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!!!

cool ow good is a fite from a smally

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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

 

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.  

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

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

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

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

you hit the nail rite on the head

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.

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

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

thats alll you you need right there brotha

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,

GK

6-8w Orvis - LM Bass, peacock bass

(Big Montana Trout on the trips)

hale were do you live