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sniksoh

largemouth rods

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i have a 9ft 5/6 wt rod right now and i love it its perfect for fishing open water with light flies. but this past season i had alot of trouble pulling fish out of weeds and slop with it. also when fishing from the boat the 9 ft rod is a little lengthy. i thought about buying one of the sage bass series but after seeing the price thats out of the question. i am looking for a rod that will cast big flies and horse fish out of cover. i also want it short under 8' would be nice. and i dont want to break the bank buying one.

 

any suggestions?

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A long rod will help with pulling fish. Im acctually looking at a 10 ft. You need a good fast 6wt or 7wt. the length of the sage rod is so it will fit in to tournament specs. Otherwise it has no real purpose

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A long rod will help with pulling fish. Im acctually looking at a 10 ft. You need a good fast 6wt or 7wt. the length of the sage rod is so it will fit in to tournament specs. Otherwise it has no real purpose

 

day5,

 

what do you mean by fast?

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I would say the exact opposite, I prefer a slow action rod. Fast rods are very overrated, they are great for casting a mile, but 98% of the time you are unlikely to be casting past 40 feet. I can cast my 7wt fiberglass Heddon into my backing easily, so that argument is almost null anyway. Stiff rods also break a hell of a lot easier then a fiberglass would. You should get an 8ft 7/8wt vintage fiberglass rod. You can get them for dirt cheap sometimes, and you dont have to worry about being delicate with them since they are made of a virtually indestructible material (well...within reason). They are heavier, but your young and wont have an issue. Plus, it will have more then enough power to turn the head of any bass you encounter (I promise, I use my heavy fiberglass rods for carp fishing, and have never felt like I was not in complete control of the fish).

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I have both, Ross Fly Stik in 10wt and Sage LMB rods. Both are good with the Sage being a much better built rod, while Ross rod is just bare essential component cheap quality wise is ok. Longer rods than 9ft is NOT the way to go as it will not have backbone compared to the shorter lengths especially out of the boat or yak. Neither is having a fast action is better, Your distance is not that much especially with big bulkier flies and is not needed. ;)

Since I picked up the Sage LMB rod I no longer use the Ross much.

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I rock out a sage large mouth rod as well.....I can cast it into the backing with a 4/0 deer hair bass bug on the line...horsing bass out of the weeds is no problem at all with it....It loads very quick and with a double haul cuts threw the wind with ease.....

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In keeping with dafunk5446's point let me say I love fishing for bass with my 7'9" Shakespeare Executive A-848 Wonderod. Even though my casting ability is at best modest, it casts everything from large poppers to Puglisi Baitfish patterns for me with ease. And a lot of people knowledgeable about fiberglass will tell you some of the other available options perform even better.

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If horsing bass out of heavy cover is the primary reason to buy a rod, then buy a 10 wt. The guys who use bait casters will go to heavy rods for such things, and it should be no different with a fly rod. ( I use a 7' 10" X-heavy BPS baitcaster rod/ABU Revo reel with 65 lb braid for heavy cover fishing) I use 4 wt's up to 10 wt's for bass fishing, and use the 10 in heavy cover situations & especially with very large flies. Casting distance is never an issue, since I rarely cast more than 50 ft anyway. Most of my bass fishing is done with a 6 or an 8 wt, but I use the 10 in heavy cover. It's more rod than I need for the size bass I catch most of the time, but for the conditions it works well for me. However, If I ever do hook a big bass, I won't worry about breaking my rod because it's in weeds or slop.

 

 

I also have a couple of fiberglass rods, and enjoy using them for bass. (6 wt & 8 wt)

 

I don't worry about breakage with them and have horsed bass with both of them, even Striped Bass. Much slower actions, but for the distance I cast, it's never an issue. Fiberglass is a good choice for bass angling at short distances. I don't know how anyone controls a big fly in cover at long distances with any weight rod. :dunno:

 

My 10 wt is an older 9' TFO Lefty Kreh Signature rod. If I was looking for a new graphite bass rod at a reasonable price, I would be looking at TFO. Maybe another 8 wt! :)

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You might want to look at the Redington Predator in 8 through 10 weights. It's under 8' and under $200. It's a real gun for throwing big bugs and it was specifically designed for pressuring snook and bass away from cover. I have one in 9 wt. and while it doesn't cast quite as well as either my Smallmouth or my Largemouth, it is a very good big bass rod.

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Casting distance and turning the fly over has less to do with rod length and and more to do with matching a good line. Ive casted the sage bass rods I agree they are rocket launchers but this has nothing to do with the rod length. It has more to do with the line that is specifically made and matched to the rod.

 

A longer rod will allow you to apply more leverage to the fish. Its a longer lever. Rod speed Has to do with its density flex points and taper. I prefer a moderate fast rod to a fast rod. Rod speed is determined by its flex points rigidity and taper. Stiffer/less flex.

 

One other thing is to keep in mind how you fight a fish. I use 8 to 15 pound mono leaders. With a fly rod (one big ass shock absorber!) I can put a lot of heat on a fish with 8 pound leader. I do my fishing from a boat shore and wading with a 6wt 90% of the time. I cast some pretty heavy flies with it. Casting distance is mostly about matching a line to a rod. I do not care how good your cast is if you have a poorly matched line you suck! But that was not your question. Your question was about moving fish from cover. Rod position in key. Increasing the angle on a fish that wants to go deep or down is important. So if they want to dive I lift up same thing goes to if they want to go left my rod goes right. To each thier own I suppose. 99% of the time if I can see cover Im casting at it and in to it. I catch some nice fish here and there. Im not saying my way is the only way but it works for me. There are not many fish that I fear in Michigan with my 6wt. Ive landed steelhead carp salmon pike and a crap ton of bass on it. Granted its not as easy of a fight as it is with my 8wt. But I can say that I land fish faster than most people do with much heavier rod. (mostly because they are dumbasses who think they look cool when they fight a fish for 20 min!) But then again Im not afraid to put the heat on a fish and my gear. Just my opinion...

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If you plan on doing any fishing out of kayak, then dont get anything longer than 8 ft.

 

I've been using my 9'6" 7wt rod from my kayak a lot and have not had too many issues with rod length. The biggest issue is being dragged around every time yu hook a big fish! ;)

 

The rod I have been using is a 9'6" Cabela's Traditional. It's not a real pricey rod, which is why I bought it. The intended use was Erie steelhead, but it quickly became my bass rod, too. It has been a great rod for me, I have no complaints. It has all the backbone I have ever needed on bass, and I have landed several over 3lbs on it. Last fall, I also hooked an 18" smallie on it in the middle of a run on a stream near my house. I had zero issues landing that smallie, and she fought like a cornered pit bull. The Erie steelhead I hooked this past spring didn't give me many fits, either. The length might not be exactly what you want, but make no mistake about it, the rod has plenty of power.

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To each his own I guess. I know a lot of guys who fish from Yaks with 9+ rods. Like most things its the tool for the job that fits you. It unfortunate that it sometimes takes a few hundred dollars of more to find the right tool! But that is the industry's game.

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