Yuma AZ Lower Colorado River

Will be in Yuma next two months. Fishing with fly rod for bass.  Using 6wt and been advised to use full sink line.  With inflatable kayak I will be in backwaters and channels - avoiding main river current.   Water here shallower and clearer.  Thinking of floating line and maybe adding intermediate sink head to that if required.

Any advice!  Using clousers and some surface stuff occasionally.  I kayaked in the area last January and loved it. Now I want to fish. Thanks everyone.

PS. I can make headway upstream in the kayak but the trip down without a shoot or something is too fast to fish. The bass boats have trolling motors. I'll take my hobie back there next winter and then be able to fish the rules on the main river.


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Sounds like a lot of fun. I do some fly fishing for bass. I would suggest getting yourself some sinking leaders in the 7 foot range with a sink rate of 5 ips (inches per second) and 7 ips. I say 7 ft leaders because casting can get tricky on the 6 wt with a heavy leader and fly. Remember, bass aren't shy. I keep my WF fly line on the spool and just go with the sinking leaders. If you have a backup spool, perhaps look to switch out your line to something other than WF, but I think you'll be fine with that. I also use 9 ft 4x tapered leaders with streamers that have some weight in them and catch plenty of fish that way. Depending on how big the fish are in the area, may want to consider some 3x. My leader choice is depth dependent, so have the options with you and you can switch it up as needed. In terms of fly selection for bass, I use size 8 wooley buggers in black and olive, clouser minnows/bait fish imitations, frog patterns on the surface (cast them near the reeds and work the fish out of their hiding places) and deer hair plugs...but again, bass aren't super picky, like trout...which I'm sure you know!
 
Looking forward to some pics.

Josh

Thanks. Very much appreciate the recommendations. What do you think about straight 15# test (3 to 4 foot long) as a leader at the end of the sinking line?  I'm assuming you were using the tapered leaders with just a floating line.  Is that correct? 


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You want the tapered leader so it casts smoothly.
If your leader is not tapered it won't roll over and flatten out as well when you cast.
Shallow is a subjective term. What is the actual depth you'll be fishing?
A 10' or 20' sink tip might be a good all around line to fit the bill.
Then again a good weight forward floating line, longer leader and weighted fly might work as well, all depending on what 'shallow' is.

No fishfinder on the inflatable but I'm guessing the depth in the backwaters and channels vary from approx 5 to 20 feet. Think I'll take some parachute cord and a weight and check that out.  I do like the idea of a tapered leader.  Probably on the shorter side.  I'm used to trout sizes so I checked a chart from Orvis to get it sized right for the bass flies... looks like 1x or 2x. Thanks

Like Tote said, go with Tapered leaders. I like the Rio VersiLeaders, 7 ft, tapered, fast sink - 5 ips or 7 ips for deeper water. If you are fishing 20ft of water, then yeah, sinking line may be the ticket. I have sinking line on my 8wt, which I used for stripers in the bay area, but my 4 and 5wt have WF. I used the 5wt for trout and smaller bass and panfish ponds. If your 6wt is gonna be bass dedicated, then might not be a bad investment to get sinking line. My thought is that if it's a trout rod that occasionally gets used for bass, I'd rather have WF and use sinking leaders than be switching out lines, etc...For water in the 5-10 ft depth range, i think you'd be fine with the sinking leaders though. Especially if you are casting around the edges like in your pictures.

Josh

Go for the crappie. Minnows and jigs. Yum Yum.

Like Tote said, go with Tapered leaders. I like the Rio VersiLeaders, 7 ft, tapered, fast sink - 5 ips or 7 ips for deeper water. If you are fishing 20ft of water, then yeah, sinking line may be the ticket. I have sinking line on my 8wt, which I used for stripers in the bay area, but my 4 and 5wt have WF. I used the 5wt for trout and smaller bass and panfish ponds. If your 6wt is gonna be bass dedicated, then might not be a bad investment to get sinking line. My thought is that if it's a trout rod that occasionally gets used for bass, I'd rather have WF and use sinking leaders than be switching out lines, etc...For water in the 5-10 ft depth range, i think you'd be fine with the sinking leaders though. Especially if you are casting around the edges like in your pictures.

Josh

I forgot about this kind of leader - I'll be hitting store today!  Thanks -

Go for the crappie. Minnows and jigs. Yum Yum.

Good idea! Again gotta love NCKA