OPST Commando for Single-hand Rods

[mjkirshner]

I live on a small finger lake with high banks and lots of shrubs and trees, limiting the ability for overhead casting. I got the OPST 225-grain Commando and a light 10' MOW tip for a 6-wt single-hand rod. I already had a 7' versileader (7-ips), and a 10' floating polyleader, so I tried the Commando head with all three tips. The MOW seemed a little heavy and made the rod feel a little spongy or bouncy, but the versileader and polyleader worked nicely. With this Commando head and polyleader, I was able to make casts up to about 40' with no backcast. Overhead casting parallel to the shore easily went 50' with only one backcast. The 225-grain Commando also worked pretty well with a medium MOW tip on an 8-wt TFO BVK. 225 gains is probably a light for the 8-wt rod, but the medium MOW seemed to compensate decently.

 

[mjkirshner]

The rod I was using is an Allen Compass, which is medium/fast, but I think the MOW is too much for any 6-wt. I am pretty new at Skagit casting, and while I have a switch rod, I am not very good at it yet, so I am pretty sure that I am going too fast and/or too strong. Also, I am casting from the bank, as the lake bottom is very "squishy", not a rocky river bottom, so I have to modify the stroke a little to avoid dragging the fly up onto land. I get more distance if I cast 45 degrees to the bank, where I have more water alongside, rather than straight out, but the wind was helping that direction, so it is hard to judge how much is my casting. I plan to try casting the Commando in the ICW, where I can wade farther in and be able to use a true Skagit stroke. I will update this review when I have had a chance to try that.

---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:34 PM ----------

I'm thinking 225 would be right but wonder how their tips might work?

I cannot comment on their tips, but this is from OPST: "The 6wt will fish best with a 225 grain Commando Head and our 96 grain 12' Commando Sink Tips. Our 7.5' and 10' floating Commando Tips also will work for our 225 grain Commando Head."

 

[mjkirshner]

I have to amend my prior review. With no wind and a little practice to improve the casting stroke, the light 10' MOW tip worked a better than the polyleader. I also shortened my leader to 3' of 10 lb mono. I think that the wind that we had the first time must have carried the heavy head and made me think it was casting better. With little wind today, the polyleader didn't seem to add enough mass to load the rod fully, and the Commando head was flopping heavy on the water. With the MOW tip and a shorter leader, I got a deeper load on the rod, the head straightened more and the fly turned over better.

 

[iracmiller]

I've recently gotten into streamers using a Douglas Sky 9' 6wt with a WF floating line and Versileaders/Polyleaders mostly wading mid-size streams in Northeast/Central Pa and the West Branch of the Delaware at depths of 2' - 6 '. The set up is ok with small streamers but not great with larger streamers or the big water of the West Branch. I've been thinking about a spare spool and a sink tip line such as Rio's Intouch Outbound Short, Streamer Tip, 15' Sink Tip, Orvis Bank Shot and similar offerings from SA and Airflo. Unfortunately the manufacturer descriptions don't help much in discerning the differences or which might be best for my purposes. This thread suggests the OPST Commando set up is another candidate. Although I suppose I can learn to spey cast, the OPST videos indicate the Commando also works well for roll and overhead casts. Any insights and guidance to help in making a choice would be appreciated.

 

[iracmiller]

Thanks. I look forward to your report and comparison to OBS.

 

[eastfly66]

Here's Red's with a 590 rather than my 7100....

https://youtu.be/yU9bSOAxpME?t=13


Think I'm going to order a 5 wt version or a spare spool, beat's running back to the truck or a different rod/set up.

 

[mjkirshner]

Although I suppose I can learn to spey cast, the OPST videos indicate the Commando also works well for roll and overhead casts. Any insights and guidance to help in making a choice would be appreciated.

Yes, it works for roll and overhead casts. Overhead, you can get a lot of distance with one backcast, and you can even shoot line on a roll cast. If you leave a little overhang of running line outside the tip, you can make a short, quick haul, and get even more distance.

With regard to the running line, I have Rio Slickshooter and OPST Lazer, and the Lazer is definitely better. The Rio tends to sink, so you have to pull it to the surface before casting, and if there are any weeds under the surface, they get snagged. The Lazer floats much better and does not coil as much.