For Learn to Fly Fish Students
When: April 26th and/or April 27th, 2025
Location: Corning, California (about 170 miles north of San Francisco on Interstate 5)
What: Bigmouth bass taken on flies on the surface
Groups: group size of 8, two separate days, total 16 slots
Description:
Have you wondered about fly fishing beyond the world of trout? This is a great introduction. We’ll be pursuing largemouth bass using 7-8wt fly rods with bass flies that resemble frogs on Luk Lake, a private lake behind the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, California. We’ll be fishing in pairs from rowboats. You’ll switch off who rows at mid-day, and both can fish except when moving about the lake.
Equipment you will need:
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a 7wt or 8wt 9’ fly rod
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a 7wt-8wt reel with a good drag and at least 100 yards of 30# backing
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a bass taper fly line (Scientific Anglers Mastery Bass Bug is a good option, also Rio Elite Smallmouth Bass, or Cortland Bass – floating, not intermediate )
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A personal floatation device (life vest, required by Luk Lake and state law)
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Bass leaders - (we’ll tie our own: 4’ of 30lb, 3’ of 15lb, that’s it, bass are not leader-shy)
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Bass flies (we will supply them to you)
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Shoes you can get wet (launching your boat, etc.) - river sandals, etc.
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A headlamp for taking down equipment if you come off the water late.
Optional: 6wt fly rod with intermediate fly line (trolling for trout with damselfly nymphs or bucktails for bass/trout at mid-day) or a 5wt with dry fly line in case the mayflies are coming off mid-day (bring parachute adams in sizes 14 and 15)..
Other Stuff:
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Plenty of sunscreen and a broad brimmed hat
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Polarized sunglasses
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Lots of drinking water
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A lunch to eat at the mid-day break
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Snacks
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A lawn chair is a “nice to have” for mid-day
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Suitable clothing. It is usually quite hot at mid-day, and the sun can be oppressive.
Day of:
You’ll drive from your hotel to the lake with a planned arrival at the lake at 7am. Budget at least 15 minutes MORE than you think you will need, the dirt road out to the lake is slow going. We’ll have a brief clinic of about an hour and then get you on the water. The clinic will cover how to fish bass flies in the lilypad and hyacinth filled waters, what motion to use on the flies, how to prevent getting fouled. You will have previously learned the non-slip mono loop knot that we’ll be using to tie on our flies.
Bass will be busiest before 11am and after 4pm. We will fish until about 7pm. Mid-day will include a lunch break and then you’ll be either trolling damselfly nymphs or using streamers to try and tempt bass under the surface at the edge of the lily pads.
Cost:
$250 fish-out fee. Fish-out fee covers flies and water access. Meals, lodging, and travel are on your own.
Logistics:
Book your own hotel in/near Corning, CA (Friday night for Saturday group, Saturday night for Sunday group)
Dinner on Friday night for Saturday attendees - on your own
No-host dinner Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. for those coming off the water to meet with those arriving for Sunday, held at Rolling Hills Casino.
Pre-Fishout Clinic:
Held at GGACC about two weeks before, to learn the non-slip mono loop and get some experience casting a big bass fly as well as getting comfortable casting an 8wt rod, and confirming everyone has the right equipment.
Q&A:
Q: Why do I need an 8wt?
A: You can fish a 7wt or an 8wt for this outing. We size our rods/lines based on the size of the flies we are fishing and the size of the prey. In this case, the flies are big, really big. That requires a heavier rod and a specialized fly line that will carry those heavy flies. The fly line is heavy and very weight forward. You will also find that the moment a bass hits, you’ll be in a pretty good fight to keep the fish from burrowing in the weeds so you’ll need to muscle them out of the lily pads and towards your boat, which requires a heavier rod. You don’t have to worry about your leader breaking, we use heavy leaders since bass are not leader shy. When this fishout is over, you can use your 8wt rod to do streamer fishing for trout, or use it for steelhead in the fall.
Q: Why Bass?
A: While Luk Lake has populations of trout and bass, we’re specifically targeting bass to get you some experience with other species. Bass are ambush predators, they eat ducklings, snakes, frogs, lizards, and anything they can catch, including other bass. Catching bass is a very different experience than trout. The takes are aggressive and bass are strong fighters. Regular bass fishers describe the strikes as “making your heart race!”