5 Must-have Subsurface Flies for River Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth bass may be the ultimate fly rod species for their wide range, accessibility, and aggressive behavior. These notoriously tough predators chase feather-clad hooks with speed and power, hammering their prey with authority. A good smallmouth bite can be epic, and its why we chase them around lakes, rivers, and streams. Smallies aren’t machines, though. Their moods can swing from positive, then neutral, to quite negative, significantly impacting the fishing on a given day. As such, we should carry flies in a variety of sizes, shapes, weights, and color schemes. In doing this, we will give ourselves the best chance of success on the river. These 5 must-have subsurface flies for river smallmouth bass have proven to be effective fish catchers in a variety of locations in the Great Lakes region and beyond. Their different designs and actions appealing to bass in various ways.

Our Predator Hooks are great for the below flies. Find them here.

Circus Peanut

Russ Maddin’s creation, the Circus Peanut, was developed in the late 1990’s for trophy trout in northern Michigan. It was one of the earliest articulated streamers on the scene. It’s proven effective for a multitude of species including trout, steelhead, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass. The “peanut” is more of a platform than a single pattern, evolving through the years to incorporate modern materials and various forms. The original version featured two short-shanked hooks, connected with hard monofilament line to create a large fly without the negatives associated with a long-shanked hook. Subsequent interpretations have used a multitude of hooks and wire connections, with a variety of head designs. Due to recent shank developments, tyers can tie this fly using a shank-to-shank connection in place of mono or wire. These iterations have exceptional movement and durability.

The circus peanut is a jig-style fly. It’s designed to be actively stripped to create an up-and down motion. This is a classic trigger for predatory fish. Lead eyes up front pull the fly toward the bottom. With each strip of the line, the fly darts forward and upward.

As a jig style fly, you can retrieve this fly downstream with the current. Because they don’t “swim” or employ side-to-side kick, they function equally well in the absence of head-on current. This makes them ideal for downstream retrieves in faster water. They drop into the strike zone fast, and their front-loaded weight pulls them down quicky in between strips. Stripping a peanut downstream along a submerged log can be a highly productive technique for fish lying in ambush. You can use floating, intermediate, and sink-tip lines to fish this fly. Sizing up lines by one weight isn’t a bad idea when tossing this beast.

Bad Hair Day

Dave Pinczkowski’s Bad Hair Day is a versatile weightless baitfish imitator. Utilizing a teardrop design, this fly is built with reverse-tied craft fur of increasing density and flair as the tier works forward toward the eye of the hook. Tied on a size 2 Fulling Mill 6040 Streamer Stripper hook, the BHD is a simple yet highly versatile pattern. It undulates and swims seductively when stripped or swung slowly, with a wiggle similar to that of a feather game changer. When aggressively stripped and paused on a slack line, however, the fly darts, turns, and hovers like a jerk bait mid-water column. It shows a broad-side profile to following fish. This erratic pause can often trigger otherwise uncommitted predators.

In addition to its effectiveness, the BHD boasts simplicity in design and requires few materials. You can tie a BHD in just a few minutes. This is a welcome departure from the many time-consuming patterns of the modern streamer game. Hovering the BHD on an intermediate line above submerged wood is absolutely deadly for river smallmouth. So is an active retrieve through eddies adjacent to moving water. Mixing and matching color combinations is also easy, with chartreuse over white standing out in most scenarios.

Clouser’s Deep Minnow

While it was developed specifically for smallmouth bass in the 1980’s, Bob Clouser’s Deep Minnow catches anything that swims. Like the BHD, the deep minnow shines for both its effectiveness and its simplicity. Constructed of two bucktail wings, flash, and lead eyes, this is another quick tie that mimics the erratic movements of baitfish. Dumbbell eyes, lashed to the top of the shank a few millimeters behind the hook eye, create a subtle jigging motion in the water. And, this allows the fly to ride hook-point up, thus helping to reduce snags. The eyes help it get it down quickly in current, allowing it to be fished effectively on both floating and sinking lines. Ideal hooks for deep minnows are Fulling Mill 6040 Streamer Stripper or 2464 Pike hooks in sizes 4, 2, and 1.

Tiers can create endless color combinations with ease – and they all tend to work. White and chartreuse, white and olive, grey and chartreuse, blacks, tans, yellows…the list goes on forever. Use Lead dumbbell eyes in small, medium, or even large when you want to get the fly down fast. They also create a more pronounced up-and-down motion. Conversely, bead chain eyes allow for a more subtle, slow presentations . Additionally, take the density of the bucktail wings into consideration. Sparse bucktail wings in whites and greys create a transparent look that crushes in clear water, while thicker wings with darker colors can help the fly get noticed in stained conditions.

Rabbit Strip Zonker

The term “Zonker” is used to describe a popular style of fly that employs strips of fur as tail material. Dating back to the 1970’s, this Dan Byford creation has taken a multitude of forms, utilizing fur strips from a variety of animals. The fourth fly on our list is a rabbit strip zonker. Its effectiveness is due in large part to the characteristics of those fur strips. They swim exceedingly well, creating a fly that swims and kicks in current. They’re also beloved for their simplicity and their use of only a few materials. Zonker-style patterns are one of the most popular flies for Great Lakes steelhead because they swim well when dead drifted or swung. Smallmouth bass love them for those same reasons.

Check out our 28 different rabbit zonker colors.

While zonkers can be dressed up and fished in just about any situation, they make our list for their effectiveness in otherwise tough conditions. Bass fishing can grind to a halt on windless, warm days when the sun is high and the water is low and clear. In these scenarios it’s often best to opt for smaller, subtle presentations fished slowly through high-percentage zones. Zonkers, in lengths around 2.75 inches in grey, tan, or olive tones with little flash, can be deadly in clear water.

When fished on an intermediate line, anglers can twitch, pause, and suspend them along current seams, cuts, and in bellies of runs. This can coax lethargic fish before allowing them to swing down and dance across the river. Strikes seem to occur just as often on the swing as they do during the more active portion of the retrieve. These flies are invaluable on many occasions when all else fails.

Bou Craw

No smallmouth angler’s box is complete without a few craw patterns. Smallmouth bass feed heavily on crayfish, which are protein-packed morsels that draw violent strikes. Flies imitating these critters are weighted to operate on or around the river bottom and should dart and fall when stripped. The Bou Craw features a marabou tail with rubber legs that more suggest claws than imitate them. It also incorporates an uber-simple body of palmered polar fiber brush in front of medium lead eyes. What the Bou Craw lacks in detailed looks it makes up for in function. The marabou tail drags through the water behind those lead eyes, creating a realistic dart-and-drop action when stripped and then given slack. The fly rides hook-point up on a bent-eye hook (sizes 2 or 1). It pops upward especially well when fished on a floating line.

Craw patterns inevitably have a rather short life span because they’re often fished close to the bottom. Indeed, even the most snag-resistant designs end up on the bottom of the river or lodged in a submerged log before long. For this reason, the Bou Craw is deliberately simple and quick to tie. This allows the angler to chuck them into the rockiest areas without fear of losing them.

They are particularly effective when fished on a slow swing across the river bottom with small, intermittent pops. Smallmouth will occasionally pick up and drop the fly before eating it, so patience and poise are helpful here. Simply cast it at a slight downstream angle, feed it some line, and mend downstream to create a belly in the line. Every so-often, give it a quick strip of about 6-10 inches. While stripping, it’s helpful to pull the rod toward your body. This allows the angler to then re-extend the rod, giving the fly a slack line with which to fall on.

In Sum:

Fly fishing is about experiencing the natural world, and we all have our preferred methods and flies. My 5 Must-have Subsurface Flies for River Smallmouth Bass list is only the tip of the iceberg, as they say. Anglers should experiment with the flies and tactics they find most enjoyable. All sorts of flies, big and small, simple and complex, can get the job done with a skilled presentation. That said, a well-rounded box full of durable flies that the angler has confidence in is important for success.

Interested in fishing topwater for bass? Check out our favorite topwater patterns for bass.

Matt Redmond

Matt Redmond is an avid fly angler and tyer based in Northeast Ohio. He's spent the last decade exploring the Great Lakes and their connecting waters with a special interest in steelhead, smallmouth bass, and freshwater drum.

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