{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Tips for this newbie on catching bigger fish

You mean like, 40-pound striped bass?  This may not be the right forum for that.  

If you want big fish, the Potomac is a darn good place.  Sinking line? Sure, I have a 150 gr for my 5-weight that is in the closet somewhere.....I think. I haven't fished up at chain bridge, but it looks like a place for one if you have a stripping basket.  To me, full sinking lines are easier to manage from a boat/canoe etc. since you can put the line at your crotch or otherwise keep it out of the water and tangling.  My favorite full-sink line is an integrated shooting head -- which is something like 30' of fast sinking head connected (seamlessly!) to 70' of intermediate cost-savings.  

That said, I pretty much hate fishing sinking lines because it feels like I'm trying to prove a point by using fly tackle where it really isn't suited.  The only time I use one is for the shad run from a boat (which is fun BTW, you should definitely try it this Spring).  At least then you aren't the only goon repeatedly rolling that crap to the surface and then launching it (blindly, because you usually can't see it) to slam down onto the water at high speed.  

Gene

On Sunday, October 19, 2014 10:29:30 PM UTC-4, Jamie Carracher wrote:

I started fly fishing back in May after taking the introductory classes at Orvis. I enjoyed those classes so much, I bought a rod and have gone out at least once a week ever since. On my first day by myself, I caught a little perch at the Tidal Basin and thought: this isn't that hard! And then I didn't catch another fish for six weeks.

I've really improved when it comes to casting (thanks for the tips at the Tidal Basin, Todd!). I also have caught a lot more fish. On a recent trip home to Ohio, I caught a sizable rock bass and a 15 inch or so smallmouth (my biggest catch yet). That was cool.

Here in D.C., I haven't had much luck catching decent sized fish. I'm using a 5 wt with floating line and flies like the woolly bugger and clouser minnow. I don't have a car, so I normally go to the Tidal Basin, C&O Canal or the river up by Fletcher's or Chain Bridge (let me know if you ever fish any of these places, would love to meet up!). I don't have waders yet because it seems silly to buy those when I'm mostly catching little bluegill.

I'm guessing my biggest problem is my floating line. Should I be using sink tip or even full sinking line? Is a 5 wt good enough? Is it easier to fish the river on a boat? Thanks for any tips!

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/57cac9fa-64ee-435f-989a-4ca084501652%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.