I'm a die hard bass fisherman but thought that this year I'd like to try a fly rod for bass fishing.I don't have much knowledge about fly rod and reels so I thought I'd start here..What rod and reel would most of you suggest that I start with , that I won't grow out of in a seasons time.I don't know anything about rod weight, or lenth, or line size ,or for that matter , fly's & lures.I am a true beginner.Would you suggest a kit ? Or maybe buy supplies and build one ??
Thanks in advance
Ken Blevins
"So many questions , so little time "

I would suggest go and check out St Croix's web site. They list rods and blanks by fish. It is a start
I would also say a fast rod like the SCIV searies

Also when you post, you hit the post botton, the error message comes up, hit the back botton, then hit refresh

if you are not up to building a fly rod i might suggest that the TFO (temple fork outfitters) fly rods are getting good reviews on the salt water fly fishing website i visit occasionaly.(dan blantons ) they go anywhere from 149.00 to near 300.00. for 149.00 you might have a hard time building one. it all depends on your budget.
the st croix rods mentioned by bill are a good buy as well. you might consider a 7wt rod for bass maybe 8.
others with more bass fishing experience than me can chime in here. as for reels you can spend anywhere from 50.00 to over 1000.00. as a practical matter i think the pflueger supreme is a good buy at around $50-$60. they are made offshore of course. descent drag (but don't go out and catch 200 bonito on it). good line capacity. i think it would make a good reel for bass. you will have to consider lines as well. be prepared to spend 50 to 60.00 although you can find deals on ebey but you need to know what your are buying. you want a weight forward line (floating for the first one) in abass bug taper. that is designed to turn over the large flies you will be using. later you can get another spool with sinking line or use an add on sink tip. tons of options there and can be very confusing. be careful. fly fishing has a way of @#$%& you in and it can be a money pit.

I do not fish for largemouth bass, but I fish for smallies and stripers. For big scrappy smallies and small stripers, I use a St. Croix 8wt Legend Ultra. If you are fishing for sizeable largemouth, you need an 8wt or higher rod. Additionally, while big deer hair bugs are cool to look at, IMHO, there is not substitute for the Clouser minnow. Plus, it is an easy fly to tie.

When I lived in Minnesota, I did a lot of fly fishing for bass and pike from a float tube. It is really a kick, especially pike in a float tube. I used a 9' 7 weight rod that was a moderate action. I was moving to Montana so I sold that rod and have since built a Forecast 9' 7 weight because I wanted to do some bass fishing here. I haven't found any yet. I can cast 2/0 Dahlberg divers with the rod as far as I need to cast them. A moderate or moderate-fast action rod will do nicely. Look at the new Forecast, Pac Bay Tradition or Rainforest or Amtak Matrix. They're all reasonably priced rods and will do the job. Don't use snake guides. My Forecast is much easier to cast than the old rod was and I believe it's because I used ceramic guides. If you plan to fish from a float tube, a 10' rod is better, but harder to find and more expensive. Use a good locking reel seat. I had my reel come off once in my float tube and it sank right to the bottom. It took a long time to pull it back up.

I use a Cortland 444SL line, very slick and a bit on the stiff side, at least stiffer than my Air Cel Supreme 8 weight line. Most of the manufacturers make a line specifically for bass which helps casting those huge hair bugs. Anybody's line will cost $50-60. The only line I used was a floating line. If I needed to fish subsurface, I attached a 24" leadhead, made by Cortland I think.

I hate to promote anyone who isn't a sponsor here but Bass Proshops has several reels that cost less than $50 that will do the job. You might even want to look at the graphite reels from Cabelas for $20. You don't need a disc drag, a click and pawl drag will work just fine. The one reel I would never recommend to anyone is the old classic Pflueger Medalist. They're built like a tank, but you can't palm the spool when you're fighting a big fish and that's a serious drawback.

Fly fishing for bass isn't the delicate business that trout fishing often is, but it sure is fun!

Ken. It would be helpful to know the average size of your bass and whether you are fishing in cover. Fly rods, like bass rods, come in a very of "powers", but we use a different terminology and classify them by the weight of the matching flyline. Heresy on a rodbuilding board, but I would go to Cabela's website and look at their rod and reel combos. Plan to spend a $150 for the combo. 8 to 9 foot rod. A 7, 8, or 9 "heavy" weight rod is a horse and will take any bass you are likely to catch and pull it into the open. On the other hand your bass tackle will outfish those rods, so you might consider a 4, 5, or 6 "medium" weight for a different experience. A 2,3, or 4 "light" weight is great for sunfish, and you will catch a lot of these with smaller flies. Good for bass to 4 lbs. Fly rods are usually used for top water and to a few feet of depth. Casts are usually 30 to 40 feet, much shorter than you are used to. If you need a flyline, consider a Scientific Angler's "Headstart" rated 1 number higher than your rod. Personally, I would go for the lighter rods since you have the other range so well covered. Then you are ideally situated to catch the little guys and small bass. Try hoppers, small poppers, and wooly buggers.

For bass up to 4 lbs., a 7wt. is fun. Anything larger, and you should consider an 8 wt. And understand, the line wt. you'll be using has more to do with the size flies you'll be throwing than the size of fish. Large bass eat large baits, so if you've got 7-9 lb. bruisers around, you'll likely be throwing giant sheep flies, deceivers, deer hair poppers, etc. These flies need at least an 8 wt., possibly a 9 or 10 wt. to throw comfortably.

That being said, an 8wt. is a good all-around size. Use good ceramic guides and a decent line (I'm fond of Scientific Anglers), and you'll be in business.

Ken,

First off, pick the line weight of the rod based on the flies/bugs you will be casting, not the size of the fish. You could use rods between 7 and 9 weight for Largemouth Bass fishing. If you expect to be fishing mostly large bass bugs, then I would go with a 9 weight. I sometimes use a 7 weight if I am fishing for large bluegills with medium size bugs where I expect to pick up an incidental bass here and there. An 8 weight is a compromise between these extremes.

For reels, the Pflueger Medalist 1495 is an old standby that has been around for years, does the job, can take a beating, and does not cost much. For fly lines the Scientific Anglers Air Cel Supreme2 in a Weight-forward bass bug taper is a good choice.

I wouldn't necessarily buy a kit. Kits tend to come with low-end fly lines to make the price more attractive.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2005 01:09PM by Rob Matarazzo.

thanks for all the information, . The bulk of the bass I catch are around 13-15 inches and smaller with an 5-6-7lb'er mixed in[ once in a blue moon].When you'll talk about rod weight are we talking a about firmness and flex of the rod or line weight.??? I would like to start with a middle of the road outfit .Something around 8' and perhaps a 7 wt or there about and I have no idea of the bait I'm going to use
Again , thanks for the help
Ken Blevins
"So many questions , so little time "

thanks for all the information, . The bulk of the bass I catch are around 13-15 inches and smaller with an 5-6-7lb'er mixed in[ once in a blue moon].When you'll talk about rod weight are we talking a about firmness and flex of the rod or line weight.??? I would like to start with a middle of the road outfit .Something around 8' and perhaps a 7 wt or there about and I have no idea of the bait I'm going to use
Again , thanks for the help
Ken Blevins
"So many questions , so little time "

Are you planning to actually cast real bait with a fly rod? Unless the bait is pretty light, a fly rod is not the right tool. In fly fishing, you're actually casting the line, whatever is attached the end is just going along for the ride. Weight has to do with weight, in grains, of the first 30 feet of fly line. Unless you're actually planning to use flies of some sort, you'll be much better off with a spinning rod or baitcasting rod, fly rods just aren't stiff enough in the tip for that sort of thing.

Ken. If you look at the CCS data site under sponsors you can see exactly how flexible a given rod is. Some rods bend further towards the butt than do others. Powerful rods, like the 7 weight you mention, tend to be built with "fast/stiff" actions (the higher end of the AA). A standard has been set whereby a manufacturor weighs the first 30 feet of fly line. It is then assigned a number. This weight is the equivalent of a lure's weight for a bass rod. We are casting a given weight of line, not a lure [the fly itself weighs relatively little]. Fly line is thick and heavy compared to any size monofilament. So a 7 weight casts a pretty big good weight of line, comparable to a 1/2 ounce lure. A case can be made for a 5 weight being a good all-rounder for bass and trout. Certainly more than enough for a 15" fish, and you already know how that size fish plays on a bass rod rated for 1/2 to 3/4 oz lures. But you really need to know how big a fly you are going to use. A really big bass bug/popper requires a heavy rod to cast efficiently (an 8 would be good here). With a 5 weight, you would stick to smaller poppers/flies. Also, I know you are used to a short rod, but you wouldn't notice the extra foot on a 9 foot rod. I hope this helps.

Ken,

Cabela's has a sweet deal on the prestige combo outfit. I'd recommend the 9' 8wt 4pc. very nice rod, reel, case, line, leader, chest pack, & flies for $169! It's very good stuff (yes it's imported). I don't think you could build a rod and buy all the rest for that price. There is a special satisfaction from building a custom rod though.

Before you dump a bundle of money into epuiptment, you may want to try casting a rod at a local dealer. Some offer casting lessons. It takes time and practice to become a competent caster. A good caster with cheap equiptment can out fish a lousy caster with the best equiptment. Check out local fly fishing clubs for fly fishing buddies whom you can learn alot from.

good luck

Tony