Fly fishing for largemouth

[6wt]

Not sure if talking about bass is taboo on this site but I'd like to know if a 5wt is sufficient for largemouth bass.
Over the years I've caught some beautiful fish on the housy with spinning equipment. While I intent to try FF for trout I figured for july and august a back up plan would be wise.
Thanks

[jskowron]

I've used my 5wt for largemouth and smallmouth. It should work okay. It can be a little difficult throwing bigger bass bugs (e.g. poppers/sliders). It can be done- slow down your cast and be patient, and be prepared to be knocked in the back of the head with a large fly, especially if it is windy. Depending on the rod, you can overline with a 6wt line and it might be a little better. I would try it out before investing in anything.

[6wt]

Thanks.
I think I'm starting to understand that the fly size determines the line weight, which determines the rod size, right?
I have a 6wt rod and a reel with 6wt line. I guess if I need to I can get a 5wt rod for trout (someone told me a 6wt for trout was overkill) and simply use my 6wt reel/line? In other words the 6wt reel/line should be fine on both a 5wt and 6wt rod.

Anyone else FF the Lenoxdale sections for bass?

[jskowron]

Line sizes can be kind of tricky- it is not as easy as fly size determining line weight. The overall application you wish to fish ties it all together. For a long time, I fish only with a 8.5', medium action rod, rated for 5/6wt line. It did everything I needed it to. With a 5wt line, I could pretty much present any dry fly that I wanted to delicately enough, and it still had the backbone to cast bigger flies to bass. Along the way I picked up some other rods for more specialized circumstances. I have a 9' 9wt that I use for saltwater, where high wind, big flies, and bigger fish (at least dreams of bigger fish) dictate a bigger line and heartier rod. I also had (until I broke it) a 7', 3wt that i use for small brookie streams with smaller flies (though I do appreciate a longer rod on the smallest streams where casting is limited and you may need to just dap or swing out flies). Last year I built a 9' 4wt, and it has come to be my all around rod for trout fishing, but it can be tough to cast the bigger weighted flies to bass, especially when fishing stillwater from a boat in the wind. This year I plan on building a 6' 3wt on a fiberglass blank (slower action for small flies and smaller tippet) to replace the smaller rod that I broke. I am a cheap SOB, and I haven't spent more than $100 on any of the rods (except the saltwater rod- it is a Sage and was a gift- but salwater really destroys cheap gear pretty quickly). Building your own make it relatively inexpensive to put together a good collection on the cheap.

All that said, I am currently reading At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman by John Gierach. In it he paraphrases Tom McGuane-
"You can do all the fly-fishing in North America with two rods: a 6-weight and an 8-weight. He (McGuane) also said that a rod had better have a very good reason for being shorter than eight feet or longer that nine." I will defer to Msrs. Gierach and McGuane, who both know more about these things than I can ever wish to.

Let me know when you're hitting the warm water species in Lenoxdale. I enjoy the "non-trouts" and want to catch a carp and a pike this year.

Jeff

[6wt]

O'k, so I don't really understand



I've heard that carp on the fly are a blast!

[jskowron]

Don't worry- nobody really gets it. In the end, it's all just a reason to get more stuff, anyways.

Anything on a fly is a blast.

[6wt]

Gotta love more gear.

thinking about fish other than trout how about shad? I remember the guys FF alway doing better than than the spin and dart fisherman. Any one have a easy fly for shad?

[Mark Patenaude]

Google "flies for catching Shad" If you google "shad flies" you will get shad patterns.

Simple to tie and most are simplified variations of buggers...

Mark

[deanh]

Jeff ask Jim and Josh about the carp I caught in the glendale section last year during the BCFF outing. Lets just say I told Jim the next time he goes fishing with me he needs a much bigger net. ;D "It will never happen again"

[ctroy36]

6wt:

RE: 6wt for trout.

I've a bunch of rods from a 7 foot, 3 weight on up. What I use most is a 10 foot, 6 weight. It casts anything, makes mending easy and is my main trout rod. Admittedly, it's not the right medicine for delicate drys as the heavier line hits the water hard, however, I've taken more than a few fish on the surface with it.

What counts, for me at least, is how well a combination of line and rod works. Sometimes over or underlining makes a certain rod work better. I've a couple where the designated line weight is awful and a heavier or lighter line turns them into delights to cast.

jskowron's comments pretty much sum it up.

[Mark Patenaude]

Guys you just knew I couldn't let this one pass me by.

Reels: Anything less than a 7-8 wt is nothing but a line holder. Most fish are fought "on the rod" vs on the reel.

Rods: Should be fitted to your casting stroke. If you have a short/quick stroke a faster rod will work well, if you are like our "boo boys" on this site, you use a slower/softer casting stroke which is how the bamboo reacts. If you haven't defined your stroke yet, a med/fast rod is a good all around action.

As for weights, that is a somewhat open ended issue and really depends on what you like. A number of noted fly fishers typically use a 6wt. for all their trout fishing. I tend to use a 3 or 4 wt on small to medium streams and a 5 or 6 on larger water like the Deerfield. My 8 weights are reserved for salmon, steelhead and throwing big flies to smallmouth (using a Rio Clouser line).

However, when I made a trip to the Deerfield a couple of years ago, I discovered while taking the rod out of its case at the river, that the airlines had broke the tip on my Sage XP, 9'6", 5 wt. I rigged up my 7'6" 4 wt. that I was reserving for the Hoosic and fished "through the box" and landed several nice trout up to 17". It got a little dicey in the heavy current and took me longer to land the fish, but was effective none the less and all fish were released and looked O.K. mostly due to the fact that the Deerfield is a tail water and the water stays cold all year long.

One of the most important issues to consider regarding rod weights is the mortality of the fish. The lighter the rod, the longer it will take you to bring it to hand, resulting in a higher mortaility rate, especially during warmer months. Please consider this when buying a rod.

Email me if you need any more help.

Mark

[flyfishgb]

dean,

i remember that carp.... that was in a real dicey section of the river....

[6wt]

Did some reading on FF for shsd. Seems that most talk about having to use a sinking tip line to get the fly to the deeper water. One place I'm thinking about is only 10' deep at the most. I'm wondering if you think that water could be fished effectively with floating line and a weighted fly?
Thanks

[Mark Patenaude]

You can brag about any species you want on this board, but I'm drawing a line in the sand...

Oh, I know they have been touted as hard fighting fish and there is a new trend to chase them, but come on...

Carp?

Flip the a and r around...

Just kidding...

[6wt]

so how about shad on floating line?

[deanh]

I ask my dad who does a lot of shad fishing. He said that he uses T-300, which is a fast sinking line, to get to the bottom fast. 6' 8lb mono tie in your fly. Then tie another 16 or 18 inches dropper to the eye with a different color dart. He says you must be on the bottom if you have to put split shot on. He wouldn't recommend floating line. In the March newsletter there is a article on
Shad fishing plus we are planning a fishout in Holyoke this spring.

[strbender]

Some say that Carp are the fresh water version of the Bonefish