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.
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 ?
Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/:56415]http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/[/url:56415]
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.
With a heavier rod you can use a stronger tippit and put more pressure on a fish. More pressure means that you can land the fish faster and keep the fish away from cover. I have “accidentally” have caught 8 to 10 pound carp on my four and six weight rods while fishing for other species. It takes far longer to land carp on a four weight than it does on a six weight, and that was when I was able to land the fish. If I were targeting carp like that, I would use a seven weight to make it easier to keep the fish away from cover.
If you are fishing for peacock bass where there is cover, a five weight would probably be too light.
I have to agree with Sacco. I fished the Madison two summers ago and everyone out there thought that I should use my 7 wt. since I did not have a 6 wt. (which is what most of the guides were suggesting). I thought that my 7 wt. was great for the steelhead back here in the east but too much of a rod for the fish in that river. I used my trusty 4 wt. and it handled everything I caught, plus I felt very comfortable using it. Must say, the largest fish I landed was an 18" beauty with a very thick girth. There are bigger fish in there, but that week none of us caught any.
I am not saying that I would use my 4 wt. for steelhead or salmon, but for most trout people usually go too heavy.
nseereeram,
Around here we concoct an embellished deceiver anywhere’s from 1 1/2" - 12" long. It is our first choice when trying to feed any fish that is eating baitfish of sorts. It is NOT weighted. We preferr to control depth with our line.
We fish with a friend who uses clousers as religiously as we use deceivers. About one out of ten trips he causes us to switch and visa versa.
I guess the point is that there are MANY good baitfish immi’s out there. Find one you like to toss (and tie?) and learn to use it well.
Email me your addy…might be some stuff laying around the desk. 
…lee s.
Lee S, I always have problems when I tie the larger stuff some (most all) don’t swim right.another thing the key to out flies are lost of rubber legs nad I have not been able to find anything in the books that look like them.
lots of typo’s sorry, what I wanted to write was " The key to our flies are lots of rubber legs and I have not been able to find anything in the books that look like them "
Why do people always relate rod weight with fish size? As sacco said your tippet is the weak link not the rod.Used properly a rod shouldn’t break. If you stick a fly in a tree, does one horseshoe the rod to try and get the fly back? Of course not. Rod weight has everything to do with fly size and weather conditions.
This thread was discussed but left the guest with almost the same question he began with. Here’s a link to solve a bit of the mystery: http://www.byrdultrafly.com/rodtip.htm In short we choose our rod, fly line, tippet and fly almost in reverse order but with a stipulation that in the end analysis our rod can exert moderate pulling power given our tippet to land the fish without overtiring our quarry.
[QUOTE=;2848]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.[/QUOTE]
Well, I wouldn’t use a 5wt for yellowfin tuna, or jacks, even teener sizes. If using heavier tippets and there is a need really need to pull or lift a fish, lighter rods will break before the tippet. I have seen it happen - broken in the butt section near the handle. Yes, if using 6lb tippet, you can probably do just as well with a 6wt as 9wt. Switch to 20lb tippet and it is a different story. You will be able to pull much more effectively with the heavier rod simply because you can pull harder with the heavier butt section.
nseereeram mentions using 30lb leader. While he could point the rod at the fish and essentially play it off the reel, if he needs to pull to the side at all, the lighter rod will be a disadvantage.
Parnelli summed it up well when he said
[QUOTE=]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.[/QUOTE]
I size my rod more to what kind of flies I am throwing. It is tough to throw a big bass popper with a 2wt, for instance, although it can be done (wear a helmet). There are not many species of north american freshwater fish that a competent flyfisher cannot land in a reasonable amount of time on about any weight rod. In my opinion, the person holding the rod is the deciding factor, followed by the tippet strength. The rod, not so much. If you have 8# tippet, you can put 8# of pressure on it before it breaks, regardless of what wt rod you are holding.
Well, I know you can land a 15 lb grass carp on a 3 wt. Doesn’t mean it’s the best choice every time… I’d probably stick with at least a 6 weight for those fish, but if you’d rather cast the 5 all day, and don’t mind a little longer battle (they’re hardy fish, they can handle it), I say go for it.