9 must-have summer bass flies—including some real bangers you’ve probably never heard of

EHLERS’ FOAM TAIL SUPERWORM

For decades, I envied Bassmaster-style soft plastics and flipping jigs. In particular, I longed for a largemouth fly to hop along a weedy bottom with its extremities waving seductively and, crucially, with the hook up. The Superworm finally does it. The dumbbell sinks the extra-wide-gap (EWG) hook point up. The rabbit fur stretched across the gap makes it fairly weedless, while the strip of foam floats the rabbit strip tail seductively, as the other bits sparkle and wiggle.

Unlike a flipping jig, the Superworm won’t plunge through heavy cover, but in moderate weeds it sinks fast, and you can fearlessly bounce, drag or swim it along the bottom. Honestly, this thing casts like a chicken thigh, but it’s tolerable on a short line. As they do with soft-plastics, bass tend to gently slurp it in, so keep your line tight, and strip-set if you feel anything.

With its weird hook and odd use of materials, the Superworm is confusing to tie at first, but online videos will get you through it. A drop of gel superglue works well for the tiny piece of foam on the tail. I also usually omit the weedguard, which simplifies things a lot. I’m also experimenting with a half-sized, shorter-tailed version of the Superworm, which I’m hoping might fish like a fly-rod Ned rig. Stay tuned for updates.

• Hook: EWG size 1/0 or 2/0
• Tail: Rabbit-fur Zonker strip, 2 to 4 times longer than the hook
• Body: Palmered Zonker strip (pictured), saddle hackle or similar
• Flash: 2 to 10 strands of Flashabou
• Legs: Rubber strands
• Weight: Lead dumbbell
• Flotation: Craft foam

GAME CHANGER

Invented by U.S. guide and fly designer Blane Chocklett, the Game Changer is well named. I’ve rarely seen bass (or pike or walleye) chase anything with the ruinous abandon they show when attacking this fly. Another wildly unconventional pattern, the Game Changer is made with a series of short segments tied behind the hook. This creates a serpentine ripple that perfectly mimics the movement of a swimming baitfish. The classic GC is about 3½ inches long, but the synthetic material doesn’t absorb water, so it casts easily and lands very lightly. This makes it an excellent choice in clear, skinny water.

You don’t tie the GC so much as construct it, as you would a model airplane. Basically, you wrap bushy chenille around each shank before looping it to the next one, then lash the whole chain to the hook with wire. The result resembles a caterpillar, which you then trim into a baitfish shape with fine, sharp scissors. The contrasting pattern comes from colouring the top half with a maker. I also like it in white, with a chartreuse or red back, but this fly is so snaky, the colour is more for you than for the fish.

If you want to try tying the Game Changer, but are unsure about buying the right materials, the Flymen Fishing Company makes a handy kit (above) with everything you need to tie a few, which is a great way to get started.

• Hook: Short-shank, wide gap, size 2 to 2/0
• Tail: Marabou
• Shanks: 3 to 6 Fish-Skull Articulated Spines or similar
• Body: Chocklett’s Gamechanger Chenille or similar
• Eyes: 3-D
• Contrasting colour: Waterproof marker