Control the line by squeezing it against the rod handle with your index finger of your rod hand. Relax your grip as you pull in the fly line with your line hand. Make a strip of about 18 inches, coil the line in your palm. Then grasp the fly line at the rod again to begin a new retrieve. Most bass prefer to ambush a helpless or careless creature rather than go on tiring high-speed chase of a terrified prey.
Most fishermen make the mistake of moving the bass bugs too quickly.
You can get good hit rates by inching the bass fly in, over, or around structure, as if I were trying to sneak out of danger. There are times when bass will chase and strike rapidly moving bass bugs. No one retrieve is always the best. Foods, temperature, water conditions, and individual fish habits vary. Make short strips of the line and the fly will work on the surface.