Here’s the scenario:
I’ve been using a 7wt for bass (and unsuccessfully for pike) lately, and had some good catches. But I’ve got some flies that I really like the looks of and want to use effectively. The problem is that they’re too heavy and really whack the line tight at the end of the back and forward casts, and splash down too hard. These are streamers and minnow patters with pretty heavy heads. Anyone watching me try to cast them must be laughing, and the fish are instantly spooked. I can’t afford another rod. I was thinking about putting a heavier line on one of my reels (I happen to have a 9wt floating line sitting here for some reason). Would the heavier line do anything to smooth out the flight and landing of a heavy fly? I also have to get out my grandpa’s old fiberglass Fenwick rod and see if that handles them any better than the more flexible modern rods I’ve been using. I keep forgetting to take it with me.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Olaf
Olaf…slow down and open up your loops…
Thanks.
Been trying to do just that. But trying to slow down has led to the fly getting too low sometimes (and catching reeds/grass instead of the usual trees) on the back cast.
I’ll keep working on it.
O
You still gotta …keep your backcast uppeth
If you tie you own flies you might experiment on making the same size fly lighter. For example I will use beadchain instead of dumbell eyes for a large clouser and work it slower since it will sink slower. I’ve cast large plugs on my 3wt but it isn’t any fun, in fact if you try too hard you may crack your rod. good luck.
Olaf,
Some suggestions
Try the 9wt line. If your casts are in a short to medium range the rod should handle the line fine. The greater mass of the line will help carry the fly. Minimize falsecasting.
Experiment with loop size in the cast. If your loop opens up too much your cast will be inefficient however and you will just be working harder.
A technique that I learned when I started casting shooting head and heavily weighted flies is to start the forward cast just before the back cast straightens out. This will pull the fly around at the end of the cast rather than let it come tight, jerk the line and introduce slack into the cast. Lefty Kreh describes this as starting the forward cast when the backcast looks like a backwards letter ‘J’ on its side. It takes some practice to get the timing down. If you start the cast too early or late you get into trouble. I have used this technique to cast heavy flies with floating lines also. I can also keep my loops fairly small, which is important since it seems the wind always blows when I am fishing.
When I cast heavy stuff and if I’m not careful, the fly winds up overloading the rod and causes the fly to hit the backcast too hard rather than letting the line load the rod with the fly following. Not easy to do it right when fly is heavy for the rod but as mentioned, slow down and open the loop. Slowing down will help keep the rod from being overloaded and the fly accelerated too fast. Almost seems like I’m trying too hard when this happens. I think ‘overloading’ is the key word.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Hi Olaf,
I agree with jargo432: IF you are a fly tyer, then duplicate the heavy fly you are wishing to use – except tie it using much lighter materials.
I abandoned my first attempt at fly fishing (back in the late 1980s) precisely because of the same problems you’re having now – casting difficulties and frustration suffered from trying to catch ONLY largemouth bass by throwing ONLY large, heavy flies.
The rod I was using at that time was an 8-foot, 2-piece, 5/6-wt. graphite Wright & McGill “beater” that cost a whole $35 new. I’m not disrespecting Wright & McGill; I caught a fair number of fish on that rod. But surely the rod you are using today is a much better one that that first rod I owned. So if you hope to protect it, please heed jargo’s advice and don’t get into throwing flies that are so heavy they might fracture your tip end if they whack against your rod during casting.
Whether a change in casting form will solve your problem: I’m not knowledgable enough or experienced enough at using heavy tackle that I can offer any advice on that subject.
Regardless, always keep in mind that very large bass will take very small flies. Maybe not as often, or as eagerly, as larger flies. But they’ll snack on small stuff because the bulk of their forage is small stuff.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
slow and open
Hi Olaf,
You’ve gotten good advice so far. I would like to add just a couple of additional thoughts. I was in the same situation two years ago in Florida when I ran out of my own, light Crease Flies for LMB and had to buy a couple of heavy, saltwater Crease Flies for replacements. My six weight just couldn’t handle the heavy, epoxied fly which were more suited to a ten weight rod. My advice would be to bend down the barbs immediate or take a hook remove course with the Red Cross. Second piece of advice would be to give up the idea of long casts and settle for a “chuck and duck cast” of less than twenty-five feet or so with a good open loop. The third piece of advice would be to wait for that little extra pull or snap that the heavy fly gives you when the backcast has completely straightened out; most of us cheat with lighter lures and start the forward cast before the back cast has completely straighten out—very bad with a heavy lure. My final thought would be to invest in rod that can handle these heavy lures. Casting all day with an over-burdened rod is hardly a pleasurable experience. Hope this helps. Been there and done that! 8T 
Olaf
I am likely covering ground already covered here but here goes; while there is absolutely nothing wrong with casting bigger flies on smaller rods, there will be a toll paid in casting elegance. It’s a simple matter of physics. Between the weighted flies and the relatively light tackle its going to be “chuck and duck”.
The situation will demand tradeoffs in order to get to the sweet spot of nice loops and delicate presentation. One could potentially find oneself with a ten weight rod.
Now I’d hate to go fishing with a ten weight when there was so much more angling fun to be had with a seven or even nine weight. (Again, that ten weight is simply a point of reference for this example). So I’d heed the advice above and work out the best personal solution for minimum “duck” and maximum fun.
Oh, less leader, while not desirable, can give better “chuck” control.
best
_________________
RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
http://robinsrumination.blogspot.com
Are you using a leader that is rated for the size fly/hook that you are using? When tossing my big bugs, I go with 0X.
The line controls the fly. Heavier lines control heavier flies better. Don’t be afraid to up your line size on the rod you have now. Sometimes I will cast up to a 13 wt flyline on my eight weight rod when the need arises.
good point micropteris
and those big old 13 weight lines can be often be had for a song.
_________________
RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
http://robinsrumination.blogspot.com
go get heavy line like for pike bass or rio clouser they allow u to put heavier hooks on right wt rod.
havy hooks heavy line on light weight rod aint good