Fly fishing for smallmouth bass at night is one of the most challenging and rewarding forms of angling to be found.
Here are some of my guidelines which make this angling exciting , productive, and very enjoyable. I select a part of the river that is easy to wade and has few tree limbs hanging far out over the river that will present problems with my back cast. I check the bank carefully where I plan to leave the river so I don’t get into old barbed wire or poison ivy. I carry a Fol Staff wading stick so I can check the depth of the water ahead of me as I wade downstream. I do not wear waders, but wait until the water is warm enough to wade wet so if I happen to fall in over my head, I can swim out.
I have great success with streamers such as the Murray’s Olive Marauder size 6, Murray’s Heavy Black Hellgrammite size 6, and Murray’s Magnum Hog Sucker size 4. I rely on feeling the basses’ strikes, so I wade downstream in order to cast across and downstream at a 20 degree angle. I strip my fly 10 inches every 5 seconds to swim it across the stream carefully to keep the fly rod pointed where the fly line leaves the water. In this way, I can quickly feel the strike and set the hook with a combined line hand and rod-lifting strike.
An exciting tactic is to use the Shenandoah Chugger because of its deeply cupped face and high floating body enable me to create a great racket on the surface as I strip it across the river. The bass will often strike at the Chugger several times before he hits it solidly; therefore, be very patient.