Fly fishing for bass...

[fishinginasuit]

I am thinking of trying to fly fish for bass this year and am need of some advice on where to begin.
I live in eastern PA and would mostly fish the Delaware but also some lake. I've fly fished for trout a bit but have only have done spinning for bass. Currently, I have a 9ft/5wt with floating wt forward line and am wondering if I could use this set-up for bass (primarily smallies) or atleast to give it a try before I go and invest any more in another rod.
Any input would be great.
Thanks much.
Chris

 

[tomgamber]

Go for it...use 3 or 4x tippet and if your rod isn't sufficient you'll find out and you'll have found a nice bass fishery as well. Do those ponds on the south side or your town (google satellite) hold any bass?

 

[fishinginasuit]

Those ponds are actually quarries, as I'm in what's called the Slate Belt, and they are usually on private land and too steep to fish for my taste.
Thanks for the reply.
Chris

 

[tomgamber]

Yeah, could tell the one big one was but couldn't tell the others...either way, you can easily fish for bass with a 5wt as long as you remember its a 5wt and not a big @$$ bassmaster baitcaster.

 

[fishinginasuit]

I checked out flies for bass on the Cabela's site; should I look for more topwater/poppers or diving flies?

 

[tomgamber]

Just start with wooly buggers, streamers and bigger dries like hoppers or stimulators to start with. Unless you tie, there's no need for any extraordinary effort to catching bass.

 

[wgmiller]

I'd have to guess that Clouser minnows would work as well...

 

[tomgamber]

Clousers are great...I used nothing but shenks streamers and buggers for smallies for the longest time...Then I went to camp a few weeks after the beach and found a couple clousers in my box and were great. The smallies really hit them hard too.

 

[sundrunk]

This is more of a tying inquire, but I thought I would tag on..Anyone have any resources on good popper kits...What the way to go..I just bought a new glass rod for bass and a new LRH multiplier reel, now I need some surface flys for large mouth,and smallies..

 

[sapper6]

fishinginasuit,
I have had fun with the smallies wading in the Delaware south of Easton, although it has been a tougher access since the floods wiped out some of the towpath. I think that should be repaired soon though so I recommend you check that out once the water warms up. Also don't ignore the Lehigh. Walnutport isn't far from you and it is easy access to some good smallies.

By the way, sometimes after work I could be 'fishinginasuit", but I always take my tie off!

S6

 

[tomgamber]

sundrunk wrote:
This is more of a tying inquire, but I thought I would tag on..Anyone have any resources on good popper kits...What the way to go..I just bought a new glass rod for bass and a new LRH multiplier reel, now I need some surface flys for large mouth,and smallies..

check out this thread from last year:

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3324&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0

 

[RLeeP]

Mr. Suit: If you don't want to invest in another outfit until you know if you plan get more into bass fishing, one thing that would probably make things a little easier with the outfit you have is to get a WF6F line (doesn't have to be a good one, even a Wally World brand will suffice) and spool that up to use when bass fishing. If you don't have a spare spool, get a cheap reel (again, any dep't store brand will suffice) and put it on there.

Overlining the rod a bit in this way will make casting the bigger flies a good deal easier on your 5 wgt. rod. Use heavier tippet too. Tom suggested 3 or 4X. Personally, I think you can fish 2X and even 1X and it matters very little if at all to the bass, so long as the tippet isn't an overmatch for the fly size and makes it drift unnaturally.

 

[fishinginasuit]

sapper6,
I have never waded below Easton; however I have a number of times above Easton with the spin rod. Where abouts do you access below Easton?

 

[sundrunk]

Thanks Tom,

Lots of info..I took notes. I thought I would use an older glass 8' #6 weight to throw them poppers, but I may need a heavier rig.

 

[JasonS]

IMO a 9'5wt would be fine fishing for bass on a stream, but on the delaware I think you're gonna find you brought a knife to a gun fight. I fished the delaware all last year with a 9'6wt that was overlined with 7wt wf floating line, and I was really pushing the rods limits casting heavy weighted clouser minnows and crayfish patterns. The thing about the delaware is that there always seems to be wind, so not only is your rod gonna be light for the flies you'll be throwing, but you'll also be dealing with wind, which could leave you frustrated. I know there were days last year that I just sat along the river and watched my buddy fish because the wind was too much for 6wt. A couple months ago I got a new 9'8wt specifically for smallie fishing on the susqy, big D and the skuke. While I'm not trying to discourage you fishing your 5wt on the big D, I'm just warning you that unless it's a perfectly calm day, you're gonna have casting issues. As far as flies, check out the "Yanks Assassin". They sell them at cabela's. This fly was created by a guy down in West Chester, PA. I guess you could call him my fly fishing mentor. These flies are absolute smallie killers.

 

[sandfly]

I have always used a 8wt on the "D" never know when you hook a striper or walleye or big channel cat. For the local streams a 5 or 6 wt are fine for the smaller fish..don't forget the delaware water shed is known for hellgramites compared to crawfish..I found a ratio of 6/2 on most streams..East branch of the perk has a nice pop. of smallies too, near sellersville. go with clousers, hellgies(skiltons) poppers, nymphs, buggers, and you should be fine.Take a few clouser crayfish too as smallies love em..wt. forward lines and 8 ft. leaders down to 4x works well. on the "D" a muddler fished in the film and "V" waked works well on the big tiger trout as well..

 

[fishinginasuit]

So will a floating fly line work? I'm guessing that I should just use a longer leader.

 

[tomgamber]

Shorter, thicker leader for me...floating is fine.

 

[shakey]

yes,a floating line works great.as someone above suggested you might want to overline with a six weight line.i sometimes even use cheap level lines for bass fishing on smaller streams.

i find a top water fly such as a gartside gurgler ,deer hair bug,or cheap popper(i make my poppers with corks from a craft store)with a nymph or small streamer hanging a foot or two off of it to be effective.i sometimes simply use gaudy or oversized trout flies for bass.

if you do want to get a bass rig for cheap i can suggest vintage fiberglass can be had for very little money.i have bought glass rods for as little as two dollars and have gotten a shakespeare wonder rod in 7wt and st croix glass 8wt(nice for bass)for under $20.

 

[ErnieBall]

floating line will work fine --- dont forget to use clousers and buggers