Categories

Locations

Fish

Smallmouth Bass caught inside city limits of Portland, Oregon!

Spawn Fly Fish – Pacific Northwest Bass

With rising temperatures around the nation and protections put in place to reduce stress on many of the species we all love, one species here in the PNW has continued to thrive through the heat. Bass on the fly is a must-do activity this summer and will fix your longing urge to throw a fly.

Initially, several things drew me to bass: abundance, their aggressive nature and tying. Here in the PNW, bass are far more common than one may think. From the coastal lakes to the Columbia River and many of its tributaries, bass are abundant.

Even if you don’t live near a revered fly fishing destination, you may still be just minutes away from successful bass fishing. Even major cities like Portland and Seattle have bass fishing opportunities minutes from downtown!

Not only did opportunity play a big role in my fondness for this species, but I also appreciate their aggressive nature. I love the visual aspect of fly fishing, it’s part of what drew me into the sport. Bass undoubtably fill the visual draw to the sport and much more. Streamers and poppers offer the best opportunity to bring success. Both complex flies and simple flies often yield great results, which also make them a fantastic option for fly tiers everywhere.

Lining up a new batch of White Bunny Leeches that will undboubtly grab the attention of some large bass!
Finishing up another batch of our Steamboat Island Leech, a flesh pattern that grabs the attention of fish in both fresh and saltwater.



The Bunny Leech, one of the first flies I ever tied, continues to wind up in my vice and in my arsenal on the water. A Bunny Leech is an all-purpose fly that works for countless species, but it especially works well for bass. My favorite colors are yellow, olive, white, black, black with red and black with chartreuse (although countless other color combinations will work).

The materials list for a Bunny Leech is short and the tying of it is simple. To start, tie in a zonker rabbit strip that will flow freely off the back. Then, krystal flash is laid on top of the zonker strip. Finally, wrap cross-cut rabbit all the way up the shank of the hook. I then top this pattern off with a Spawn Head for added realism and increased water movement. The fish cannot get enough, and in under an hour you can easily have a loaded or replenished box for your next outing!

Although the heat continues to affect some of the species we love, the bass will be there and will be eager to take a fly!

Josh Phillips










Handful of Bunny Leeches in a browntrout color way. This color works fantastic for bass whether or not browntrout also share the same water!
Finishing up another batch of our Steamboat Island Leech, a flesh pattern that grabs the attention of fish in both fresh and saltwater.
Fly Bins at Spawn Fly Fish loaded with flies ready for bass!
Simple Spawn Headed Bunny Leeach with Rainbow Kyrstal Flash! There are a million color varations for this fly and the bass cant get enough!
Transparent Spawn Head that lets your favorite materials shine on through.
A classic with a twist. Simi Seal Leeches are used around the world but now have an added kick. These leech flies are tied on a Spawn Jig Shank for added movement in the water.
Up close and personal to a Spawn Football Bead. This football style was popularized by the convential gear fishing industry and brought to the fly world by Spawn Fly Fish.

Even if you don’t live near a revered fly fishing destination, you may still be just minutes away from successful bass fishing.

Contributed By

Josh Phillips

My name is Josh Phillips. I’m the President and majority owner of Spawn Fly Fish. Myself, along with my best friends, founded Spawn Fly Fish in the summer of 2017 with a goal of making a difference both on and off the water. We have worked day and night to build this community we call Spawn. This community has helped build the brand we are today. Over the last four years, we have gone from a closet, to my bedroom, to the garage, and now to a full-scale fly shop located in Ilwaco, Washington. We specialize in fly tying where we have created many innovative tying products that are globally distributed. I’m not sure what the next four years will bring, but we are up to the task of working both day and night to continue to build this community and the Spawn brand into a household name.

Ilwaco, Washington

United States

#

From The Archives

Stay up to date with Catch Magazine

Sign up to be notified any time a new issue comes out!

This field is hidden when viewing the form

Next Steps: Sync an Email Add-On

To get the most out of your form, we suggest that you sync this form with an email add-on. To learn more about your email add-on options, visit the following page (https://www.gravityforms.com/the-8-best-email-plugins-for-wordpress-in-2020/). Important: Delete this tip before you publish the form.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

No spam, ever.

Join our free newsletter to get instant access to this video