Rod and Reel for Large mouth and smallies

[nomad_archer]

What weight/length rod do you recommend for large mouth and smallies. I would like to be able to fish ponds, lakes, rivers, and large streams. Would a 9' 6wt be appropriate?

I have a 4wt clearwater/battenkill combo I use for trout and really like the rod. I am thinking a TFO from cabelas, a cabelas threeforks, or possibly another clearwater combo since I have a 20% off coupon for a rod/reel combo at orvis. Should I be considering something else. I am trying to keep costs down. As the temperatures are rising I'm starting to feel that I should leave the trout alone and start chasing the bass. Heck while we are at it what fly patterns should I be looking at for bass.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bamboozle]

You will get differing opinions but line size is most relative to the size fly you intend to throw, not the fish as bass can be landed on a 2wt.

Since I don't fish as large flies for Smallmouth, I can get away with a 9'0" 6wt or a 9'0" 7wt however my go-to rod used to be an 9'0" 8wt.

When I fish for Largemouth and use big poppers, hair-bugs or heavy flies it's an 9'0" 8wt.

Can you cast the same big flies with a 6wt...sure but it's not a lot of fun, especially if you want to cast far.

If I was buying one rod for Smallies & Largemouth I'd buy an 8wt, MAYBE a 7wt. I prefer a 9'0" rod but some like shorter rods.

If I had the resources for two rods I'd buy a 6wt & an 8wt.

Good luck!

 

[MKern]

I recently built a smallie rod and I decided on the 8wt. In my mind, the 8wt. can toss every size fly.

 

[goblue20]

I was in a similar position recently wanting a setup specifically for Smallies. I ended up going with a 9'0 7 wt. Looked at quite a few different options before finally narrowing it down.

I was looking for a quality setup that would come in at 500 or under. For the rod, I came down to the Orvis Clearwater and the TFO Clouser. I actually liked both, but the Clearwater felt better and was much lighter.

For reels I came down to the Sage 2280 and an Orvis Hydros SL. I ended up going with the Sage, but the Orvis is a littler nicer IMO. Just a little pricier as well so the Sage helped me stay under budget. They both fit the bill though and the Sage is still a nice reel too.

Since I'm fishing topwater stuff right now I went with SA Titan Taper floating line. Super nice. I'll add another spool with SA Sonar Clear Tip Intermediate line for streamer fishing before the fall. Rio Outbound Short is another good option for an intermediate line if you're going that route first. I don't fish anywhere that I really need a sink tip, but I know some guys do. Definitely spend the money for a quality line.

I also had the 20% Orvis coupon. Think for the Clearwater, Sage and SA line I came in at around 400 bucks. Somewhere in that neighborhood anyways. Definitely happy with the setup so far. Biggest things I've thrown so far are Swinging Ds and deer hair frogs, but I haven't had any issues.

I'm sure other guys can help you with patterns too, but subsurface I like the Swinging D, drunk and disorderly and sculpin patterns. Havent tied up any feather game changers yet but they're on my list. Topwater I've been using boogle bugs and umpqua frogs.

Good luck with your search!

 

[poopdeck]

I tried tossing poppers and weighted flys on a 6wt. On a perfect day it was okay. On a windy day it was not fun. With larger poppers and streamers it was not fun. I opted for a TFO 8wt with two cabelas reels one loaded with a intermediate sink shooting head (which I really like) and one spooled with WFF. It will cast everything I throw with ease and can handle my back bay saltwater needs. Much more enjoyable to fish on the river.

 

[nomad_archer]

Its really sounding like an 8wt is the best way to go. Now to choose the rod and length.

 

[Dave_W]

For both species of bass, you'll definitely want an 8WT.

I prefer 7WTs for river SMBs, but with LMs you'll be throwing bigger flies and fishing around more sticks and weeds. An 8WT would be the ticket.

It's always better to be a bit overgunned than under.
8WTs are among the most versatile rods and can do river SMB duty just fine (they're even handy for hucking big streamers for big river trout) as well as covering a good bit of saltwater.

 

[podflyguy]

I put together a bass/big streamer setup this winter and went with a 9' 8wt for versatility as well. I wanted something that could handle the occasional saltwater trip (bonefish, redfish, resident stripers), but would primarily be used for river smallies in the summer and tossing a sinktip in the spring and fall for trout. So far I've been very pleased.

Goblue20, are you using the wavelength Titan or mastery series on your bass setup?

 

[goblue20]

I'm fishing the wavelength titan.

 

[podflyguy]

Thanks. I've been deliberating over a floating line for smallies. Seems as though many prefer the Titan to rio's smallmouth bass line.

 

[Bamboozle]

The Wavelength Titan is like the Rio Clouser, designed for big heavy flies on really fast rods and seriously overweight AFTMA-wise.

If you don't plan to fish big-heavies for smallies or want to aerialize a lot of line, you might not like it.

I'm fishing a 6wt Rio Smallmouth line on a 6wt BIImx (very fast rod) with small to medium sized flies for smallmouth and I couldn't be any happier.

I used to fish an 8wt Clouser Line on a similar 8wt outfit and hated it. It was too much line weight and too aggressive a taper for anything but the biggest heaviest flies and it totally sucked for presentation when anything smaller was the order of the day like White Flies.

Of course YMMV.

 

[goblue20]

I was between the wavelength titan and the Rio smallmouth taper. I'm moving back to Michigan this fall, so my setup was geared towards that. I went through Mike Schultz at Schultz Outfitters, and the way I understood things was the wavelength is supposed to be more powerful and better for short distances, where as the Rio smallmouth is less powerful but better at long distances. These guys simply own the Smallie waters back home, so I went with a combination of their recommendations and what felt the best to me. Most of the river fishing I'll be doing in MI isn't going to require a lot of super long casts.

I've only fished the setup for about a month, but so far so good. Mostly casting boogle bugs and deer hair frogs. I haven't had any problems with weight or presentation yet. I'm sure they're both quality lines though. Just different strokes.

 

[Bamboozle]

That makes sense because that was my experience with the similar Clouser line, great for short casts with heavy or wind resistant stuff, abysmal for any cast over 50 feet.

Most of my Smallie fishing benefits from longer casts (60+ feet) since I wade fish exclusively, so I went with the Rio Smallmouth.
Different strokes indeed...

 

[goblue20]

I could see where the Rio line would fit better for what you're doing. Good to know it casts well at longer distances though. I'll have to keep that in mind.

 

[SteveG]

I'll give a slightly different answer, and recommend choosing a rod that cats a 7 or 8wt line how you like. You may find that you like how a particular 6wt rod casts a 7wt line.

My current smallie, and larger trout streamer setup, is a 6wt saltwater rod, and reel spools hold a 7wt floating and Teeny sinking line (don't recall the exact grains). I don't throw large poppers, so I don't feel the need for an 8wt. Don't be afraid to try a rod that's over-lined.

 

[nomad_archer]

Thanks for all the great info guys. I am still deciding what I want to do for bass.

 

[Six-Gun]

Bamboozle wrote:
You will get differing opinions but line size is most relative to the size fly you intend to throw, not the fish as bass can be landed on a 2wt.

Since I don't fish as large flies for Smallmouth, I can get away with a 9'0" 6wt or a 9'0" 7wt however my go-to rod used to be an 9'0" 8wt.

When I fish for Largemouth and use big poppers, hair-bugs or heavy flies it's an 9'0" 8wt.

Can you cast the same big flies with a 6wt...sure but it's not a lot of fun, especially if you want to cast far.

If I was buying one rod for Smallies & Largemouth I'd buy an 8wt, MAYBE a 7wt. I prefer a 9'0" rod but some like shorter rods.

If I had the resources for two rods I'd buy a 6wt & an 8wt.

Good luck!

^^This.

I have used a 6-weight setup for bass, and while it does work and is perfectly fine for fighting even larger fish, it's definitely what I would consider to be "on the fringe." As soon as conditions are less than ideal (to include even mildly elevated wind gusts) it starts falling short for casting. Get into heavier flies, and it suffers even more.

A good 8-weight is going to offer a lot more power and versatility for throwing anything from Clouser minnows to large poppers with much more ease. I personally use an 10', Helios 2 in 8-weight for all manner of bass and crappie. With some heavy, SA Anadro line, it does extremely well chucking the big stuff, even in elevated wind.

 

[DocPow]

I decided on 7wt. Several reasons, actually, and beyond the scope of the question... mostly I want some versatility.

I am using a TFO BVK 7wt 9ft and a Lamson Radius 3. I have a spool with Orvis Wonderline gen3 Bass Taper floating and a spool with Rio Lake Sink 3. I am currently looking for a good sink tip for my remaining empty spool.

I am happy with that set up and suits my needs well. My favorite fly for bass is the Dahlberg Diver. I have brought some nice smallies and large mouth to net.

The TFO BVK replaced a 9.5 foot Cortland Precision 7 wt... that was a dog of a rod, after a short time I was tired of swinging that beast around.

 

[ocfisher]

I like the 8wt for many of the reasons already mentioned. Better to have it (the extra power) and not need it than...
PA has enough musky and pike that if you fish bass enough you will run into them at some point. And for me I have wipers nearby, and carp. And when I go on vacation I use the same set up (9ft 8, rio SM line) for reds, sea trout, snook, baby tarpon, stripers etc.

I have the Rio SM line on my 8wt and SA textured Magnum on my 6. Overall I prefer the SM Rio, but if you fish early spring /late fall you may want to go with the SA, as the RIo tends to coil on me in colder conditions

 

[nomad_archer]

Yea I am going to get an 8wt. Especially now that I found out a semi close lake has musky/pickerel/bass. I will be fishing for all of the above when I have the chance to make a day trip. So I might as well be prepared. Hardest part now is picking the rod/reel combo.