I have a couple 6wts and a 8 wt. rod and after my last trip I realy would like to go down to a 5wt. would this rod handle a 6-10lb hard fighting fish(Peacock Bass). I am confident it will cast the flies we use.
rod wt vs fish size
I have a couple 6wts and a 8 wt. rod and after my last trip I realy would like to go down to a 5wt. would this rod handle a 6-10lb hard fighting fish(Peacock Bass). I am confident it will cast the flies we use.
I live in Minnesota, and we do not have any Peacock Bass here, but we have other fish that I can compare to.
Pike/Muskie, use my 9 weights for these monsters of the water, and stainless steel hooks. I have a fiberglass 9 weight for my sinking line and flies, and a Graphite 9 weight for my floating line and flies.9 weight is also good for Steelhead Fishing.
Largemouth Bass, vary from 3 to 5 pounds, heavy fight when hooked. I use a 7 or 8 weight fly rod and line. 8 weight when I am tossing flies that get waterlogged, and/or have heavy drag when casting.
Smallmouth Bass, vary from 2 pounds to 4 pounds, depending on the area. Northern part of Minnesota they are not as heavily fished, so they grow larger. I use a 5 or 6 weight fly rod and line. Again depending on the fish size in the area and the type of fly I am casting.
Walleye, vary from 1 pound up to 3 or 4 pounds for the waters I fish. I use a 6 weight, because I am using a sinking line.
Panfish(Sunfish/Crappies), 3 or 5 weight rod, depending on whether I am using a floating or sinking line. I do not own a 4 weight (but would use a 4 weight instead of a 5 weight if I did), and I never use sinking line on my 3 weight.
It is a balance between the size of the fish you are going for, the fight of that fish when hooked, and the type of fly you are using.
I think the 5 weight would be too little for the the Peacock Bass. 6 weight would still be under weight, and the 8 weight would be too much. I am thinking for the Peacock Bass would be best on a 7 weight Fly Rod. If I was going somewhere that had Peacock Bass, I would make sure I had my 7 weight fly rod with.
~Parnelli
[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 23 February 2005).]
Where are you catching those 10 pound Peacocks? I fish for them in Florida, two or three trips a year, but never see them that size. Indeed, I think that the record Florida Peacock is ten pounds or thereabouts.
As for rod weight, I use an 8 weight fishing for largemouth and peacocks, because I want the extra heft to get the fish through the weeds. I do not think that rod weight is a significant factor in fighting fish (within reasonable limits - I wouldn't use that 5 weight on tarpon) but you need to take local conditions, like wind and weeds, iinto account. If the areas you fish are relatively free of weeds and other entanglements a five weight should be adequate.
I don't have the experience with big fish that you mentioned. But casting comfort is very important to me, as I spend more time "casting" than I do "catching". I match the rod to the flies I am casting. Because my "big rod" is a 6W which I use for New England LM bass and smallies, this means my flies are smaller than my friends using 7W or 8W for the same quarry. But my arm is not tired at the end of the day and I think I catch just as big fish as they do. Fishing a large river in W. Virginia last year, by friend with the 8W could wade mid-river and cast to either bank. I waded 1/3 out and turned around and casted my 6W to the bank. We caught similar amounts of fish and in fact (just random luck I am sure) I caught what was by far the biggest smallie of the day.
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Peter F [url=http://www.fishingwithflies.com:4d330]www.fishingwithflies.com[/url:4d330]
pfrailey@hotmail.com
[This message has been edited by Peter F (edited 23 February 2005).]
never understood the big deal of using heavier rods for bigger fish.
matching your rod size to the flies you're throwing and the casting circumstance makes sense to me.
the weakest link is your tippet. if you're using a 4wt rod w/ a 6 pound tippet, or a 9 wt rod w/ 6 pound tippet - what's the difference when you hook into a 10lb fish?
either way you have to gently play the fish and ease it into the net. it's not like you can just "muscle" the fish in b/c you have a 9wt rod - your tippet will break just as easy as the guy with a 4wt.
I think it would handle it, especially if it's a stout 5-wt, like a Sage 590-XP. Maybe a little light but I think you could get the job done.
-John
Gotta agree with sacco on this topic. The size of the rod you're using has less to do with the size of the fish you're pursuing than the weight/size of the patterns you're throwing and the conditions you're fishing in. For largemouth bass, I use many patterns with a lot of bunny fur or lead heads or both which get very heavy when water logged and you need a heavier rod and stouter line to throw them. Add to that windy conditions and you're fighting a losing battle with lighter weight rods. Concentrate more on what you have tied at the end of your line, not what your fishing after in determining the appropriate rod size.
I'm with Sacco too,
I cast #12 flies to Salmon so will often use a 10ft #6. When I turn around for trout, I'll often cast big bushy #4-6 mice, so I'll use a #9 10ft XP.
A bit of the opposite than one would expect eh ?
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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/:56415]http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/[/url:56415]
Christopher Chin
thanks guys, after considering it I think I will stick to the 6wt, on the question of tippets this dont bother this fish we use 30 lb mono. on where the fish are Guyana SA, lots of falen trees and in the rapids size not the monsters of Brazil but i have seen up to 14 lbs. caught on a spinning rig it took the guy about 25 minutes I dream of hooking into one of these on a fly rod, another problem the spinning rigs use 4-6" shallow water plugs (real image baby bass by cabelas)what do you think would be the bast pattern to try, all our flies are a local make up with lots of round rubber legs and bucktail.
When I'm trying to match bait fish of any kind I always go to a Clouser Deep Minnow and use colors that are identical to the fish I suspect they are feeding on. If you need to go shallow I'd use a lighter weight head or even substitute the traditional lead head with a willow leaf spinner blade. It should do the job. Let us know how you do.
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