Delaware Water Gap...4 wt.?

[FishinPA]

Hey guys,
I plan on kayak fishing from Dingman's Ferry to Bushkill next weekend. Is the 4 wt. enough rod to handle it? My next weight up is a 7 wt. and seems like it is too much. any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[NickR]

Too small... better off with the 7wt. Better to bring the big guns and kick some tail than to bring the 'lil gun and get your tail kicked. Any wind at all and you will struggle with a 4wt.

 

[FishinPA]

Thanks Nick, that is what I figured...the 4 wt. is a newer rod and I'm trying to get some time with it. Thanks,

 

[krayfish]

+1 on the 7 weight. Toss some meat. You might be amazed what grabs it.

 

[afishinado]

My big river SMB rod is a 10' 7wt. It should work fine for you.

 

[sandfly]

Take both rods !!

 

[Dcap240]

7 weight for sure. I just did the same thing this past weekend, kayak from Smithfield beach down to the access by route 80 bridge. There are some big fish in there. Caught two nice smallies and a bunch of other smaller fish. Huge brown carp all over also.

 

[icyguides]

I'm with sandfly, take both rods, especially if you wanna fish your new 4wt. Just put something appropriately sized on the 4wt with 6lb tippet, like a little wooly bugger or a nymph for panfish/small bass. You should be able to land 90% of the fish that swim in the delaware with that rig if used properly. The 7wt is probably more ideal, but if you're a decent caster and experienced with fighting fish you should be fine even if you tie into a good sized fish.

 

[FishinPA]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm pretty limited with space since I have to bring camping gear so I am going with the 7 wt.

What do you guys think about the flies...I have my easy goto's...but what should I bring for the big ones...

 

[Dcap240]

Bring the biggest flies you have. Crawfish, any minnow pattern, frogs, mice, poppers. They all work for bass. The bigger the better or you will just catch a ton of bluegills and rock bass on small stuff. I don't really know too much about carp flies but there are carp in there well over 20lbs. The bass are not too picky in mid summer from my expierence there, you just have to find them.

 

[Chaz]

I suggest taking both rods. Of course if the 4 weight is a fairly fast rod, you could use it. But there are stripers in the river and they can be pretty big so...

 

[kmmichael51]

spend some time around the digmans bridge before u head out. i fish that strech at least twicw a month. last week i got into smalmmouths using gray zonkers. concentrate in the deeper water after the riffles. water is deeper there and holds lots of smallmouth. also concentrate on any fallin timber along the river. i will be hitting that stretch next weekend camping in bushkill and heading down to smithfield the following day.

 

[FishinPA]

Thanks Km...this is new water for me so thanks for the tips, will let you know how it is.