While this will not replace Rich Z’s stuff, this is a good one.
“While you’re not going to catch as many bass on a fly rod as you would with standard tackle (that difficulty is fly fishing’s essential charm) it is certainly easier than it used to be. Plus, it’s a lot more fun.”
-Field and Stream, April 2007
That may be true on large resivours, but on really small ponds, I would take issue with it.
I also wonder why fly fishing is not allowed on the pro bass circuit.
Rick
I would agree with rick z. Think about casting a popper to eager bass and when your ready to cast to another spot you pick up the line in a back cast and place it in another location, and even if you false cast 1 or 2 times, you will have placed your fly to another lacation long before the spin or bait fisherman could wind in their line.
Just my 2 cents
Rick,
Fly fishig IS allowed, but they do regulate rod length. B.A.S.S. caps it at 7 1/2 feet. This was due to the ‘flippers’ like Dee Thomas who came out of California with 10 foot (and longer) flipping sticks and were taking everyones money.
The story is kind of interesting. ‘Flipping’ uses heavy line at short distances. No ‘casting’ so reels were just there to ‘store line’ (sound famuiliar?). Bass were typically struck and swung into the boat with little fight. Lures were either a heavy jig with pork trailer or big, bulky soft plastic baits with heavy bullet weights. Incredibly effective on BIG bass in heavy cover.
Ray Scott figured out pretty quickly that these guys would soon dominate most tournaments in the heavy cover lakes of the southeast where B.A.S.S. was spawned and still ruled the industry. Tackle manufacturers are ones that ‘sponsor’ the cost of the whole thing. Tournaments where the rod and reel were relatively unimportant, where fancy $5 to $10 hard plastic baits weren’t a factor, where ‘new’ inovations in lines were trivial wouldn’t generate much revenue.
They got together with the flipping pros and basically pared down the rod length to ‘keep the playing field level’. 7 !/2 feet was the ‘compromise’ that they reached. Still effective for shallow water, but harder and not as good in water deeper than five feet or so. Gave the chuck and wind crowd a chance to compete.
By the way, ALL B.A.S.S. affiliated clubs generate their ‘own’ tournament rules. Many do NOT specify a rod length. If you are interested, ask your local club for a copy of the tournament rules they use. None of clubs I’ve belonged to over the years specified that you couldn’t use rod of any length.
Good Luck!
Buddy
My little two cent’s worth:
Regardless of the species sought, “competitive fishing” is a contradiction in terms.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Joe,
That is why I am glad thsy do not, for whatever reason, fly fish at BASS events.
Rick,
Why?
Heck, if I expected to see someone fly fishing in a bass tournament, I might actually watch one for more than five minutes. All the screaming and waving the fish around, dropping them in the boat, etc. has turned me off over the years.
Caught a bass on a popper yesterday. It was great fun.
Darned things don’t fight as much as a trout though.
Yup, repositioning line is tons easier with a fly rod and MUCH more accurate. Being able to get under tree limbs is awewsome!
This thread has to fork off in two directions from what I can see.
Follow me if you believe that fly fishing is the way to escape “the hamster wheel.” That is, get away from the competition that dominates our work and too much of out play.
If you want to say that fly fishing is a more efficient or effective way to take fish, take the other fork. I am not taking that one because I believe that fly fishing is not as efficient as running and gunning with casting or spinning gear. Consider that 7.5’ is long enough for a fly rod. If it really beat casting, by now the big prizes on the Tours would have motivated several contenders on the circuit to use this “more efficient” method.
I think there is more than just rod length requirements in bass tournaments:http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/bassmaster/i/BASS_fed_rules.pdf
- TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: The use of grippers in landing bass is prohibited. Only artificial lures and biodegradable artificial lures may be used. No ?live bait? or ?prepared bait? will be permitted during official practice and competition, with the exception of pork strips or rinds. Only ONE casting, spin-casting or spinning rod (8-foot maximum length from butt of handle to rod tip) and reel may be used at any one time. Other rigs as specified above may be in boat ready for use; however, only ONE is permitted in use at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Anyone guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will have his/her catch disqualified. When visually fishing for bedding bass, to be counted as a legal fish all bass must be hooked inside the mouth and must be verified by your partner before being unhooked.
Folks who pick up a fly rod to catch bass are looking for something different than the glitter boat crowd. Not necessarily something better or worse, just different. And that difference is best known by the individual flyfisher.
BTW: Tom Nixon won bass tournaments with a fly rod…he probably used flyrod versions of spinnerbaits and rubber worms, but he did win.
To get back to the topic: I agree with RickZ’s comment.