Link to online fly shop- TheShowMeFlyGuy.etsy.com
This post almost slipped through the cracks. In my series of posts about fly fishing for smallmouth bass with Ryan Walker of Ozarks Smallmouth Alliance and my good buddy Corey, I forgot one important story. Aside from my buddy Corey having a good time and catching some smallies, I had one goal and one goal only. I wanted to catch a smallmouth bass on my favorite streamer, The Brave.
It is important to note that I did not invent this fly. It is simply a rabbit strip zonker with a double collar. I call it The Brave because I caught a 7 and 1/2 pound channel cat on this fly while wearing an Atlanta Braves hat and decided to name my variant, The Brave. What I’m trying to say is if you go around asking people about whether they’ve ever heard of this streamer, the answer is probably going to be no. However, I sell this fly online and I’ve sold quite a few. I only sell flies online that are proven to be productive patterns, and this is one of the most productive patterns that I have ever finished. This fly has caught, largemouth bass, catfish, big bluegill, crappie, a carp, white bass, and hybrid striped bass. One of the few game fish that it had not caught was a smallmouth bass.
During our trip with Ryan, the smallies were biting steadily. Ryan’s flies were working great and we were catching fish. I was hesitant to tie on one of my flies because I was scared it would bring the productivity to a screeching halt. However, curiosity got the best of me and I just had to give it a shot.. I showed it to Ryan and he not only approved, but it said it looked good and started asking some questions about it. This gave me some additional confidence that this fly might get the job done for smallmouth bass. Keeping with my traditions and habits, I missed the first couple of strikes. While, that was a little disappointing, it did let me know that maybe I was going down the right path. On the third strike, I set the hook with the appropriate aggression and the fight was on. When I got it to the boat, I was not disappointed at all by the fact that the fish was rather small. Instead, I was overjoyed with the fact that a smallmouth ate this fly and that I had reached my goal.
It’s a good feeling to get confirmation on something that you believe to be true. It makes you feel smart and like you know what you’re doing. However, I’m not the type of person to rest on his laurels. Once I reach a goal, it’s time to set a new one. What’s my next goal you might wonder? Well, The Brave has one more thing to prove. Will it catch a trout?
Link to online fly shop- TheShowMeFlyGuy.etsy.com
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