Hot Summer Bass Fly

Hot days during the summer can make for some pretty tough bass fishing. Weed growth, lack of spawning activity, and perhaps fishing pressure can suppress the mid-summer bite. Fish often move into such tight cover they are hard to get, or they are holding off shore in suspended weed beds making them hard to dig out of there with flies.

A solution to this is a Dragon Fly pattern. Dragon flies zoom all over the place and can be found off shore, out in the open water, and bass are comfortable targeting these away from their hiding spot. In fact bass will often leap out of the water trying to nab a dragon fly mid-air! For whatever reason bass LOVE Dragon Flies.

Tips for Fishing a Dragon Fly Dry Fly for Bass

1. Become a good false caster. Measuring distance and setting this fly down just perfect will generate reactionary strikes. Hover over your target once or twice to get their attention. Yes, that is Shadow Casting and maybe it's BS but I think it works with this fly!
2. Vibrate your line by shaking your rod tip to create the illusion of a "struggle". Bass attack prey that is alive, and don't seem to like this fly when it appears dead.  
3. Ripples. Make ripples to create the illusion of movement.