Bass fly rod?

[Brians_22]

I;m starting to fish for largemouth bass on the fly. Ive got a 9 weight now that I use for stripers, will this be over kill for a bass? or should I drop down to a 5 or 6 weight? Any suggestions on flies, Ive been tying some of my saltwaters smaller for them but im looking a few good patterns.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Brian

[Eddy Merckx]

The 9 will work, but not much fun catching 2 lb. bass on the heavy stick. I usually use a 6 or 7 for LMB. Can't go wrong with gurglers worked around the weed edges.

[smcisaac]

You can do it with a 9 but it might seem like more than you need. I found a 6 didn't have the power to throw those bulky poppers and hair bugs. I've been using a fast Loomis IMX 8, and decided I wanted something slower, so I got a cheap medium-action Redington Crosswater 7/8. You can get one right now at just over fifty bucks at flyshopcloseouts.com -- or if you need a whole outfit, they'll add a reel and a line and charge only $86 for the whole package.

Flies? Poppers, sliders, streamers, bucktails, wooly buggers all work. Any book on fly-rodding for bass should have lots of suggestions. In my experience (others may disagree) it's more the action than the pattern that matters, although sometimes they do seem to prefer a particular color or size. Bass aren't precious like trout, and neither are the tactics. Old-timers will even rig up a light spinning spoon ahead of a bucktail or streamer and trail a night crawler off the end of the hook. (I watched my father-in-law do this with his Shakespeare Wonderod on the Charles River in South Natick once.) If you can toss it with a fly rod, it's fly fishing.

[peter mac]

I second the 6wt. gurglers are great, small clousers, tie up some small peanut size flies on size1 hooks in orange and brown to look like sunnies......the surface bite is the most fun, any kind of popper will work, work the edges.
Peter Mac

[teflon_jones]

The 9 is definitely too much. You won't even feel most of the bass you'll catch. I'd recommend a fast action 6 weight. A lot of people recommend a 7 or 8, but that's almost the same weight you're using in the salt for fish that are likely to be 10-20 times as heavy, and much harder fighters. Get a bass bug taper line to help turn over the big bass flies on the 6 wt.

I've been using a 5/6 wt for the last 20 years without any problems.

[ShaneY]

Ive been using a 5wt but poppers are definitely the way to go. --127-3- oh and that peacock on my avatar came on the 5 as well. but i also dont have a 6 to try.

[uptonfloyd]

I am also a five-weight guy where the freshwater is concerned. And where largemouth bass are concerned, I almost always stay with poppers. But if you can find smallie water, go wolley buggers for a much better ride. The smallies will dance at least a half dozen times, and are great game on the fly.

All that said, I leave the bass until later in the year. The rainbow and landlocked salmon hour is almost upon us. And once the water temp inches over 40 degrees, they're ready to brawl while the bass are still halfway asleep...

[jeffsod]

Once you figure out what weight setup you want I would recommend you condsider the Scientific Anglers Headstart line for bass fishing. It uses the same coatings as the rest of the Mastery series but is only $40.00 as it is geared for begginers. It just so happens to have a great taper for turning over bass flies. The color is bright green which doesn't seem to bother the bass. I picked up an old fiberglass Fenwick 7wt last year and put this line on it and love it. Yes, fiberglass. I think you will like the line on any rod for bass fishing.

[jeffsod]

Oh and a suggestion on flies try a Goldie fly. If you look on the Bills Bodi Braid website there is a photo of the fly which I believe Dick Empie created. Very easy to tie and catches all types of fish. The action of the gold mylar is irresistable. They had a display at the bears den show with the fly on a small rod in a bucket of water and you tell why the fish love it the action is very seductive.

There is also a nice photo and tying instructions on the crossroadsanglers dot com website under the fly catalog link.

[gseries69]

I use an 8'8" Scott heliply in a 6 wt and overload it with a 7 wt line in a bass/pike taper. The overloaded line wt slows the rod down which helps with my timing when using an air resistant popper. The heavier line also carries the fly better and since I'm still in a 6 weight fighting the fight is lots of fun.

[Old Saltyfly]

I will be tying flies for fresh water bass on April 5 (first Thurs) at United Fly Tyers in Woburn, MA. Class starts at 6:40 pm see www.unitedflytyers.org.

By the way 9 wgt is just right for big Largemouths over six pounds.

AJ

[Tie-Dye-Fly-Guy]

unless your looking to fish like the guys on the flw tour and haul two pounders on twenty lb test, and hopefully with a triton shirt on for lots of money- then the idea of big rod to throw big flies is falling into the niche market hoopla. your regular 5w will do everything you need it to. just shorten the leader to 5 ft for poppers and deerhair dalhlbergs and gurglers. if you feel you need to buy something then i would invest in a short belly wf line to help you throw the heavy or wind resistent stuff without screwing up your timing waiting for the cast to unroll. there is something to be said for buying a salty 6w. they are usually a lil faster than the fresh 5w and make schoolie striper fishing that much more fun, especially on top in the estuaries. 50 ft is more than enough cast to be an effective bassman.

FWIW i think it would be a hoot to have a spinoff of the bass competitions with yaks or float tubes and fly gear on some lake. that might get me to sew a B.A.S.S. patch on my neon red cabelas shirt. whos in for the classic?

[Sean Juan]

Many saltwater patterns are designed for very clear water and fish that are hunting by sight. These will work for LMB but often you will need a fly that is fuller and generates more sound. Snake flies, very heavily dressed clousers, and crease flies fished on int lines.

Or topwater

My favorite fly is a circle hook dressed with saddles married to a 4-5" tube fly of spun very thin polar plus fiber - I hit it up with some watershed and it looks and acts much like a Zara Spook. Or you can use some softex and a small loop of sorta lead to make a lip.

[casskid]

a 9-wt is not bad or overkill because i go fly fishing for bass and an 8-wt TFO works great. You should tie some crayfish flies i tied my first yesturday and it was very sucessful. Good luck catching the bass and on the flies. send me a picture of the big one. :)

[albacized]

Fighting wise, the rod is overkill. However, for casting the size flies you want to throw for LM Bass, an 8 or 9 weight may be more comfortable for you. I do manage to through some of the bass bugs out on my 5 wt...but it's sloppy as hell.

[Old Saltyfly]

What's nice about our sport there are no right or wrong reasons for fly fishing. It's what you feel comfortable in doing. I have been doing this stuff for over fifty years. In some waters in Massachusetts and RI with no lily pads, all rock structure I do fine with a six wgt. rod. In fishing jungle waters with heavy lily pads and weeds I do fine with 8 or 9 wgt rod and over sizing the line. I just want to make one false cast and cast 80 to 90 ft. If I get hung up I want to pull on my leader and have the pad come to me. I do use large bugs on 2/0 hooks - I am after a ten pound plus bass. May be this will be the year. I will even settle for a large pike.

Just my thoughts ;)