Short Fly Rods

SOUZA: Fly fishing versus fishing with a fly

Although I had my plug bag with me, there was one box of streamers in a side pouch. I had a baitcaster and spinning rig in the canoe, but no fly rod.  I was bouncing a spinnerbait off rocks and logs trying to get hooked, but all I got were short strikes. I looked through my tackle bag but didn’t have any hooks that I could use as a trailer. I took a short piece of line and tied on a streamer in a matching color. The size 2 Brooks Blonde looked too small and out of place but I needed something to make the spinnerbaits effective with the short striking bass.   That’s the traditional way to use this technique. I have a couple of ways of using this basic idea while breaking the rules along the way. The first is using a large Danny plug to reach a long way out.  Trailing the Danny plug is a 3-foot-long leader with a very large fly. I started doing this a couple of years ago. I was fishing at Barrington Beach before sunrise. The stripers were right against the beach taking a large peanut bunker fly. As the sky began to lighten, the stripers moved away from the beach. By the time the sun broke over the trees and hit the water, they were still visible but well out of fly rod range. Other anglers were casting and reaching them but the stripers weren’t interested in the big plug. I went back to my truck and took the rear hook off and 3 ½-ounce Danny plug and attached a 3-foot, 20-pound test fluorocarbon to the eyelet. To that I tied the peanut bunker fly. I took my spinning rig off the roof of my truck and tied this assembly on. I headed to the edge of the beach and cast the Danny and fly out past the stripers. After it settled on the surface, I began the extremely slow retrieve one needs to make a Danny plug move through the water properly. The slow wiggle made the fly travel through the water with a side to side motion you can’t get from striping in a fly line. The first time I approached the stripers there was what looked like a swirl near the plug, but it never hit.  A couple of seconds later, the line pulled tight. When I got the striper to the beach it had taken the fly. Two more stripers fell to this setup before they moved completely out of range. What I do is use a short piece of fluorocarbon and tie a streamer just a few inches behind the spinnerbait.  Now, hopefully, it will look like two fishes swimming together. I’ve done this many times last season, and most of the hookups were on the fly. Using a spinnerbait with a traditional trailing hook, my success rate wasn’t as good.

Short Bass Rod (Page 1) - Tackle Talk - Louisiana Fly Fishing ...

FFS, how did I miss your post?  Sleep deprivation is taking it's toll. 

I really love these shorter "bass" rods for kayak fishing.  For the marsh, there's the long-vs-short, which-is-better debate that continually goes on.  I can appreciate arguments on both sides, even if I tend to lean towards short.  But when it comes to freshwater - especially some of the tree-filled lakes I fish - short fly rods are THE way to go. Period!

I happen to own a Redington Predator and Ross FlyStik, both 6-weights.  I also built a "bass" rod a few years ago from an 8'6" 6-wt St Croix SCIV blank = Legend Ultra and before that, built one from a Sage RPL 8'6" 6-wt blank.  Both those custom rods still in my quiver. 

I've also tested out the TFO Mini-Mag, Sage Smallmouth and Largemouth, and Scott Warmwater at various shows.  Not yet tried out the Bass Pro "Heat" series, even though it was suppose to have arrived by now at the BPS store by my house. 

First off, IMO, the Sage LM and SM are better than the Scott WW, and sell for about $200 less. 

The Predator, Ross, St Croix and custom Sage are all 6-wts that are used with a 7-weight line.  Of those, the Ross and Sage are probably the truer 6-weights. The Predator and St Croix are a bit stiffer, and load well with a 7.  If I were to do it over, I'd go with the Ross FlyStik 8 instead of the FlyStik 6 just to have more diversity in this lineup. 

My next rod will likely be the Mini-Mag.  My friend, Nick Curcione, designed this rod as a "bluewater series".  The original model has been classified as the "810" for 8 to 10 weights.  When it came out, I thought it was a little too much rod for what I needed for bass fishing, but their newer "68" model fits my needs perfectly.  Nick did a great job of the concept of this rod, and I think it's going to be my big bass / heavy cover rod for sure.  It certainly will handle bigger bass (and reds) than the Ross can, or even the Predator.  It casts well with a WF7F, but even better with a WF8F or WF7I.

Under my wife's "no net increase rods" policy, I need to get rid of one in my inventory to get a new rod.  I'm going to keep the Ross. It's a gorgeous rod, just a joy to cast and it's very accurate, and maybe I can convince Ross to exchange for an 8-wt. I also love my Predator, and it's more saltwater-capable.   The St Croix LU has landed hundreds of reds over the years - how could I possibly sell it?  That means the Sage RPL custom rod will likely go.  Nothing wrong with it, except it leans more toward a 5-weight than 7-weight.  Would be a great trout or smallmouth / spotted bass rod.

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide

Field & Stream

Field & Stream

Fly fishing for salmon and sea trout