Extra Terrestrials

Back home I was the same, eagerly awaiting the ants and heather fly in summer then the daddy longlegs as autumn comes in. Here in Japan there are more and bigger terrestrials, at least 3 cicada species, loads of hoppers and crickets as well as ants, beetles and other things I don't know the English names of.

One of the best things for me, is how the smallmouth bass respond. The bass in and around Tokyo are probably some of the most pressured fish in the world, you really need to go somewhere that requires an overnight stay to get fish that behave normally. Especially by summer. Which means there's a lot less call for popping bugs and Sneaky Petes than there might be somewhere in the States or Canada. The fish jsut become reluctant to eat big garish flies and conventional lures. Luckily though, not that many people fly fish for the bass and an early morning start often sees some great dry fly fishing to sighted fish. I just love the way the bass confidently suck in a chernobyl ant or fat albert, it's not the splashy eat you often get with a popper but the confident easy eat of a fish that is completely sure the fly is real food. Brilliant! I think the switch to the big foam dry flies would probably help anyone with pressured smallmouth, and there's always the chance of a specimen sunfish, carp or other species too.

I like to keep my flies fairly generic as long as the size and colour is about right. I carry a couple of cicada looking patterns in black, green and tan as well as a couple of hopper patterns in green, brown, red and yellow and maybe another couple of smaller patterns for the ants and beetles. If I had to pick one, it'd probably be a fat albert, it's a bit chunky for a hopper or ant and a bit skinny for a cicada or beetle, but close enough for either and it has enough foam to hang a pretty chunky dropper behind too. But don't pick one, fisnd some your confident in and carry a selection.