Central Iowa Smallmouth on the Fly

Central Iowa Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

It‘s been WAY too long since I‘ve been able to slip away to throw a fly.  Fortunately, we know of a small section of river near central Iowa that holds smallmouth bass.  I‘ve actually never fished this water before, so why not take a small trip after work in 104 degree heat index weather to hike though the woods, weeds, & bugs in search of a bit of Zen via fly fishing?  Brilliant!  

First of all, there are sections of river like this all over the country, and I’ll bet most of them hold larger fish.  The cool thing about smallmouth bass, is even the small ones are little beasts!  You need to check out our video up on YouTube to see what the river looks like, it’s crazy that this is central Iowa.  Click the picture below to view the video.  

 

Click for YouTube Video - Central Iowa Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

Gear List:  We fished El Cinco, our 5 weight Packable fly rod combo & brought El Bolso, our super simple sling pack to carry our gear.  It was HOT so I also brought The Cold Bottle, 22oz, in El Bolso.  We fished mainly sculpins and white wolly buggers, but did manage 2 smallmouth on grasshoppers on top. That was a cool bonus.  I fished 3X Tippet, but could have gone smaller as the fish were not giant beasts.  

It took a bit of a hike to get to the moving water, and only fell into one hole from erosion.  That made me nervous, be careful out there everyone, the grass had grown over the hole.  

Once I made it to the moving water, it was quite obvious where the fish would be hanging.  Watch the video to see the moving water.  Casting around 45 degrees down stream, allowing the fly and line to swing in the current, which helps get the fly down was key. 

 

El Cinco by Pescador on the Fly caught Smallmouth Bass

 

 

 

Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

 A solid 12 smallmouth bass caught on the fly in central Iowa, can’t wait to get out again.  Next time, I’m going to bring some BIG flies and see if there are any LARGE smallmouth bass in the water.  Have a great 4th of July all!