Best Size of Fly for 9wt

[bslittle79]

Just purchased a 9wt and have been tying some different size of flies. I'll be fishing for trout and reds mostly. And will be blind casting.

I have some clousers and deceiver flies tied. Just need to test a few out.

Just curious of the length most people like to cast with ease. And amount of material. I'll post some pictures of these ugly things. I'm new to tying, so I must warn, they're not pretty, but should catch fish, haha.

[ellisredfish]

Here is a picture of a fly that I tied last summer to catch bass from ponds around the city. It works great on a 9 wt. It should catch trout and redfish also. I will tie some in pink and chartreuse for the bay. Right now I am tying flies for crappie fishing. Those that you tie should work well. I like my flies to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.

[bslittle79]

ellisredfish,

That redfish in my avitar was caught with the exact fly in your hand, but with a chartruse tail.

The flies I've been throwing/tying are 4" long. I guess I'm a big fan of larger lures, but might need to calm down on my flies. But I can get the distance I want, but I'll continue to experiment until I find the right weight/length/castability for my situation. I'm just curious what other fisherman use.

I've been buying flies or had MouletteRouge tie what I wanted. Too bad he moved away...

[bslittle79]

Here's a few.

[Bruce J]

Brian, glad to see you're getting into the long rod, and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun for you. The size of the flies you have tied look fine for a 9wt rod. You'll find that the length of the fly is less important than the wind resistance and the weight. You can tie a very large deceiver style fly and it will still cast like a bullet after it gets wet because it's relatively light weight and very streamlined. Some other flies that are more bulky make it feel like you have a parachute at the end of your leader and will never be as fun to cast. Clousers are very streamlined, but the castability depends on how heavy the eyes are. The heavier ones just hurt that much more when they crack off your cranium on the way to the target!

Generally for redfish and trout flies, a size 4 to 1/0 hooks work well. I probably use 4s and 2s the most. Most anything you can tie on these hooks will cast reasonably well with a 9wt.

[bslittle79]

Thanks Bruce

These are all tied on 1's and 2's(I like 2's the most). I'm not a big fan of large clousers sold at most retail stores. The ones i've tied are with 1/36 weights. The larger clouser's i've bought are too heavy for what I want to do witht the fly.

Hopefully this weekend can give me some feedback. I should of been out there this morning.

[oscar@CBF]

This fly works for me!

http://www.catchingbigfish.net/uglybunny.jpg

[skinnyme]

Last year a revamped my fly box and simpilized my life for the better. Now I only have one small fly box and only four types of flies in it. I have spoon flys, clousers, poppers, and shrimp pattern imitation. I usually have several different sizes and colors of each. I'm 100% confident that I can catch reds from Sabine to S. Padre with what's in that little fly box.

[bslittle79]

Skinnyme,

What flies would you use to target Trout(25" and up)? If you had to blind cast for them.

That's the only reason I bought a 9wt.

[Sight Cast]

Dang Brian, always up for a new challenge huh. Why dont I put you on some sight casted reds first bro.

[Bird]

I tend to like smaller flies, #4's are probably my favorite size. I know this sounds cliche but I spend a bit of time matching the size of the fly to the size of the bait I see that time of year. I do get a good hint from watching the fish in the underwater lights in the canal behind the house but its true. I usually throw crazy charlies or gotcha's and keep a nice selection of deceivers in the fly box.

I do some rainbow fishing up in Missouri every year and I think I could catch 'bows on the same patterns and colors I use for specks only a lot smaller, say #16.

We also catch heaps of dolphin on those #4 pearl gotcha's.

[bslittle79]

Dang Brian, always up for a new challenge huh. Why dont I put you on some sight casted reds first bro.
Or should I say, name the weekend. Maybe on your trip over here in a few weeks we can get on some reds and trout.

[skinnyme]

Skinnyme,

What flies would you use to target Trout(25" and up)? If you had to blind cast for them.

That's the only reason I bought a 9wt.
Brian,

Sorry for the delayed reply, but I would opt for either a clouser or a "catch all" shrimpy looking fly thingy. If I could only take one with me it would be the shrimp pattern fly. My favorite catch all fly is the Mothers Day fly. Reds, trout, sheeps head, you name it they will hit it. Most of the time it looks like a shrimp, sometimes it looks like a baitfish, and sometimes it even looks like a crab.

[Jon]

Brian, one of my favorite flies for big trout is a non-hackled Stu Apte type “Baby Tarpon Fly”. The first ones I had, I got in an Islamorada fly shop. Actually I had purchased them for my fly collection, however when I got back home, I learned that they handle the south TX wind very well. Man, I just looked for a picture of the ones I tie…..couldn’t find one. Anyway…..I found one of the deceivers I tie and also like for trout. I’ll try attaching that one. Later, Jon

[EKNIP]

One Of My Favorite Flies To Use To Blind Cast To Trout Is Olive And White Clouser (size2) Or If I Am Sightcasting To Trout Is Any Large Deciever Or Seaducer. I Like To Use Bass Stinger Hooks Size 4-6 For The Larger Flies/

[bslittle79]

Thanks for the info guys,

Jon, that deciever looks good. If you can find a picture of the "baby tarpon fly" post'em up for us. I'll be calling you soon, I have something to show you.

[Jon]

Well, I couldn’t find a picture of the Baby Tarpon flies I tie. If you have the book “Flies for Saltwater” by Dick Stewart & Farrow Allen, on page 7 there are some that are similar. They are Tarpon Glow (Bad Crab) & Tarpon Glow (Orange). I believe they call them “Keys style Baby Tarpon” flies. Now here’s my thoughts on flies for BIG trout. Me, being in South Texas, I like a fly that will handle the wind. I want that fly to run sub-surface near the top of the water column. I also prefer a fly that has a big silhouette and I like pulling it fast, real fast. Now, if "one" is going after big trout I feel you need three things. 1) You need to be an experienced “Big Trout” fishermen (as most are that are seeking a big trout on a fly rod). Meaning..... you need to know big trout patterns [characteristics], where they like hanging out, and how they move in and out of a particular area. 2) You need to be a good fly fisherman with a very good “Double Haul”. In other words, you need to be a good fly caster 3) You need a good [Big Trout] trout fishery. Me, I started fly fishing for big trout in the 90’s here in the Upper Laguna/Baffin. When I first started, I was a horrible fly-caster, however with the trout fishery being in good shape I was able to catch big trout. Just about all my fish were blindcasted, however my largest trout (a fish somewhere between 29-1/2 & 30-1/2, which I released near Shamrock Cove) was a sightcasted fish and one I’ll remember for a life-time. As other fly fishermen reading this knows, fly fishing can be very frustrating - the snagged lines, the blown cast, the “popped” leaders, the boggy bottoms, and being a mile from the boat when you realize that the fly you need is in the boat. However, I guess that’s what makes catching a big fish on a fly rod so great, because you’ll also always remember all the **** you had to go through to catch it. LOL Jon (hey! anyway here's one of my favorite redfish flies - I'll attach it)