Monster's Bug
The tendency is, that flies become smaller and smaller trying to fool the fish. We end up using 7X, size 24 hooks and stealth moves on the river banks. Sometimes you need to go the opposite way, if you want a big fish at end of your tippet.
Bug fever
The bug fever started when I got a foam beetle from my friend Darius Vaskevicius.
Within short, the fly caught me my biggest chub ever, which was close to 60 cm/24".
So this bug was so attractive, that I started experimenting with shape, colors and other woodoo things. One of the experiments resulted in a beetle with creamy body and mint colored foam. It was tied just for fun and not for fishing. However, one day, when the fish were not biting, I tied it on and within a few hours I caught many and nice chubs. It does not look natural, but it certainly works very well. Now I am aware that it works best under the pre-spawning period. The rest of the season, the fish prefer brown and black flies looking more naturally.
Matchbugs
Once I saw some Latvian bugs, which were not bugs but BUGS - as big as matchboxes. After a short consideration I figured out the main formula: big BUG = big CHUB.
As easy as can be… and indeed, after I increased the size of my beetles, I started to catch big chubs and those small ones (we call them fliers - after the strike, they often fly out of the water) don't bother me anymore. They just can't take it, it is too big for their mouths. And one more advantage - big bug is a more attractive for big fish.
The bug has also a sound effect builded in: it hits water with more noise, which I have experienced to be essential when fishing for chub.
I fish them dead drifting. I prefer fishing from a float tube as there are many trees and branches all over, which sneak up behind me and snap off my flies. Going downstream in a float tube protects me a bit from these greedy trees.
When fishing the dry version there is no doubt, when the the chub takes the fly. It gets much more difficult to see the take, when fishing the sub-merged version dead drifting. You hardly feel the take, so strike when you see a short flash or whirl close to your fly.
So why bother using the sub-merged? Sometimes the chubs do not rise and are only willing to take something fished below the surface.
Add some weight if you want a submerged version.
The mint version
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Comments
that would be bad fo
that would be bad for large mouth bass
that looks bad 2 the
that looks bad 2 the bone
EXELLENT FLY!, CAUGH
EXELLENT FLY!, CAUGHT MANY CHUB AND BASS, THANKS GREAT PATTERN :))
Love it in black and
Love it in black and yellow combos...... the bees knees!!!!!! For bass and trout in Northern Maine.
Very nice article...
Very nice article....I'd love to see more.
Nice...Easy.....BIG!!
I love it
Now you're talking l
Now you're talking like a bass fisherman. We use large flies so we're not catching 5-inch panfish all day long.