Ultralite
- This topic has 19 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated Aug 5, 2008 at 7:22 pm by
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Just wondering….do any of you use ultralite fly tackle, i.e., say, 3wt. and under to maybe the Sage 000wt.
What do you use, what have you caught and on what?
Jim
Seven foot, nine inch orvis silver label two weight.
I bought it for trout, but I have been using in for bream in a local farm pond.JS . . . Ultralight tackle is very fun and something I just got into. Two of my fishing buddies are avid ultralight guys and often use the 00 and 000 setups with great success. I am going to buy a 00wt Sage in the next year and pair it with a small Abel 1 reel 🙂
The most knowledgeable guy on this topic is Bill Byrd http://www.byrdultrafly.com/. He is based out of Atltanta and is very approachable. He is a very detailed guy and his articles on the topic of ultralight fishing are full of information and well written. He is also a major supporter of the notion that ultralight does not “harm fish”. Just to warn you that people’s opinions on this topic are all over the place. In general, fly shops are against ultralight tackle (possibly because the rods are a niche product and the guys who buy them are usually a bit off the beaten path, which appeals to me personally). However, those who “really” fish these setups will swear by it and I have seen guys on the Chattahootchee river fish a 00 all day long and land 18″ trout just as quickly as with a 6wt. Also, ultralight setups are amazing casting machines because the small 00 fly lines are like string and they cut through the wind with little resistance. However, they are not effective at casts longer than 40′.
FYI, ultralight fisherman would call a 3wt a “heavy” rod, ha. In general the ultralight game starts at about 2wt. I recently started fishing a 3wt fiberglass rod and love the setup. After talking with Mr. Byrd, he believes it is best to go down 2-sizes from your current lightest rod and then get comfortable before downsizing again (i.e. if you have a 5wt currently go to a 3wt, if you a comfortable with a 4wt go to a 2wt, don’t jump from 5wt to 00 at one step).
You might also want to talk with Cameron and some of the fiberglass guys on this site. They generally have a good understanding about the qualities of shorter lighter rods for tight work.
Go to Bill Byrd’s site http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ or http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ultramain.htm, it is a must read!
I have a 7’6″ 3 wt TFO Pro rod that I won in a raffle. Like Neal said, they are not long distance casting machines, but they are fun to fish. I have fished it at Roaring River State Park in MO. I intend to take it to a little stretch of a local stream soon.
Neal,
Didn’t want to prejudice the post, so I acted dumb (not a stretch for me). Wanted to see how many folks here do it and their opinions.
I have Bill’s ENTIRE website printed out, punched and in binders. It sits on the same shelf as the other bibles!
Yes, I have taken a beating on several other websites over the years for even mentioning untralite. Read my introduction again, the part about “experts.” I put these people in the same column as “those with opinions” are like……everybody has one!!!! Funny how many people will deride something they’ve never tried.
I’ve talked to Bill several times and had email correspondence; bought some of his water spiders and ‘gilbusters early on for use and patterns……it’s a whole new world. Heck, I’ve caught tons of LMB on a little #10 olive wooly worm so far this spring and summer while spinners and pluggers are getting skunked on heavy metal and long plastic.
It’s amazing what an open mind and some experimentation can do for ‘ya….usually the difference between “catching” and “fishing”; I’d rather catch any day and be laughed at by the ‘bassers for only catching an 11″ bluegill on a 1wt. What fun is that?!?!
Thanks for your feedback, Neal.
Jim
I just moved into the ultralight world of fly fishing. I built a 2 wt 6’6″ 2 pc rod. So far, after about 3 weeks of fishing it, I’ve caught 20-30 fish with the largest being a rainbow about 12 inches.
However, a guide on the east side of the Sierras who posts on another board recently posted this trip:
http://www.flyfishingaddicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=102
His 2 wt seems to be handling these beasts pretty well. He’s a Winston fan though, not a Sage guy.
Back to my limited experience…I ablsolutely love the 2 wt I built. It does make the 6 wt feel like a log though. I can’t get much in distance with it, but how often do you need to on small creeks? Fun times IMO.
Darrin
I think that the reason most people object to ultralight fly rods is that, in the hands of the wrong angler, such a small rod leads to greater fish mortality. When I was a guide in Montana in 1994, I remember several guys trying to get into the Orvis “1-weight Club” by catching big fish on their tiny rods. Many of those fish were played to death because the anglers did not have the skills to land the fish quickly on such light tackle.
Tiny rods are great fun, but only used in appropriate angling situations by fly fishers who know that they are doing.
I can’t tell you how painful it is to stand there and watch a sport kill an 18-inch wild cutthroat by dragging it back and forth across the river a dozen times–all in the service of the angler’s vanity.
Phil
Dusty, you have to look hard to find pictures of the Gillbuster (and you still might not find posts on the internet). It has been removed from sites and from production for now. There is a story behind this but honestly I heard it from someone else and so I can’t repeat. Needless to say, pictures are hard to find. However, it is nothing more than small weighted dumbbell eyes, thread and a small rabbit zonker strip tied as a tail. Seriously, one of the simplest flies to tie and very effective, I will post a picture later tonight in the fly tying section under our recent rabbit fur post but I will call it something else 😉
Here is a shot of the fly in action 😎
I love light rods and have a fair few, though I’m yet to go below a 2 weight as the lines are not common here..
Australia has some awesome small stream fishing..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
That brown’s from the Thredbo river, some of them get that steely color in them in the flat light.
The river itself is one of our best, most of it is in national park and it’s very well manged by fisheries.
It has Browns, rainbows and the odd large brook trout in it and gets big spawn runs in spring and the fall.
I mostly fish it in the upper reaches where it can be tight and perfect water for a 2 weight, but I’ve also had the odd trip to the lower river chasing fish in the 4 – 6 pound range.
Every so often something much bigger get’s caught there. 😉I did a story on it a while back for Flylife and I will do a picture post from it when I get a minute..
If you ever get down this way Zach, I’ll take you there..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I fish Ultra Light…
00w Sage TXL
0W Sage SPL
2W Scott G, 8’4
2W Scott F 6’0
2W T&T LPS 8’0
3W Scott G 7’7
However, Ultra Light is 1 and less, 3w is still a thunder stick, the key is to understand what you want to do with them. Mine are for fishing tiny alpine streams, to fussy fish, with tiny flies and light leaders, and even lighter tippet.
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