Finding Bass, Panfish, Walleye, Catfish, and Solitude Close to Home

Updated and expanded for Gorge Fly Shop while preserving the original voice, opinions, and warmwater fishing perspective of Greg Darling.

Do you warmwater fish with fly rods?
I’ve got to say, in the past decade I can count on one hand the total number of fly anglers I’ve witnessed warmwater fishing with a fly rod on my local lake. Meanwhile, on the trout stream, you have to set up camp and claim your rock.

What’s up with that?
I love fishing trout, but forget the crowds. I guess that is why I do most of my trout fishing in the winter time.

You Do Not Always Need a Boat

I know what you are thinking.
Well Greg, you need a boat, and I do not want that hassle.

I get that. Boats, trailers, motors, batteries, launches, and wind can all add more work than some anglers want. But wait. I have fished all spring on warmwater without a boat and have racked up quite a list of species, including bass, crappie, sunfish, walleye, and catfish.

Warmwater fly fishing does not have to be complicated. If you can find accessible banks, rocky shorelines, ponds, lakes, sloughs, backwaters, docks, riprap, or current breaks, you may already have enough water to start hunting.

What to Fish

Topwater bugs account for a lot of bass, and that is some of the most fun you can have with a fly rod. But weighted crawfish and streamer patterns fished around rocky structure will produce the majority of your multi-species catch.

Warmwater fish are predators, opportunists, and sometimes just plain curious. A fly that looks like a small baitfish, crawfish, leech, or struggling meal can get eaten by more than one species. That is part of what makes this fishing so interesting.

You may cast expecting a smallmouth and hook a walleye. You may be working a rocky bank for bass and end up with a catfish. You may be fishing a small baitfish pattern and suddenly find crappie stacked in close.

Topwater, Streamers, Crawfish, and Float and Fly

If I had to simplify warmwater fly fishing from shore, I would start with four basic approaches:

• Topwater bugs: Great for bass when fish are willing to look up.
• Streamers: Good for covering water and imitating baitfish.
• Crawfish patterns: Ideal around rocks, structure, and bottom-oriented predators.
• Float and Fly: A confidence technique when fish want something suspended and slow.

Each one has its time and place. The trick is paying attention to what the fish are willing to do. Some days they will crush a topwater. Some days they need a streamer moving past them. Some days they want a crawfish right in the rocks. And some days they will only commit when a fly hangs in front of their face long enough to become a problem.

Float and Fly Finds Fish

Mr. Walleye fell to my Float and Fly technique. He was positioned right on a vertical-dropping rock face, which was perfect for a fly to fall in and hang several feet down under a float.

With a little wind movement and a couple twitches, it was game on.

That is the beauty of Float and Fly. It allows you to suspend a baitfish-style fly in places where predators are holding but not actively chasing. Around rock faces, drop-offs, ledges, and shoreline structure, that can be exactly the presentation needed.

Where to Start Looking

You do not need to know everything about warmwater fishing to get started. Look for the obvious stuff first.

• Rocky shorelines
• Riprap banks
• Docks and pilings
• Downed wood and submerged brush
• Quick drop-offs close to shore
• Current breaks and eddies
• Backwaters, coves, and sloughs
• Warm, sunny banks in spring

Fish need food, cover, and comfort. Warmwater species may not always be in obvious moving water like trout, but they still relate to structure, edges, shade, depth changes, and food sources.

Why More Fly Anglers Should Try It

So when your trout water has a larger angler hatch than caddis flies, and your favorite steelhead run is being swung through tighter than a flea comb, maybe consider your local warmwater.

You might not only find some solitude, but also some eager multi-species action.

Warmwater fishing with a fly rod is not a lesser version of trout fishing. It is its own thing. It is visual, aggressive, creative, and often overlooked by fly anglers who are too locked into trout and steelhead to notice what is swimming close to home.

Final Thoughts

Warmwater fly fishing does not need to be complicated, and it does not need to require a boat. Grab a fly rod, find some accessible structure, and start looking for fish that most fly anglers are walking right past.

Bass, crappie, sunfish, walleye, catfish, and carp are all fair game. Some will eat on top. Some will eat streamers. Some will eat crawfish. Some will surprise you under a float.

Forget the crowds once in a while. Go warmwater fishing.

Greg Darling