Gear help

[oracle 0]

Ok after watching several videos of people fishing poppers i am starting to relize that i might be using too light of a rod.I am using a 5wt right now.My question for you out there is what is the optimal wt rod for fishing for bass and gills.Those are the only two target fish im after.I need something to be able to turnover deerhair poppers and leaches but still usable for nymphs for gills.So is my rod right or wrong size if wrong what you you suggest.

[flytire 0]

for MY personal style of fishing for gills and bass, i use a 9 ft 6wt. more than once ive caught a bluegill, only to be eaten by a hungry 3 pound bass.

 

[sniksoh 0]

same here 9 ft 6wt

[David Legg 0]

I always used a 9 ft 6 wt as well. If you are tossing particularly large flies, you might do better to go up. My 8 wt can carry a large fly much better, but I don't use it that often.

[smalliestalker 0]

I use a 9ft 6 weight, if it's windy I use a 9ft 8 wt.....a lot of the time when I'm going for just panfish I actually use a 4 wt.....caught plenty of bass on that as well....if you use a little heavier fly line on your 6 wt, and a shorter more stout leader, you can turn over big deer hair bugs with no problem....

[deeky 0]

I have been using two rods -

 

4 wt. for the pannies. I can fish nymphs to panfish poppers without any problem.

7 wt. for bass. The big deerhair flies are just so much easier, and most of my subsurface stuff is bunny strips and bigger streamers that the 4 wt. just won't carry without too much work on my part.

 

I just finished a 5 wt. rod that is waiting rather impatiently to be used. This will carry the panfish flies in windier conditions, but I have a box of smaller, more sparse streamers and zonkers for bass that it should be able to carry just fine.

 

I think if you really are serious about both bass and gills, another, probably heavier rod is in your future, especially if you want to throw the bigger flies. Look at it like hunting. You COULD use the same, mid-range rifle for both deer in the woods and gophers in your yard, but most definitely not the best option.

 

Deeky

[atroutbum2 0]

You got to realize in flyfishing, its the rod that throws the line, and the line pulls the fly along for the ride., and the bigger ,more air resistant the fly, the heavier the weight of the line needed to pull it thru the air.

 

Depending on th size of the fly, i use either my 6wt or my 8wt

[David Legg 0]

if you use a little heavier fly line on your 6 wt, and a shorter more stout leader, you can turn over big deer hair bugs with no problem....

 

That's true with some reservation... A heavier line will load the rod great on short casts, and that's probably great for most bass fishing. It can be a bit awkward on longer casts. I use a weight up on my 6 for short casts on rivers or still water with heavy cover close in behind me, in places that I don't wade. I can double haul from a short backcast for a reasonable cast in situations that elude me with a normal weight line.

[dafunk5446 0]

4 wt. for the pannies. I can fish nymphs to panfish poppers without any problem.

7 wt. for bass. The big deerhair flies are just so much easier, and most of my subsurface stuff is bunny strips and bigger streamers that the 4 wt. just won't carry without too much work on my part.

 

I just finished a 5 wt. rod that is waiting rather impatiently to be used.

 

I agree with deeky, if I am specifically targeting bass with poppers I use a 7. However, don't always worry about chucking huge stuff for bass. I typically take a 4 weight out and catch lunkers on winged wets, or swimming nymphs. Our catch and release bass ponds see a lot of action, so the big guys are very weary of any thing closely resembling a lure.

 

Also deeky, I know exactly what your talking about! I have built a new 2wt, 3wt, and 4wt this winter and I am almost ready to start pulling my hair out in anticipation.