Did I buy right? A question for the fly fishing gurus

[danfish]

Hey all,

Today I upgraded my fly gear. I wanted it to cover a range of scenarios as follows:

Murray cod, yellowbelly and the like down here in NSW,
Barra and Bass up on Lenthalls Dam and the creeks and rivers in SE QLD, and
Estuary work, namely flathead, tailor, smallish jew and bream etc in the estuaries and rivers, again SE QLD and NSW.
Some pelagic work if possible but not a huge priority

I walked in expecting to get another 6wt combo as I was not worry about casting for barra or cod. I was expecting to pay alot but I got a Nitro Distance 9 foot 8/9wt rod for $169.00 (i think it was mislabeled) and a Vision Deep 8wt reel for $100.00. Just gotta put backing and line on it and collect some leaders. I was persuaded to get the 8/9wt combo by the guys as they said with a lighter leader you can fish estuaries and heavier for barra and cod and they said on a windy day I will struggle to cast a larger flatty fly or bass popper with a 6wt.
I thought I would be over tackled for the flatty and estuary, but I am a complete novice so trust my friend who works at the store knowing well he has taken 40 species on fly in his many years fly fishing. I want to be able to fish with confidence

What is everyones opinion, did I buy right? Is an 8wt too much for a flatty? I have a 6wt Abu Garcia rod that I am gonna wack a better 6wt reel and line on, so I feel confident that I have all bases covered up to medium sized barra, but is the 8wt ok for what I want to use it for?

What leaders should I carry for barra, bass and then the estuary work?

Cheers in advance for any help.

Dan

[mangajack]

whilst a little on the heavy side for flatties, it is perfect for barras and jacks and trevally. I would probably opt to pick up a 2nd cheap reel and load a 7wt line for the lighter estuary work, the rod will cast a 7 wt with practice but it will not load up on a double haul as well as a lighter rod will. I think throwing larger flies for flathead works very well anyway so you will not have any troubles with 5-7" long flies.

[4weightfanatic]

I fish an #8 weight for flatties most of the time as there is always wind up here !!!! And really it's the weight of flies that probably matter's more so than their length or if they are bulky especially cup faced poppers you might want to cast at barra. I have caught good sized barra (up to 83 cm) on a #7/8 weight rod using a #7 Rio Tropical Clouser line casting various wind resistant surface flies like Dalhbergs,Foam head poppers and large Gurglers. Ideally a #8 weight line would have been better but I was using a borrowed rod with my line and reel. As far as leaders go if you intend to make your own stick to 60:20:20 rule with 60% butt,20% mid section and 20% tippet as a general rule and a rod length in the estuaries for the bread and butter species. For barra you could use say 50lb straight through depending on line and terrain you are fishing in or if your using wind resistant flies make a twisted leader so half is doubled (twisted) say for 1.2 m and then single for .8 to 1 m. Use hard mono like Mason or Rio Hard. I fish a variety of leaders for bass but generally if I'm sinking flies down the front of weed beds I have a 8-9ft leader 40 lb butt,30 lb mid then 14 lb tippet. If I'm throwing surface flies usually a 6-7 ft leader 40lb butt (4ft) 14lb tippet (3ft). Alot of the surface flies I can still cast on the #6 especially smaller #4 cicada and gurgler flies but I tend to use my TFO BVK #8 as I have a better range of lines to suit it. This time of year if I target bass and togas in the impoundments I'll use a 15ft clear intermediate sink tip line (Scientific Angler Wet Tip Clear) with a two part 5 ft leader (FC) similar to the bass popper leader mentioned. Being a clear tip on the line allows me a shorter leader.I fish a #9 weight WTC line on my #8 weight. I'd recommend you get a #7 Rio Bonefish line for your #6 weight rod and this will allow you to manage shorter casts (all you need from a yak) and still be able to cast surface flies and clousers as well as light estuary stuff like charlies and shrimp patterns. Look forward to hearing of some finger strippin' line burns. Cheers Pat ....PS I think you did well with your purchase as your #6 can cover the lighter stuff.

[Iseered]

Fourweightfanatic had some really good points and advise. I would just add in relation to barra that abrasion resistance is one of the key aspects in choosing leader size,(not to be confused with weight). There are some awesome leader materials available that work well yet are not specific to fly fishing. keeping leader diameters down will help to increase cast-ability ( your get plenty of resistance from the large fly's used for barra). Stiffer leader materials have their place as do more supple lines. It really depends on the fly vs. wind vs. terrain being fished and you willingness to always being willing to experiment and learn. Look for the smallest diameter/ highest abrasion resistant leader you can find and you won't go to far wrong.