About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

$150 Rod Fee - Private Bass Lake and Clinic

April 24, 2015

Bass are a great species and we want to get you schooled up and hooked up on a few bucketmouths. We have access to some spectacular private lakes and would like to host a combo of DIY fishing along with a morning clinic. For $150 we'll host a morning fishing clinic that may last up to an hour. Anglers can choose to stay and go through the entire course, or you can just get in your boat and hit the water. A guide will circulate through the various groups offering advice till about 3 pm, anglers are encouraged to fish till dark and may leave at any time.

Dates: May 8th, May 22nd, June 6th - These should be good topwater dates especially in the evening!

Meeting Time and Place: 9 am in George, WA at Exit 149 off of I-90 at the big service station. There is coffee, breakfast, and lunch available here.

What to Bring:

6-8 weight rods with floating line, and/or intermediate line. We really like the toughness and action of the Sage Bass II Rod and the Redington Predator.
Bass Flies - Buy a "Largemouth Bass Dirty Dozen" in advance online and the host/guide will deliver them to you on the day of the trip.
12 pound Maxima Tippet
Lunch
Sunglasses
Bug Spray
Cold Drinks
Boat
Camera
Boat net
etc. all your normal fishing stuff

You can call to RSVP (509) 933-2300

The lake system we fish is the famous and exclusive Sand Lakes in Grant County, Washington. They are high quality lakes that see little fishing pressure. We have caught bass up to 8 pounds this year with numerous fish tipping the scales around 4 pounds! Does this mean its easy? Not at all. Big ol' bass can be hard to fool so some guidance is essential.

Gear for Bass

We carry a great line of bass flies, lines, leader, and rods. Anglers can use 6-8 weight rods with floating or intermediate lines. A 2 rod setup is best, that way you can switch back and forth quickly. Anglers will need to provide their own flies and gear.

Boats

You will need a boat, because of the soft bottom and tall reeds wading is impossible. A drift boat or row boat is best, no combustion motors are necessary. Trolling motors are great. You can use a Watermaster or Pontoon boat if you like but being able to stand up is an advantage. All the boat launches are easy. You can bring a couple of friends and your drift boat and be in the game right away. Very little rowing is necessary, these lakes are fairly small.

What Size are the Bass?

Like any species, trophy fish are trophy fish. Meaning they aren't caught every time out. Here is an example of a huge bass. These are caught every now and then, more on Sand Lakes than anywhere else. These lakes are perfect for fly fishing!

Below is an "above average" sized bass. This is a good solid fish, not uncommon at all!

The photo below is an "average" bass. It is a decent fish and will bite pretty hard. When these are eating poppers there isn't anything better!

I'm interested, but... Not sure if this is within my skill level? Never fly fished for bass. "I know nothing!" That's a famous quote from an old TV program: Hogans Hero's. What fly line would I need? Leader? Tippet? What sort of casting experience must I have under my belt? I've had no experience casting large streamers. Boating - I only have an 8' Southfork, no electric motor? How well do the skills learned transfer to other lakes around Spokane? What is the class size limited to? I'm sure there's more questions; but, that's all I can think of right now. Thanks!!
Joe, Have you researched the new NOD family of rods from SAGE yet? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this new tech designed for the angler's "short-game".....