fly fishing for peacock bass 101 a tutorial
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:53 am
Hey guys hows it going? These past 3 months I have been catching hundreds of peacock bass on the fly rod I decided to make this article to help out fellow peacock fly anglers.
The Rod:
I only have 1 fly rod which I use in saltwater and freshwater so it is a nine weight fly rod, however you don't need a 9wt to catch these beauties, I would recommend between a 5wt and 7wt rod, it is enough, even for the hefty peas.
The Reel:
My 9wt rod is paired with a Sage 1600 series reel, the reel is affordable yet very powerful, it landed me an 18 pound carp last week and can certainly handle a peacock. try to match your reel with the weight of your rod, for example if you have a 6wt rod the reel should be designed for a rod 5-7wt, 6-8wt and any other reel that would have 6wt in it. any kind of reel can catch them, yes even those $40 Dogwood canyon fly reels can catch peas, they are fantastic reels for their price.
The Line: my fly rod has blue saltwater fly line spooled on it simply because it has been used in saltwater and I use it between fresh and saltwater. I have caught tons of peas even using this line, but I do not recommend it and will soon be buying a strictly freshwater fly combo. I would recommend a light green colored fly line designed for bass or trout, these lines are much more flexible than my saltwater line and will allow for greater and more accurate casts along with added stealth!
The Backing: My fly line backing is about 200 yards of 50lb power pro type of line. I recommend buying a spool of about 30lb power pro line to use as your backing, it will be more than enough to handle a large fish in case a carp or freshwater tarpon grabs and takes off with your fly, the very thin diameter of lines such as power pro are perfect to pack under the fly line adding more capacity and confidence should a large fish bite, I have never had a peacock take me down to the backing, but the reel should always be ready!
The Leader: choosing a leader material is a very important decision to make when fishing for peas, it can be the difference in catching 2 or 20 in a day. My rod has a 7 foot 12lb test mono leader which is more than enough, I will sometimes use a slightly longer leader to spook less peacock bass, thank God peas are extremely aggressive and wont hesitate to attack your fly but I have seen my fare share of peacocks getting spooked as well and unfortunately its usually the larger ones to prevent this I recommend starting off with an 8 foot 12lb leader, then change the length over time if the fish are spooked more or less, also using a smaller lb test leader will also be extremely beneficial!
The Flies: here is the big one!! If I could pick any one fly to fish for peacock bass with for the rest of my life it will no doubt be a clouser minnow! clousers are my absolute favorite fly to toss at them and they will get crushed 99% of the time. when I see the peacock bass I will cast the fly slightly past them and work it quickly by them, a fast moving clouser looks like a small fleeing minnow and should instantly grab their attention. presentation is key and while most peas will savagely hit a fast moving fly Ive had those days where they will ignore a fast moving fly, but when I slowed it down right in front of their faces then they go after it. My recommendation is to try different presentations until they dial in on a certain speed or movement, when they stop hitting it then switch presentations again until you get them feeding, it is very important!!! Clousers are the absolute best flies to use and I would highly recommend them, but should you be out of them or just don't have any yet, try a glades minnow, a deceiver, a small popper or other minnow imitation to catch them. the color of the fly is usually not too important as they are so aggressive they would hit even the most mismatching colored flies, but I usually prefer a white, green/olive and orange colored flies, reason is because these colors usually imitate a baby bluegill, bass or cichlid the most as they are used to seeing those in our lakes and canals.
Hope this article helps everyone and can't wait to hear the feedback and peacock reports!! Lets make this a sticky in this section!
The Rod:
I only have 1 fly rod which I use in saltwater and freshwater so it is a nine weight fly rod, however you don't need a 9wt to catch these beauties, I would recommend between a 5wt and 7wt rod, it is enough, even for the hefty peas.
The Reel:
My 9wt rod is paired with a Sage 1600 series reel, the reel is affordable yet very powerful, it landed me an 18 pound carp last week and can certainly handle a peacock. try to match your reel with the weight of your rod, for example if you have a 6wt rod the reel should be designed for a rod 5-7wt, 6-8wt and any other reel that would have 6wt in it. any kind of reel can catch them, yes even those $40 Dogwood canyon fly reels can catch peas, they are fantastic reels for their price.
The Line: my fly rod has blue saltwater fly line spooled on it simply because it has been used in saltwater and I use it between fresh and saltwater. I have caught tons of peas even using this line, but I do not recommend it and will soon be buying a strictly freshwater fly combo. I would recommend a light green colored fly line designed for bass or trout, these lines are much more flexible than my saltwater line and will allow for greater and more accurate casts along with added stealth!
The Backing: My fly line backing is about 200 yards of 50lb power pro type of line. I recommend buying a spool of about 30lb power pro line to use as your backing, it will be more than enough to handle a large fish in case a carp or freshwater tarpon grabs and takes off with your fly, the very thin diameter of lines such as power pro are perfect to pack under the fly line adding more capacity and confidence should a large fish bite, I have never had a peacock take me down to the backing, but the reel should always be ready!
The Leader: choosing a leader material is a very important decision to make when fishing for peas, it can be the difference in catching 2 or 20 in a day. My rod has a 7 foot 12lb test mono leader which is more than enough, I will sometimes use a slightly longer leader to spook less peacock bass, thank God peas are extremely aggressive and wont hesitate to attack your fly but I have seen my fare share of peacocks getting spooked as well and unfortunately its usually the larger ones to prevent this I recommend starting off with an 8 foot 12lb leader, then change the length over time if the fish are spooked more or less, also using a smaller lb test leader will also be extremely beneficial!
The Flies: here is the big one!! If I could pick any one fly to fish for peacock bass with for the rest of my life it will no doubt be a clouser minnow! clousers are my absolute favorite fly to toss at them and they will get crushed 99% of the time. when I see the peacock bass I will cast the fly slightly past them and work it quickly by them, a fast moving clouser looks like a small fleeing minnow and should instantly grab their attention. presentation is key and while most peas will savagely hit a fast moving fly Ive had those days where they will ignore a fast moving fly, but when I slowed it down right in front of their faces then they go after it. My recommendation is to try different presentations until they dial in on a certain speed or movement, when they stop hitting it then switch presentations again until you get them feeding, it is very important!!! Clousers are the absolute best flies to use and I would highly recommend them, but should you be out of them or just don't have any yet, try a glades minnow, a deceiver, a small popper or other minnow imitation to catch them. the color of the fly is usually not too important as they are so aggressive they would hit even the most mismatching colored flies, but I usually prefer a white, green/olive and orange colored flies, reason is because these colors usually imitate a baby bluegill, bass or cichlid the most as they are used to seeing those in our lakes and canals.
Hope this article helps everyone and can't wait to hear the feedback and peacock reports!! Lets make this a sticky in this section!