I mostly agree with you. However, it has been ages that I have carried any WF lines. You really don't need it. You can combine all those in a single skagit system. If you are dry fly or indicator fishing just use a long floating poly leader and a decent length leader. You can easily cast 60ft with a 9ft single hand rod, and the thick skagit head hits the water almost 20ft behind the fish and they would not even notice. It is amazing to fish dries from that far away. Also, I find it way easier to air mend with a skagit head. Since they are weight backward and most of that weight is close to the rod during the stop, it is easier. When you oscillate the rod just after the stop, the thick back part of the head carries that oscillation energy all the way to the fly. So, when everybody wading waist deep, one can cast from an ankle-deep water and watch the dry fly from a higher and clearer position. I carry my own design one full sinking head and a floating head. Actually 2 copies of it and a spare (ready to fish) reel. If there is an equipment malfunction, you do not want to walk back to the car.
Skagit heads are very versatile, I will agree with you there. I will admit that I haven’t tried a full sinking head(i want to try a 3D skagit head) but would love to try it on the lakes over here. Bet it would do great. The only issue i have found is trying to pickup the line without any current to help. When i pickup the sinktip(which is 10ft on the hangdown in some circumstances!!) i have to do an exaggerated motion to manage it. IE, double spey, the pickup starts normal but at the 12 o’clock position i poke towards the sky. Thanks for your input🤘
@@greenhornflyhorn With the full sinking line you need to slow down everything, instead of exaggeration, the force should be increased but steady. So, once you get used to it, controlling the sinking line is easier. Also, since it is thinner, it adds at least 10% to your distance. Ideal for lakes.
I usually carry two lines, a standard weight forward floating line with a slightly agressive taper and a rio intermediate single hand spey line for streamers. I love the rio single hand spey line, it's my favourite line for overhead casting and it's perfect for streamer fishing in smaller rivers where you have to roll cast a lot.
This is almost exactly my setup for my 10ft 7wt! The Orvis clearwater reel with 2 extra spools is such an amazing value and has performed exceptionally for me. I use the SA anadro nymph line for casting big double/triple indicator rigs, and also works well for big hoppers and hopper droppers. Rio fathom full sinking line for streamers and lakes. And then I do use an integrated SA spey lite skagit for those difficult casting spots, and has been my first foray into spey casting. Maybe it's nowhere near as good as a two-handed rod but it's much more versatile where I live and allows me to try it out without investing a ton. I'm having fun anyways, so no regrets there. Really agree with your points and philosophy on this, I think I'll have to subscribe! Thanks
Your setup sounds deadly!! You can still use your rod kinda like a two-hander if you use the fighting butt. It’s not ideal but i do that when my shoulder is tired and it works! Thanks for watching.
@@greenhornflyhorn Totally! I prefer to cast it that way if I'm going for any sort of distance. Hoping to try some steelhead fishing for the first time this summer!
I have never really exploited the sinking and sink tip lines on rivers, I must admit I jumped the bandwagon with the WF (weight forward) lines, and now I am missing the presentation of a double taper line, of course the rivers I fish are small to medium. I am going to my first real session on a still water tomorrow, so my techniques will need to adapt over the fishing sessions as I have not fished Stillwater consistently, and now I am part of the syndicate members I will be utilising the Stillwater more and more. The last line you mentioned has piqued my interest for sure, more so for the river as I have to roll cast or side cast due to the over grown foliage. Regards from across the pond.
Appreciate you sharing your setup with us John! The skagit, scandi and spey lines are a ton of fun. It honestly takes a couple hours and you will get the hang of it. No more woes at the high banks!
@@greenhornflyhornI struggle with the Skagit lines because of the long leader needed to cast them well. It seems you can’t fish the last 20 ft of your cast before you need to lift the line off the water to cast again. If you strip your line all the way in to fish that last 20 ft, then you are fighting a fish with just the leader, knots rubbing through your guides, etc. The situations I have with limited back cast room are smaller streams less than 100 ft across (Ozarks), where fish often take your fly in-close. it’s no wonder you never see 2-handed rods here, I have not figured out their usefulness unless you switch-cast with a regular fly line. Perhaps they would work better for larger streams.
I mostly agree with you. However, it has been ages that I have carried any WF lines. You really don't need it. You can combine all those in a single skagit system. If you are dry fly or indicator fishing just use a long floating poly leader and a decent length leader. You can easily cast 60ft with a 9ft single hand rod, and the thick skagit head hits the water almost 20ft behind the fish and they would not even notice. It is amazing to fish dries from that far away. Also, I find it way easier to air mend with a skagit head. Since they are weight backward and most of that weight is close to the rod during the stop, it is easier. When you oscillate the rod just after the stop, the thick back part of the head carries that oscillation energy all the way to the fly. So, when everybody wading waist deep, one can cast from an ankle-deep water and watch the dry fly from a higher and clearer position.
I carry my own design one full sinking head and a floating head. Actually 2 copies of it and a spare (ready to fish) reel. If there is an equipment malfunction, you do not want to walk back to the car.
Skagit heads are very versatile, I will agree with you there. I will admit that I haven’t tried a full sinking head(i want to try a 3D skagit head) but would love to try it on the lakes over here. Bet it would do great. The only issue i have found is trying to pickup the line without any current to help. When i pickup the sinktip(which is 10ft on the hangdown in some circumstances!!) i have to do an exaggerated motion to manage it. IE, double spey, the pickup starts normal but at the 12 o’clock position i poke towards the sky. Thanks for your input🤘
@@greenhornflyhorn With the full sinking line you need to slow down everything, instead of exaggeration, the force should be increased but steady. So, once you get used to it, controlling the sinking line is easier. Also, since it is thinner, it adds at least 10% to your distance. Ideal for lakes.
I usually carry two lines, a standard weight forward floating line with a slightly agressive taper and a rio intermediate single hand spey line for streamers. I love the rio single hand spey line, it's my favourite line for overhead casting and it's perfect for streamer fishing in smaller rivers where you have to roll cast a lot.
I am seriously looking into that Rio line. I have heard nothing but great things about it! Thanks for sharing your setup
This is almost exactly my setup for my 10ft 7wt! The Orvis clearwater reel with 2 extra spools is such an amazing value and has performed exceptionally for me. I use the SA anadro nymph line for casting big double/triple indicator rigs, and also works well for big hoppers and hopper droppers. Rio fathom full sinking line for streamers and lakes. And then I do use an integrated SA spey lite skagit for those difficult casting spots, and has been my first foray into spey casting. Maybe it's nowhere near as good as a two-handed rod but it's much more versatile where I live and allows me to try it out without investing a ton. I'm having fun anyways, so no regrets there. Really agree with your points and philosophy on this, I think I'll have to subscribe! Thanks
Your setup sounds deadly!! You can still use your rod kinda like a two-hander if you use the fighting butt. It’s not ideal but i do that when my shoulder is tired and it works! Thanks for watching.
@@greenhornflyhorn Totally! I prefer to cast it that way if I'm going for any sort of distance. Hoping to try some steelhead fishing for the first time this summer!
@@smellybrainz grip and rip! good luck on the steelhead🤘
I have never really exploited the sinking and sink tip lines on rivers, I must admit I jumped the bandwagon with the WF (weight forward) lines, and now I am missing the presentation of a double taper line, of course the rivers I fish are small to medium. I am going to my first real session on a still water tomorrow, so my techniques will need to adapt over the fishing sessions as I have not fished Stillwater consistently, and now I am part of the syndicate members I will be utilising the Stillwater more and more. The last line you mentioned has piqued my interest for sure, more so for the river as I have to roll cast or side cast due to the over grown foliage. Regards from across the pond.
Appreciate you sharing your setup with us John! The skagit, scandi and spey lines are a ton of fun. It honestly takes a couple hours and you will get the hang of it. No more woes at the high banks!
@@greenhornflyhornI struggle with the Skagit lines because of the long leader needed to cast them well. It seems you can’t fish the last 20 ft of your cast before you need to lift the line off the water to cast again. If you strip your line all the way in to fish that last 20 ft, then you are fighting a fish with just the leader, knots rubbing through your guides, etc. The situations I have with limited back cast room are smaller streams less than 100 ft across (Ozarks), where fish often take your fly in-close. it’s no wonder you never see 2-handed rods here, I have not figured out their usefulness unless you switch-cast with a regular fly line. Perhaps they would work better for larger streams.