Largies on the fly

[guppieguy]

Hello all! I've been creeping around the forums for a couple weeks now, and figured it was time i join up.

anywho, I've been browsing through the WW section and reading up on all of the different techniques for bass, although smallies seem to be much more sought-after than LM. I have been fly fishing consistently for about a year now, and I really want to start fly fishing for largemouth, which is my biggest targeted fish in the late spring/summer/late summer months. my question is not so much techniques, but setup. I have an 8 Wt. prestige rod that i bought unused off of my uncle for dirt cheap. Ive been using it for steelhead, but i assume that will work for bass also. For leader/tippet, I'm not sure where to go. I plan to fish mainly in lakes/ponds, so weeds/heavy cover will be abundant. I read in one post that 20lb test was used, but that seems pretty overkill to me (but what do i know?). The fish i will be targeting will be anywhere from 12 to 20+ inches. i know that is a broad range, but i'm still not sure if 20lb is too heavy. is there any other tips or tricks that i should be aware of? recently i just haven't been able to get bass on the fly out of my mind...this cold weather is killin' me.

Thanks guys!

-guppie.

 

[Fishidiot]

Hi Guppie,
Welcome to the PAFF forums. Yeah, you're right - smallies are much more popular with the fly fishing (FFing) crowd. Nevertheless, you can have a blast targeting LMs with fly gear. Your 8WT rod will be fine. For most LM fishing, I'd use a leader that is about 7-8 feet in total length - probably tapered to 14lb tippet.....although if you're fishing around weeds and cover (pretty typical for LMs) a 20lb tippet would indeed be a good idea.

 

[boychick]

Guppie,

Welcome. As FI said, 8 wt is a good rod for largemouth. When I fish for largemouth, I normally use an 8 wt, floating line, 9' 2x leader and have 2x and 3x florocarbon tippet. Shorter heavier leaders can be used, but the longer leader and smaller florocarbon tippet make a big difference as you move into the summer and fish begin to get spooky because of low water and fishing preassure. Get a sinking leader or a 6' t8 sink tip to effectivly fish the deeper areas in most ponds and small lakes (you may have to make this by wipping loops into a piece of t8). If you plan to fish deeper waters you'll want a full sinking line on an extra spool. Get or tie some flies with weed gaurds for the weedbeds and lilly pads. Poppers and streamerrs are all you need for flies.

 

[David]

Also depends on the fly you are using. With biegger flies (bulky poppers or long streamers) the heavier leaders will help you turn them over easier on the cast.
For poppers and shallow fishing, I like the heavier, shorter leaders. For fishing a little deeper in open water, I will lengthen my leader and taper it down to a 14-10 lb.

 

[delta_dog]

Guppie an 8wt is the way to go for LM. As far as leaders go don't waste your money buying leaders. Depending on the structure your fishing and the flies your using you will only need a few spools of mono for all your leader setups. If your fishing mostly open water,subsurface weed beds go with 8ft of 8 or 10 lb mono. If your fishing deep weed beds change length to 10-12 ft of Florocarbon. If your fishing surface weeds or around timber with top water or intermediate flies go with 8ft of 15lb mono. If your fishing Big deer hair bugs in heavy cover like bumper to bumper Lilly pads go with 6 to 8 feet of 20 lb mono. Remember the heavier the cover the harder you need to hit them to set the hook and strip like hell to get them out as fast as you can. Good luck guy.

 

[guppieguy]

thanks guys! great input. now only if this weather would warm up....

 

[guppieguy]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but as warm weather approaches I've been putting more thought into this... I think I'm going to go with straight mono leader with 8lbs+ but one questions remains: does my leader have to be tapered or can it just be one solid piece? I'm not sure why not but I'm really not sure

 

[afishinado]

guppieguy wrote:
Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but as warm weather approaches I've been putting more thought into this... I think I'm going to go with straight mono leader with 8lbs+ but one questions remains: does my leader have to be tapered or can it just be one solid piece? I'm not sure why not but I'm really not sure

An untapered 8lb test leader probably won't work well. When fly-fishing you cast the line rather than the lure. The fly line is
tapered to the end and a continuation of taper with the leader (larger diameter turning over smaller diameter line) is needed to turn over a fly, this is especially important given the larger and wind resistant flies used for largemouths. I would suggest a tapered leader 71/2' to 9' long tapered to 12-14lb test or even heavier wouldn't hurt.

A straight leader works for subsurface and with a sink-tip or sinking line where turning over a fly is not important. Even with than, 8lb test is too light. 12-14lb would be the lightest tippet I would use.

 

[guppieguy]

so, if/when i commit to WW fly fishing for bass, i should have a sink tip/fully sinking line with straight 15lb fluro, and and another spool with floating WF line tapered from.... 20 mono/fluro to 12? like 20/15/12 on the end? maybe it would be easier to buy a tapered 0x leader.......

*EDIT: wait shouldn't the taper be on the sinking line to help turn over the larger streamers used? and straight for surface poppers/divers?

 

[afishinado]

guppieguy wrote:
so, if/when i commit to WW fly fishing for bass, i should have a sink tip/fully sinking line with straight 15lb fluro, and and another spool with floating WF line tapered from.... 20 mono/fluro to 12? like 20/15/12 on the end? maybe it would be easier to buy a tapered 0x leader.......

*EDIT: wait shouldn't the taper be on the sinking line to help turn over the larger streamers used? and straight for surface poppers/divers?

Keep it simple. I fish quite a bit for LM on lakes and have helped many to get started FFing.

Get yourself a floating WF line in the proper weight and attach a tapered leader to properly turnover your leader and cast with some accuracy. A store-bought 0x leader 71/2' would work fine with a short tippet of the same diameter. That set-up will work well to turn over surface and shallow running flies.

If you want to fish a little deeper, in place of your tapered leader, you can attach a 7-10' poly leader to the end of your floating line. The poly leader is simply a tapered sink-tip with a 3-4' tippet of 14lb or + straight mono. That would work as your deep rig.

No need to buy other lines and spools and tapers and rigs.... :-?
The above rigs would cost < $20 and should last for seasons to come.