Hi all,
I fish mostly for trout in lakes in streams in the Sierras and so my rods are in the 4-6 weight range. I was thinking about giving stripers and lmb a try in the Sacramento Delta may be this year. With the upcoming Fly Fishing Show the weekend after next I thought I test cast rods. Always a fun thing to do. Anyway, my question is for stripers and lmb what would be a good rod wt. (and length) for fishing for these types of fish?
Ty:
I haven’t targeted stripers with a fly rod YET but I like a 9’0" 8wt for LMB mainly because I like to be able to chuck BIG flies like hair bugs, big poppers, etc. I do most of my bass fishing with conventional tackle and I know the value of big stuff for big bass and the ability to get them out of the cover when necessary.
I also like a 8wt floating Rio Clouser taper that lets me “cast the big nasties”!
Tyronefly,
I use a 9ft 8wt TFO TiCr for landlocked stripers and LMB here. Most of the people that I fish with use an 8 or 9wt. Anything less would probably be too light for the stripers, anything more would be overkill for the LMB, IMO.
Steve
8wt for sure. 8’6" - 9’ fast action for a rod. I have an Orvis Clearwater, 2pc, 9’, 6.0 mid flex that is great for LMB and should be plenty for ocean run stripers. Nice rod if you can find one.
Around here, a lot of folks fish for stripers with a 10wt because of the wind.
As recently as a couple of years ago that’s what I would have had in my hand 90% of the time.
This past season, I fished an 8wt with a 9wt line two to three times a week for a good part of the season.
There was only a few days when I felt undergunned
I fish New England shores and estuaries in CT,RI, MA ,NY etc and do most of it with a ‘9 by 9’ and a saltwater taper( short, heavy head) intermediate sink line. This handles most of the fish I catch although sometimes on the rocks at night I wish I’d brought a 10/11 wt.
If you know that the majority of fish will be in the 4-8 lb class, a 7 or 8 wt will be fine, otherwise I’d reccomend heavier. Over-playing on too light a rod often kills the fish. Besides, a 9 weight really bangs it out there- you can cover a lot of water .
An 8wt will cover your needs better than any other rods.Its what I fish 90% of the time for saltwater here and it does LMB equally as well.You might want to look up Dan Blanton’s BB as he and others fish the delta on a regular basis.
If your are going to fish the Delta mostly for stripers a 9’ 9wt is the best all around choice. This will handle any fish you are going to find there and most anglers find it a better choice for casting the heavy 27 to 30’ LC13 or T14 shooting heads or 350-400 grain integrated sinking lines that are used there. A few anglers with lots of experience with heavy sinking lines opt for an 8wt line sometimes.
If you think you might do more LMB than striper fishing, including LMB in local lakes, then the 8wt would be just fine.
Most delta stripers are less than 20lbs, actually less than 10, and an 8wt will easily handle those fish. You might wish you had a heavier rod if you were lucky enough to hook up with a 25 or 30 lb fish, but with good technique and some luck you can still handle the bigger fish with an 8wt.
If you want to get two rods, get one of each.
When I go up their to fish I usually carry a couple of 8 wts and a couple of 9wts.
Thanks for the great info. I am going to test cast both 8 and 9 wt rods. The TFO and Reddington I have heard are great rods to consider, but of course I’ll checkout as many rod manufacturers and price levels at the show as I can.
I have a lot to learn. Tailingloop mention shooting head. I have no clue what that is. This is gonna be fun, just for the learning alone. I love this addiction!
Thanks for the replies!
A shooting head is basically a 26 to 40 foot section of fly line that is then connected to a thinner shooting line (sometimes called running line). The connection between the two is usually made through a loop to loop connection. A shooting head setup allows the angler to more easily make repeated long casts than with a WF or DT line. Shooting heads can be factory made special fly line that come in different sink rates, or custom cut from a full length fly line (not done as often). They can also be custom cut from lengths of special level sinking lines such as Cortland LC-13 (13 grain per foot leadcore level fly line), Rio t8, T11, T14 (rio tungten level line, 8gr, 11gr, 14 grains per foot) , or Scientific Anglers Express 14+ Shooting head line. Special thin level flylines are made as shooting lines and certain types of monofilament shooting lines are used also. Different shooting heads and shooting lines can be mixed and matched for different types of performance from floating to very fast sinking. This offers great versatility at less cost than buying multiple fly lines.
An integrated line is a line that essentially has a 24 to 38 foot shooting head permanently mated to the shooting line by the factory. The Teeny T series lines were the first of this type. Most of the major line makers make one or more lines of this kind. Some examples are Teeny T and TS lines, S.A. Streamer Express, Cortland Quick Descent, Rio Outbound, etc.
Rio and Scientific Anglers both sell integrated lines with a dense heavy sinking head section of around 35 feet that can be cut back until it casts well with your rod.
An #8 weight outfit would work fine for most LMB fishing and some stripers fishing but if you are going to be working big water with a steady wind, I would have to go along with the people who suggested the #9 or even #10 weight rods. 8T 
tailingloop,
Thank you for taking the time to explain what a shooting head is. I have seen these at my local fly shop, but had no clue what they were used for. I figured it was something used by folks who fish for Salmon or larger fish.
I like a 10 1/2 foot 6wt that throws a 330 grain line for most of my line siders.
The delta area near where TyroneFly lives is mostly fished by boat with very limited foot access usually not safe for float tubers due to the currents (river flow plus tides). Much of the fishing is done by working a boat along structure such as weed edges, rip rap, sand or mud bars, flooded orchards and so on.
Striper fishing usually involves repeated long casts with a shooting head or integrated line. 9’ rods work best for most anglers here and most find longer rods more tiring over the course of a long day. The 9wt is the most commonly used because it will handle 27 to 30 foot leadcore or tungsten shooting heads well. A 10wt usually does not give much benefit in the wind since the shooting head systems pretty much perform the same in windy conditions whether using an 8, 9 or 10 wt rod. 10wt rods are a bit more tiring to cast over a long day also. Often, by the time the wind picks up to 8 or 10 knots or more, it becomes very difficult to manage the boat and it is time to pack it in for the day.
I’d go with a 9 wt lightweight, fast action rod. That can be cast all day with mimimal fatigue. The TFO’s are a bit heavier than the Sage and St. Croix. If you get a lighter reel, that will also help. Here’s my example; My TFO 8wt. is just slightly less weight than my st. croix 10wt.
You would be just slightly overgunned for LMB.
For Salty Stripers a 9 wt is the way to go imho. Every striper will not need the 9wt of course, but the ocean front wind and heavy clousers call for it. If you hook a big striper you will be wishing for a 10 wt.
Good luck