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706-883-7700 to book a trip |
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What They're Saying About the Stealth
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The Stealth is similar in action and design to the Dahlberg Diver, which Lefty says is maybe "the most versatile and useful bass fly". The Stealth, with its foam construction, is easier to tie and doesn't get water-logged like the deer hair in the Dahlberg.
I think Jack Ellis, author of
Bassin' with a Fly Rod The May/June 2010 edition of American Angler magazine features an article on the shoal bass - a study of a unique local gamefish from Zach Matthews. Included in the article (pg. 36) are tying directions for my latest version of the Stealth Bomber. Included is the new template for cutting the foam for the newer version of the fly (you can also download a printable pdf file with the fly directions) .
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Tying The Stealth Bomber
These days, I often tie some in bright color
combinations
The foam shape has evolved over the years to improve balance and action. The final version is shown in the photo at right. The wide over-wing section is now more rounded and creates a better balance and improves the action. The best Stealth ties result from using the new River Road Creations custom cutters (shown in photo above). The cutters make it very quick and easy (not to mention way neater) to cut the foam. They are available in a set of 3 for flies from size #10 to #3/0 with a wood caddy, or in single sizes. Tying directions are included. Here are the tying directions for the original version of the Stealth Bomber. The tying directions in a scaled, printabe pdf for the "new & improved" version of the fly are online at American Angler magazine. Byron Begley from Little River Outfitters ties a slightly different version of the Stealth Bomber on the Little River Journal.
Tying Tips
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FISHING TIPS FOR THE STEALTH * If the fly twists your tippet, it’s too fine –use 0x for the medium and large sizes. * Fish the Stealth with the rod tip down to the water and pointed right at the fly so there is no slack in the line. The Stealth pops and dives best with short, quick strips and no slack line. In current, it can also be dead-drifted, perhaps with occasional twitches. * With soft little strips it will wiggle and maybe "bloop" slightly. Strip with a just a little bit more vigor and it will dive and bubble, but still stay in the target zone (the strip here should be very quick, but very short). Give it a longer, harder strip and it will dive hard and create a major commotion. * Strip strike when a fish hits. Fish will sometimes miss when hitting a top-water bug, but if you don’t pull it away, they’ll often come back and hit again. * The Stealth has enough buoyancy to float a large sinking dropper fly, and the technique can be deadly. Drift or twitch it through the runs, then chug it hard through the pools. With the extra weight of a dropper, long continuous strips cause the Stealth to dive deeper and deeper.
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The sketch of the Stealth
Bomber used throughout this page was done by
Paul Puckett,
and originally
used in David Cannon's book,
Fly Fishing Georgia. Paul
does some great stuff - my favorites are the Fly Fishing Georgia features a section on Georgia's Flint River and the shoal bass, one of the fisheries that gave birth to the Stealth Bomber. The book also highlights other Georgia fisheries, including trout and saltwater species.
If you don't tie (or even if you do), the Stealth Bomber is available through Rainy Flies. Ask for them at your local fly shop or contact one of these:
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Tying BIG Stealths The photo below shows a 4/0 Stealth tied with an extra strip of foam inserted into the rear loop for additional floatation. The basic foam cut has also been enlarged.
The next fly was tied for northern pike, with the extra foam incorporated into the loop. To stand up to the sharp teeth, it has light epoxy coating on the exposed foam parts.
The Stealth was originally tied for black bass and bream, and I teid most of them on a #6 Gamakatsu B10S. But the bigger Stealths have been effective for me when stripers are busting on top, and my hook-up ratio is better with them as opposed to standard poppers. In addition to stripes and pike, anglers are having success with them for snook, tarpon, reds, jacks. I tie them on SC-15's and some big short shanked 4/0's. When tying the real big ones, I let the "bubble loop" of the foam extend well beyond the hook bend for more floatation and a bigger profile.
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Variations The diver/slider style of the Stealth is adaptable to your specific fishery. Here's a great variation from Byron Begley - the Stealth Shrimp. It features silicon legs and big mono eyes. He uses this on for reds around the oyster beds - stripped slowly, it'll wake right over the top of shallow beds. Then, when you hit the deeper holes on the other side, chug it or dive it.
Photo by Byron Begley
Here's a color assortment from my box. I especially like the blue one when the damsels are in the weedbeds.
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Here's some visual feedback from the shoal bass over on the Flint River....the inset and the fly in the foreground evidence the response of the shoalies to this "FP" version of the Stealth. The fly at the top of the photo is how the lower fly started off - smooth foam and a double zonker strip for the tail. After a day with the shoal bass (and some red-breasts too), the foam is ragged and the rabbit zonker stripped almost to the hide. This may be the new version though, as the fish were still eating the pitiful little thing when we quit. ;)
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This video talks about its design, and then the last 1:50 shows it in action in the water.
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Even trout will eat the Stealth Bomber...
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Inquiries to kent@flyfishga.com
The
Stealth Bomber is a foam diver/slider that wiggles and dives on the
retrieve. It casts easily without
the twisting of lipped flies but dives enticingly on the strip. The rear
tab of foam and the air space below it captures air which bubbles on the
dive. The turbulence it creates, along with the dynamics of the wing,
cause the fly to move from side-to-side. And because it sits a little lower
in the water than the traditional bass popper,
the hook-up ratio is quite good.
,
coined the term "fence-rider" to describe a fly that was big enough to attract
big bass, but small enough to catch big bream (sunfish) too. Back in the 90's, a
pal got me started fishing Turck's Tarantula for bass and bream. It worked great
as a "fence-rider" - catching bass and bream. The Tarantula was designed as a trout fly and won the Jackson
Hole One-Fly contest a few years back, but I like it for bass and bream. The
Stealth takes a lot of its inspiration from the Tarantula too. I tie it with a
#6 Gamakatsu B10S hook.
My
original Stealth Bomber was tied with black foam and only a
basic tail, the fly resembled theB-2
Stealth bomber and its delta wing. That's
where the name comes from as I started tying it around the time of the
first Gulf War.
and add flash wings and rubber legs.
A friend named this version the "Full Pimp". The "stealth" name
hardly applies to its appearance, but its action can still be quite
stealthy if you drift it or work it with soft twitches. 
