How many fly fishermen on here.

[klooney]

That is for soldering wires together, not for fly tying.

I don't know if you seen where I posted it but if you need to borrow a rod, I've got several you can borrow until you get another one.

Draco, I really appreciate the offer! I just put my reel and line on my cheap rod for now, it will keep me throwing out line for the time being!


Thanks so much for the offer I really appreciate it...


On second thought you could let me borrow and 8+ wt, and a kayak, and take me big time bass fishing!!

[SwampRabbit]

[froghunter]

of all the fishing gear in the world.....nothing makes me smile like a tin full of flies.

[klooney]

Sweet!

[SwampRabbit]

of all the fishing gear in the world.....nothing makes me smile like a tin full of flies.

[froghunter]

98% of my fly fishing has been done on the coast or chasing bass. My 8# is close to 20 years old now and serves me well. I have always dreamed of trout fishing in beautiful places and on rare occasions get to do it. Arkansas, Missouri,Oklahoma... All beautiful places but I really want to go west. Last night I decided to take a step In The right direction and ordered my first 5# rod. Nothing fancy however this should make a vast improvement in working 6x tippit in clear water. I have lost some decent fish due to line breakage. A few well experienced guys have told me that my 8# is too much rod for such small line.

We shall see. Looking foward to some new adventures.

[SwampRabbit]

98% of my fly fishing has been done on the coast or chasing bass. My 8# is close to 20 years old now and serves me well. I have always dreamed of trout fishing in beautiful places and on rare occasions get to do it. Arkansas, Missouri,Oklahoma... All beautiful places but I really want to go west. Last night I decided to take a step In The right direction and ordered my first 5# rod. Nothing fancy however this should make a vast improvement in working 6x tippit in clear water. I have lost some decent fish due to line breakage. A few well experienced guys have told me that my 8# is too much rod for such small line.

We shall see. Looking foward to some new adventures.

No doubt that a 5wt or 4wt will make a difference in your small water experience. I went the other direction, spending a couple years with a 5wt on ponds and then having to upgrade to a 8wt for the coast. I took the 8wt to the pond to get some casting practice and I could easily tell that it would be overkill and not nearly as enjoyable in that kind of environment.

Because I learned how to fish with a 5wt for panfish, I learned real quick that you set the hook by lifting the rod tip when you get a strike. Now of course, what you also tend to do eventually is to lift the rod tip in the same fashion as you are about to recast. Because if you just lift and stop, you have a bunch of line you need to strip and recast. If you lift and commit to the recast, you can do just that... recast to the same spot. I have hooked plenty of fish by lifting the rod (missing the set) and into the back cast and forward cast and letting the fly land pretty much where it was and get a 2nd chance strike. As you say, if you do the same thing with a heavy line and stiff rod and the tippet is thin and you get the set... you might just break the line. Going to a lighter line where picking up the line doesn't take much effort, you can commit the hook set into a line pickup/cast without too much issue.

With the 5wt, I have often times flung very very small fingerlings out of the water on the rod lift into a cast. It is a pretty funny sight as when that happens I tend to let the fish start into a swing and then continue to swing them around and back into the water (assuming there are no trees and the line is somewhat short because the smaller fish are closer to the bank.)

[quarterback]

You can definitely catch good bass on a 4/5 weight rod. You just can't horse them in when you get a good hookup but it's very do-able.

[SwampRabbit]

I love looking down a bucket mouth and seeing the tiny little thing that ruined it's breakfast feast!

[froghunter]

My perfected bass/red fish/catfish hook set must now be re geared.

[SwampRabbit]

I had to fight the urge to not lift the rod when I was fishing the surf and to strip set instead. Luckily for me, all my strikes set themselves while I was stripping

[Clay C]

I had to fight the urge to not lift the rod when I was fishing the surf and to strip set instead. Luckily for me, all my strikes set themselves while I was stripping

A lot of people struggle with this when sight fishing. I even do it occasionally . It's pure muscle memory. Saying "strip set" to yourself while stripping actually helps quite a bit.

[outlook8]

A lot of people struggle with this when sight fishing. I even do it occasionally . It's pure muscle memory. Saying "strip set" to yourself while stripping actually helps quite a bit.

Yep, the power is in your line, not the rod. It usually takes a couple strikes for me to quit trying to put the Bill Dance bass hookset on them!

[Clay C]

Yep, the power is in your line, not the rod. It usually takes a couple strikes for me to quit trying to put the Bill Dance bass hookset on them!

I hear ya! The first time I got back on the skiff in April after a week of catching trout on dries in Montana was embarrassing. Actually trout setting for a week was hard to program out. First shot of the day was on an upper slot fish tailing about 30 ft out. Perfect cast, immediate eat and I gave him an epic trout set that sent my fly straight back toward my face.

[froghunter]

Yep. That's how I roll.