Warm weather, warm water means active bass willing to attack helpless things making a big old commotion on the surface, including the flies you fish. A lot of fly tiers look at surface bass bugs made from spun deer hair or meticulously carved and painted wood or cork and shy away from the difficulty in crafting such a fly. They are labors of love most certainly, but far from easy to create. The good news is that you don't have to be Dave Whitlock, Chris Helm or Pat Ehlers to make an effective and attractive surface lure that catches big spiny rays in the throes of summer on your favorite local lake.
Foam is pretty easy to work with and the pre-formed Zudbubbler bodies from Hareline make awesome top water flies that pop, gurgle, shimmer with trapped air bubbles and ring the dinner bell for big and smallmouth bass alike. The bodies come in a variety of colors, take a waterproof marker well and are very durable. A hard mono weed guard allows you to fish these things in deep cover without catching every cattail, lily pad or tree branch in sight. The hardest part about making them is simply not gluing your fingers together.
Zudbubbler Bass Popper Recipe:
Thread: Black 140 Denier Ultra Thread
Hook: #1 Gamakatsu B10S
Tail: Peacock Krystal Flash, Black Marabou, 6 Strands Peacock Herl
Hackle: Chartreuse Grizzly
Body: Black Zudbubbler Foam Body
Legs: Black and Chartreuse Medium Round Rubber Legs
Eyes: Doll Eyes
Weed Guard: #25 Hard Mono (Optional)
Confluence Beer Pairing: You should pick up a sixer of Kulshan's Party in the Woods Session IPA for your next bass tying or fishing event for a couple of really good reasons. For one, it's both tasty and refreshing on a hot day without being too overpoweringly hoppy. Secondly, it's a collaborative project with Transition Bikes, many of whose employees are as fanatical about fly fishing as they are jumping bikes off cliffs and other crazy stuff. They're pretty cool folks along with being founding members of the Bellingham Bass Brigade, an elite team of exceptionally skilled, highly disciplined dudes that like to drink beer and fish after work.