Shoalies on the Fly

[Randy]

Went to the river yesterday. I took only my flyrod. My buddy said great now I can catch the fish while you fight the flyrod. I still caught more than he did. Nothing big but we had fun. Here is one from the day:

 

[Paymaster]

Good Deal!
Great pic Randy!

 

[krusty]

Nice, I have been thinking about getting a heavier weight fly rod to chase the bass and stripes up here in the the North GA rivers. The 5 weight I have is a little light for throwing clousers, decievers, etc. Any recommendations?

 

[BIG LAZER DEER SLAYER]

Flint river?

 

[Oak-flat Hunter]

Look like You had a blast!! Good Going..

 

[Randy]

Nice, I have been thinking about getting a heavier weight fly rod to chase the bass and stripes up here in the the North GA rivers. The 5 weight I have is a little light for throwing clousers, decievers, etc. Any recommendations?

My river rods are a Sage 7 wt., a Sage Smallmouth Rod and a Sage Largemouth rod. I do also carry my Sage 5wt. sometimes. 5 wt. will handle most river fish.

 

[Randy]

Flint river?

No.

 

[krusty]

Randy - Thanks for the reply. I was thinking a 7 weight would be a good fit for throwing the heavier streamers and the occasional popper over my 5 wieght.

 

[fredw]

Randy, I bet that was a blast. Hope you enjoyed those river fish on the long rod.

 

[yaknfish]

Looks like fun, Randy. Bass on the fly rod is good sport.

 

[BIG LAZER DEER SLAYER]

What river were you at?

 

[DFB]

Heavier Fly Rod

Nice, I have been thinking about getting a heavier weight fly rod to chase the bass and stripes up here in the the North GA rivers. The 5 weight I have is a little light for throwing clousers, decievers, etc. Any recommendations?

I fish with a 7, 8 or 10 weight Sage RPLXi depending on the size, the shape of the lure, the wind and the distance I'm dealing with. I'm looking for a 3 piece 9 weight to fill in the hole. My "if I have to pick one go to" favorite rod right now is the 8 wt. but that might change when I get the 9 wt.
I almost forgot, they are all 9'.

 

[Randy]

My 9wt is a little heavy for me to cast to bass all day. This one was caught on a Sage zaxis 7wt. I also use a sage smallmouth some times.

 

[krusty]

Thanks again guys. Which way to do you guys go with the line, WF-Floating or do you guys use a sinking tip. First thought would be to go with the WF-F and that we wouldn't need the sinking tip unless fishing deep rivers or lakes. I have always been pretty loyal to the SA Mastery series of line, but do you guys have a preference? Do you go with line geared for bass, stripers, etc? I saw that SA has a line designed for Redfish which I thought looked interesting and would work well for bass, stripes, and if I ever get down to the gulf again. Any thoughts?

 

[DFB]

Line?

Thanks again guys. Which way to do you guys go with the line, WF-Floating or do you guys use a sinking tip. First thought would be to go with the WF-F and that we wouldn't need the sinking tip unless fishing deep rivers or lakes. I have always been pretty loyal to the SA Mastery series of line, but do you guys have a preference? Do you go with line geared for bass, stripers, etc? I saw that SA has a line designed for Redfish which I thought looked interesting and would work well for bass, stripes, and if I ever get down to the gulf again. Any thoughts?

I've been using the Orvis WF9F in the big bug tapers, it's supposed to turn over the large bugs better. I did pick up some new SA Mastery WF9F Bass Bug Fly Line at BPS the other day, but haven't spooled it up yet. I fish these on my 8 wt to load it up and slow it down a little or a 9 wt if I feel the need to throw a lot of line. I guess if you were using wooly buggers or something similar you could use just about anything that "feels" good.

 

[Jimmy Harris]

Randy,I love reading your shoal bass reports. You've definitely got those critters dialed in. I've come to really like fishing for them with a 7'11" 6 wt. Ross FlyStik. Similar to the Sage Smallmouth rod. Keep those reports coming.