Fly Fishing for smallies

To all the fly fishing guru’s on this site, What would be a good starter set up for fly fishing smallies on a small river system in central MN

I’m not a guru but maybe an intermediate to advanced intermediate fly angler.

A 9′ to 9.5′ 7-wt or 8-wt with a weight forward floating line would be a pretty good starting spot. Probably a fast taper. Not sure I’d want a lighter rod fishing in current. I’m thinking you could get overmatched a bit by a nicer fish going less than 7-wt. Using the 7, I’ve thrown mid-sized poppers and Dahlbergs without issues. I’ve struggled a bit trying to throw Largemouth sized hair bugs (3″ plus) with that setup, especially in the wind. The 8-wt would be better for that.

I was all set to offer some sage advice and I can’t think of anything I can add to Tegg’s excellent post. You’re in for some fun!

If you really want to get into this, I’d recommend this book:

http://www.smallmouthflyangler.com/products/book_smallmouth-bass-fly-fishing_f.php

Tim Holschlag has been chasing Smallies with a fly rod for a long time and really knows his stuff.

Steve

Cabelas offers some very good deals this time of year on their fly combos…. Rod, reel, line, backing, and tipit. Living here on mille lace, I fish for everything from carp to smallmouth to sunnies. They set me up with a 9′ 8wt I think. It was $80 for the $120 set up. I have been very happy with it and looking forward to going up to the north shore and try my luck on some of those trout.

I have a older Loomis 9′ 9wt that is my primary flyrod. Bit heavy for smaller stuff, but very versatile. When conditions are perfect, a willow limb would probably work. Add in a 10mph wind and some bass bugs, and I can punch in a nice cast. I like it for roll casting around snags and other dense over-hang cover. The stiffer mid-section gives me more control. Plus its a bit more forgiving to me when I only use it for a few trips a year anymore

What Tegg and Randy said. Have a blast!

Ten days ago had a run of ten or so smallies 12″-17″ hammering my tip-downs and jigs while ice fishing crappie…was weird, but got me itching for some open water smallie fishing!