Fly fishing- my new thing

[BassmanRudy]

Wasn't sure where to put this so dock talk it is. While there isn't much water out here at all the mountains tend to have some small streams. Figured it would be worth trying to catch em on a fly so bought a combo from Redington with line already on. Its a 9' 4 section 6-weight. Also bought a 120 pc fly kit which turned out to all fit inside a 3x4 box! Some of those flies are smaller than my thumbnail white part! Comes in a very nice canvas covered pvc pipe carrier too!

Anyhow will get it all set up and try it out Sunday on some bream/bass either on base or Brite lake where I saw those small bass before.

Anyone else fly fish?? Been watching videos on how to cast!

[Princeton_Man]

I learned and fished a fly rod when I was about 13 or 14. I still have all my rods and reels. My favorite rod back then was my Shakespeare Wonderrod and my favorite reel was my Garcia Mitchell 710 fly reel.  I mostly fished farm ponds back then. I haven't even looked at them in years, I should pull them out and look at them, maybe take the line off the reels.
Back then, that was my finesse fishing gear.

[bigjim5589]

Cool! Yes sir, I've been fly fishing for a very long time!  It's actually my favorite method to use, but isn't always the most practical. Of course you know that also applies to other gear depending on where you're fishing & the conditions. I started as a kid, and that's all I wanted to do, but found out it's not always the best choice of methods.    I learned but sometimes progress was slow. That was before the internet and I had no one to teach me, so was on my own.

Redington makes some good products, so you should do fine with it. A 6 wt is a good general purpose weight too, not real heavy for chasing smaller fish or for small waters, and not too light if you decide that you want to chase some bass with it. I used a 6 wt for several years for bass, trout & panfish, as that was all I had at the time.

Basic casting isn't difficult, but is different than what you'll be used to doing with other tackle. It's mostly rhythm and timing, and allowing the weight of the line to load the rod. The flies just go along for the ride since they lack much weight.  With fly gear you use a leader between the fly line & fly and the end of the leader where it attaches to the fly line is called the butt end, and the end that attaches to the fly, is called the tippet.  Businesses that produce and or sell fly fishing products, will sell spools of what they call "tippet", but that's mostly about marketing and more accurately, it's "tippet material". It's line that can be added to the leader on the tippet end, and it's supposed to be manufactured to precise tolerances so you get a specific diameter. That's not real important for you as you get started, and is something that folks use as they refine their fly fishing and use smaller flies, like those size 24 and smaller. I use regular bulk lines and have for many years, since how I fly fish, mostly for bass, doesn't require that kind of finesse. Entire books have been written on this, and it primarily applies to trout fishing with tiny flies, so not something you need to be concerned with as you get started.  You likely got a tapered leader or two with that setup, and they'll be about the length of the rod, which is generally all you need.

Find some videos that the late Lefty Kreh had done on casting. He changed things from what was traditional, and his style was very helpful to me. I side arm cast as a result, more so than the traditional overhead 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock style of casting. Both are good to learn however.

Yes, some of the flies can be tiny!   I've tied some at times on size 24 hooks, but they make fly hooks down to around a size 32. That's not sizes I fish with, but many folks do. That's for a specialized style of fishing.  If the flies that you have are size 12 or 14 and larger, then you have what you need for getting started.

With fly tackle, the weight of the line should match with the rod, and most of those outfits are usually very well matched.  It's not really much different than using other tackle, except other tackle has a range of line that can work. The rod & line weight limits the size or weight of the flies that can be cast with that specific setup. Again, it's like other gear you have. You won't cast a 1/2 oz jig with an ultralight, nor would you cast a 1/64 oz jig with a heavy casting setup.  Any weight fly setup can cast small flies, but again may not be practical. I have a 10 wt, and it's great for some of the big flies I fish with, but would not be a good choice for fishing a tiny dry fly. Casting the tiny fly would not be any problem, but fishing it would be with such a heavy line. It would be like trying to fish the ultralight jig with a heavy casting setup & 50 lb braid. It can be done, but wouldn't be easy or practical.

At times, I've cast some rather large flies with my 6 wt, but they were light and I wasn't able to cast them as far as I could with  a heavier setup. So, you do have some range with that 6 wt. Generally, with a 6 wt, flies tied on about a size 4 hook are the biggest that might normally be used. There's casting techniques and specialized lines that can increase that size range some, but for now, you'll be better off staying with basics as you learn the casting.

Anyway, it's great to have another fly flinger here on UB. I really feel that all the years I've spent fly fishing have helped me with other types of fishing. If nothing else, it's slowed me down and taught me patience, as it's not a method that can be forced and power added isn't going to improve the casting. Technique is more important to fly casting than strength or power.  Right now, one of the best distance tournament fly casters in the world, is a young girl, who I think is only about 14 years old. 

Keep us informed of your progress and any help I can be for you, feel free to ask! 

[Eric-Maine]

Enjoy,

your starting out pretty well equipped. Remember that you can only catch fish when your fly is in the water. Limit yourself to the distance you can get in 3 false casts and then concentrate on a good retrieve.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

[bigjim5589]

Here you go Rudy!  I can cast pretty good, but not even close to this young lady. She's older than I thought, but she's been tournament casting for several years now.  Of course, her father is also a world class tournament fly caster too, so she had that advantage that most of us don't. 

I had read about her a few years ago.  The point is, she's not a big, powerful person, and fly casting is about the technique. 

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2019/03/maxine-mccormick-is-a-prodigy-and-world-champion-in-the-little-known-sport-of-fly-casting.html

[D.W. Verts]

I love fly fishing for everything. I've done videos (and will do more).

Dale

[BassmanRudy]

Thanks for all the comments/tips- some great stuff!! So cool to see y'alls passion for a different technique not usually used for bass fishing!

I did get a 6 weight as I was told they did better for bass. I could have stayed with a 4 or 5 weight for trout/small stream fish. Literally whatever bites is what I'm going to fish for at first lol!!

[Smallie_Stalker]

It is something I've always had on my to do list but haven't done it yet.

My father was an avid fly fisherman. I still have a couple small boxes and a kit of flies that belonged to him. I'm not really sure what happened to his rods but they likely went to my uncle who was the only other family member I can remember who fly fished.

I do remember him teaching me to tie some flies and those memories will always be there, but I never actually did any fly fishing myself.

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[bigjim5589]

Thanks for all the comments/tips- some great stuff!! So cool to see y'alls passion for a different technique not usually used for bass fishing!

I did get a 6 weight as I was told they did better for bass. I could have stayed with a 4 or 5 weight for trout/small stream fish. Literally whatever bites is what I'm going to fish for at first lol!!

Rudy, I think that the majority of folks who first, have not been around anyone who fly fishes, and second gets into bass fishing with all of what's available with bass tackle & lures, gets the wrong impression about fly fishing, and not just for bass. I've encountered folks on the water, while fly fishing for bass, that told me there's no trout in those waters when they saw I was fly fishing. That's how many view it, simply because that's their perception of the sport of fly fishing. A lot of folks only think of trout when fly fishing is mentioned. Most bass anglers, don't keep up with what's happening in the fishing sports, other than what they do for chasing bass unless they fish for other fish too.

At one time, fly fishing was primarily only used for trout & salmon species, and then some for bass, and in the 40's a few pioneering anglers began fishing in the saltwater. I remember that most of the gear used when I started, for saltwater fly fishing, was just beefed up versions of freshwater gear and back then it was fiberglass being the "modern" material rods were built with.  A lot has changed since then.

Now, fly gear can be very specialized and can cover the entire range of fishing for any species that can be caught by other tackle types. 

It's likely that since you never kept up with bass fishing using fly gear, you didn't realize there's many folks who do it, but no where near as many who use other types of tackle. I've rarely ever saw anyone else fly fishing for bass when I've been on waters that had a lot folks bass fishing there. In talking with some, like with here on UB, they would mention that they had tried it, or only fished for trout, or panfish using fly tackle.  I'm sure there's others here where I live that fly fish for bass, but I haven't met any yet.  I did happen to talk to an older guy one day in the Walmart in town, who was buying a fly outfit. He said that he only fly fishes for bream.

For myself, I was 12 when I got my first fly rod outfit, and badly wanted to catch trout, because of the magazine articles I had read. However, I had more access to water that contained bass and or Striped Bass, and panfish, so I spent a lot more time chasing those fish with fly gear.  I wasn't always very successful either, but looking back now, 56 years later, that taught me a lot about both fly fishing and fishing in general. I've fly fished for trout, but done far more chasing bass with flies than I have trout, so I'm the opposite of a lot of fly anglers.

Right now, there's a lot of very good information available about fly fishing for any fish species.

As for what you've been told about that 6 wt. for bass, opinions on that vary greatly. I prefer to use very large flies, and use heavier fly tackle to cast them, but a lot of folks who fish for bass with fly gear, don't use the heavier tackle. At one time most folks recommended an 8 wt. for bass, but now it seems that more folks want a lighter setup. As I had mentioned, they all have limitations, so it depends on how you want to fly fish for bass. That 6 wt won't cast the flies that I use, but you can certainly catch plenty of bass using a 6 wt outfit. 

How I like to fly fish for bass, is my choice and it's not for everyone. I've caught plenty of bass on flies over the years, but never many big bass, so now I try for bigger fish using bigger flies, and living here near Santee Cooper, these waters have the potential for it.

Otherwise, when I went fly fishing for bass in the past,  I was happy with any that I might hook. 

[big g]

Always wanted to try it for bass and especially peacock bass.  Just never sprang for a fly combo.  Years ago there were two older black guys that fly fished the Alley all day.  I watched them cleaning up on several trips when I was fishing behind them.  They cleaned up on Oscars, and some other bait fish.  A peacock would be one hell of a fight.

[bigjim5589]

Always wanted to try it for bass and especially peacock bass.  Just never sprang for a fly combo.  Years ago there were two older black guys that fly fished the Alley all day.  I watched them cleaning up on several trips when I was fishing behind them.  They cleaned up on Oscars, and some other bait fish.  A peacock would be one hell of a fight.

Years ago, I supplied an outfitter with flies & bucktail jigs for Peacock Bass & other exotics species. He took trips to S. America with his clients to fish for them. In our exchanging information, he told me that they had several Peacock Bass that exceeded 20 lbs, caught on lures, and that was not the biggest they had seen. The problem with chasing them with flies, is that the flies were never big enough to entice the biggest Peacock Bass and some of people who might go, lacked the experience to cast huge flies, and land them that big on fly tackle.  That would be getting into the 11 weight and heavier fly tackle range and they frequently had broken fly rods.

Lou catches some good size Peacocks in S. FL. on lures, and they would certainly be a blast on fly gear and a lot more people could handle them that size.

I've never had the opportunity, never having fished anywhere that they existed, but yes sir, I agree with you, that would be a battle, particularly if using fly gear that many now use for bass!

I think I would rather take my chances with at least and 8 wt for them, than a 6 wt.   

This is a popper fly that I made for that outfitter. The body is 1" diameter, and has two rattles in the body. I used a 7/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Wire 90 degree hook. The jig bend in the hook acts as a kink to secure the body and keep it on the hook. I epoxied the body to the hook and the whole thing is coated with epoxy. As you can see, the hook eye is under the body, which helps when picking it up off the water for casting. You won't cast this popper with a 6 wt, that's for sure. I can cast it with a 10 wt, but it's not always easy and no great distances either.  I sent some to a guy fishing the Chesapeake Bay for Stripers, and he called it a chicken on a hook! 

[big g]

Always wanted to try it for bass and especially peacock bass.  Just never sprang for a fly combo.  Years ago there were two older black guys that fly fished the Alley all day.  I watched them cleaning up on several trips when I was fishing behind them.  They cleaned up on Oscars, and some other bait fish.  A peacock would be one hell of a fight.

Years ago, I supplied an outfitter with flies & bucktail jigs for Peacock Bass & other exotics species. He took trips to S. America with his clients to fish for them. In our exchanging information, he told me that they had several Peacock Bass that exceeded 20 lbs, caught on lures, and that was not the biggest they had seen. The problem with chasing them with flies, is that the flies were never big enough to entice the biggest Peacock Bass and some of people who might go, lacked the experience to cast huge flies, and land them that big on fly tackle.  That would be getting into the 11 weight and heavier fly tackle range and they frequently had broken fly rods.

Lou catches some good size Peacocks in S. FL. on lures, and they would certainly be a blast on fly gear and a lot more people could handle them that size.

I've never had the opportunity, never having fished anywhere that they existed, but yes sir, I agree with you, that would be a battle, particularly if using fly gear that many now use for bass!

I think I would rather take my chances with at least and 8 wt for them, than a 6 wt.   

This is a popper fly that I made for that outfitter. The body is 1" diameter, and has two rattles in the body. I used a 7/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Wire 90 degree hook. The jig bend in the hook acts as a kink to secure the body and keep it on the hook. I epoxied the body to the hook and the whole thing is coated with epoxy. As you can see, the hook eye is under the body, which helps when picking it up off the water for casting. You won't cast this popper with a 6 wt, that's for sure. I can cast it with a 10 wt, but it's not always easy and no great distances either.  I sent some to a guy fishing the Chesapeake Bay for Stripers, and he called it a chicken on a hook! 

Back in the 80's the peacocks were not around yet.  Now there all over the place south of the palm beaches.  South America and Asia have come to us!  I catch peas all the time, but not those huge Amazon ones.

[bigjim5589]

Yep, the growing season there is year round, and plenty of food in the Amazon & similar places of S. America, I'm sure contributes to the sizes there. I recall seeing a fishing show years ago, I think it was Jimmy Houston and some other guys fishing in S. America, and they were talking about how some of the natives attached rope & a huge baited hook to a 55 gallon drum to fish for catfish. They claimed that some of the catfish there, are so big they've been known to pull that drum under and never have it be seen again. Heck, two large 200 lb plus, grown men can sit on a floating 55 gallon drum and not sink it! 

Makes me wonder just how big a Peacock bass there might actually get and if anyone has ever hooked the biggest there!

The Peacocks in FL, are like the Snakeheads in MD. They were there while I still lived in MD, but not as wide spread as they are now. I remember that first story in the news of them being found in a pond, which wasn't too far from where I lived. And supposedly, the DNR irradicated them from that pond.  Now, there in about every body of water in that state, except perhaps some of the coldwater mountain streams in the western part of the state. One of the tidal rivers that I used to fish for bass, is now a hot spot for Snakeheads, and there's some folks using fly gear for them.

A friend of mine there, he fly fishes for them and catches some large ones, over 10 lbs.  I've  never caught any, but bet they're a blast too on fly tackle! 

[Donald Garner]

Rudy, good luck with the fly fishing.  I spent a lot of time fly fishing while I was stationed in Alaska.  It's takes some practice at first till you get the hang of it.  There some really great advice posted here. 

I've never tried fly fishing for bass etc.  But I had a blast with it while living in Alaska.

[apenland01]

Yeah, if you ever fish the quality waters in the San Juan in New Mexico, you'll be using size 27 midges and others, especially in the early morning hours.  Things get huge at size 24 by afternoon lol....

[Blacknredflake]

Been wanting to get one just from those bull bream down here

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[coldfront]

Basic casting isn't difficult, but is different than what you'll be used to doing with other tackle. It's mostly rhythm and timing, and allowing the weight of the line to load the rod.

can't repeat this enough.  it's a feel thing.
but don't worry... it's a heck of a lot easier to learn than skipping docks with a baitcaster!


and frankly, at times, fly rod approach will get you more bites.
I lost my fly rod 'in the divorce'... so I've been holding off getting a new one (or two) as the stuff I WANT feels a little pricey.  that being said, looking at two rods:  6 wt and 8 wt.  ability to go up/down depending on circumstances.

I WILL be fishing mouse flies...

[D.W. Verts]

Dale