any fly rodders 2024

what reply :

any body fly fish for bass just post here im i would like to know peoples set up THAT includes you flechero ;D

NCthompson reply :

I dont but I want to learn how to fly fish. How long did it take you to learn how to fly fish and do you catch much on it?

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Only saltwater.

A 7wt set-up is probably ideal for bassin'.

flechero reply :

I don't fly fish for bass that often... a couple times a month, depending on the weather and if I am taking people out. When I do, I'll use any number of rods... Usually a 7 wt is the choice... sometimes as heavy as 9 wt or as light as 4 wt. (I will try the 2 wt though, just to see how I do with it )

I have an extra spool with a sinking ghost tip for the 7 wt. so it is my most versitile set up. the rod is an Orvis T-3 907-4 with a Battenkill LA V reel. I'll be replacing the 7wt and 9wt rods this winter with customs on CTS blanks.

I'm really looking forward to this fall though... I will be chasing the smallies with a fly rod a bunch.

goldenmonkey reply :

I do. I have a 6wt and a 4wt that I use for bass. mostly river smallmouth fishing with the 4wt. catching a bunch of 1-2 lb smallies on a 4wt is a fun day. I use the 6wt out on the boat for largemouth.

I use mostly streamers and crayfish imitations for bass. poppers are alot of fun if theyre hitting on topwater, they are fun to tie too out of deer hair. grasshoppers and dragonflies can be pretty effective at times as well.

fly fishing isnt very hard to learn at all. it only took me a couple hours to have a basic grasp on it. then after a month or so I was pretty good at it. obviously the more you practice the better you will be. youll want to stay away from overhanging trees when your first starting out, youll be hung up in them almost garunteed.

I also have a 0wt flyrod that I use for bluegills. catching 50-60 sunnys in a day on the little rod is a hell of alot of fun.

what reply :

thats awsome flechero dont think you go to heavy becaus i use a ten to through big i mean big flys and LBH ever catch a snook or bone fish on fly or a baby tarpon lemme know i like his thread already ohh and flechero you wanna see my ten wieght i made it myself

RandySBreth reply :

Flyfish for smallmouth with 6,7, and 8 wt. Depends on the river (or lake) I'm fishing in. Fish for largemouths mostly w/ topwater, using the same 8wt. Sometimes screw around with Beaver Lake stripers w/ my 9 wt.

Some of my stuff is pretty high end (Sage, Ross) but most is mid level.

Favorite all around is 9' 7 wt St. Croix Imperial w/ a White River classic (BassPro) reel. Not expensive at all.

It takes a while to get good, but it's not impossible. Stream smallmouth and small pond largemouths were made for flyfishing.

NCthompson reply :

Can you throw regular lures out with a fly rod? I thought I heard that the lure cant be too heavy. And Im just wondering, how do you reel in a fly rod. I see on TV they pull the line but there is a reel on it.

what reply :

Quote
Flyfish for smallmouth with 6,7, and 8 wt. Depends on the river (or lake) I'm fishing in. Fish for largemouths mostly w/ topwater, using the same 8wt. Sometimes screw around with Beaver Lake stripers w/ my 9 wt.
Some of my stuff is pretty high end (Sage, Ross) but most is mid level.

Favorite all around is 9' 7 wt St. Croix Imperial w/ a White River classic (BassPro) reel. Not expensive at all.

It takes a while to get good, but it's not impossible. Stream smallmouth and small pond largemouths were made for flyfishing.

have you ever been into the backing before its so much fun

flechero reply :

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ohh and flechero you wanna see my ten wieght i made it myself

If you have a pic, show us! (and give details on blank and stuff)

J-Salvati reply :

I fly fish for LMB and peacock bass using some home-made flys...i have a 4 and a 6

Yea... Ed lets see your custom 10 wt...(well i have already seen it)

-hydrillagorilla- reply :

I am a "retired" fly fishing guide. I probably have 20 rods in my basement (well two in a bag fore I just returned from CO.).

For some reason I cannot get excited about fly rodding for bass. I have mostly used them all for guiding and fishing when I lived in Colorado or trips to the salt. I feel they are the absolute best tool for fishing in rivers. I think if used properly you can outfish bait at least 2 to 1 (trout in a stream). I also used to take clients to Mexico, Bahamas, keys and Belize in search of the saltwater Pescas.

To be honest: I cannot comment on them for Bass fishing. I could compare it to large streamers or perhaps chucking sinking lines in a channel for Tarpon.

large rods with a bunch of weight require a different motion then throwing a dry fly or little nymph rig on a 4 or 5 weight. I think a crucial skill to be able to fish for bass would be knowing how to "double haul" the line. This is paramont with the larger rods and heavier bugs. When you get it down you should be able to throw the entire line 2 to 3 false casts with decent accuracy (each cast being a two count (back and forward).

When using them with floating lines you must remember that each strip will bump the bug in an upward motion and several in succesion will pull the fly towards the surface; this can be good if bumping a crawfish of the bottom or bad if trying to keep a minnow in the stricke zone. A good sink tip while harder to throw and even harder to do it accurately keeps the bug down in the zone during most of the retreive.

As far as the best choice of rods I guess it depends on what you are looking to find. If you are in big fish country I would gear up for big fish like an 8 or 9 (for bass). If you are chasing bluegill then you would definitly want to get down to the 4 wt or so area.

sorry about the rambling, I love casting a fly rod - I still go out back and practice my double hauls when I am hankering to get out west or the salt. When you stick a great cast with a fly rod it has the same feel as when you flush a golf ball with a iron. But for bass: I will stick with my baitcaster and spin reel - maybe it's because I haven't used one for 11 years while living in the West or maybe it is because I know it is the best tool for the job. Who knows: maybe someday i will only use a fly rod for bass?? LOL

what reply :

i know how to double haul but i dont find it a necessity you usually dont cast further than 60 feet in salt water i can throw that with 2 false cast. if you ever fished salt water before you went trout fishing your gonna have a hard timetrout fishing as happened to me because i kept strip setteing and pulling the little hook out of the fishes mouth but bring a trout fisherman in salt water and he also will have a hard time setting the hook and casting ESPECIALLY sink lines

you guys i love this thread id like to keep it going

what reply :

Quote
I also have a 0wt flyrod that I use for bluegills. catching 50-60 sunnys in a day on the little rod is a hell of alot of fun.

were did you obtain a tool so small

J-Salvati reply :

i was looking at trout hooks the other day and they are soo small i know how u feel....oddly enough the whole hook ended up in my finger >

what reply :

lol il neverforget that lmao rolf atleast you lerned a new trick wehn me or your dad are being our selfs again

what reply :

another

and thats it its an american tackle matrix (didnt want a loomis because epoxy heads will devour it single foot guides to make the rod have a better action and be lighter its a fast action rod and a ver fastt taper for you rod biulder its a 449 with a 5.5 tip and is nine feet long fast taper right and one more pic

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

No snook but I have my share of tarpon under my belt. No big dogs though, biggest was 71 lbs.

Funny story, guided trip in the keys with ex g/f's grand father. He had a 130+ on and his belt broke. Noone would help him with his pants. We have a pic of him taken from the rear of the boat looking towards the bow,he has a 130lb tarpon tailwalking in front of him about 20 ft away, legs spread about 5 ft apart, pants at ankles in his tighty whities, looking back at camera laughing like it was his birthday. Very funny.

what reply :

lol i can imagine that what about a yellow fin tuna not a big one but a like a 20 pounder or a blue fin tuna

what reply :

sorry mods now back to bass

jiangtao reply :

I started fly fishing when I was 11 years old [now 31] When I was a little tike I loved it. Now for some reason I can't get back into it, but still use one on occasion. Pulled in a good bit of bass off one, but you get alot of bream most of the time.

GeneinTX reply :

I use a White River 5/6 wt. I haven't caught many bass on it, but I have caught alot of sunfish.

Flechero, what rig will you use for smallies? Any pics?

What would be a good leader for bass in the 2-3 lb range?

flechero reply :

What,

You did a great job on your 10 wt! You should have posted it in the tacklemaking section also. Those matrix blanks are sharp! What reel seat is that?

Gene,

We went out last Sat., and fished Westcliff at sunrise- I used the new 4 wt (pics in tacklemaking) and Steven used his new 8 wt. We caught several smallies and largemouth... Steven caught 2 channel cats on the fly! ...lol I had to use the 4 wt. since I had just finished it! My rod of choice would be the 7 wt. if I was in a serious mood. (no pics, it's a factory built rod- orvis T-3) As far as leaders go, I use mono or fluoro 7.5' tapered with a perfection loop. I use as heavy of a leader as I think I can get away with when I fish the timber. If the area is pretty clear, I'll scale back to "normal" size stuff, which for me is about an 8 - 10lb tippet on the 7 wt.

Quote
Can you throw regular lures out with a fly rod? I thought I heard that the lure cant be too heavy. And Im just wondering, how do you reel in a fly rod. I see on TV they pull the line but there is a reel on it.

No, you are casting the line, which is weighted to carry a fly. A "heavy" fly might be castable with a good ultralight rod, to give you an idea of the weight. On smaller fish it's quicker and easier to just pull the line by hand but on big fish or fish that make big runs (usually saltwater) you'll get to use the reel.

-hydrillagorilla- reply :

Here is my PB for trout. Caught in the Taylor River in Colorado. It could have possibly been the state record. 34"X24" -estimated around 20lbs. This fish was raised from childhood in the river. NOTE: you like my smile! I was pumped!

Sight fished in about 5 foot of water. He took a size 18 red copper john. Man what a great afternoon!

what reply :

Quote
What,
You did a great job on your 10 wt! You should have posted it in the tacklemaking section also. Those matrix blanks are sharp! What reel seat is that?

thanx the real seat is a an american tackle one and its in titanium finish the only thing i dont like about it is that its a single up lock

GeneinTX reply :

Flechero, I haven't run into a smallie in a while. What flies did you use? I have used a muddler minnow but have only pulled out bream. Are you working the surface? BTW: I found that grass you were telling me about. We can just keep our fingers crosssed!!!

what reply :

cool ow good is a fite from a smally

flechero reply :

Quote
Flechero, I haven't run into a smallie in a while. What flies did you use? I have used a muddler minnow but have only pulled out bream. Are you working the surface? BTW: I found that grass you were telling me about. We can just keep our fingers crosssed!!!

We've been using stuff I had leftover from a saltwater trip. Mostly clouser types and some generic baitfish patterns. White bodies with a few strands of flash are what most of them are.

I've since found about 5 more grass beds that are pretty sizable! Not thick beds yet but spreading across good sized areas... and some smaller spots just starting to grow. Yup, our fingers are crossed for it to establish. I don't worry about it taking over since we have so few shallow areas in that lake.

ThomasL reply :

I flyfish for trout and panfish mostly,smallies with the four weight,speaking

of four weight if any of you are in the market for one ,at flyanglers online

i have a brand new unfished 7'6" 4 weight loomis glx for sale at over

half price,cost 540.00 selling for 250.00.I bought two extras when i

found out they were being discontinued,already sold one,this one

has to go to!

ejtaylor822 reply :

Started flyfishing a few years ago - how I got back into fishing from teenage years.

I use a 7wt Martin with VFR reels. Really like the VFR, its a well made entry level reel and like how the spools swap out; highly recommend. The Martin is entry level too, but, is real good for the "farm pond" fishing that I do 80% of the time. Use a 7WF line and 2X leader. I have made a few of my own leaders, but, really prefer buying the tapered leader. The tapered leaders seem to turn over a lot better for me.

Like I said, the Martin is good for the pond fishing that I do, but, is not that sensitive - my only complaint. Hope to upgrade at some point in the near future to something better; lighter and more sensitive for river and trout.

Have caught SMBs on wolly buggers, large nymphs, clousers and terrestials - mine in the pond really like ants. I pretty much throw anything that looks like it might be in the water or buzzing around.

I do enjoy flyfishing, actually better than baitcasting, but, can't always get to where the fish are hiding with a fly rod - even with the roll cast.

Eddie

what reply :

i will disagree with you that you cant bring it into places it normaly cant i use it in every cove possible

fireandice reply :

I'll take a bass on a foggy morning with a popper any day of the week on my 7wt., but the more I fish for trout and bass, I seem to want to be in a bass boat with a baitcaster/spinning outfit for bass, and I prefer my flyrod for trout fishing or panfish. Maybe one reason is that I live in KS. I hate flyrodding in a crosswind on a bank! I can do it, but I absolutely hate it. I would recommend anyone who is already a bass fisherman, to take up fly fishing. I've never experienced anything quite so surreal. I can fly fish for 8 hours and it feels like 10 minutes. When I'm bass fishing, 8 hours feels like 10 hours. Something about the rhythm, the quiet, the cold, it just works! I'm addicted. : It could get you divorced though. If you get very serious about fly fishing, it's nothing to spend $700.00 on a Sage or an Orvis rod.

ejtaylor822 reply :

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i will disagree with you that you cant bring it into places it normaly cant i use it in every cove possible

Assume you were referring to my comment about "not being able to reach where the fish were hiding'. I was not very clear.

I was referring to the 3 ac. pond behind the house that I am at most of the time and bank/shore fish. It is basically rectangle/kidney shaped and is surrounded on 3 1/2 sides by woods right up to the water's edge. The woods side is where the good structure and pattern is at. I can fly cast 30% of it and roll and/or lateral cast 50% of it and have been very successful. The sweet spots, though, are on the upper side and totally surrounded by trees and about impossible to cast through. I bank fish it and if anyone can show me how to cast a 9' 7 wt flyrod on a bank surrounded by deep brush and trees would love to see it!

Eddie

-hydrillagorilla- reply :

F&I, those oppisite sholder crosswinds are lethal! My buddy and I use to practice casting with our oppisite hand so when we were in that position we could merely switch hands and the wind would then be blowing the size 2 tarpon fly away from our heads instead of into them :-/! It took a couple of months but he and I (not like him) got it down good enough that HE could cast his entire line with either hand.

what reply :

Quote

Quote
i will disagree with you that you cant bring it into places it normaly cant i use it in every cove possible

Assume you were referring to my comment about "not being able to reach where the fish were hiding'. I was not very clear.

I was referring to the 3 ac. pond behind the house that I am at most of the time and bank/shore fish. It is basically rectangle/kidney shaped and is surrounded on 3 1/2 sides by woods right up to the water's edge. The woods side is where the good structure and pattern is at. I can fly cast 30% of it and roll and/or lateral cast 50% of it and have been very successful. The sweet spots, though, are on the upper side and totally surrounded by trees and about impossible to cast through. I bank fish it and if anyone can show me how to cast a 9' 7 wt flyrod on a bank surrounded by deep brush and trees would love to see it!

Eddie

i see what you meen though cool

what reply :

Quote
F&I, those oppisite sholder crosswinds are lethal! My buddy and I use to practice casting with our oppisite hand so when we were in that position we could merely switch hands and the wind would then be blowing the size 2 tarpon fly away from our heads instead of into them :-/! It took a couple of months but he and I (not like him) got it down good enough that HE could cast his entire line with either hand.

cool you live in florida i take it

Alpster reply :

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any body fly fish for bass just post here im i would like to know peoples set up THAT includes you flechero ;D

My fly setups as requested...

Orvis 1 wt "Superfine" with "Abel" TR lite reel for trout & panfish

Sage 4 wt 'VPS" with "Modula 50" reel for larger trout streams

Orvis 6 wt "TLS" with Orvis Mach III reel- this is my bass rig

Orvis 6 wt "Green River" with matching reel (this my backup for everything)

G-Loomis 9 wt GLX with Fly Logic reel - Stripers in the surf

Custom 12 wt w/fighting butt (I built on a Lamiglas blank) with Pflueger Trion reel - another striper set up.

I love to fly fish (also)

Ronnie

tboydva reply :

I might throw in a comment too that in lakes that are heavily fished, a fly rod might mean the difference between catchin' a few and going home skunked! I fished one lake twice using every type of top, mid, and bottom lure I had (I'm no pro, but rarely get skunked). I grabbed a fly rod my buddy brought along and we boated about 8 Bass in an hour. I dusted mine off and have been using it (along with casting/spinning rods) for the past two summers. If you go to a public lakes that are hard to catch bass in, I say give it a try... Orvis had a 6 wt rod for sale for about $40. I have never used my reel for anything other than holding line, so a cheapo works great for me...

Tom

what reply :

you hit the nail rite on the head

basspro48 reply :

I've been flyfishing for bass for around 4 years now. My uncle is a huge flyfisherman, and he's the one who first got me into it. I couldn't afford a decent set-up so he hooked me up with a pretty nice 6wt. and now I can't get enough of it. Especially now since I caught my first flyrod trout about 2 years ago.

what reply :

once you go fly rod you always wanna take it along flechero agree with me

Topwater_Popper reply :

I love to fly fish! Bass are fun on a fly rod, but nothing is like fishing a trout stream in the mountains as the sun is rising.

Anyway, I use a 6 weight Eagle Claw rod and a cheap reel (don't even know the name of it). On a fly rod, even the dinks seem to fisht hard! ;D

what reply :

thats alll you you need right there brotha

.ghoti. reply :

Love the noodle rods. I use a 3wt for bluegill, a 5wt with a sink-tip line for crappie, a 6wt and an 8wt for bass. The 5 and 6 I use for the rare trout trip. tboydva is right, the fly rod can often save the day. It's a presentation bass rarely see around here.

I've done the best on bass with a bunny strip. I catch a lot more bass on one of those than on the poppers or floating bugs. Blue is good, black is better, but sometimes chartreuse is the ticket. Once the hide gets soaked, the bunny strip has an action you have to see. Twitched slowly, it will wave and wiggle around one to two feet deep. It will move about sitting still. Bass will crush it. I throw these and the bigger bugs on a 9' 8wt rod. I need the heavier line weight to cast these flies and get them to turn over and land right. Can't seem to get it done with the lighter rods. I've been using some of the largest bunnies on a spinning rod with a split shot rig. Kind of like a mini carolina rig. This is my ultimate finesse rig. I've caught several over 4 pounds and one right at 6 with the rabbit strip fly.

I use the 8'6" 6wt for for bass also, throwing smaller bugs, big streamers, like a Clouser or Bouface, big nymphs, and grasshopper patterns. A two pound bass on a 6wt is a good battle. A three pounder is the biggest I've caught on this rig. This is the best rig I have for numbers. I've caught a ton of 1-2 pounders on the big streamers and hoppers. I get a lot of dinks on this rig too. A ten incher on this rod is a lot more fun than it would be on a MH baitcaster.

The 8' 5wt with the sinking line is for crappie, with smaller nymphs and streamers. Crappie are usually deeper than I can fish with a floating line. I get a bass every now and then on this rig, but it's not a high percentage thing.

I get out the 3wt when I want some fish for the skillet. Bluegill on a 3wt is about as much fun as you can have with your pants on. I use ants and small nymphs mostly. I've found that the more I move these flies, the smaller the fish get. I catch the largest bluegill by letting the fly sink with no movement at all. Every now and then you can get good bluegill action on the dry fly. When they want this, I have the best success with the brightest color dries I have. This is an absolute hoot. Just like topwater bassin' on a small scale.

About the gear, I don't own any high end fly rods or reels. When I add each one up, rod, reel, backing, line and leader, all were under $200. Temple Forks Outfitters make a great rod for under 100. That's my 3wt and 5wt. The 6wt is an el cheapo Daiwa I got on sale for $30. All three have BPS Hobb's Creek model large arbor reels. They're about $40 each. The 8wt is a Reddington rod and reel Cabela's had on clearance a couple of years ago for around $100. Would I like to have a Sage or a Winston? You bet. Will I be buying one anytime soon? Probably not.

I did get high end lines for all my outfits. A good fly line will cost you $50 or so. If you clean it every trip, it will last for years. I have a Scientific Anglers Mastery series line on my 6wt thats been on there for at least 6 years. The 5wt even longer.

Somebody asked about leaders. I used to tie my own. What a pain in the membrane. I went to tapered one-piece leaders a long time ago. I've now switched all of mine out for braided leaders. These are the best, in my opinion. These will last for years also. To see one go to feather-craft.com and look up furled leaders. They are not cheap, 13-15 bucks each, but are worth every penny. They have a tiny metal ring on the end for tying on your tippet. I tie on about 3' and snip it off and tie on a new piece when it gets tp be less than 2'. These leaders come with a loop on the other end, so if you get a fly line with a loop, rigging is about as easy as it can be.

Last comment. Casting. It does take practice, but no more than a baitcaster. It's just an entirely different motion. If you are new to this, don't use any wrist. It's all in the shoulder and elbow. The best advice I ever got about improving my fly casting is this. Go out in the back yard, strip off about 30' of line, with leader attached, but no fly, and try to kepp it in the air as you cast back and forth. Here's the key. Keep the rod between 10:00 and 2:00. If you hear a whip crack, you've started your stroke in the opposite direction too soon. With a little practice, you can feel when to change directions. Until you get the feel, watch the line. This sounds and looks goofy, but it will help. Also, you don't really need to double haul cast for bass. Sure, it's cool to see somebody shoot a hundred feet of line, and we all have had to do it now and then, but you can't set the hook on a bass at that range. At least I can't seem to. Most of my casts are 40' or less. The longer I go, the fewer fish I land. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, probably am, but hooksets at the end of a long cast with all that line out and a noodle rod just don't get "er done for me.

One more thing. Yeah, I know, I said that already. I don't tie my own flies. My brother does, and he's been on me to start, and I will sometime. But until then, I've been buying flies at flyshack.com. They have the best prices and quickest service I've found. One thing I like about them is free shipping on orders over $25. Another is, if they don't have it in stock, ready to ship, it's not listed on the page to buy. With that in mind, I have to check back on a regular basis to see what bass flies they have. Sometimes they'll have four pages of bass flies and occassionally only one page. One of those big deerhair bass bugs that will cost you anywhere from $4 - $6 most places will be at the flyshack for $1.50. Big streamers for a buck, and nymphs for 75 cents. I've bought a lot of flies from them over the last couple of years, and have never been disappointed. Check it out.

Good luck everybody,

Hale reply :

6-8w Orvis - LM Bass, peacock bass

(Big Montana Trout on the trips)

what reply :

hale were do you live

10826

any fly rodders 2024

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