Fly Fishing

Trip Information

Peacock Bass – Fly Fishing Equipment List

Peacock Bass love to hit big flies! The good news is that on the average, an experienced fly fisherman will land more peacock bass than an equally skilled fisherman using casting equipment! The fly fisherman’s peacocks will be slightly smaller in size, but larger in numbers. The peacock bass that will normally hit a fly are in the 2 – 8 pound range; although 10 – 20 pound fish are often taken, and the world record (all tackle) on the fly is a 24 pound peacock! While fishing for peacock bass, you will need to bring heavy-weight fly fishing rods and fish with large streamers and top-water poppers.

Below is a list of recommended fly fishing equipment for peacock bass:

Rods: Fly rods should be from 8wt – 11wt, with either a 9wt or 10wt being the best weight if you are only bringing one rod.

Reels: Good quality with a strong drag and capacity for a lot of 30 lb. backing, designed for the weight rod you are bringing.

Line: Any good quality floating, weight forward, line will work best. I prefer to use a shooting head system because peacock bass are definitely not line shy. If you are bringing a second rod, I recommend a 5ft. #6 sinking-tip line for the second outfit.

Contact Us

Leaders: A very quick and easy method is to simply cut a 5-6 ft. section of 40, 50, or 60 lb. “hard mono” and tie it on as a straight-leader. If you are interested in fishing for line class records for peacock bass, you will need a leader with a heavy butt section, followed by your IGFA approved line class section between two Bimini twists, ending in a 20lb., 30lb., or 40lb. fluorocarbon tippet. Be sure to check on the current IGFA record for the line class that you are fishing, so you will know if a record breaking fish has been caught.

Flies: Peacock bass flies should be tied on large sharp, 3/0-4/0 hooks. Peacock bass will hit top-water poppers, but large streamers will produce more strikes. All colors will attract peacocks to strike, especially combinations using yellow, green, red, olive, and blue. Smaller 3″-4″ streamers are easier to cast and will produce a lot of strikes from fish in the 2-6 pound range. For really large peacock bass, you will need to fish with a streamer that is from 5″-8″ in length.

Recommended flies for peacock bass:

Trip Information

  • Streamers
  • Wool flies (or can be tied with Bozo hair)
  • Rabbit tail slider
  • Deceivers
  • Poppers
  • Dahlberg divers
  • Foam poppers

View our Conventional Tackle Package