"I fly fish but I've always understood that the reason fly fishing exists is to make it harder to catch fish. When I want to catch some fish to eat I use bait. When I want to spend a day on the river enjoying myself (and catching very few fish) I fly fish."
My experience has been just the opposite. Geting a bass to hit a small insect or popping bug is a cinch, and some awfully large ones are taken on those small offerings. Bluegills are suckers for flies. While most of my fly fishing has been in the east, I have fished the big rivers out west and found the native trout were not at all reluctant to eat flies.
Never fly fished for bass but I've always wanted to. All my fly fishing is for trout in NC. Maybe it's time to branch out.