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What you're fishing for is going to be more important than the weight of the rod, you'll be able to throw just about any freshwater sized streamer with a 6 wt.

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4" zonker strips for leeches when they get wet starts to slow a 6 wt down a little. But there is more to it than that, like leader configuration, wind and the blank itself. But zonkers absorb a lot of water, tie on a synthetic perch pattern the same size and it will cast fairly easy. I used to tie size 4 4x long streamers pretty regularly to use on my 6 wt rods. Now I tend to tie that size fly on tubes and use my 5 wt rods. Depends on the fly itself, I tie a Marabou Grey Ghost on a size 2 bait hook and it's all marabou fiber hollow body out the back, weighs nothing and catches fish like crazy.. The biggest fly I ever shot out with my 6 wt rods was tandem Grey Ghosts made for trolling ( don't ask, it was in my past life ok). I'd say for a good 20 years I used 6 wt rods for almost everything size 18 even 20 up to the 4" zonkers. That covered my fishing well. I had a 3/4 for small streams which was a small part of my fishing back then.

 

I move to a 7 wt or even 8 for my 5-1/2- 6" perch patterns with reverse tied fibers.

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Wooly buggers, Clousers tied with bead chain, Mrs Simpsons, Blondes, Sparrows, Bucktails i.e., Black nose Dace, Mickey Finn. Anything lightly weighted.

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I'd forget the jointed monster streamers...

 

But you can tie large profile minnow imitations out of feathers or synthetics on #2-4 hooks that will attract the bigger prey fish and shed water in casting . So the limitations are not that significant.

 

Don't forget sculpin patterns.

 

Rocco

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Tough question to answer other then to say light ones with less wind catching properties then others. I fish a 6 and a couple 8 wts for smallmouth. As already said a 4" bunny streamer can be fished with a 6 but I find it less work to use an 8. I pretty much fish the same length Clousers but with different size weight. I can cast them all on a 6 wt but some are more enjoyable to throw on the 8. Not to gum up the answer further but Leader set up and your casting abilities make a big difference to. Unfortunately it's not quite like reading the directions on a spinning rod as far as line weight/lure weight goes.

 

Can't go wrong with a black nose dace or similar streamer on a 6. They are light and not the biggest wind catchers.

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Some of it is going to depend on the line you use as well something like a titan taper is going to throw bigger flys better then a line designed to throw tiny drys with minimal disturbance near the tip.

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Pretty much agree with poopdeck's story, you can get there with a 6wt, but it's hard work for me. The streamers should be chosen first for water type and second for fish type and size. then the line needed to get that fly out there is matched by mass and taper.

So, look at the #6 line, it's 160g spread over the first 30' then goes on to be the same or smaller over the next 60'- so that with a standard line you might be loading 320g at a 60' cast; so lets say that rod can safely handle a line of 300g plus a fly- now that opens up a lot of choices in lines used.The line Vincent suggests is very heavily weighted in the first 10 feet and quickly is reduced to running line just past 30' so acts like a shooting head, a line designed as a shooting head for that rod might have 200g in the first 24' and become running line at that point such as the Teeny's T-200, which is said to be an excellent streamer line. I have lines in many weights and my solution to this is to over line the rod to match the fly if needed. For example standard weight for 30' of #7 is 185g and #8 is 210g and I have used both on a #5 rated rod for short casts of less than 40'- which is about the limit on my creeks anyway. Lining the 6 rod up to 7 or using one of the many lines that weigh 7 and are marked "special taper bla blal 6" or using a heavy shooting head will let you use most any streamer needed in fresh water.

The Mastery Titian #6 is 210g head, meaning it is exactly an 8wt line, a Scagit head recommended for a 6wt. on one site is 20' and 375g which is about a light 12wt, meaning that the rod in that discussion was rated #6 but had 12wt. strength.

This ain't like bait casting where each rod reel and line combo is dedicated to a particular lure (why do they call plugs "bait"?) as fly rod anglers we have virtually unlimited possibilities and combinations. And then there are the leaders and tippets.

 

Older threads that will help (maybe)

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=67456

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=79532

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=79905

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=79905

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=19203

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=19203

 

>

Oh, you can also go the other way and use lesser weights of line if wanted, I used to fish heavy nymphs upstream with only stiff monofilament for fly line per Joe Humphreys on my 8wt, rod, and I have a couple of 'glass rods that do dry flies better with one line wt lighter. The rod rating is a suggestion that the manufacturer thinks might work, it's up each angler to test each rod.

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This is the largest streamer I can comfortably cast with my 6 wgt.

 

post-309-0-13692100-1572880112_thumb.jpg

 

Average size is between 6 and 7 inches. I use it in fresh water and salt water. It's not weighted, tied on a 1/0 hook to 3/0 hook. Materials are buck tail, saddle hackle, spey hackle, estaz and a bit of flash in the tail. I can cast it better with my intermediate line or my sink tip line. Generally my bait fish and streamer patterns run 2 to 4 inches.

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The ability to shed water is also very important. Some materials tend to hold a lot of water, i.e., marabou, zonker strips, Fox tail. Most synthetics shed water better than natural products but lightly tied bucktail is able to shake water well, and genetic hackle is better at getting rid of water than Schlappen or other really webby feathers. You and I are working on some various flies between us and I will definitely keep in mind your plans to use a 6wt. Something like a tightly compacted Dahlberg Diver is a bad idea on a 6 but medium sized cork, balsa or foam poppers or sliders are fine. You can make any rod handle better by going with the right line. tjm is right on about lines but he didn't seem to like the heavily forward biased lines. I have Bass Bug taper lines down to a 7 but don't know if they make it in a 6. I sold a 6wt. shooting head line with built in running line not long ago and I should have tried it on one of my 6 wts to see how it performed but when I go to bass bugging it's with an 8 or 9 wt. with a BB taper.

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