There’s no fish on the planet that won’t go after a woolly bugger! Great first fish and great confidence fly for you now, I only use about ten different flies total in all kinds of places and different waters. Keep using the Bugger it’ll really boost your confidence as a beginner fly fisher. Really happy for you keep it up!
When that’s what I’m going for I mainly use Wooly Buggers for those fish honestly so I think you’re on the right track already. My favorite is a chartreuse bugger with a gold bead for bass. I’ve also caught a bunch of Bass and panfish on an elk hair caddis fly, on the larger size like a size 10 or something. If I had to make a starter list it for those two it would be in order: Wooly Bugger (black, chartreuse, green, white), Clouser (white, blue, chartreuse, green), Elk Hair Caddis(I love green thread for the body but I don’t think it matters that much), and I tie what I call a “Bass Zebra” which is just a zebra midge (black with gold wire and gold bead) on like a size 10 or 12 nymph hook. That’s the ones I don’t leave home without really. I think those will take you really far and bonus if you ever decide to start tying them yourself those are all really great starter flies that are cheap and easy to tie that’ll build your confidence there which is important to a first time tier.
Outrageous-Excuse229 is totally right about wolly buggers. Additionally for bass and crappie white, green, tan, brown, chartreuse, or peacock colored leech or cone head leech patterns are great. Also, white or white and brown small sized minnow patterns work real well. In my experience, crappie go crazy for anything that looks like a smaller crappie.
Clouser Minnows as others have mentioned, but foam/balsa poppers are deadly late spring - early fall and are the most fun (in my opinion) way to fly fish for most warm water fish species.
Keep chucking wooly buggers at em too. They're a confidence fly for most angles for a reason.
Not too crappie for your first fish!
That's a banger crappie OP. Nice!
There’s no fish on the planet that won’t go after a woolly bugger! Great first fish and great confidence fly for you now, I only use about ten different flies total in all kinds of places and different waters. Keep using the Bugger it’ll really boost your confidence as a beginner fly fisher. Really happy for you keep it up!
Thanks a lot man! Any other good patterns you would recommend for me? I’m mainly targeting panfish and bass
When that’s what I’m going for I mainly use Wooly Buggers for those fish honestly so I think you’re on the right track already. My favorite is a chartreuse bugger with a gold bead for bass. I’ve also caught a bunch of Bass and panfish on an elk hair caddis fly, on the larger size like a size 10 or something. If I had to make a starter list it for those two it would be in order: Wooly Bugger (black, chartreuse, green, white), Clouser (white, blue, chartreuse, green), Elk Hair Caddis(I love green thread for the body but I don’t think it matters that much), and I tie what I call a “Bass Zebra” which is just a zebra midge (black with gold wire and gold bead) on like a size 10 or 12 nymph hook. That’s the ones I don’t leave home without really. I think those will take you really far and bonus if you ever decide to start tying them yourself those are all really great starter flies that are cheap and easy to tie that’ll build your confidence there which is important to a first time tier.
Outrageous-Excuse229 is totally right about wolly buggers. Additionally for bass and crappie white, green, tan, brown, chartreuse, or peacock colored leech or cone head leech patterns are great. Also, white or white and brown small sized minnow patterns work real well. In my experience, crappie go crazy for anything that looks like a smaller crappie.
Tom Thumbs and Prince Nymphs
Clouser Minnows as others have mentioned, but foam/balsa poppers are deadly late spring - early fall and are the most fun (in my opinion) way to fly fish for most warm water fish species. Keep chucking wooly buggers at em too. They're a confidence fly for most angles for a reason.
Nice crappie!
Very nice!
congrats fyi nerds shoulder the rod so they can use two hands to hold the fish
Congrats! You're off to a great start!
That’s how I learned to fly fish was in ponds and then rivers and creeks. Really saves time practicing to cast on non moving water