# Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing Hook sizes and Rod weights



## grant778

All this cold weather has me thinking about the warmth of summer and fly fishing for smallmouth bass, so I have been tying a few woolly buggers designed for smallmouth. I tied them on a 4x streamer hook in size 10, and a dry fly hook in size 8. I'm curious as to what hook sizes you would recommend for smallmouth. generally I think people recommend like 2-8, but would the size 10 work too?. Also, I'm curious as to what rods you would go with for smallmouth. Last summer I used my 5 weight, and that worked well, but I mostly caught small bass. I have an 8 weight now for steelhead, but I'm not sure if perhaps I should use the 8 weight for bass as well, or will the 5 weight be able to handle most of the smallmouth bass I encounter? I fish the chagrin for smallmouth btw.


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## Flymaker

I can tell you what I use....A 5wt is a cool rod weight and I fish one a lot ..but for smallmouth I prefer a 6wt in a faster action...I normally use sink tips for streamers , something in a 3-4 inch per second will cover all but above normal flows....for flys I like a Murdich Minnow in size 4 , clouser minnows same size ..as far as woolly buggers size 4 or 6 ..but I tie my own so they all have rubber legs and clouser eyes and I use them as a craw pattern....most of my smallmouth stuff is on the large side with 4'' being the norm .... I will go a bit small late spring when the young of the yr bait fish are abundant ..maybe a size 6 or 8 if nothing else works....but for smallmouth I prefer to ring the dinner bell with bait fish patterns.....for craws I tend to keep them leaning toward the smaller side .....as they don't want to deal with the bigger ones due to the pinchers.....if things seem slow use a Zuddler or a Zonker and let the pattern fish itself but give it a short strip or a rod tip jerk as it drifts along structure.....somethimes smallies like to chase and other times they prefer the pause ..just have to figure that part out day to day......... don't be afraid to go big .....a 6 '' deceiver or a hollow buck tail can do well ..other days a dead sticked wooly bugger will get the job done....I will also use a 7wt ..when flows are up ....but a fast 6 is perfect .....your 5wt will work the chagrin isn't really that big of a river......but a 6wt will give you more power for larger flys and sink tips and still let a 12'' smallie show its muscle and be more than enough rod for the casting distances on the chagrin....I normally fish the Stillwater which is similar in size to the chagrin .....I use a 5wt when I want to go light but the 6wt is my preferred streamer rod for trout and smallmouth...I reserve the 7wt for higher flows and faster sink tips or top water bugs and all steel head....I feel a 5 or 6wt is your most versatile rod weights and I like a 7 a lot ... Ive owned a few 8wts but never fell in love with them


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## IGbullshark

A five weight rod will handle any smallmouth you will ever catch period end of story. I use my five weight and catch 25-30 inch carp and dont have a problem with them. A heavier rod will come in handy when and if you want to throw flys with more weight to them.


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## nitsud

Someday, I hope you'll be introduced to a smallmouth that'll make you wish you had a 9 wt. I've met only one, but I had a 7 wt, and was able to turn it's head fairly quickly.

In ideal conditions, the real determinant of what you can efficiently land depends on the strength of your tippet and quality of drag, not the strength of your rod. In the real world, a stiffer rod helps for hooksets in hard mouths, and throwing big stuff efficiently. It's also much better when that fish decides it's going to go under that tree branch over there or go bulldog on the bottom in fast current, and you have to convince it otherwise, quickly. If you can't turn the head of the fish with the rod, you can't convince it to do anything other than burn your drag up.

Somehow all this sent me on a carp mortality search, and I found this one about hook size and carp mortality. Smaller hooks is better. When fishing corn, for carp, anyway...

"In conclusion, the presented findings suggest that hooks of a
small size are beneficial in carp fisheries as they cause less injury
and catch more and bigger fish, without sacrificing landing rates.
However, from a conservation perspective, it is important to note
that smaller hooks, at least when fished with corn, result in higher
catch rates so an overall smaller injury rate might be compensated
by a higher fraction of the stock captured."

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a hook size study for smallies, or even largemouth. Here's a general one.

"Our results have implications for understanding
survival of black basses Micropterus spp. that are
captured and released in fishing tournaments. On
average, 72% of tournament-caught black bass survive
capture, holding in live wells, handling at weigh-in,
and release, and this survival rate is inversely related to
water temperature (Wilde 1998). However, our experimental
results and model suggest that water temperature
within the range examined by most black bass
tournament assessments has no effect on survival of
captured and immediately released largemouth bass
(Wilde 1998)."

There is basically no science to show that heavier tackle reduces fish mortality, so we're left to have an argument about this fish on that rod versus what my brother's neighbor Jim Bob Clint said. Whew! Let the debate continue


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## TheCream

nitsud said:


> Someday, I hope you'll be introduced to a smallmouth that'll make you wish you had a 9 wt. I've met only one, but I had a 7 wt, and was able to turn it's head fairly quickly.
> 
> *In ideal conditions, the real determinant of what you can efficiently land depends on the strength of your tippet and quality of drag, not the strength of your rod.* In the real world, a stiffer rod helps for hooksets in hard mouths, and throwing big stuff efficiently. It's also much better when that fish decides it's going to go under that tree branch over there or go bulldog on the bottom in fast current, and you have to convince it otherwise, quickly. If you can't turn the head of the fish with the rod, you can't convince it to do anything other than burn your drag up.
> 
> Somehow all this sent me on a carp mortality search, and I found this one about hook size and carp mortality. Smaller hooks is better. When fishing corn, for carp, anyway...
> 
> "In conclusion, the presented findings suggest that hooks of a
> small size are beneficial in carp fisheries as they cause less injury
> and catch more and bigger fish, without sacrificing landing rates.
> However, from a conservation perspective, it is important to note
> that smaller hooks, at least when fished with corn, result in higher
> catch rates so an overall smaller injury rate might be compensated
> by a higher fraction of the stock captured."
> 
> Unfortunately, I couldn't find a hook size study for smallies, or even largemouth. Here's a general one.
> 
> "Our results have implications for understanding
> survival of black basses Micropterus spp. that are
> captured and released in fishing tournaments. On
> average, 72% of tournament-caught black bass survive
> capture, holding in live wells, handling at weigh-in,
> and release, and this survival rate is inversely related to
> water temperature (Wilde 1998). However, our experimental
> results and model suggest that water temperature
> within the range examined by most black bass
> tournament assessments has no effect on survival of
> captured and immediately released largemouth bass
> (Wilde 1998)."
> 
> There is basically no science to show that heavier tackle reduces fish mortality, so we're left to have an argument about this fish on that rod versus what my brother's neighbor Jim Bob Clint said. Whew! Let the debate continue


Boom. Pay attention the bolded/underlined portion. I typically use a 5wt for smallies, but if I am tossing large topwaters or real bulky streamers I will go up to a 7wt to make the casting easier. However, in smaller water, last year I fished brown bass with a 1wt and had a BLAST. Tippet strength was the determining factor for landing fish, not the rod. I used smaller streamers and was careful in designing streamers to be light enough to cast on a 1wt and at the same time present enough of a meal to attract a smallie. I landed smallies to about 15-16" with limited difficulties. Fight time was not excessive, but was intense! I would not go after smallies everywhere with my 1wt, but I feel I did a good job proving that in the right scenarios it was perfectly functional on smallmouth bass. The proof is in the pudding.


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## grant778

So if I'm understanding this correctly, the overall consensus is that a 5 weight rod would be effective with small to medium sized smallmouth if I used a heavier tippet (like 3x maybe?, 2x?)


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## ejsell

I'm using a 5 wt. with 3x tippet most of the time. In clearer water like the clear fork River I usually move to 4x tippet if I'm using size 6-10 streamers and 4x or 5x for nymphs. I've caught decent sized small mouth on tiny nymphs when I couldn't get a bite on a streamer so don't worry about going too small just figure out what they are eating.


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## V Fisher

I cant weight until samlies run we have some new river to fish


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## Flymaker

grant778 said:


> So if I'm understanding this correctly, the overall consensus is that a 5 weight rod would be effective with small to medium sized smallmouth if I used a heavier tippet (like 3x maybe?, 2x?)


you don't necessarily size the rod to the fish always , but rather the rod to the gear you intend to throw.....I have a lot of rods ..like 10 so I have the freedom to use what ever I choose on a given day....If I am using my yak to float a river ... I can and will carry 2 rods and have taken 3 ..but 99% of the time 2 rods go along....a 6wt always goes then I decide between my 5 and my 7 ...smallies on a 5wt is awesome I will use a 5ft sink tip fly line with like a size 4 4x long clouser or size 6 or 4 woolly bugger .... if I want to fish a bigger fly and/or need a longer cast using a 10ft sink tip I'll grab my 6wt....another tactic I like for the 5wt is to nymph a hellgrammite pattern using a indicator in rocky ripples right where it drops into the head of the pool or a depth change into a run...very similar to nymphing for trout or chrome but you don't need to be as critical on your drift....another fly that works for this would be a size 6 rubber legged wooly bugger ....brown or darker olive or black.....but if your river has hellgrammites in it that technique can save the day if the streamer bite is slow later in the morning or early afternoon........your 5wt will be fine ...I just recommended the 6wt because they can provide alittle more power for bigger flys and sink tips etc.....Ive landed 24 inch brown trout on Mad river on a 5wt and when I'm on foot a 5wt is what I use this time of yr that way I can nymph with a floating line and switch to a sink tip if I feel the need to toss a streamer ..but if I float I'll nymph with a 4wt and streamer with a 6 ...been in this game 30yrs and Ive built up a nice rod selection so Ive got the ability to fish what I feel will work best for the situation.....6lb tippet will be fine for the 5wt....I believe I read some yrs back that 6was the max recommended .but rods have changed since then....better materials ...6 is what I use..


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## FishDude

Great information!


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## kingofamberley

(never mind the kinked up line, I had just been given that reel)

My 5'6" 5wt Featherlight is my favorite smallmouth rod. Although there aren't many monsters in the creeks I like. I mostly throw sz 8 & 10 buggers as well as top waters up to 2/0. For clousers in the larger streams/rivers, I prefer one of my longer 5wts or a 6wt.


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