got a question. i'm purchasing a rod in which i will use only for bass. Small mouth and large mouth.

I will be using poppers, streamers, clouser minnows, wooly buggers, ect..

i will be using "basss sized" flys.

My question is. do u think an 8 wgt rod will be good enough? is that a good wgt?

an 8 would be good. It will have the backbone to zing those deer hair poppers out there. Also try a bass bug taper or pike taper floating fly line if ya can. It helps your rod load faster which is a big plus to those wind resistant flys.

I use a 8wt pike taper on my 7wt gl4 for some of the shallow water salmon uses I put it through..most of the time I am using a type III or V sinktip fly line for salmon and it handles heavy salmon flys fairly well....it can get to be a chuck and duck in the real high water situations however where an 8wt or even a 9wt would be nice to handle the weight needed to get the flys out and down to the fish.

you might also try and get your hands on a little stiffer 6 or 7 wt, your 8wt will be plenty good but dont over look the quality of the rod at hand! I HAD an 8wt that casted like it was my 10 wt which made fishing all day really crappy, hence the gl4 7wt, much better rod!

There was a fella pushing the TFO rods not long ago and it should be easy to look him up in the past fly fishn threads here, plus they are much cheaper then a gl4...dunno how they cast though, he would be the one to ask!

Well since you will be using it on the Susquehanna......an #8 will be a good choice.

I use a a St. Croix 9' #8 "Legand Ultra" for the Susquehanna down my way and it works great!
You really don't need an #8 for FIGHTING most of the fish (occaisionally yes)......You need it to beat the wind, and as Lil' said, to throw the size flies you'll need.
If you must have one line. make it a floating Bass taper.......but one of those multi-tip lines from Sci Anglers or the like might be ideal......Floating tip, Clear intermediate, SLow and Fast sinking all in one package. You can change tips to match conditions.

On calm days a #7 or even a #6 or #5 will work for dry fly fishing......such as when the Epeorus (White Flies) are hatching and you are flicking around big White Wulffs.
An #8 gets a bit tiring after a while with this type of fishing.....but you'll definitely appreciate it when you need to boom casts into the wind and handle all that line on big water like the Susquehanna.
It will also handle the occaisonal carp or big channel cat you come across feeding.......a 20lb carp on a dry fly and an #8 rod is something you'll not soon forget!!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
If you can only get ONE rod......make it an #8

Check out the St. Croix &quot;Legend Ultra&quot;.....IMO it is the best rod on the market in it's price class. Followed by the Loomis GL3.

A nice large arbor reel such as a Ross &quot;Canyon&quot;, Bauer &quot;MacKenzie&quot;, Loop, Orvis,Redington or whatever brand is a big help with it's faster line pick up capabilities.
I use a Teton &quot;Tioga&quot; LA and it's been pretty good for me so far.........

By the way......an #8 outfit will also allow you to chase Great Lakes Salmon,Steelhead, and Browns around if you ever get the desire.

thanx for the advice. i am not gettin a very expensive rig. i don't have the money. Right now, i'm plannin on gettin the cabellas 3 forks rod with a prestige reel. I don't know what kind of fly line comes on it but i won't be able to aford too expensive of stuff. i know it'll be floating line.

Like u said matt, i'll use it on the Susquehanna. But for the most part i will be fishing ponds, lakes, and creeks like loyalsock and lycoming creek.

I might get the chance to go up salmon fishing this year to so i think this weight will do me good.

1Horn.....if it is MOSTLY for the Smaller Loyalsock and Lycoming, you might want to think about a #7......
You don't need to cast as far, and it will be more fun fighting fish.......just a thought.

But boy it's tough because if you do that then forget Salmon!! They'll drag you into Lake Ontario.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Ideally you'd have a #6,#8,#9......small river bass,big river bass, and salmon.
But I guess a #8 will be OK......Yeah.....get an #8 nevermind. If you can have ONLY one it's gotta be an #8. ANything lighter and you won't handle those Kings and the Susquehanna wind can kill you.

oh man Matt...tell that to the guy I got my GL4 7wt from..he nailed a 35lb sheefish and a 40+ king in the same summer with the same rod, I just wish I could nab half the kings he does <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>!

lol, oh the confusion. Thanx for the help. I fish all summer long and spend most of my time one creek, lakes, and ponds with the occasional trip the the big river. We catch tons , i mean tons of smallmouth on loyalsock creek. They average most are 12-15 inches but we always catch some real nice big ones.

In the ponds and lakes we catch alot of bass. nothing huge but some nice ones.

Do u still think the i should go with the 8. the salmon trip is a possibility but not a gurantee. I have some with liine wgt 6/7 but there not mine. there my dads and i really like to have my OWN stuff that no one but me can use and i can set up just how i like it. Thats why i'm planinn on gettin one. I think the 8 will work out though because its possible that we might tangle with some carp in the creeks. The 8 gives me more of a variety of bigger fish i can catch.

Will 12-15 inch bass put up a good fight on a 8 wgt. This is my first year really gettin into fly fishing so i want to get a good set up for bass since thats what i fish for the most.

thanx for the help.

Ok 1 Horn.......since you put it that way.
Get a #7 or even a good stiff 9'#6.
The fish will be more fun and you'll still handle the majority of flies.

If the Big Water and Salmon are only a possibility......get a rod for what it will be used for mostly. 12-15&quot; bass, and a #6-or #7 will work fine. With the #6 being more fun fighting fish.....you won't overpower the small ones and will still have no trouble with a bigger fish.

With the #8 I was just picturing you trying to use the same rod for small bass and then 30+ Kings.......and that was the only line weight I could picture you using for both.
A King is taking you for a ride regardless of what line weight you have......yuo can just put more pressure on them with a #8 and heavier rod.

IF that Salmon trip DOES develop......use it as an excuse to buy another set-up!!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

can i cast big poppers to fish with a 7 wgt?

and matt , or any one. is it legal to fish for trout now in PA. i know u can't keep them but can u still fish for them?

If so, what fly would be a good one. i would like to go to rock run and fish but i dunno if its legal

1Horn,
Check your regs book, but I believe that it IS legal in approved trout waters but only until about March 1st.
&quot;Delayed Harvest&quot; and &quot;Trophy Trout&quot; and &quot;Catch and Release&quot; waters stay open all year long.

If you want a great stream not far from you try Fishing Creek in Clinton Co. near Lamar.....Take 220 toward Lock Haven to I80 west.....Get on 80west, but hop off the next exit (Lamar)make a left off the exit and go about a mile and make a left at the park(you'll see it).........after you cross the first cement bridge you are now in the &quot;Trophy Trout&quot; area.....for 5 miles up stream to the Tylersville Hatchery.
Its a Limestone stream and the fish are still very active right now.
If you nymph the riffles and runs with a pair of #18 pheasant tails you should catch a good number of fish. Explore a bit......it's an awesome stream.

You can also try small glo-bugs (egg flies) to entice some of the bigger fish.
Keep your eyes peeled for trout &quot;midging&quot; in the pools (check the first big pool below the Tylersville hatchery and you'll see them)

and yes........a #7 will throw poppers with no problem at all. The only time you'd run into any trouble is with big wind resistant flies like Decievers or heavy ones like big clousers.......even then it won't be bad.

Enjoy!

Edited by - Matt / PA on 02/16/2002 12:20:33