Rods, Reels, Lines and Sink Tips

                                                                

Switch Rods

A switch rod is a cross between a single and two hand rod. Shorter than a dedicated two hand rod and
light as a single hand rod, switch rods can be cast and fished using both single hand and two hand
techniques. They are designed to roll cast, overhead cast, and handle the torsion placed on the rod
during change of direction casts (spey casts). Whether targeting trout, steelhead, salmon, or smallmouth
switch rods are versatile fishing tools perfectly suited to the wide variety of fishing situations encountered
throughout the Great Lakes Region.

Switch rods are typically 10.5 to 11.5 ft long with a longer top handle and bottom grip. The top grip is
about 1.5x the length of a single hand rod; bottom grip is about 4” and can be either fixed (part of the
rod) or removable. The longer handle and bottom grip allows the caster to instantly switch from casting
with one hand on the rod to two hands. The bottom grip also doubles as an extended fighting butt.
Using two-hands on the rod allows the caster to leverage more power from the rod blank. Two hands
pivoting around a fulcrum point between them can generate tremendous acceleration of the rod tip
loading the rod deeply into the blank for casting extra distance, larger flies or sink tips, and casting into
the wind.

Today, all of the major U.S. and European manufacturers offer a selection of switch rod models. Finding
an appropriate rod to match the size river, fishing techniques, and target species in the Great Lakes
region has never been easier.

Selecting a Line

For single hand overhead, roll, and spey casting with a switch rod a standard WF floating line is
recommended. The most versatile taper is a long belly WF floating line one to two line weights heavier
than the rod weight; a steelhead taper or extra distance taper works well. When overhead casting a
switch rod long distances with one or two hands a single hand shooting head one to two line weights
heavier than the rod weight is recommended.

While standard single hand lines perform fine on a switch rod for most methods of casting, they are not
recommended for two-handed spey casting. For two-hand spey casting with a floating line, a short belly
spey line or Scandinavian shooting head is best. However when casting sinking tips with larger and/or
heavier flies, a thick diameter Skagit shooting head works best. Select the line wt (often measured in
grains) based on the recommended line wt or grain wt. on the butt section of the rod. IF the grain wt is
not listed on the rod, either contact the manufacturer or visit their website.

When using a Skagit or Scandinavian shooting head, a general guideline to keep in mind is the ‘3 to 1’
rule; that is, maintain a 3:1 ratio of head length to rod length.  For example: An 11-foot rod multiplied by
3 = 33 feet. A 23 ft Skagit head + 10 ft tip = 33 ft. NOTE: Not all combinations of head lengths + tip will
work out to a perfect 3:1 ratio. As long as the head is heavy enough to turn over the tip, anything within
+/- 3 feet will cast fine.

Reels

Choosing the correct size and weight reel to match to a switch rod is important. Large arbor reels that are
too light will not be able to properly balance the rod when casting heavier shooting heads with two hands.
Also, be aware that an 8wt Spey line is heavier than a single hand 8wt line. As a result the 8wt Spey line
has a larger diameter and therefore take up more space on a reel spool. Make sure the reel will
accommodate a spey line and at least 100yrds of backing. For most switch rods, a reel that will hold a
10wt standard single hand line is a good size; typically a reel that will hold an 8-10wt has a 4-4.25”
diameter. A sealed drag is a nice feature as well. It will stop the drag from icing up and free spooling
when fishing in the winter.

Leader,Material,and Sinking Tips

Tapered nylon leaders are best for indicator nymphing. Tapered floating Polyleaders or nylon leaders
approximately one rod in length are recommended when casting floating Spey lines. NOTE: Floating
shooting heads many require an even longer leader, perhaps 1.5+ length of the rod. When casting full
sinking lines or sink tips, a short length of level tippet material 3 to 5 feet is sufficient.
For streamer fishing or swinging flies, having a selection of various lengths and sink rate sinking tips will
allow for quick selection to match the depth and speed of the water.

Switch rods will easily handle 5 to 10 ft sink tips; after 10’ casting can become significantly more difficult
depending the sink rate of the tip and fly size. Tapered sinking leaders in 7.5’ to 10’ lengths are most
often used with floating spey lines or shooting heads. Heavier tungsten sink tips (T8-T14) are most
commonly used with Skagit lines.

http://midwestspey.com

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Deneki likes Spey

Why We Like Spey Casting

An angler covers a lot of water without hurting his shoulders.

Photo: Cameron Miller

 

When it comes to fishing for kings on the Kanektok, or fishing for steelhead on the Dean, we really like spey casting.
Spey rods are getting a lot more popular these days.  That being said, we hear from a lot of people who say things like…

• “You’re making a bigger deal out of casting that you should.”
• “Spey rods are all about casting far, and you don’t have to cast far to catch fish.”
• “Spey gear is really fidgety, and you just like to stand around talking about gear.”
• “I don’t fish for steelhead, so why should I care?”

We like fishing with spey rods.  Accuse us of being spey geeks, and you’re right.  We run spey instruction programs at Alaska West and BC West, and we’re not shy about the fact that we think two-handed casting is one of the coolest things around.
Here’s why.

• It’s easier to cover the water with a spey rod. If you need to cast more than 20 feet to get your fly to the fish, you can do it with a spey rod, with less effort than with a single-handed rod.
• Spey rods give better line control. Mending with a 13′ rod allows you to move more line than mending with a 9′ rod.  It just does.
• Spey casting is easier on your body – especially your shoulders. You can keep your arms close to your body and still get the line out with a spey rod.  If you’re like us and have made one too many double-hauls with 12 weight, your body will thank you for giving the two-hander a try.
• During those occasional stretches where you’re not catching fish, the casting itself is fun. Much like making a great golf swing, hitting a cast right with a spey rod is fun, in and of itself.
• All the gear is really fidgety and we like to stand around talking about gear. Guilty as charged.  Spey fishing tackle and techniques are changing constantly, and it’s interesting to keep up with the cutting edge.
• Sometimes you really do need to cast long. There are times when an 80′ cast just won’t reach where the fish are holding, and when you need to throw it far, the spey rod is your friend.
• It’s not just for steelhead. Spey rods were made for swinging flies, so…any time you need to swing, you should think about a two-hander.  Hoppers for trout on big rivers?  Smolt patterns for giant rainbows?  Striper fishing when you’ve got current?  Yeah, try a spey rod.
• You don’t need to make a backcast. The River Spey in Scotland is lined with bushes, and it’s hard to make a backcast when you’ve got bushes behind you.  Those wise Scots developed spey casting to enable you to present a fly in front of you when you’ve got bushes behind you.  This happens a lot on rivers located very near to Anytown, USA.

A bunch of guys standing around talking about gear.

 

Article Courtesy of Deneki Outdoors

http://deneki.com 

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Spey Fishing Tactics

Spey Fishing for Trout  -Tactics

In the past couple of weeks we’ve covered why we think you should spey fish for trout, and which gear you should use when you do it. Today we’ll talk a bit about tactics to use when chasing rainbows with lightweight two-handers.
Spey rods are fundamentally made for swinging flies, but any fly that can also be stripped is a great candidate for a little two-hander too. If you’re looking for a dead drift, as is typically the case with an insect-imitating dry fly, you’re probably best off sticking with a single-handed rod – that’s just the best tool for the job.

Dec and Garrett discuss trout spey tactics.

Photo: Cameron Miller

Here are three top fly types and their tactics that work great with a two-handed rod.

Sculpins

Sculpins often dart around in the shallows just off the bank, but they also can get swept downriver in deeper, heavier currents. It’s easy to imitate this behavior with a spey rod. If you’re fishing a piece of water like the lower Arolik where you can hit the far bank with a good cast, do it!

Land that fly as close to the far bank as possible and give it a couple of strips to start. Then mend and let it sink and swing in the heavier current. Finally, when your sculpin pattern reaches the shallow water on the near side of the river, give it some erratic strips again (which you’ll need to do anyhow to retrieve line if you’re fishing a modern Skagit-style spey line). You may get an eat in any of those three parts of your presentation – stripping off the far bank, swinging in the heavy current, or stripping on the near bank – so be ready at all times.

Sculpins are best imitated using a moderate sinktip.

Smolt

In rivers that are loaded with salmon smolt, those juvenille hunks of protein are one of the favorite foods of big rainbows. Smolt tend to hang out in softer water near deeper banks, and they’re going to flee when they detect a big rainbow. That being said, standing near the shallow bank and stripping off the far deep bank is your best bet.

This is a situation in which many quick presentations are going to be more effective than trying to cover a lot of water on each cast. Pitch that smolt pattern at the far bank, give it a few quick strips, and then step down and cast again. Cover the water quickly and strip quickly too.

Salmon smolt typically hang out relatively close to the surface, so use a floating line with a weighted fly, or a light sinktip with a lightly weighted fly, or a moderate sinktip with a real fast strip.

Mice

Mice, lemmings and voles represent big meals for rainbow trout. The visual nature of fishing a mouse pattern, and the fact that big ‘bows move a long way for a mouse, make ‘spey mousing’ one of the most exciting ways to target big rainbows.

Choose your water wisely. Small furry mammals jump (or fall) into the river most frequently near grassy banks. Slow to moderate current speeds and slightly deeper water tend to be best for mouse flies. Don’t bother fishing the mouse in really shallow or fast water.

Slowly swinging a mouse pattern so it creates a classic v-wake can work great. Sometimes rainbows seem to want a little twitchier presentation, so try erratic, short, quick strips as well. Small mammals can’t swim fast, so stay away from long, fast strips.

Mouse patterns are fished on the surface of course, so use a floating tip.

Article courtesy of Deneki Outdoors

http://deneki.com

 

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RIO Mow Sink Tips

Spey Tech Alert: Rio Skagit MOW Tips

                                             Photo:Cameron Miller

Rio has just announced a new line of sinktips for Skagit-style spey casting called ‘Rio MOW Tips’.  The tips are mostly 10 feet long, and they combine different lengths of floating and sinking sections to allow for more consistent fishing and casting performance while fishing sinking sections of various lengths.

Problems MOW Tips Solve

1. Sinktips made of different lengths of sinking line like Rio T-14 cast and fish differently, due to their differences in length and grain weight.  Swapping out your 10 feet of T-14 for 15 feet of T-14 adds 5 feet of length and 75 grains, and that changes your casting stroke quite a bit.
2. There’s been a trend lately towards fishing very short sinktips in certain situations, and these rigs can be kind of ‘boomerangy’ due to their super short length.
3. Making sinktips in custom lengths is kind of a pain in the butt.

These tips were designed by Mike McCune, Scott O’Donnell and Ed Ward (figure out the name yet?), and they’ll come as 3 different sets, with all the sinking sections in each set made of Rio T-8, T-11 or T-14.

What’s In Each Set

Each set contains 6 tips.

1. A 10 foot floating tip
2. A tip with 7.5 feet of floating line connected to 2.5 feet of sinking tip
3. A tip with 5 feet of floating line connected to 5 feet of sinking tip
4. A tip with 2.5 feet of floating line connected to 7.5 feet of sinking tip
5. A 10 foot level sinktip
6. A 12.5 foot level sinktip

For any application other than really dredging, you ought to be able to find something that works in a kit like that!

     

Welded loops and seamless transitions. Each tip has welded loops on both ends, and the tips that combine floating and sinking sections have a ‘seamless integration’ between the floating and sinking sections.  Each kit of tips will cost $149.95, and the tips will also be available individually.  The Medium and Heavy sets (with sinking sections of T-11 and T-14) will be available in May, and the Light set (with sinking sections of T-8) will be available in August.

Article Courtesy of Deneki Outdoors

 http://www.deneki.com

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