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what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:09 pm
by lil_man72
just wandering what everyone else is using. i'm looking at getting another fly setup for bass fishing. i used to have an 8, 6, 4, and a 3 wt. at various times. i always found the 3 or 4 the funnest. this time around i'm thinking 2,3,or 4.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:53 pm
by steve1206
It depends on which flies and what size of fish your dealing with. I have gotten away from it for the most part, but I taught myself how to fly fish when I was in 7th or 8th grade, throwing popping bugs in ponds on a 7 wt. I have also thrown a 5,6,and 8 wt. if you are using wind resistant poppers, a 7 or 8 works well. If you are mostly stripping streamers, you could go down to a 5 or 6, but if you're dealing with bigger fish, I see no need. It can be a fine line between fun and over stressing warm water wish by going too light. In summary, IMO, I see 6 as the light side and 8 as the higher side, unless you were dealing with heavier cover like grass, or huge/heavy flies....but opinions may vary.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:21 am
by Mattman
I use an 8wt.

I love fishing big, and you need a heavy line for that. Especially in the wind.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:19 am
by DUZBASS
I use a 6wt for smallmouth and usually an 8 for lmb, its all about handling the flies and the cover the fish are in.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:25 pm
by snowbass15
Normally a 7wt which is great for smallies and lmb. I have used a 9wt around really heavy cover but its a bit of overkill.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:31 am
by CaptBob
7wt great for SM and LM as long as your not fishing to heavy of cover.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 12:50 pm
by Seph
I use a 6 weight and an 8 weight.

The 8 weight for larger topwater deerhair bugs. The 6 weight for everything else.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 6:03 am
by antoywkr578
I know one one that use a 6wt for Micropterus dolomieu and frequently associate degree eight for lmb, its all concerning handling the flies and also the cowl the fish area unit in.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 5:42 am
by floriano
I use fiberglass rod to cast flies that make a bump in the line : fiberglass absorb this bump and is way more comfortable than graphite. It loads much more easily than graphite rods. I have a custom rod that I built on a 686 Epic blank (8'6 line 6) that is the best rod I've used with small streamers and bugs. If I would use bigger flies, a 7 or 8 line will be better. I use a 10 line for enormous pike flies.

Trying a good modern fiberglass rod, not too long (8' or 8'6), for throwing quite heavy flies is a pleasant experience. It's difficult to go back to graphite after that !

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 11:28 am
by Bryin
4 or 1 weight... it's all ul... all the time..

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:57 pm
by FishGirl71
I'm pretty new to fly fishing - I did it a bit as a kid, but am just getting back into it. I just picked up a 5/6 weight rod. From what I'm seeing here that might be too light for bass fishing? I wanted to start somewhere, so I thought I would start with that. I guess I'll see how it works and adjust from there. Good info. here. Thanks!

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 4:45 am
by Randingo
FishGirl71 wrote:I'm pretty new to fly fishing - I did it a bit as a kid, but am just getting back into it. I just picked up a 5/6 weight rod. From what I'm seeing here that might be too light for bass fishing? I wanted to start somewhere, so I thought I would start with that. I guess I'll see how it works and adjust from there. Good info. here. Thanks!
It really depends on what you're throwing, the kind of cover, and the size of the fish. Big wind-resistant deer hair bugs are going to be tough to throw on a 5/6, and if you're fishing in heavy cover, you may not have the pulling power to get a good fish out. That being said, a 6 weight is my go to in rivers and most ponds for bass. I either fish smaller bugs, which is great because bluegills are suicidal in their enthusiasm for bugs and will keep you smiling between bass, or I accept the limitations of what I can do with a big bug on the lighter outfit. Being able to throw a tight loop will get even a fairly bulky fly out 40-45 feet, and you rarely need more. Don't even think about using trout leaders for bass bugs and bigger streamers. If you want to buy something commercial, use saltwater leaders or bass leaders. Otherwise, get something relatively stiff like Maxima and tie five feet of 20# to 3 feet of 10-12# and you'll be fine. The stiff line helps turn over the bulky flies. You could tie up a more complex leader, but there's no real need to do so. 5 and 6-weight fly rods are pretty much the jack of all trades. They're also perfect for learning. Fish what you have for a while and then see what's else you want to do.

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:29 am
by FishGirl71
Randingo wrote:
FishGirl71 wrote:I'm pretty new to fly fishing - I did it a bit as a kid, but am just getting back into it. I just picked up a 5/6 weight rod. From what I'm seeing here that might be too light for bass fishing? I wanted to start somewhere, so I thought I would start with that. I guess I'll see how it works and adjust from there. Good info. here. Thanks!
It really depends on what you're throwing, the kind of cover, and the size of the fish. Big wind-resistant deer hair bugs are going to be tough to throw on a 5/6, and if you're fishing in heavy cover, you may not have the pulling power to get a good fish out. That being said, a 6 weight is my go to in rivers and most ponds for bass. I either fish smaller bugs, which is great because bluegills are suicidal in their enthusiasm for bugs and will keep you smiling between bass, or I accept the limitations of what I can do with a big bug on the lighter outfit. Being able to throw a tight loop will get even a fairly bulky fly out 40-45 feet, and you rarely need more. Don't even think about using trout leaders for bass bugs and bigger streamers. If you want to buy something commercial, use saltwater leaders or bass leaders. Otherwise, get something relatively stiff like Maxima and tie five feet of 20# to 3 feet of 10-12# and you'll be fine. The stiff line helps turn over the bulky flies. You could tie up a more complex leader, but there's no real need to do so. 5 and 6-weight fly rods are pretty much the jack of all trades. They're also perfect for learning. Fish what you have for a while and then see what's else you want to do.

Thanks for all the info.! I'm looking forward to getting out there soon and giving it a try. One of the local fly shops is opening back up for the season next week and I will definitely go talk to the owner there, as well. Thank you so much for your answer!

Re: what weight do you use for bass?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:01 pm
by jamesdta
I use an 6wt but just picked up an 8wt Redington VICE for largemouth and beach fishing. Looking forward to see how it compares casting mouse flies vs my 6wt.