[hammer84]

First, thanks for all the great info here. After getting some direction form you all on my first trout rig I have since added a pan fish and bass rig. Yep, I'll all in and I told my wife it was the flyfishing forums fault

This weekend is opening day for trout at a small local lake. They stock the lake this week while it is closed then 8am sat morning they open it up. More of a little party/fund raiser than a nice day of quiet fishing.

This will be my first day fly fishing for trout with my new setup. First day in a long time for me as far as trout fishing goes.

My local Cabelas sold me some #8 woolly buggers and some 1/64 jigs. Then they sold me 6x leader and tippet. Didn't think much about it at the time.

I'm new so I basically use books and this site as my guide. i have read that a #8 should have 3x or 4x.

Any suggestions on leader and flies for my big adventure on sat ?

Thanks

-Myke

[GRN]

Myke,

I use 6x tapered w/ 7x tippit on no heavier than 4wt rods, generally only on 2-3wt... your post isn't clear on what weight rod you're setting this up on, please advise

[hammer84]

Thanks for the reply.

I have a 5wt setup that I was planning on using.

Maybe the sales man was confused. He asked what I had and I told him a 3 and 5 wt setups.

[wtex50]

For # 8 buggers you would need a 3X leader and tippet. the 6X will pop the bugger off if you cast with any authority. Good luck

[tightlines57]

Since a lot of the mountain lakes are snowed in for the winter I fish a lot of stocker trout in the desert lakes. I find almost any bead head nymph works best. Sometimes a tandem rig works, sometimes a single nymph with a bit of weight to get it deep fast. I've also put on a semi seal leach and strip it fast, trout think it is a bait fish.

A 5 wt setup is good, I generally use my 4 wt and 2 wt.

You have to experiment until you find what works best in your area.

[dshort]

Don't get confused about your tippet size and the weight of your rod. The 2 don't have much to do with each other in my opinion. Your leader/tippet size should correspond to the size and weight of the flies you are fishing and the conditions you are facing. Light tippets help in low water with skittish fish and fish that are heavily pressured. As already mentioned, you'll need a heavier leader to make that heavy old woolly bugger turn over and cast right. I do think the buggers are a good choice though. If I could only have one fly for the rest of my life it would probably be a woolly bugger.

[FrankB2]

I fished #10 wooly buggers on 3x this winter, and had great success with lake trout. I'd always used 4x for this size, but decided to try something new.
One reason was the trout were holding close to cover right along the bank,
and I got tired of loosing flies to the bushes. Having said that, 3x can be pretty tough to break off if the fly gets hopelessly wrapped around a branch.
6x sounds crazy for a bugger pattern, but some people swear trout can't
be caught on anything larger. These people are usually the ones that swear
anything larger than a #28 chironomid will not fool a "smart" trout...LOL!

[zerolimit]

You have good advice here. I wouldn't worry about farmed raised stockers being leader shy and would focus on a balanced fishable setup. Those fish should be pretty suicidal once you find them. They may tend to school rather than roam if they have not had time to develop a foraging routine.

[FlyRichardFly]

I have to agree with everyone above. A 3X or 4X is great for a size 8 woolybugger.

I use 2X to 7X in flouro for sinking, and 2X to 7X mono for floating.

A couple years ago, I did a extensive test on line diameter and lure action. I would outfish my spin friends 10 to 1 just by using a thinner line. When you cast a 1/24oz Roostertail with 2lb mono, it sinks quick and shakes like a live minnow in the water. The same lure on 6lb or 8lb won't work the same way...... it looks like it is being pulled through the water. Huge difference IMHO! Plugs, even more, without a thin line the plug won't move!

Same thing with your #8 bugger. With a 6X it will pulsate and flutter when just sitting there, because of the thin line. You won't break the line, just use a good knot. I like a six turn Uni to connect the fly to the leader/tippet.

In small creeks, I have landed so many 10lb carp with my 2lb spin mono and with my 2lb 6X leader...... the fish will always break at the knot, so take a second longer and make a good knot.

Thin lines are much better. That's why the braids are so fish catchy with the spin guys..... super thin and no memory!

Most trout will be caught on a nymph or a tiny dry...... a thin, 6X makes the tiny fly look alive.

Longrods Forever, Trout season opens in 10 hours,
Rick

[Fly2Fish]

I hate to tell you this, but if you're fishing for stocked trout, forget flies per se. Salmon eggs (or look-alike flies) are what really works, along with corn (yes, the canned variety work just fine). Reason is that they best simulate what they're fed at the hatchery.