cover. This felt like the perfect opportunity to throw some poppers and try to get some top water bites.  

I really only fish one popper and it has a bumblebee pattern. The head has rings of black and yellow with the tail and body incorporating black and yellow as well. This fly has done really well for me in the past and I was hoping it would produce on this morning as well. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, I probably fished 100 yards of shoreline and got one small nibble from a bluegill. I was pretty shocked that the top water bite was poor, but just kept plugging along.

Eventually, impatience set in and I started problem-solving. I had a strong feeling that the bass were located where I was fishing so I decided to change flies. I put on a streamer and headed back to where my drifted started. I started casting to the exact same spots with a different fly and it didn’t take long for me to catch my first bass. I caught a couple more and by the time I had finished drifting the same area I had five bass to show for it. 

Every time you’re on the water, it is an experiment. When you change depth, flies, color, size, or any other variable, you are trying to find the right combination that catches fish. When I decided to fish the same stretch with a different fly, that was an experiment. Sometimes experiments end in catching more fish. Sometimes they don’t. Regardless of the outcome, something can be learned. Learning what didn’t work is almost as useful as learning what did.

The fish I caught on this particular morning were not willing to change to eat a top water fly, however I was willing to change my tactic. I think that it is important to remember that you have to be flexible as a fisherman. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Don’t be afraid to change tactics if you aren’t feeling as productive as you think you should be. Sometimes you just have to find the right key for the right lock.