What size hooks should I use for 2-3lb LMB. I have a small lake chuck full of them. I was thinking 1/0?
Gurglers for LMB
What size hooks should I use for 2-3lb LMB. I have a small lake chuck full of them. I was thinking 1/0?
That's the size I use. I actually tie them on Mustad 34007ss saltwater hooks. I use them for stripers, too. The heavier hook counteracts the air resistance of the foam, so they cast a little easier. I pinch the barb down and sharpen the hook, as they are pretty dull out of the box. If you get a good dragonfly hatch, match the color of the dragons with some chenille wrapped around the shank under the foam. Works pretty well.
Charlie
I really don't enjoy casting large flies unless I am using a 8-9 weight rod which is too big for the fish you're catching in my opinion. I use size 2 or perhaps 1 streamer hooks for my gurglers and have caught some very nice bass on them. I don't care for stinger hooks either as I've had too many of them straighten out on me when trying to keep a nice bass out of brush.
I also tie my Gurglers with an upper and a lower lip. I start with a strip of closed-cell foam about 3/8 inch wide and 3-4 inches long. Start your thread a the bend in the hook and lay an even layer of thread up to the eye of the hook. Now, hook the foam about 1/4 inch from the end and slide it up to the eye of the hook so the lip is bleow the eye of the hook. Next, place a good coat of super glue on the thread and lay the foam the length of the shank. Wrap the thread down the length of the foam so that the foam wraps around the hook shank. At this point, I tie in eyelash yarn with 3/4 inch long fibers at the bend of the hook. Take the thread to the eye and wrap the eyelash yarn to about 1/4 from the eye and secure with the thread. Now. pull the foam back over the shank of the hook and secure it at the eye. Trim the lips to the desired length and you're ready to go. I feel that the two lips creates more disturbance in the water which attracts the attention of the bass.
Jim Smith
Allen,
Use the largest size hook you can cast effectively with your gear.
Bass that size have a mouth that can handle ANY size hook you would be likely to cast, and the larger the hook the better job you will do in hooking the fish.
If you use 'standard' length hooks, you can get a larger hook gape for a shorter shank length. This gives you better hooking potential, as well as keeping the gurgler balanced properly. That little extra weight of the larger bend and point seem to make the fly work and cast more effectively. Look at 1/0 through 3/0 worm hooks or Mustad 3366s.
Good Luck!
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
Tie a few smaller, say #4, too.
The Green Hornet strikes again!!!
Most of our local pond bass are in the 2lb range, too, and I use #4 3366s for Gurglers; not too bad casting with a 6wt. I caught one about 4lb and the fly looked lost in that bucket of a mouth.Originally Posted by Buddy Sanders
Regards,
Scott
Thanks! I have two Redington Preditors in the 7'10" length. Ones an 8wt and ones a 6wt. Forgot to mention I'll be on a kayak so its more of a lobbing technique. I was wondering about the hook to mouth size ratio.
Allen,
Back when I was still fishing with conventional gear, I caught a lot of 10 to 12 inch largemouths on spinerbaits with 5/0 hooks in them. Sometimes you will catch little 12 inch fish when fishing with 10" worms (usually using a 5/0 worm hook). Small bass will routinely hit and be caught on 1/2 to 3/4 ounce jigs that feature 4/0 to 6/0 hooks.
A 2 pound largemouth bass will be a bit over 16 inches long. The oral cavity on such a fish will be about three inches across and open to about that in height, the depth when open will be a bit deeper than that. Thats a pretty big space. A bass will consider anything up to half it's body length as prey. Since they aren't too smart, being fish, they often err in this and I've seen bass try to eat prey much too big for them to swallow.
With typical bass fly gear, you can seldom throw a fly that will be 'too big'.
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
That's for sure. It's not unusual for local anglers to catch 1.5 to 2lb bass with ten inch long swimbaits that imitate the trout that are stocked in local lakes in the winter.
The largest gurglers I tie for freshwater are tied on a size 4/0 Mustad 3407 hook and they overall fly length is 6 inches. The foam body and lip are a about 1.75 inches an the rest is tail. Bass eat their prey by flaring their gills and expelling water via the gills, creating a suction that draws in the prey. Even a one pound bass can eat these six inch long 4/0 hook gurglers as the tail just collapses and the body fits in that big mouth with plenty of room to spare. I cast these larger patterns with a 10 wt line on an 8 wt rod or using my Sage Smallmouth rod with the matching line. I tie gurglers in smaller sizes down to a size 1 3407 hook. If I go even smaller I will use a hook designed for plastic worms or something like the Mustad 3366 or Tiemco 8089. Bass wont always eat the big patterns so I carry gurglers in different sizes ranging from about 2 to 6 inches long.
Sounds like a big range in sizes will do - #4-4/0. You will find a guy like Lefty Kreh who says that size in surface flies is not so important becaus the ruckus made by the bug disguises the size. I will go with that up to a point. Last season the overachieving bluegills in my favorite lake woouldn't leave my #4 popper alone. I switched to a Stealth Bomber on a #2 hook. The crappie liked it and the bluegills continued to hit it. Next time out I used a Lefty's Bug on a 2/0 3x hook about 4 inches long including tail. After a cast or two a 7" gill hooked up even though the bug had a double wire weed guard. My rule of thumb for lake bass is any fly should be at least 3 inches long with 4 or more preferred. I do not think a bass will not take a #6 or smaller offering; I just want something that the small fry will leave alone.
Bear742
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