I got my first official spey line today for my recently purchased 10' 6" 4wt trout spey. In the last few weeks I've been using a 7wt 260 grain Rio single hand spey line on it that I already owned.
I do a lot of single hand spey casting with either a standard WF line or I also have two Rio SHS lines. One is a 7wt as mentioned and the other a 4wt which BTW spends more time on my 5wt rod. I also pretty much prefer to have all my rods setup underlined when applicable So using the Rio SHS line seemed perfectly fine. It loads the rod well and I read it is not uncommon to pair this particular line with a two handed rod.
So after hours on lock down researching lines in the internet rabbit hole I decided on a SA spey lite scandi line @ 270 grains which was an ideal match for the rod's grain window. The rod maker suggest 290 for Scandi. I went Scandi over Skagit because I prefer touch and go style of casting and the trout waters I'll be fishing won't require any heavy lifting.
Lacing up the new line I was a bit taken back because the head section is pretty burly. So putting it into action It was a bit of a shocker. Initial casts feel over lined and not particularly Scandi (at least what my perception of what Scandi was until today). I honestly thought they sent me the wrong line and it was a Skagit line. But after a quick check, it's all Scandi...
Checking in on some other factors like the head length of my Rio SHS line which is a round 30' compared to this line which is around 22' perhaps I just need to get use to the shorter head and the aggressive style of load. It feels like I could knock off quite a few grains and still make a nice cast with this line. I checked the SA Skagit head length as a comparison and I can't imagine casting that line on this rod especially using the manufacturers guide line of 320 grains. That must feel like throwing OG straight lead core which I own from the OG days.
So is my newbie perception skewed by starting off with a longer bellied line on this rod? Apologies if this sounds like I'm complaining I am actually not. I'm not bummed or butt hurt either like it's the lines fault. This line casts technically fine, far and its fun to cast. It just casts a loop more like a rocket and in my Scandi mind I was expecting a glider.
I guess I am learning there are no hard and fast rules as to how you setup your two handed rod. As long as you get the fly off the water and into the right part of the water when you want it there.
Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks : ]
I do a lot of single hand spey casting with either a standard WF line or I also have two Rio SHS lines. One is a 7wt as mentioned and the other a 4wt which BTW spends more time on my 5wt rod. I also pretty much prefer to have all my rods setup underlined when applicable So using the Rio SHS line seemed perfectly fine. It loads the rod well and I read it is not uncommon to pair this particular line with a two handed rod.
So after hours on lock down researching lines in the internet rabbit hole I decided on a SA spey lite scandi line @ 270 grains which was an ideal match for the rod's grain window. The rod maker suggest 290 for Scandi. I went Scandi over Skagit because I prefer touch and go style of casting and the trout waters I'll be fishing won't require any heavy lifting.
Lacing up the new line I was a bit taken back because the head section is pretty burly. So putting it into action It was a bit of a shocker. Initial casts feel over lined and not particularly Scandi (at least what my perception of what Scandi was until today). I honestly thought they sent me the wrong line and it was a Skagit line. But after a quick check, it's all Scandi...
Checking in on some other factors like the head length of my Rio SHS line which is a round 30' compared to this line which is around 22' perhaps I just need to get use to the shorter head and the aggressive style of load. It feels like I could knock off quite a few grains and still make a nice cast with this line. I checked the SA Skagit head length as a comparison and I can't imagine casting that line on this rod especially using the manufacturers guide line of 320 grains. That must feel like throwing OG straight lead core which I own from the OG days.
So is my newbie perception skewed by starting off with a longer bellied line on this rod? Apologies if this sounds like I'm complaining I am actually not. I'm not bummed or butt hurt either like it's the lines fault. This line casts technically fine, far and its fun to cast. It just casts a loop more like a rocket and in my Scandi mind I was expecting a glider.
I guess I am learning there are no hard and fast rules as to how you setup your two handed rod. As long as you get the fly off the water and into the right part of the water when you want it there.
Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks : ]
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