re: The Fly Fishing Thread: Questions, pics, discussion all here

What weight rod will work good for bass and other larger freshwater fish?

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Struggling downloading photo's from mac.
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Definitely going bigger (pike, stripers etc). I have a lighter 5 wt right now that I've been using for trout.

Are the Orvis Clearwater rods and reels good quality? I don't want to break the bank but I don't want to buy some junk and these are in my price range.

There is decent fly fishing almost anywhere you can fish.

Within 1-3 hours broken bow, OK is very popular for trout. Recommend going on a week day or in the rain. A few decent white bass runs in the area, Sabine river is best if you have a boat. Lake fork is close for big bass, Texoma for stripers. I don't go to Dallas if I can avoid it, but fort worth has some decent fly fishing and fly tying qgroups that are good resources.

yes. see above about broken bow. lower mountain fork river has great trout and decent smallmouth fishing. classic trout stream style fishing 3 hours from the metroplex.

Closer to home the nolan river. trinity in fort worth. fort worth nature preserve if you have a kayak or similar. brazos below PK, rowlett creek. lots of smaller limestone creeks that can be explored, just poke around above or below any of the reservoirs. I think some people fish the creeks off white rock but I never have.

pushing out a bit further there's some beautiful rivers in the hill country. I really like the san marcos. the guadalupe, frio, colorado, medina, comal are also popular. public access can be tricky on these, sometimes it is easiest to pay a tubing company or campground $5 or so for access. guadalupe bass and rio grande cichlids are two new species you can add to your checklist here.

Heading the other way there is some great small mouth and trout water in west and NW arkansas.

some local resources:
fort worth fly fishers
fort worth fly fest (yearly eveny)
backwoods in fort worth - free fly tying classes and some helpful staff
there are also orvis stores in dallas and plano that have classes

Thanks haw

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Headed to Orange Beach in a few weeks. Will not really have time to sneak off to a destination but I can probably swing an early morning from the beach. I figure I can throw my 5wt and try to catch a few ladyfish or something. My brother caught them running the shoreline hard one afternoon in Fort Morgan and damn near caught one every cast. Just looking for any tips as far as fishing the shoreline.

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If it is calm, you might be able to walk down the beach on the east side of Perdido Pass and find some redfish near the jetty. The first bull red I ever caught on a fly was there. I know that may not work with a 5wt. If it is calm in the morning, you should find some fish working in the gulf. Even if they are of ladyfish quality, theyre still fun to catch.

A little gear talk:

Do any of you use sling packs, etc?

Is there a preferred method to organizing flies between boxes?

Most of the contributors in this thread are TFO guys. Most of us own at least one BVK. I also have a 3wt finesse series I'm fond of

I have a Simms sling pack and really love it. I went with the larger one and am happy I did since it allows me to store a jacket if I think it'll rain

Fly storage?

All dries in one. Large nymphs, buggers, etc in another, small nymphs and midges in another- that is for trout.

Steelhead I have all egg type patterns in one and bugs in another

Bass and saltwater are in their individual boxes