# The Evolution



## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

It's been a looong time in the making but I've taken the next step forward. I don't know as fisherman if we ever arrive but we do continue to grow in knowledge and experience in our endeavour. Today I purchased my 1st fly rod. I stopped at Orvis and ordered a 9'6" Clearwater 6 Wt with a fighting butte. 

It should arrive ahead of a fly tying class and a smallmouth fly fishing class I scheduled with the Five Rivers folks. Can't wait to match wits with Mr. Mean River Bronze on a fly line . . .


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Welcome to the insanity! Nice rod, too. But, I just have to ask why such a heavy weight fly rod for smallies? My light saltwater rod is an 8wt....


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

sbreech said:


> Welcome to the insanity! Nice rod, too. But, I just have to ask why such a heavy weight fly rod for smallies? My light saltwater rod is an 8wt....


Ha Ha, cause I'm going after Godzilla sized smallies!! That was a typo, I've corrected it. It's a 6 wt rod. 

I will mostly be throwing large clousers, deceivers and articulated flies. They look fun to tie and should imitate baitfish . . minnow, shad and such real well for pig smallmouth. I think a 6 wt should do fine. A 9 wt . . well, that's just not warranted despite old bronzie's rep for big fights.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Cool, and welcome to the addiction!! That rod should work great for river smallies, and would also be suitable for steelhead and carp if you'd ever want to try for them on the fly. We just need it to warm up! I'm more than ready to head to the local river and chase some bronze backs!


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Yup, 6wt should be perfect!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I could do most of my smallie fishing on a 5wt but carry the 7wt for the added ease in turning over the bigger and bulkier flies, especially topwater bugs. The 6wt should do you well! Even an average river smallie can put a decent bend in my 7wt.


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## Bwana J (Sep 12, 2010)

First off, welcome to the wonderful world of Fly fishing. I think you'll enjoy the Clearwater rod, I've been using a 10ft 7wgt Clearwater on Steelhead and smallies for many years and they've served me well. It'll work great on river smallies as well as carp. I'm lucky enough to live close to Lake Erie and in the spring the big lake run smallies come into the rivers to spawn, my best to date was almost 7 lbs. I love swinging big streamers for them but also love using poppers, top water strikes sure get the old ticker pumping hard. I like buying foam bodies from Janns Netcraft and making my own. I paint them in various colors but the ones I paint red and white with a lot of sparkle tied into the tail do the best. Be sure to add some poppers to your bag of flies, you won't be sorry. 

One more thing, the 6 wgt is a nice starter rod but if you stay with it it's only the first of many. I started fly fishing in the mid 60's and I now have rods from 3wgt to 9wgt as well as a Spey rod to complete the collection. Fly fishing, its more than an adventure, its an addiction.


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## hookmeup (Nov 2, 2010)

yes, you are going to love those top water strikes with poppers. Right after steelhead are done, smallies are there buddie. You got the perfect rod. 4-5 ft level leader, enjoy


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

Thx ya'll, I will indeed have to get on the topwater fly scene. Last year I had some exciting action from big smallies taking topwater propers on spinning and baitcast gear. I hope to have the same success on the fly rod.


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

hookmeup said:


> You got the perfect rod. 4-5 ft level leader, enjoy


You'll have to give me an education here? What are the other options for leaders and why exclude them over a level? 

Thx, I've got more than one lesson to learn in the study of fly fishing!


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

The leader controls depth, drag & presentation. One of the most technical aspects of fly fishing. You can have an amazing fly on a bad leader and it won't fish. If you have a really light fly (unweighted bugger) you can use a really light, lengthy tippet section. The heavier the fly (or quarry) the shorter the tippet, up until the point you eliminate it and go to a straight leader. An example would be a straight 5' section of 60 lb. Seaguar fluoro tethered to a toad fly & 180 lb. tarpon.










That's an Owner size 1 AKI. I had to "break off" due to the circumstance. 60 lb. doesn't really break. Next time you're at Bass Pro check one of those hooks out. They're near the counter where the spinning reels are. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum would be bouncing or drifting a weighted nymph. For it to appear natural, it needs to hang more or less vertically, while suspended...to mimic a freely drifting insect, etc. The rest of the leader controls the delivery aspect of presentation, but in this scenario the tippet controls how the fly behaves as it's being fished. Using a small diameter, light test line like 2-4 lb allows even a small weighted nymph to sink straight down, until it meets the resistance of an indicator or smartly tied leader.  



Try starting with a spool each of Berkley Big Game in 15 lb & 10 lb. 

I'm thinking of what is biting right now consistently, and it's smallmouth. After hitting submit reply, I'm going to take a size 6 streamer hook, feed a tungsten nose cone on & get busy with some copper ribbing, black hackle & black marabou. A 2" long fly, quickly tied...sinks like a rock and throws well on a 5-7' leader consisting of 3' of 30 lb mono, 2' of 25 lb. mono & a 2' tippet of 15 lb. fluoro. 

If you're buying mono, get Big Game, if fluoro get Seaguar.  Good luck.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Double surgeon's is the knot for tying dramatically different line diameters together. Very strong knot.

Double Uni or Blood knot is the lowest profile knot for passing through guides and has a sweet tag end (x2) that stick out perpendicular to the leader. You can tie additional nymphs or weight on these, so you have weight at different points in the water column. The top of the river is faster than the bottom, you know. 

For something like a popper, you can fish a straight 20 lb. 5'+ leader, just use a non slip mono knot so the fly can move independently of the leader while at rest. Also imparts a side to side action on a slow retrieve.


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## MIKE*A (Apr 12, 2009)

Welcome aboard!

Mike


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