Fly Fishing BS thread

Streamers trump everything. Unless there's a giant hatch going off. I'm buy no means a purist so 98% of the time I'm ripping a Wooly Bugger or a Muddler.

 

I think the biggest thing here is what are you targeting?

 

I live near a series of lakes that are primarily fished for bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish. Mainly I have been fishing with a baitcaster and spinner baits. I want to add this as another weapon to try to land fish when the water movements become busy in the late evening hours.

Large mouth are my target.

 

Ok what weight rod did you go with? There's a few flies in that box that would work but it looks mainly trout bias.

 

Google bass poppers and get a few. Some of the most fun you can have fishing bucket mouths. Think of a jitterbug but it's a fly.

 

5wt, 9’ rod
I tried to do some research into a beginner fly kit to buy for bass but didn’t have much success, so I opted for this one. May revisit and consideration another option.

Thanks. I’ll do a little googling and read up on them.

 

So I don't have any experience with bass but a ton with pike and walleye and alot of the principles apply to bass.
I would get ahold of an 8wt for starters. Do you need that much rod for alot of the fish you'll hook no but it will make life alot easier casting some bigger flies and hitting some effective distances especially while new. It will also give you alot more back bone to rip those fish out of heavy weeds if they dive into them.
For the most part the principals will all be the same as your gear chucking for what flies you will want to look for. Poppers, frogs, streamers with a variety from large baitfish patterns to smaller wooly bugger leech patterns.
As was mentioned earlier regarding sink tips you will want a few different options from having a full float line that you can add a 1-2 ips sinking leader or a heavier 5-6ips depending on what your fishing and how deep. I would stress that to much untill you have that cast dialed In a bit.
The last bit of advice I have is don't learn to cast on the water tie a little bit of cloth or a fly with a clipped hook and get in a field and start really slow and work into it. Really easy to get frustrated or get a hook in the back of the head early on. But once you figure it out it is so much fun I only touch my spin/casting gear if I'm super deep or there's more wind than I want to deal with.

 

big meat, big fish… After I discovered swinging 1-3” leeches on the Deschutes I started catching large fish consistently. I apply this concept wherever the water is applicable and it just keeps producing. Keep stripping and ripping!

 

This is one of the most helpful pieces of advice I have received to date. I don't plan to hit the water for a bit or so until I feel comfortable with my cast. I like the idea of tying a fly and breaking the hook off. I have a nice long yard with no trees that I will practice on. Much appreciated.

I did mess around with a buddies fly setup a couple of months ago and went in it cold turkey. He didnt give me any advice, just said go have fun. I think I did pretty well all things considered. Spent about two hours throwing it, no fish, but I was def addicted from that moment.

 

In my opinion, someone wanting to get into fly fishing (even intending to target bass) would probably be better off buying a medium action 8-9' 5 wt. I'd lean towards the 9'. A normal weight forward floating line and normal leader would be fine. Learn to cast it on water unless you want to chop up your brand new fly line on dry grass. An 8wt is a pole to cast and not for a beginner. Would be like giving a 12 guage shotgun to an 8 year old to learn to shoot with. The medium action 5wt will allow you to feel the rod load and shorten the learning curve to cast a decent loop. It will also allow you to target a broader range of fish. You will grow from there. I should know, I've got better than 2 dozen fly rods and expect plenty others have collections too. My largest bass was a 9lb 9oz on a 5wt and 4x tippet and an 8lb 11oz on an 8wt so speaking from a tad of experience. Warm water fishing is casting point A to B and depth. Trout/river fishing you have to deal with current and drag, a bit more dimensional. I learned to cast on my own in the early 80s as a kid wading and catching bream.

 

So few things to touch on there. Doesn't matter what weight rod it is if it's lined properly it's easy to learn with.
I would still say fishing bass on a 5wt will end up being more frustrating the second you try to move a fly over distance that has any size it will not be easy or enjoyable.
I have had a 37" pike by catch on a 5wt while brown trout fishing or a 22" cut bow on a 2wt while fishing tiny brooks and I don't recommend it.
I don't know what kind of grass your casting in but I still go and screw around with 170$ fly lines in the field by my place and have yet to have an issue with them getting shredded.
Taking the fishing element out to simply focus on casting has been key to everyone I have taught to fly cast.

 

I gave my opinion to the fella looking to buy a first fly rod. Didn't quote you or respond to you. The 5wt will let the guy catch just about any warm water fish and have fun at it. He don't need an 8 wt for just a narrow slice of the game. That will come later. Plenty plenty of bass caught on smaller streamers like size 8. Slick lives in OH, not Florida. Do tell me how fun it is to catch a pound or three bass is on an 8wt. Fly line is made for water. Grass and dry ground eats it, shortens lifespan.

I've caught a 25lb grass carp on a 5 wt and a 21" bow & brown on a 2 wt myself. Have fly rods from 0wt to 9wt. But what do I know.

 

^^That^^

While there are cleaners and dressing that you should use occasionally they do not restore the line. They just clean it and help with buoyancy. If your gonna practice on grass by the cheapest line you can and a cheap spare reel or spool. Use that and not the line you plan on fishing with.

Source:

https://www.scientificanglers.com/how-not-to-ruin-your-fly-line/#:~:text=Avoid casting on grass and,casting on water if possible.

 

Got my Redington 5wt 9ft 4pc Crosswater rod and reel yesterday. The whole setup looks and feels great. The case is awesome, the rod and reel feel to be great quality. Once setup, I took it to my yard. I cut off a small chunk of rubber lure and tied it to the leader for a little weight and to get started practicing my cast. I did this as I don't have any flies yet and wanted to get out there and throw. Also didn't want to ruin any new flies in the yard. Here is a short video of my cast, any and all advice is accepted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl3W0iSfN9g

My impressions of the rod and reel were great as said. I do however feel that the fly line needs to be replaced as I had a tough time with it curling up. Maybe after some time, this will tighten and straighten up ?

 

Cheaper lines can be quite stiff like that almost a plasticy feeling. Best thing to do is have some one grab the end end of the line pull it all off the spool and give it a bit of a stretch or go hook a stud of a fish and let him do the work for you

 

This

 

First evening on the water. Did pretty well. No bass, just blue gill. Few thoughts.

Had my Rio Bass leaders and flies delivered today. Come to find the factory fly line and leader was tied with a nail knot. Since there wasn’t a loop on the fly line, I tied a perfection loop knot on the fly line so I could tie a loop to loop knot on the new leader. Pretty new to knots so bear with me, but it worked well.

The fly line was still curling up on me, but I feel the more I use it, it will work itself out.

My cast seemed decent all things considered. I didn’t get any tangles or snags but I was in open space.

Even though it was a small blue gill, the first catch on the rod was pretty exciting.

Tomorrow, I get some bass poppers delivered so look forward to trying those.

 

Pinch the leader and pull it through your fingertips. It will heat up and straighten out. It should feel like it’s very warm in your fingertips when you pinch and pull

 

Nail knot is not terrible to tie, use a toothpick or such. Tie the knot with the toothpick inserted parallel with the fly line and leader but don't fully cinch it. Then slowly slide it off the toothpick and tighten the knot till it's free, adjust the loops as needed and fully tighten. Finish it off with a dab of superglue. You can also use a short heavy section of mono, like .022, and tie a nail knot to the fly line and a loop in the other end so you can loop to loop to the leader. Plenty of folks use the loop to loop leader connection since it's convenient but a nail knot transfers the energy better and will not hinge. Hinging at the loop to loop during the cast can help close up the loop you are throwing and lead to issues like wind knots etc. On the bass and bream you will probably catch more bigger fish on subsurface flies. Try some bead head flies like bully flies for bream and smaller streamers for bass. Vary stripping them in, short or long pulls and vary speed till you get an idea of what triggers strikes. Poppers and other top water flies like sliders are great too since you get to see the take but don't neglect subsurface. Here on my pond we use floating lines with 7.5' leaders and 4x florocarbon tippet with bully flies for bream. The florocarbon helps the fly get a little down in the water column and is very abrasion resistant if you happen to cast a little long into the brush of weeds. Catch plenty of bass that way too. Just some thoughts. Good luck.