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I use to do a little fly fishing in college along the Cahaba river here in Alabama. I?d like to get back into it, but I?m having trouble settling on a rod. I enjoy catching panfish, and was leaning towards getting a slow action 3 weight, maybe 7 or 7 1/2 feet long. I thought that might be fun. But since I?ve been out of the game for a few years, I thought I could use some advice.
Any suggestions on what rod to use to catch panfish on small rivers and ponds in Alabama?
tcasey1914
Where are you fishing? What part of Alabama are you living?
I grew up fishing Montgomery area and down in south Alabama. I would think about the size of the panfish, and be careful not to go too small. I have caught some pretty large bass using a #8 hook. Are you fishing for crackers or crappie? IF you are fishing just for Crappie I would lean toward a smaller rod, I cannot ever remember catching a large bass around crappie. I have caught bass over 10# while gil fishing. And in the rivers you might run into pickerl or jackfish, gar ect. And there are some places up there that have stripped bass. Those get pretty large.
I have not fished your river, but I know it covers parts of the center of the state. I have seen pictures of it and would not be surprised if it also had some trout in it.
I lean toward a longer rod, but I am not sure where you are fishing. Are you going to fish from a boat? if so try this, take a white popper, find some willows that hang over the water, stick the rod under the water let the current take the fly. You need to fight the fish under the water because of the willows. I lost a lot of flies this way but man can you catch a lot of panfish that way. My 9 foot rod would just make it to the fish from the boat. Any shorter and I would not catch any. I know this is not true fly fishing but it is a lot of fun on a river with a good moving current. Again be careful you might just crab a nice bass.
You might even try a shorter rod for all those tight places.... we have a lot of people from Alabama on the board, maybe one will chip in... I was there first of the month and caught 20 bass and no panfish. Go figure...
Give me some more info about what your are trying to catch but I would suggest a 6 wt for what I know is in your waters. A 3 wt would be a lot of fun if you do not mind losing a large bass once in awhile. Me I go a bit heavy... Besides some of the pan fish in your area can get over 2 lbs. A 2 lb gil or cracker is a fight on any tackle.
Have some fun
Harold
[This message has been edited by Harold Hattaway (edited 30 June 2005).]
Thanks Harold,
I?m in Mobile now, but will soon be back home in Birmingham. I plan to fish on the Cahaba river and other small streams. Maybe a few ponds too. I generally wade a little, but I might want to fish from a canoe on occasion.
I am worried about the big bass. Most of what I?ve caught fly fishing on the Cahaba have been panfish, though I have caught several smallish Bass too. I?m sure it would be something of a shock to have a huge bass hit a fly on a 3 weight! On the other hand, I don?t think catching panfish on a 6 weight would be as much fun as catching them on a lighter rod. And you?re right ? even sunfish can get pretty darn big down here. Hence, my conundrum.
Haven?t had much luck catching crappie on a fly rod. I?ve only caught crappie on a light spinning reel at depths I would consider too deep for fly fishing. But what do I know.... I?m sure someone has a great method for catching crappie with a fly rod that I haven?t heard about.
Lots of tight spots on the Cahaba and overhanging trees. I?ve had trouble in the past with a 9 foot rod, and so I thought I might scale it down a bit.
tcasey1914
Oh how I wish I had your problem, I love that kind of fishing, here I am never without my 9 wt....
I know those waters and if you are fishing for crappie in the kind of depth we fished in Lake Martin, I think you can reach it with your fly rod. You will need to change your thinking about fly fishing and go deep, I would bet the problem with not catching a crappie would be more that you are not ready for the crappie to strike. For crappie I use a fly that is small and weighted like a clouser, bend the barb down it will not matter, you can rip the lips off a crappie quick, but getting it off the hook is a bit easier.
How short is the shortest fly rod you have ever used?
OH man I am going to catch some trouble over this one..... Take your spinning rod, I know you have one, it is behind the couch or in the garage, put your fly reel on it, and try to cast it...... I have a 6 foot fly rod I use in the mangroves, man on man is it neat. NOW you do not need this one, I would fight a tarpon with mine... so it is a big stick but the length allows me to get in under the trees and such. NOW if you can cast the shorter spinning rod find one of your friends that has one about 5 feet and try it.... Find the length you can use, not the action, not the weight just the length. You might find that a 5 footer is just right or a 6 footer, but it will be your discover because of the way you fish. Then proceed over to Al's rod building area and build that perfect rod for your self.... There are a lot of people here that will give you advice on building the right rod. I do not think you will find it in a fly shop, I might be wrong, but I do not know any in Alabama that would have a shorty... You might and if so let me know who they are so I can visit them sometime.
If you decide to come fish my water down in Fla let me know, I'll loan you a 9 wt.
Harold
tc,
I am here in Birmingham. Let me know when you arrive and we will make a day of it. I have a 5wt, 4wt, and an 8wt. I use the 5wt a lot so even if I get a fair size bass, which is unlikely, I have a shot. I use the 8wt here specifically if I am targeting large Bass. I tend to save the 4wt for Trout trips.
AC