Introductions

[Guest cyb0rg]

At the tender age of 30, I've just started to enjoy fishing again. I remember going with my grandparents when I was a kid, but a near drowning incident has kept me away for a very long time. My wife loves to go fishing, and would go every day if she could. I have 3 kids (ages 8, 6, and 3) who also enjoy going.

The vast majority of my fishing takes place at a man-made pond, which is about 2 square acres and 20 feet at the deepest end. There are no structures or stumps (that I know of) and no overhanging trees or cover. Moss is readily available however, which prompted me to invest heavily in weedless hooks. I live in NW Ohio, and this pond is stocked with largemouth bass, catfish, bluegill, and others.

I purchased 2 rigs from Wal-Mart. A $16 combo and an ultralight rod/reel for around $60. I've found that I'm not content to just "cast and wait". In fact, after using the ultralight rig for a few days, I now hate using the other...it's far too heavy. The only drawback is the reel is limited to 4lb line, which is pushing the limit considering the size of the bass in this pond.

For bait, I'm using mostly Swirltails that I rig up with weedless hooks and having moderate success. I lose a few to missed hooksets, get my line snapped on occassion (often when landing), but I can't complain too much. I've ordered a Fred Arbogast Hula Popper (G760) and Jitterbug Clicker (G635) and am anxious to try using those.

Questions:

1) I'm interested in bass fly fishing, even tying my own flies. Can this be done using a standard rod/reel?

2) What kind of bait would you use for the above mentioned pond?

3) I want to upgrade to a better rig soon. I really like the ultralight feel and style of fishing, what would you recommend? Budget: $100-$150 max.

[senko_77]

first off, welcome to the BEST fishing forum in the world.  

ok, so heres the answers to your question

1) fly fishin for bass can be moderatly succesful.  bass in the 2lb. range and higher tend to ignore all wet flies.  wet flies mean they sink, and they ussualy look like minnows, but all sizes of bass love a hair bug.  a hair bug is a bug lookin critter that is made with the thick side of bucktail.  it floats, and is a popper.  it is very hard to make these flies as a pro, so you being an amaetur will be extremyl difficult.  but, fly fishin must be done with a fly rod and reel.  i bought my first one form sports authoriy for 35bucks, and it came with everything i needed to get started, but when you get the hang of it, upgrade to a better one.  also, make sure you get an instructional video on how to fly fish, because if u never have, it can be difficult to start with no guidance.  you will be amazed at the art of it

2)  for any pond new to me i would throw a buzzbait, senko, and spinnerbait.  if you have never heard of a senko, you need to learn what these are.  all these baits can be purchased at wal-mart.  I go to walmart all the time, so here are my suggestions.  pick up a bag of kinami flashs in 4" size, get red/black, and green.  for buzzbaits, go with the arkie, there skirts look like there made out of tinsel, and for spinnerbiats, get the terminator t-2 in the white and chartreuse colors.  if you have questions on how to use these baits or any kind of other bait, post your quest in fishing tackle

3) if you want to get a baitcaster, the best for an ultralight feel would be a bass pro shopd prolite finnesse reel with a bass pros hops bionic blade rod 6'6" medium action.  for spinning gear, i would recommend a pfleuger president reel with a st.croix premier model in the 6'-6'6" range, medium action.  i hope this helps

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

One thing Ryan forgot is that no, unfortunately, you cannot fly fish with spinning or baitcasting gear.  A fly rod and reel are neccessary.  A 7weight fly rod is the norm for bassin' but if ultra-light is your thing, you can go as low as a 5 weight.  Good luck and welcome aboard.

[Max-in-Mn]

Hello. Glad to see yet another come back to fishing, it never leaves your blood. For the fly fishing you'll notice rods are not rated in power. You will see numbers like 4,5, 7,8 etc. The lower the number, the lighter line and lures used. So for Bass you'd be better off with a size 7 or even 8 due to the weight of popper and streamer flies. I like a 8'6'' to 9' rod, for trout at least. Have fun and stick with it

EDIT: L-B-H beat me to it lol.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

max-n-mn---a 9 wt?? for trout??  You live near a nuclear power plant? lol

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

sorry,....read it wrong,.....lol

[Guest cyb0rg]

2) for any pond new to me i would throw a buzzbait, senko, and spinnerbait. if you have never heard of a senko, you need to learn what these are. all these baits can be purchased at wal-mart. I go to walmart all the time, so here are my suggestions. pick up a bag of kinami flashs in 4" size, get red/black, and green. for buzzbaits, go with the arkie, there skirts look like there made out of tinsel, and for spinnerbiats, get the terminator t-2 in the white and chartreuse colors. if you have questions on how to use these baits or any kind of other bait, post your quest in fishing tackle

Thanks a lot senko77!  I wrote those down and will take my notes along on my next trip to Wal-Mart.  

As for the fly fishing, it sounds like that's a whole new ball of wax, and I get confused enough already, so that'll have to be a project for later.  It certainly looks fun though.  

I should update my question #3 a bit.  This is the most pressing thing on my mind and I wasn't specific enough.

3)  I really like the ultralight feel and style of fishing, what would you recommend?  Budget: $100-$150.  My current rig is this:

ROD

Quantum Xtra Lite (Graphite)

4'6" 1 piece

Line weight:  2 - 6

Lure weight:  1/64 - 1/8

Action:  Super UL

REEL

Shakespeare Sigma 200A (Microspin)

5:2:1 gear ratio

3 ball bearings

100 yds/4lb line

Hardwood crank handle

I really like the way this feels with it's super light weight.  I'm looking to upgrade, yet keep the same "feel" of the ultralight rod and microspin reel.  Thanks for the help guys!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I know you are in the "ultra-light" mode but I think you should seriously consider moving up to a medium outfit.  The ultra-light keeps you very limited.  I personally don't even own an u/l anymore although when I started out, that was all I used.  Now, I would only use one if I were fishing a very small river for some small trout which I rarely do anymore.  Just a thought.  Better hooksets, much longer casts, stiffer line, bigger lures=====bigger, better  fish!

[FlyRod]

'Borg,

Remember that a fly rod is like a Bazooka or 106mm Recoiless Rifle...as deadly behind as in front!  ;D

Always look behind, in case a curious spouse or kid is observing from an unsafe location.

I once nose-hooked a cousin!

My largest Largemouth, 8 lbs, 4 oz, came on a fly rod. Whatta hoot!

F.Rod

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

flyrod- I once caught an old man in the eyebrow w/ a 1/64 adams.  Little thing looked like it hurt.  I got a cat claw in the nostril once, not a fun place to be scratched  

[Phishn_Phool]

If you are going to stay with U/L and commit yourself to that style of bass fishing then I think you need to invest in better line.  Either 4lb Power Pro braid or 6lb Yo-zuri hybrid.  Either of these will keep you from breaking off as much, and they will both help with thw hook set as there is little or no stretch.  Good luck and welcome

                                CPR ;D

[Gatorbassman]

I used to love fishing UL. I still get a kick out of useing my UL and 4lb test on the 12lb catfish at my in-laws house. If you enjoy UL fishing and are frustrated with breakoffs I would suggest you invest as much money as you can in a rod and reel. The best that I have ever used is the Ray Scott combo. It was designed by one of the best UL spinning tackle fishermen ever. The combo will run about 270 bucks. But it is the best out there. My father-in-law has caught several Largemouth over 6lbs on 4lb test line with this combo.

[Sweetwater]

Catching bass on an UL is a blast, but as others have said, you need to upgrade size for bass fishing.

I use spinning gear 85% of the time.

For a rig, I highly recommend:

Reel:

Either a Mitchell 308x(2000) or a Diawa procaster in the 2000 size. Both are $30.00 and are excellent reels for the money.

Rod:

A berkerly lightning rod in medium power, 6'6" to 7' in length. IMO...best rod out there for $30.00.

Line:

I use fireline in the 2/6 and 3/8 sizes. Some here prefer Power Pro, but I have used fireline for 5 years now without any issues whatsoever.

With this rig and line, very light lures can be fished without a problem, but there's still enough backbone to handle large fish.

For lures, I highly recommend trying a weightless watermelon seed zoom trick worm threaded on a gamagatzu 2/0 EWG hook.

[bass109]

I have been fishing a couple of years straight. Mostly day and night. Caught my share of tropy freshwater fish and all kinds of species. I love catching freshwater species that i never caught before. I use a whuppin stick with was 19.99 and a slow real. I broke my other eagle claw stick that i have been using for three years. I caught bass,trout,common carp, and many more freshwater species on that rod. My skills as a fisherman are now great. I caught about 16 Largemouth bass in a near by pond and lost 7 Largemouth bass. My biggest fish was 3 lbs for only a 5 acre lake. I fished there for about 2 days now and even caught a 5 lb channel catfish with a bass lure. My personal best bass was 13 lbs Largemouth in New york. Cant wait to go fishing again, good luck to all of you and god bless. ;D

[Muddpuppy]

You could check into Temple Fork Fly rods.  They aren't terribly expensive should fit in your budget with a decent fly reel.  In the hands of someone that knows what they are doing they are impressive and yet for a first rod (which mine was) easy to use.  Line is something else that you don't want to cut corners with. I would try to find a fly fishing shop nearby and see what they recomend.  They will most likely be more then happy to demenstrate and explain everything.  

[Gatorbassman]

My personal best bass was 13 lbs Largemouth in New york. Cant wait to go fishing again, good luck to all of you and god bless. ;D

Bass109,

We are glad you post on this site. We know that you have plenty of experiences to share.

This is fishing and it is expected that the truth will be streached from time to time. The only thing we ask is that you are as honest as possible.

The New York state record for a largemouth bass is 11lb 4oz. If you did catch a 13lb bass in New York that's awsome. You might want to see what you can do to get it registered as a record.

Throughout your life you will be known more by your integrity than almost anything else.

[Grey Wolf]

Some fishing stories are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gatorbassman]

This is just my pet peave. See some people just don't realize, (and I know this from experience) that bad information can set a new fisherman back month even years in his or her progress. For the longest time I thought a T-Rig was a C-Rig because someone had described it that way. So when I would ask someone a question about a C-Rig their answer would just confuse me even more. It sucked when I found out that I was mixing them up.