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A different type of fishing that has seen rewards been reaped by many. This forum allows us to learn more about Float and Fly fishing from those who have made it their number 1 way to fish.
Been enjoying my fly rod fishing for trout, but this weekend I'm going to be camping near Barry's Bay alongside the Madawaska River... I don't know if my 5wt with WF line would be good enough to use out there? I've never fished for bass with a fly rod before, and I'm not sure how big the bass get out there either...
I was thinking of getting another reel and and putting a better suited leader/tippet and line on it for bass.. but keep it on my 5wt -- but not sure this is a great idea...
You should be ok for SM, however if you're fishing heavy cover/wood for LM, you're not going to have the backbone to horse them away from or out of the cover. You're looking at an 8wt at least for LM, especially since you're also typically tossing large wind resistant files as well.
Your 5wt will be perfectly fine for river bass. As far as tippets and leaders go, I use 6' length of 8lb mono. Bass aren't all that line shy.
On the Mad you will probably be fishing areas that smallies hang out in, so I would recommend starting out with a #6 or #8 bead-head bugger in olive or black and going from there.
I fish a 9ft 5wt with a WF floating line and a 7 1/2" tapered bass leader for smallmouth (sometimes I will switch to a full sink type III 5wt line if I want to get my flies down deeper). You'll be able to handle the bass in the Madawaska without a problem.
I have spent most of my fly fishing days catching bass in the Madawaska and Addington Highlands. I use a 6wt for my bass fishing, but that's just because I don't own a 5wt. A 5 wt would be fine, and depending on the water you are fishing, I would recommend a leader size anywhere between 2x and 0x. I haven't found the bass to be to leader shy, and when fishing for largies I always use 0x because they get into the weeds and they strike super hard. But carry a 2 or 3x tippet on you in case you are fishing very clear calm water. I was fishing for Smallies on the weekend in the Addington highland area, and I was only catching smaller bass just under and on the surface. Sinking line might be a good idea because the fish are quite deep right now, the frequent passing cold fronts have done a number on the bass this year.
Also, if you don't want to get new line, try using floating line with a longer leader and tippet and possibly a weighted fly, so you can get your fly under the surface a little. Early in the morning, around 5 or 6, you can get the Smallies on the surface depending on where you are, and what the conditions are like. Calm, warm sunny morning is a recipe for lots of fish, but the window doesn't last very long, unfortunately! If your fishing the river, im sure you will catch early, and probably all day too!
You're welcome Akira. I try to keep things relatively simple and use 3x tippet (8lb) for streamers, 5x (4lb) tippet for nymphs and dries. I like to use tapered mono leaders with fluorocarbon tippet.
good luck out there!!! and keep your hands on the rod, river smallies are crazy strong, a quick second in the current and it feels like they add an extra 2 pounds!!! anyways tight lines!
