8wt for poppers

[jayodonn]

Hi All,

I've read Ed Mitchell's "Fly rodding the Coast" and Terry Tessein's "Fly Fishing Boston". Tessein recommends 8wt for all-around saltwater fishing in New England. Mitchell classifies 7-8wt as light tackle for schoolies, bonito, small blues etc and recommends 9-10wt for casting large flies including saltwater poppers. I won't be fishing heavy surf and like to fish with lighter gear so I'm leaning towards 8wt. However, I love top water fishing! Is an 8wt effective at throwing saltwater poppers and sliders or are they too big for an 8wt? I should also mention I'm a newbie so the other reason I'm leaning towards 8wt is I believe it'll be easier to learn with 8wt vs 9wt or 10wt.

 

[BigCliff]

A 9wt will throw bigger poppers further. It will also better propelling heavier flies into the wind. An 8wt will work, but a 9wt is very much the standard stick for Stripers in NE.

That said, I'll bet that you will end up catching 4x as many fish in the NE surf on subsurface flies as you will on surface flies.

 

[sandfly]

After fishing with the fly for over 30 years in the salt I would have to say 9 wt..8 if you are fishing for small fish in the bay maybe with no or very light wind...

 

[tbrillinger223]

After fishing with the fly for over 30 years in the salt I would have to say 9 wt..8 if you are fishing for small fish in the bay maybe with no or very light wind...

I am going to second sandfly's advice. an 8 is fine if you are fishing for saltwater trout. if you plan on going after larger species, strippers, albies, blues...etc you definitely want to go with a little more rod. Like cliff said, you will be able punch the wind better and throw larger poppers and flies. learning to cast a 9 wont be much different than what you are using now. (if you are casting a fly rod now, if not its not terribly hard to learn)

 

[randyflycaster]

I tend to use an 8-weight in the spring - the stripers are a little smaller - and a 9-weight in the fall. I saw Dave Micus on tv fishing for stripers. He used a 7-weight. In my experience most of the stripers caught on a fly rod tend to be smaller.

I fish smaller, saltwater poppers and flies anyway. They're not as tiring to cast.

Randyflycaster

 

[Sprattoo]

if you plan on going after larger species, strippers, albies, blues...etc you definitely want to go with a little more rod.

When I'm fishing for strippers I find a nice 20 dollar bill zipped into your fly works the best. They don't always seem to be so concerned with the weight of your rod as they are the bait you are using.

*snicker*
Just kidding tbrillinger.... I just couldn't resist the opportunity for that one.