With the Texas Winter drawing closer :rolleyes:, I would like to wrap a fly rod (my first). The intended purpose would be for bass fishing. I kind of favor light tackle, but am needing a rod that will "cast" bass flies. (I caught a 4-5 lb. catfish on a 3wt. 7-6 fly rod. That was a blast.)

So, what weight rod would you suggest? Of course if you have some recommended fly patterns that I can learn to tie that would be okay too.

I assume you're talking about largemouth bass. If that's true, most bass bugs are pretty bulky, many being tied with deer hair. To "cast" those things, you need something a lot stouter than a 3 weight. I use a 9' 7 weight for bass fishing. I need the length because I fish from a float tube. You might be able to get by with a 6 weight if your bugs are tied somewhat smaller than most of the books and recipes call for, but it can be pretty tiring. With the 7 weight, I can cast a fairly large deer hair bug 40 feet or more. The rod I use is Forecast, with ceramic guides. I used a spinning guide as the stripper and ceramic fly guides for the rest. If was building it again, I would use all spinning guides, but I don't have a real reason for that other than preference and I like to make to make the "fly cops" nuts.

There's a really good video about making deer hair bugs, but I can't remember the name of it right now. I'll find it and let you know. Watching it was a revelation for me after turning out really bad bugs prior to watching it. I believe the guy who did it is named Chris Helm, but I could be way off.

Largemouth bass and Northerns are a real kick on a fly rod, almost as much fun as Carp.

Have fun.

I would make a 7 wt. rod in a 9' or 9-1/2' length. That will help you throw big, heavy and/or wind resistant flies without too much trouble. And you'll still feel plenty of fight in a 7 weight with those big bass you get down there in Texas! As for flies, I know what my smallmouth like up here in Michigan: wooly bugger, crayfish, clouser minnows, foam hoppers, Turk's tarantula, and an assortment of other dry flies when the hatches are going on. Probably your best bet is to talk to a fly shop and pick their brain as to the "must have" flies for your neck of the woods.

Another vote for a 9' 7 wt. for bass assuming you're going to be throwing some of the larger wind resistant bugs talked about above. Many actually prefer an 8 wt for this type of thing which might be more forgiving if it is windy or you really want to reach out there.

As one Texan to another, don't need that big a gun. A 5 weight will work just fine. I spin my own hair bugs too. I favor a marabou muddler or one of those synthetic popper bodies with a wide gaped hook and weedguard. Say a #2 hook. A girdle bug works well with all black with rubber legs, about an 8. I caught a 5 lb. in Colorado on a 9 foot, 3 weight when nymphing for trout in a stock pond. Remember, most bass are in the 12" range, unless you are on one of the trophy lakes.

I agree with Don that unless you are fishing where you absolutely have to be able to horse huge fish away from heavy cover quickly, it's a lot more fun to fish with a 5 or 6wt. rod. Just make sure the front taper on your fly line is short - either buy it that way or cut off the front part of a trout taper line - and it will turn over a big fly easily with a short, stout leader. A lot of people make the mistake of using too long of a leader for heavy bass flies. Keep the front taper of the line short and fast and keep the leader short and you can easily turn over a huge fly. I learned this from Bob Clouser - the leaders he had us using were never longer than about 6.5' and often as short as 4'. Even 12" bass are a lot of fun on fly tackle, and in Texas, that's probably a 1-year old fish. Ought to be plenty of those around. Have fun.

I was thinking that a 5wt. would be more fun. If I'm after big fish, I have the baitcasting tools for that. I flyfish to do something different.

Hey Sean, if you want a specific suggestion for the first fly rod, one that will not only throw a 5 or 6wt. line well for bass, but also be good for 3 or 4wt. line if you want to fish more delicately for trout, try out the Five Rivers FT863-4 blank from Dan Craft. I have one and use it for just about everything with 3-7wt. lines. It has a soft enough tip that you can easily cast off the tip with a light line but it has plenty of power to send a 5 or 6wt. line a good ways effortlessly using the impressive amount of power in the mid and butt sections. I even built a short, extra handle section on a piece of scrap blank to give me a short, versatile rod as well. In 5 pieces, I basically have 2 rods that will handle about any freshwater situation I am likely to fish in. I feel certain that the FT904-4 and FT905-4 could be used the same way, although I don't have personal experience with those blanks yet on the water.

Of course, this is just one of hundreds of possibilities. But I mention it in case you only plan to have 1 fly rod. It's the most versatile fly rod I have come across so far and I have built and fished a lot of different ones. It is also extremely reasonably priced compared to other high quality blanks. Extremely straight, with excellent ferrule fit and finish. As your first fly rod project, Dan would be a very helpful and patient person to buy your components from too.

Steve