Setting up 8wt for bass....how much backing?

[Rick Z]

On the rods I use I put as much backing as I can on so the fly line does not some off in loops as much.

Rick

[lee s]

What Rick Z said......and I often use my #9 or #10 for LM's. NOT for the size bugs or wind or whatever, but because of where we toss the bugs.....in the bass' dining room....to be read "the thickest cover you can find"
....lee s.

[sagefisher]

Whitewolf,

I have never used a furled leader for bass. Not saying it isn't good, just haven't. I usually use a very heavy and short leader, rather mono fly line, in the 15 to 20 pound range. Bass, especially smallies, are pure predator hunters. They either cruise around looking for a victim or hang out around structure and wait to attack or ambush anything that happens to come by that catches their fancy. They are not really known to be very leader shy.

You are really going to enjoy hooking up on smallies.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[Kaboom1]

5 foot to 5 and a half furled section with 2 feet of 12 pound as a tippet. Tie on a fly and go fishing. Quit overthinking the process. it ain't that hard!
Brad

[BigA]

You hardly ever actually use backing or the drag on your reel for smallmouth or largemouth bass. You need enough backing so the reel is close to full when you spool a fly line on your reel. You do need backing if you get a good sized carp on the line or if you want to use the same reel for steelhead fishing. When steelhead season comes around, I take the warm water bass line off of my eight weight reel and replace it with a fly line that I use for steelhead.

An eight weight rod is great for largemouth bass when you are fishing with big flies or when you are fishing where you need to pull the bass out of heavy cover. I fish for smallmouth bass a lot in Wisconsin rivers. Eight weight rods allow me to fish big, heavy flies and to deal with trying to land fish in heavy current. They are also better for fishing in heavy wind conditions.

I really like Feathercraft furled bass leaders. Just loop on a three to five foot tippet to the ring at the end of the leader and you are in business. I have one that is still going strong after three years. http://www.feather-craft.com/feather...-furled-leader

[philip43]

I do what FishNDave referred to and use an 8wt line on my 6wt rod. That makes casting the larger wind resistant flies easier without doing much false casting to get desired distance. Adios Philip

[NJTroutbum]

I use a 7wt, and a 6wt rod for bass. I would say no more than 50 yards of 30# backing. I honestly have NEVER seen backing on any of my warmwater rigs. I prefer hand-twisting my own bass leaders with mono. I use Trilene Big Game in 10# primarily, with a micro swivel on a 6ft leader. It rolls over anything I tie on. I don't fish 6" bunny strip flies though. Mainly #6 thru #2 hair and foam bugs.

[knucks]

I had fished for bream when I was younger with a seven weight rod and caught bass too. I quit fly fishing for several years and when I started back bought a nine weight to bass fish with. Caught a five pound smallmouth bass with it and put it up because it was so stiff it was not fun. I have caught seven pound bass in millfoil here and didn’t like it because you were fighting a clump of grass instead of the fish. If I have to fish in heavy cover to catch my bass I’d rather not fish for them.

knucks