About
Filed under: Adventures — admin @ 7:51 pm
Hi, I’m Brad Miller.
I started FlyBass.com as an alternative to websites geared only to sell product with little information for the visitor. My primary business is BAMsites Web Marketing Strategies, an internet marketing firm specializing in websites that bring a return on investment. I developed FlyBass.biz for those of you interested in buying big fish related fly fishing gear.
I understand the value of content oriented websites. With my increased appreciation for the internet, I figured a site all about fly fishing for smallmouth and other fish would be worthwhile.
I’ve fished smallmouth for over thirty years on some of the most hallowed waters in the Midwest and Canada. Now I prefer fishing smaller, overlooked rivers common to my home range of north central Minnesota.
My first love is fly fishing. I discovered fly fishing when I lived in Colorado for a year in the mid-70’s during my formative years. I honed the craft after returning home to Minnesota and fishing SW Wisconsin and SE Minnesota. After years of fishing in the Rockies for trout I finally realized the best, most hassle-free fly fishing was right outside my door on the warmer streams and rivers holding smallmouth bass and other great game fish.
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Why Fly Fish Smallmouth Bass?
Smallies are tough, big, and mean! They readily take flies and, most importantly, they are so accessible. You can go out right now and probably find a decent smallmouth river within an hour’s driving distance from your home. You’ll have more fun hooking, fighting, and landing (and releasing) “small-jaws” than most other fly fishing quarry, including most of the puny trout available here and there.
I’ve seen first hand what happens when fishing opportunities become limited to the general public. I returned to smallmouth fly fishing several years ago after spending many years chasing trout and saltwater species. I‘ve fished many of the major rivers in the western mountain states, the Caribbean, and south Florida. I enjoy the challenge and skill involved in enticing large trout on tiny flies in heavily fished waters. I get a major jolt from tarpon, there is no greater game fish on a fly, period. Bonefish and snook are great gamefish as well.
Mountain Trout Frenzy
Through the years it’s become increasingly apparent the “wide open” fishing of the ‘80’s and early 90’s gave way to a frenzy of fly fishing fever hitting Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and other mountain states in the mid 90’s. Much of the genuine great public fishing was privatized or smothered by the legions of teal festooned newbies fueled by Hollywood and other hype-machines. This craze may cycle through in a few years, let’s hope.
Yes, fly fishing for trout: the “Yuppie Sport” of the new millennium!
The Bighorn River in Montana devolved (I think that’s a word, if not it should be) from the most awesome trout factory in the world in the ‘80s to an over-fished river beaten to a pulp by nature, zealous fisherman and guides by 2000. What man creates, man destroys. Nature will have the final “say” on rivers like the Bighorn. I sincerely hope those great rivers come back.
I’ll put my time in where I don’t have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to tie down a spot on a river I once walked aimlessly all day and fished anywhere. I know this sounds jaded, but it’s true. I believe our time on this earth is too valuable for combat fishing, combat golf or combat anything, for that matter.
There, I feel better. Where was I? Oh yeah….
Saltwater Sensation:
The fly fishing pandemic then spread to saltwater. Suddenly bonefish and tarpon were the new darlings of the fly fishing world. Self proclaimed experts popped up everywhere and quickly carpet-bagged from trout mavins to saltwater - writing books, producing TV shows and videos to prove their prowess. Saltwater fly fishing is without question some of the most exciting. Catching a 130 pound tarpon on a three inch fly is my greatest fly fishing accomplishment to date. And bonefishing is a sport that any fly fisherman should experience at least once in their life. But saltwater angling is getting prohibitively expensive. Last year at Boca Grande, southwest Florida, the average price for a full day with a fly guide was $550 to $650. You multiply that on a four day trip with airfare, rental car, lodging and food. So you’d better not tell your wife (or figure out a way to bring her)!
In today’s crazed world we rekindle simple pleasures like canoeing and wading. Quiet stalking through bright waters supplants “pressure fishing” famous trout water. Quietly slipping down an undeveloped stretch of stream trumps gonzo bass boats and rock star fisherman. We treasure streams and rivers that offer simplicity, intimacy and excitement to a world that has become far too complicated.
Join us as we celebrate Fly Fishing for Bass. Better yet join your local Smallmouth Alliance or fly fishing club to help support bronzebacks everywhere. See you on the water!