Line manufactures like Rio and Airflo have done a great job of creating excellent line systems to match a variety of casting styles and fly types. But there are a ton of line choices, questions and answers. Many answers are correct, and in the end it often depends upon the fly and water type you are fishing. Your spey casting and ultimately your flies presentation to the fish is determined by the marriage between rod and line.
In this video Jay Nicholas discusses the differences between Scandinavian style spey heads and Skagit style spey heads, and the use of poly leaders and sink tips. If you have a spey rod and are trying to dial in a line to optimize performance this summer, we hope this video helps.
Summer steelhead are streaming into the McKenzie and Willamette. Check out the counts over Willamette Falls, it’s looking like a really good year to enjoy our local run of steelhead. We are lucky to have some great “spey swing water” really close to home on the Willamette. Please give us a call or come in to the shop if you would like to demo a spey outfit, have any questions regarding line choices, classes or outfits.–CD
This is a great snapshot of where the technology sits today. We are so fortunate to have these great lines. Thanks to all the dudes who have made our lives so much better!!
Hey all you two-hand apprentices out there! Chris and I made this video, like we always do, to have some fun and try to pass on a few tips and product information. Being on the apprentice path myself, I do my best but pretty much know that I may goober things up now and then. In the spirit of trying to get things right, I asked a friend who knows a ton more than I do – to look at the video and let me know his thoughts on my “informational content.”
Here is what he said….
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Good job keeping it simple. I think the message was good and I agree with the grain weight comparison between Skagit and Scandi. I don’t agree with including the polyleaders in the total grain weight you are trying to achieve when calculating the Scandi Compact head weight. You mentioned that the Skagit should be 30 grains more than the Scandi but that the total weight of the Scandi would include the polyleaders. Since a floating polyleaders doesn’t anchor like a piece of level sink tip material like on a Skagit system you don’t get the perceived weight contribution you would expect from the Polyleaders so I leave out the polyleaders in my grain weight calculations. Just something to think about.
You mentioned that AFS and Scandi Compact are the same length but in fact AFS are about 5 to 6 feet longer than the Scandi compact which make a big difference when throwing shorter lines. They go up to 40.5 feet and the Scandi compact stop at 34 feet.
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Thanks for watching my back.
Chris and I welcome critique on our videos anytime. We’re all in this to learn.
JN