When the smallmouth rivers get low in the summer, I often fish deer hair bass bugs a great amount. Part of my justification for this is simply that I enjoy fishing on the surface for smallmouth bass, and in the low water, I like to make long casts in order to prevent scaring the bass. I find that I can cast streamlined deer hair bugs 20% further than I can a hard popper of the same size.
Whether I tie my own deer hair bugs or purchase than, I like them slim and streamlined. Legs and wings extending from the sides and the tops of deer hair bugs can cut down the distance I can cast them and it can cause the leader to become twisted. Frequently twisted leaders can develop knots causing them to break when I set the hook on a large bass.
When I teach the students in my Fly Tying classes to tie deer hair bugs, I tell them that a well tied deer hair bass bug should easily hold up to catch a hundred bass. I stress 4 points as they tie a fly such as a Tapply Deer Hair Bass Bug. 1) Thoroughly clean out each bunch of hair before tying it in. 2) Keep a clear hook shank. 3) Use Kevlar thread. 4) Paint the stomach of the finished bug along the hook shank with spar varnish cut 50/50 with paint thinner.
My favorite way to fish deer hair bass bugs in low clear water is to wade slowly upstream 40 feet from the shaded banks where the water is 3 to 5 feet deep over cobblestone stream bottoms. I cast up and across the stream at a 45 degree angle so the bug lands close to the bank. I use a slow line hand stripping action to swim the bug in six inch spurts back downstream just slightly faster than the current is pushing it. This gives me many large bass.