I am thinking of changing things up a little and trying something different, for me anyway, this spring and try trolling with fly rods rather than just run flies off of my trolling rods and mono. What rod and line weights are recommended? Can I troll with floating fly line or just level line sinking fly line? What is a good starting point on leader length for either of those applications? Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Link
Link
You most certainly can troll with flyrods. Depending on what line you use, you can use anywhere from a 5 to 6 wt rod up to an 8 or 9 wt if you use leadcore.
Re: level sinking vs. floating, It depends where the fish are. Some use a floating line in the prop wash much of the year. I will use it when the fish are in the top 5 or 10'. Cortland makes a 333 level sinking line. I believe they say it will go down up to 15'. Some will argue this. Of course speed & temp are definite factors. For me leader length will vary on what line I use & how deep you are fishing. There are many more qualified than I to speak on this. You need to know that you need rod holders to accomadate fly rods. Downeasters work. I prefer the "DE" salties. There are a few mounting options on them. The other thing to know is you can buy or make custom fly rods with longer handles to fit in more conventional rod holders.
Hope this helps.
Richard
5 or 6 weight rod 9 foot plus, if your also going to use it in the stream i prefer a 5 wt 9 footer, just trolling my rod of choice is a 6 wt 10.5 foot rod but you need a net person when using the longer rod. for line they make a special trolling line just for what we do, its an 8 wt level sinking line thats 150 feet long, Cortland 333 8w Salmon Trolling Level Line. getting harder to find that line, ask the winni shops, then maybe yoadrian, i think ive heard him mention it before, maybe he has a source. this line isnt for casting so dont worry about matching line weights to rod weights.
I like to troll with a fly rod at times. The Cortland 333 is good line and I run about 30 ft. of mono with a rod lenght of florocarbon. However, I found that with a 6 wt. rod with a matched reel, the reel arbor is too small to gain line fast enough and you may want a large arbor reel. You could use a mooching reel, but they are heavy. Don,t forget to use plenty of good backing. Good Luck and Enjoy. Cal P.
I UES A FLY ROD ALL SEASON.IN THE SPRING I USE A 6WT. WITH LEADCORE LINE AND ABOUT 70FT. OF MONO. IN THE SUMMER I USE A 7 TO 9WT. WITH LEADCORE. IT WORK GREAT THE REEL I USE IS A OKOMA 8-9WT.