The Deflectinator: A Must-Have Bass Fly Pattern

To conquer all bass in the tri-state area

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(the above must be said in the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz)

Usually when I come up with a "new" fly pattern, it 

Deflectinator: Olive/Black

takes a while before I can definitively say "it's a keeper". The excitement of a cool looking fly is usually tempered by field testing where oftentimes the testing doesn't go as well as I would have hoped.

This particular pattern was developed after a number of trips with my hard-core bass buddies that throw gear most of the time. We were throwing into very weedy and reedy spots that made it difficult to get a lot of my fly patterns effectively in front of the faces of the hungry/angry bass in those areas.

So back at the vise, I needed something weedless, something not overly heavy and something that had as good, if not better, movement than the plastics the gear guys were throwing. (SIDE NOTE: I travel with and do fish baitcasters when I need to, so I'm not a pure FF guy when it comes to bass, however I needed to solve a problem here).

End result was a tube fly that I could attach a weedless wacky worm hook to and a very off-balance front-heavy fly that moves in the water like nobody's business. My first few outings produced some good fish and its effectiveness was nothing short of amazing. 

Not only that, but the fly actually remained fairly weedless because the Monster cone up front would tend to deflect away from the weeds and such as it was pulled through the water and up and over vegetation. My buddy, a fan of Phineas and Ferb and amazed at the action of the fly, coined the "Deflectinator" name and so it was born. We've been tying it in a number of different styles and colors and it's been my top bass producer ever since.

Deflectinator bass fly pattern with reversed cone

Deflectinator does great in the weeds.

Largemouth Bass caught on a deflectinator. (Angler: Jed Stewart)

Bottom line, the pattern has proven itself many times over and has actually been productive on streams and lakes for trout as well. Try it for yourself and see....

Hook:  Gamakatsu Finesse Weedless #1

Thread:  UTC Ultra thread 70 Olive

Tubes:  Canadian Tube Flies Tube

 with colored flex tube

Under Body:  0.20 Lead Free Wire

Body: Olive Rabbit strip, Olive & Black UV Polar Chenille (Hareline)

Legs: Olive silicon skirt material

Collar: Black Senyo Laser Yarn

Cone:  Canadian Tube Flies Monster Cone

And the video tutorial: