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hey guy's,
i am just wondering wat would be the best weight fly combo for casting dahlberg divers and flys of that size and weight for tarpon and bass in rivers. i have a fly combo but am looking to upgrade it to something of better quality. i am willing to spend up to $600 and am not sure of wat rod and line to get. i will be using a floating line though. i have decided on a shimano ultegra reel. any help would be greatly appreciated.
cheers, Dave
Dalbergs are a big fly and can take some casting into the wind, I would probably suggest a 7 or 8 weight outfit in whatever you can afford. I tied some shrimp patterns for a customer a few years ago for tarpon and appently he had great success with them.
Be careful with that Ultegra reel. Their internals dont like the salt very much .
It is very nice reels, but they require some extra care at the end of the day. I have had a 78 for coming onto 4 years now and she has given some hard service in the tropics, but her bearings need looking after more so than some other reels I use.
What weight combo - not an easy decision to make for that kind of money.
Get to a tackle shop that is worth their salt and have a chat with the lads. If they are really good, they will rig a few combos up with some demo lines. You can then try them out in a controlled environment to see which one fits your style of casting.
Have fun shopping
Wessel
For an all round outfit for bass I reckon a 7 weight matched to an 8 weight floating line
is a good performer.. If you get onto a female over 40 cm and the line is rooster tailing across the pool you might wish for a 8 weight, but the 7 is an easy casting outfit and will have enough fighting guts in the butt. Ratings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so a 6 wt can be enough.
I have friends who use 4 weights but I like a bit more authority.
90% of my fishing is with fly and for Bass also. I use an 8 wt Powell with a Shimano Ultegra. The reason for the rod wt is because alot of Bass are in snags or trees, easy to cast dahlbergs etc and also you don't know what else might grab the fly i.e. Cod or even a Toga. A good 8 wt feels like a 6 wt anyway, so my suggestion is "don't be stingy with your money for a good quality fly rod which will last forever (hopefully)"
I find the Shimano Ultegra is a fantastic reel due to the drag system and have landed good fish on it. My preferance is a 5/6 wt reel on my rod.
I suggest that you look around and be 100% happy with the rod you get that feels right for you!!!
Happy fly fishing and hopefully see you on the water one day.
Another thought if you haven't bought. A lesson I learned eraly in my flyfishing days (15 years ago) is that in salt / heavy tackle fly conditions always buy th every best you can afford.
I spent twice my budget at the time but today I have areel that I still use (Ross Cimmaron - lifetime guarantee) easy to clean and oil, and it still looks as new as the day I bought it.
As for Rods - be careful - again within budget constraints - try and get one with a guarantee - As careful as I am I have had the luck of the Irish - I have had to replace the same rod's tip three times - once from casting a popper (smashed my tip on the back cast), and twice in the Landy car door. The original investment saved me a fortune in replacing rods.
I started out getting the reel I wanted (and paying heftily for it), and I bought a used rod to start with which today I use as my backup rod for remote trips. Try and do something similar to build up your arsenal of rods over time while always having the best quality reel you can afford.
Hope it helps
CF
Can't argue with the advice to buy quality tackle, however I have never fought a bass on the reel, (PB is about 44cm on fly) even when fishing deep fly in Somerset dam, so it is mostly a line holder. For this reason I just use a graphite reel in size 5/6 which is nice and light- cost around $90. No corrosion problems- also you don't cry if you leave it on the riverbank by mistake as I did with my last one.
Robert
remember one thing
that the reel is designed to HOLD the flyline.....thats all is supposed to do
the better idea is to spend the money on the best rod you can
i will concede that some of the bigger fish will get you onto the reel....and its always a pain to have alot of line laying about.....but the rod is your fighting equipment.
get the best you can afford.....and who cares if you have to buy a $20 reel every season
just my thoughts
i have a g-loomis IMX 6-7 with a forward taper...has caught everything from trout to metre long Couta
i really dont know what the reel is...but with a bit of care it has lasted me 7 years so far...and i know its a cheapy
That was exactly my thinking as I read another post Thumbs, glad someone with some more experience than I put that out there. Still, I can't see myself parting with the sort of $s that gets you a g-loomis, maybe one day when I am rich and famous ;D