John Gillio Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 To all bass fishermen using the fly rod: what weight is your most often used rod while fishing for green or bronze bass in the lakes or rivers of Illinois? I used to use a 9' seven weight most often but now find myself preferring a 9' 5 weight. Just wondering what other members are using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtroester Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 john, I use an 8' 6wt, double taper line, bamboo of course. timothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 I favor a 9' six weight, but I will use a 7 or 8 quite a bit as well for throwing meatier flies so I'd say they're used fairly evenly. I have a new 686 Epic that I'm excited to cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben K. Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 I tend to target large fish and throw large flies to do so, 9ft fast action 6w or 9ft medium fast 8w at the moment. I would be happy to downsize if I was on a creek or smaller water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 I like to fish big rivers and I tend to fight more wind in the open so I like the power of the 7 or 8 to move those flies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Sietsema Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 I love my 4wt glass switch rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted March 19, 2016 Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 Generally my go-to rod is a 9 ft 5wt, fairly fast action rod. That being said, most of my 5 wts are rather powerful and tend to load better with a 6 wt line, and so in a sense, they are 6 wt rods disguised as 5 wts. On smaller streams or when I can find some lower clearer water, I don't hesitate to step down to a 4 weight rod, especially if I know the stream tends to yield smaller to more moderate size fish. I just don't enjoy casting the big lumber all day or tossing wet socks or "battling" a 12" smallmouth on a 7wt rod. If special attention is paid to your fly selection, one can create a fairly large silhouette that doesn't weigh too much and can get by with a lighter line. That is of course unless you've got strong current, or need to get deep via a heavily weighted fly such as when swinging crawdads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom L Posted March 19, 2016 Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 I normally carry 2 rods, a 7wt and a 6wt, both are 9ft. I switch back and forth between them. They are rigged with a tandem flies of different types & colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Tom. How do you carry the second rod while wading ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 9' for 8/9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Btw. I'm glad to see that you are willing to wear your disease on your sleeve Weighing in on rod weights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom L Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Tom. How do you carry the second rod while wading ? I keep the second rod on the bank where I don't have to wade very far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshw Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 7 weight. I have owned and fished rods all over the spectrum and the seven seems to be the most versatile of the weights I have used for smallmouth. Strong enough to fight wind and handle most any smallmouth fly and light enough to enjoy the typical smallmouth's fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Buric Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 I use a 9 foot 7 wt medium fast graphite rod for the big water, windy conditions that I like to fish. I like my 7 1/2 foot 6wt full flex fiberglass rod for more delicate conditions though it can be challenging when I get into a bigger fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Primary smb rod is a 9'6'.Will sometimes step up to a 10'7 as when distance rollcasting with a fnf using a relatively large bobber or down to a stout 9'4 for smaller fish streams or in low cfs flows. I save the 9'8 for lmb, steelhead, salties; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted March 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2016 We have quite a variety here. JJ's glass switch rod sounds like a fun approach. A big bass on Timothy's 6 wt bamboo would surely be a blast. While bass fishing my 7 wt has of late been reserved for times when I am targeting big fish while throwing big flies or on windy days. Like Rob, my 5 wt holds a 6 wt line and can handle most things I throw at a bass. It's also more fun landing the average fish with the 5 wt. My very favorite rod is a 3 wt but it is seldom used on the river because it doesn't handle a heavy fly well, which is often needed in faster flows. I love it on small creeks with low water conditions and no wind. It handles a large fish fairly well and the much more frequent 9 inchers are a blast. Thank you all for the input. Anyone else is welcome to share their ideas on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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