fishfinder401 Posted June 11, 2018 Report Share Posted June 11, 2018 I have been playing around with fly fishing for a decent amount of years but mostly jsut small bass and decent bluegills, but after this 4.5lb bass on my 5wt I am really hooked! Any tips on attracting hits from these larger fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted June 11, 2018 Report Share Posted June 11, 2018 Nice bass. I'll leave the advice to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidDkivahh Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Well for starters you want bigger Bass keep up the fishing after dark . Not knowing if you're a fly tyer or not so I'll reframe from mentioning specific flies or bugs. But you can do far worst than have a few deer hair poppers and divers . Some wooly buggers some streamers like marabou muddlers black ghosts and such. One thing I'd give serious thought to would is getting a heavier outfit . A five weight is a bit light to throw the type of offerings needed to tempt the big ones . A heavier outfit will certainly easier to land bigger fish. Said outfit need not be expensive either . The rod of appropriate line weight ( I'd go with an 8 weight ) . The reel large enough to hold the line and some backing . Most of the time your going to be hand lining the bass in anyway . The line would be the only thing I wouldn't want to go cheap on . To sum it up a rod with the back bone to move fish out of cover and cast air resistant larger offerings . A good line to cast said bugs and a reel large enough to hold it all. Parting thought a 5 weight can and will get the job done , A larger outfit can and will make the process easier , My largest bass on the fly was 71/2 pounds on a 3 weight . To be honest it was dumb luck I landed her . But it's not what I'd suggest as a go to for large mouths . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCH Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 What I don't know about bass fishing could fill a couple of books. Having said that, I once read a good tip in trying to find big fish - imagine you were the biggest, baddest mofo in the river and could pick any place to hang out, where would that be? Fish there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooleen74 Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Pretty much everything Kid mentioned, bigger rod bigger line, bigger flies, and you can mix it up with intermediate or sinking depending on where you hang out. Not during the summertime low and slow is the name of the game, a good budget minded 8wt I use is the TFO , it replaced a very expensive 8wt that met its end in a ceiling fan (Orvis Hydros from outlet) and with an int. line it does all i want for SMB, LMB and Pike. Nice bass bet that was fun on a 5wt. One last thing, if you go for bigger fish do everyone a favor and use line appropriate for the fish so you don't play it to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfinder401 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 6 hours ago, KidDkivahh said: Well for starters you want bigger Bass keep up the fishing after dark . Not knowing if you're a fly tyer or not so I'll reframe from mentioning specific flies or bugs. But you can do far worst than have a few deer hair poppers and divers . Some wooly buggers some streamers like marabou muddlers black ghosts and such. One thing I'd give serious thought to would is getting a heavier outfit . A five weight is a bit light to throw the type of offerings needed to tempt the big ones . A heavier outfit will certainly easier to land bigger fish. Said outfit need not be expensive either . The rod of appropriate line weight ( I'd go with an 8 weight ) . The reel large enough to hold the line and some backing . Most of the time your going to be hand lining the bass in anyway . The line would be the only thing I wouldn't want to go cheap on . To sum it up a rod with the back bone to move fish out of cover and cast air resistant larger offerings . A good line to cast said bugs and a reel large enough to hold it all. Parting thought a 5 weight can and will get the job done , A larger outfit can and will make the process easier , My largest bass on the fly was 71/2 pounds on a 3 weight . To be honest it was dumb luck I landed her . But it's not what I'd suggest as a go to for large mouths . I am not good at tying flies yet but i have played around with tying them, currently i mostly use some midsize foam head poppers and a range of wooly buggers how large should i go with fly size? i actually do have a heavier outfit, think it is a 9 weight although i am thinking of building something around 7 or 8 weight though, i just enjoy using the 5 weight more and usually fly fish more open areas, or at least not heavy cover areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfinder401 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 19 mins ago, scooleen74 said: Pretty much everything Kid mentioned, bigger rod bigger line, bigger flies, and you can mix it up with intermediate or sinking depending on where you hang out. Not during the summertime low and slow is the name of the game, a good budget minded 8wt I use is the TFO , it replaced a very expensive 8wt that met its end in a ceiling fan (Orvis Hydros from outlet) and with an int. line it does all i want for SMB, LMB and Pike. Nice bass bet that was fun on a 5wt. One last thing, if you go for bigger fish do everyone a favor and use line appropriate for the fish so you don't play it to death. oh it was a lot of fun, but if i had thought there was a possibility of hooking something that size on a fly there i would have used my heavier setup, my next largest bass on fly up until then was like 1.5 or so, but this fish opened my eyes to the fact that the larger fish at this location will actually go after flies, and don't worry, i'm not using a light tippet or anything where i would have to play the fish out too long, i do love light tackle, but know the difference between light enough to make things fun and too light where its detrimental for the fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theflyguy Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Well I personally think a 8wt for SMB or LMB is overkill. I fish for stripers with a 8 wt biggest landed on it was a far 42 close to 30 lbs and many 20 lbs. A 6 or a 7 is the biggest I would go for the SMB and LMB just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. I use my 6wt generally for bass throws all you need to catch 5 lb bass. Pike a 8 or 9 with a small bite tippet will be best but pike get much bigger. Fishing at night or low light is best when targeting big fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooleen74 Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I like the 8 wt because I throw pretty much only a Airflo Int. line, ive used 6wts and found that they died a bit , and like you mentioned, I am also hooking up on Pike so it covers all the bases a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidDkivahh Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 3 hours ago, fishfinder401 said: I am not good at tying flies yet but i have played around with tying them, currently i mostly use some midsize foam head poppers and a range of wooly buggers how large should i go with fly size? i actually do have a heavier outfit, think it is a 9 weight although i am thinking of building something around 7 or 8 weight though, i just enjoy using the 5 weight more and usually fly fish more open areas, or at least not heavy cover areas. If you're going to continue with the 5 weight I'd keep the bugs around size 6 . More for ease of casting . With your 9 you can pretty much use anything you'd care to throw . The bonus with the 9 would be much easier to handle the larger fish you seek. If your thinking of building a rod I've always had a soft spot for the 8 weight. I wouldn't sweat being an expert at tying . Whipping up some Gurglers or simple deer hair bugs like say a Tapp's bug aren't overly difficult . Remember the Bass are the only critics I'm out to please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfinder401 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 2 mins ago, KidDkivahh said: If you're going to continue with the 5 weight I'd keep the bugs around size 6 . More for ease of casting . With your 9 you can pretty much use anything you'd care to throw . The bonus with the 9 would be much easier to handle the larger fish you seek. If your thinking of building a rod I've always had a soft spot for the 8 weight. I wouldn't sweat being an expert at tying . Whipping up some Gurglers or simple deer hair bugs like say a Tapp's bug aren't overly difficult . Remember the Bass are the only critics I'm out to please. ill probably use a combination of the 2 rods and have them set up for different things, and yeah i feel 8 may be just about right for some of the larger flies i will throw, the 9 just seems a little overkill for my needs(got it years ago before i knew better) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidDkivahh Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 10 mins ago, fishfinder401 said: ill probably use a combination of the 2 rods and have them set up for different things, and yeah i feel 8 may be just about right for some of the larger flies i will throw, the 9 just seems a little overkill for my needs(got it years ago before i knew better) That 9 would make for good Striper or Bluefish rod if your so inclined . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfinder401 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 2 mins ago, KidDkivahh said: That 9 would make for good Striper or Bluefish rod if your so inclined . i was thinking that myself, might try it at some point this year, just need to find some decent spots to fly fish for them around me(still learning how to catch them in general haha) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted June 13, 2018 Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 If he's in an area that holds pike, an eight weight would be very nice. Even a seven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfinder401 Posted June 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 13 mins ago, BrianBM said: If he's in an area that holds pike, an eight weight would be very nice. Even a seven. I have never tried for them but I do know if a lake in the area with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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