I don't consider myself a purist or coldwater snob by any stretch of the imagination but for some reason, I've never really given much thought to chasing warm-water species with the long rod 'til recently. That isn't to say I don't fish for warm-water species- actually, quite the contrary. I spend a fair amount of time fishing for Smallmouth Bass each July while on my annual two-week vacation, but it's always been with spinning gear rather than fly tackle.   Last July, while on my annual two-week Au Sable outing in Northern Michigan and catching smallmouths on spinning gear as I always do, the bug finally bit me. I thought: "if these smallmouths I'm catching are this much fun on a spinning rod with 6 lb. test, they must be a real blast on fly gear." With that thought in mind, the 'wheels' were spinning faster than a LS6 Chevelle.   All I brought with me on that trip was my trout fly-gear but I figured the 9 ft., 6 wt. streamer rod would be suitable for these fish, so later that night found me sitting at the vise whipping up some large, rather brightly colored bass bugs and poppers. With my newly tied versions of oversized trout streamers that I deemed “good to go” for bass- or anything else that would happen along- I packed up my streamer rod and hitched the boat up to the truck. A mere 20 minutes later I was on one of the lower impoundment sections of the Au Sable river and headed downstream to my normal spin fishing hole. It’s a spot that is just off a point of land that juts out into the main channel, where the depth runs from 8 ft. deep up to about 3 ft. and turns from rock and stone to thick weeds. I have taken many smallmouths here between 20-22 inches in length and around 5-6 pounds, so I had high hopes for the newly treasured bass streamers I tied on. I anchored at the edge of the transition from the main channel to the shallow weed flat and knotted a size 4 Zoo Cougar to my 8 pound Maxima leader on a full-sinking line, and cast to the point of land that stuck out into the main flow. I repeatedly cast for about 15 minutes, and then it happened- WHAM! My first ever smallmouth on a fly rod absolutely crushed the Zoo Cougar in mid-strip as I worked it back to me, away from the deep water. The fight was actually a lot more than I had even hoped for; the bass fought hard and made many leaping efforts to try to free himself from my efforts to “get him on the reel”. After about two minutes (it seemed much longer!) I had tired out and brought the fish to the boat. Now, I would like to say that he was a thick 5 pound Smallie, but he wasn’t, he was a mere 14” but seemed twice that size when I felt the power of him slam my helpless streamer. After releasing him back to the depths I continued working my streamer through the transition water and managed to take a few more smallmouth that day, nothing larger than that 14”er, but I learned some valuable lessons about warm water fishing with those fish. I learned to respect all types of fly fishing rather than just being dead set on one particular style or species. I also learned a bit about the retrieve and action that stimulates a Smallmouth's interest in a fly.   (This is an interesting twist to this story because it was actually written over a period of 2 years.) This story actually started 2 seasons ago and I have since made a second trip to the Au Sable with the long rod for bass. After much anticipation I returned in July for my second season of streamer fishing for smallies on the Au Sable, a trip which ended up being everything I expected. Follow along as I relive what transpired this past summer. At about 6-ish on a cool, misty mid-July morning, I backed my 20 ft. ProCraft into the water below Five Channels Dam on the Au Sable. The air was slightly cooler than normal for this time of year which made the water seem even warmer than it actually was. After a few cranks the 115 hp. Mariner motor came to life, breaking the silence of the morning. I eased back into the early morning current and put it in gear. My destination was a very short trip downstream, maybe 300 yards, if that far. What I had in mind was to fish the slack-water side of a fallen tree extending into the main current. I knew it held Smallmouth mid-day this time of year due to the shade, but I figured it also provided an ambush point for them to attack hapless prey, so I thought it should hold fish all day long. I drifted into position slowly, moving the boat a bit downstream of the obstruction, then quietly lowered the anchor. Rigging up the trusty ol’ yellow Zoo Cougar to some six-pound test Maxima I stripped out line and looked for a target. The target was to try to smack the fly down right where the tree touched the shoreline, even though it would take a few strips to get the fly into deeper water. I figured it would look like helpless prey coming off the shoreline. I false cast a couple times and fired off my first cast. The fly landed hard on the surface exactly where I wanted it to and I quickly began to strip it back to the boat. I only made about 3 strips when I saw a huge bronze color swirl all around the fly and I watched as the fly disappeared into the white chops of a monster Smallmouth. I set the hook knowing this was a good fish and prayed my leader would hold. As soon as the fish felt the hook it launched itself straight up, a good three feet high, then splashed down like a fat Labrador jumping off a dock. The big smallmouth made numerous runs up and down-stream and came out of the water no less than six times during the fight. The fish took line, I took it back; a back-and-forth battle I will not soon forget.   After finally tiring the trophy fish out I slid my catch & release net under all twenty inches of the beast. The fly was removed and after a quick photo the big smallie was sent back to his hiding place behind the fallen tree to give some other lucky angler the fight of his life.  So as I mentioned earlier in the article, a truly good fly angler will not ignore a good opportunity when it presents itself. Whether that opportunity comes in the form of a cold-water trout, a warm-water smallmouth bass or even a golden colored carp, they all present us with excellent chances to enjoy a good fight with a fish that deserves our respect, as long as we are open minded enough to change our outlook and tactics just a bit. Hatches Magazine Subscription Price: $6.95 for each issue The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.