3Wt or 4wt Trout Spey

[dbgoff]

I have booked a once-in-a lifetime trip Alaska trip for next year. We will be swinging flies on spey rods and I want to tune-up my two-handed game by spey fishing for trout this summer. My previous attempts at this were not particularly successful. I built a Batson 10'8 switch about five years ago with a 160-330 grain window and lined it with a Commando head and matching tips (I forget the grains but Reds helped me out on it--I assume that they got it right). I expected to be able to throw a pretty beefy fly with this rig but it pooped out with about a #4 CH Woolly Bugger. I also thought the rod overpowered the fish I did catch which were browns and rainbows in the 16"-19" range. Power wise, the rod felt like a 7 wt. Casting wise, I never really found a groove with it--certainly not the easy-going casts I was getting out of my steelhead spey. I've loaned that rod to a buddy and have no inclination to ask for it back.

Fast forward to today and I'm looking at the current crop of trout speys and trying to decide on a 3 or a 4wt. Most of my fishing will be on broad runs on the Green in Utah and maybe Wyoming, but the Missouri is on my radar and there are obviously other streams around. On the Green I typically fish a 6wt single-handed rod with a type III line. In these big runs I usually use CH Woolly Buggers 4-8, #6 slump busters, sculpzillas, and most recently a #4 Lil' Kim. I'm not expecting this rod to throw Dungeons and Cheech Leeches. My research says to get the #4 spey for streamers but I don't want to overpower the fish I catch. Most people talk about the #3s as being more all-rounders but I'm mostly interested in swinging bigger flies. Thoughts? Downsize my streamers? Or just go for the #4 and enjoy the tug?

 

[eastfly66]

Either the 3 or 4 is a fine choice for trout I would say and if "bigger streamers" is your interest the 4 will be the better choice. However , some of the ones you named are pretty big and when wet heavy. You might find downsizing will be more enjoyable and if you tie even better. There are quite a few "Trout Spey " patterns and mini Intruder style flies out there that have a large profile but cast light.

 

[LukeNZ]

Hey! Sorry, a bit of a long post..

A quality long 4wt. Trout Spey is definitely not too much for any trout really.

The Burkheimer 4114-4 is great, and so is their 5115-4. Get both and use the 5wt. in Alaska, with bigger flies, and on bigger trout streams, and the 4wt. on pretty much any trout stream can be made to work nicely.

The Burkie 4wt. is a great all round trout spey, I don’t like to overload it, like you hear often - with the weight of lines some people use on it? I have OPST Commando smooth 250gn, and 5ft. floating tip and 9-10ft of leader. When the fly sizes and flow goes up, I just switch up to the 5wt. (or even a 6wt. on some of the rivers here in NZ).

The Burkie 5wt. Is a great big river trout rod, I like it with the Commando smooth in 275gn. with the 7.5ft floating tip. and 10-12ft. of leader. Or just a SA Spey Lite Scandi 300gn. Awesome stick. Good from 1lb.ers to 7lb.ers in a flowing river situation.

They 4 and 5wt. Trout Spey’s are not big game rods, they are trout rods.

I have a T&T DNA Trout Spey 11’6” 3wt. which I use as a summer rod when the rivers are pretty low and lower flow - with small soft hackles.
It casts best with a SA Spey Lite Scandi 260gn. A strong running 4-5 lb fish has it flexing too much in my opinion - it feels like it flexes side to side over its spine. On anything smaller it’s brilliant. Casts very crisply, and long - provided it’s not too breezy.

All the above are nicely made rods. I wouldn’t hesitate in getting any of the Meiser trout Spey rods either. I have a 13ft. 4/5/6wt. another awesome trout Spey rod. SA SpeyLite Scandi 330gn. goes over 100ft. with relative ease. I would use it on anything 1lb. to 8lb.

I also use a Sage X 13’9” 6wt. for trout with a 400gn. Scandi. It doesn’t feel too much on a 4lb and upwards trout. And covers a lot of water. Tend to use it in winter on deeper runs and pools with long leaders and heavier flys. Will turn a trout in heavy water. Which can still be a challenge sometimes, even with. 5wt...! Lot of confidence right there.

The Burkie and Meiser rods are nice easy action rods - progressive tapers - nice to throw relaxed casts with all day. And they bend nicely when fish are hooked, so your fish and tippet doesn’t take too much shock.

The Sage and T&T are faster firmer tipped rods, they don’t especially throw a ton more line than slower rods but they do reward good timing more than they do off timing - proficient Spey casters will adapt to all rods and these take more effort to keep working nicely over a long day - until you get to the stage where you don’t have to think too much - your muscle memory is totally ingrained.

If this is your first Trout Spey get a Burkheimer 4114-4, you will never regret it, and it is a rod that any Trout Spey guy would love to own and use. Then see where your tastes take you from there.

If I could only have one rod it would be that one, or the same line wt. and maybe even longer, from Meiser. I would replace mine immediately if anything happened to it - with the exact same one.

Always a Hardy Perfect reel for my tastes too...! Buy once, have it for life, as with the rod choices. Sooner you get them the longer you enjoy them!

The fish don’t ever change.

Cheers and beers,
Luke

 

[dtaylo1066]

Do you want to build your own rod or purchase one? I am looking into the exact same thing, a switch/trout spey rod in a 4 weight. I was eyeing up the Rainshadow but am disappointed to hear your review. See Trident fly fishing website and they recently had a 3/4 weight trout spey shootout. Yellowstone Angler had one as well in a heavier weight range. The Sage trout spey rods get great reviews. You can of course buy finished or as a blank. T&T blanks are available at Bearsden. The Winston micro spey is in finished or blank, and while it is on the soft side, is supposedly quite nice. The Redington Hyrdrogen trout spey is supposedly a great buy at $300.

 

[dillon]

To solve the large fly problem you might try lightly weighted large profile tube flies. That’s what I use for steelhead...

 

[Ard]

I have booked a once-in-a lifetime trip Alaska trip for next year. We will be swinging flies on spey rods and I want to tune-up my two-handed game by spey fishing for trout this summer. My previous attempts at this were not particularly successful. I built a Batson 10'8 switch about five years ago with a 160-330 grain window and lined it with a Commando head and matching tips (I forget the grains but Reds helped me out on it--I assume that they got it right). I expected to be able to throw a pretty beefy fly with this rig but it pooped out with about a #4 CH Woolly Bugger. I also thought the rod overpowered the fish I did catch which were browns and rainbows in the 16"-19" range. Power wise, the rod felt like a 7 wt. Casting wise, I never really found a groove with it--certainly not the easy-going casts I was getting out of my steelhead spey. I've loaned that rod to a buddy and have no inclination to ask for it back.

Fast forward to today and I'm looking at the current crop of trout speys and trying to decide on a 3 or a 4wt. Most of my fishing will be on broad runs on the Green in Utah and maybe Wyoming, but the Missouri is on my radar and there are obviously other streams around. On the Green I typically fish a 6wt single-handed rod with a type III line. In these big runs I usually use CH Woolly Buggers 4-8, #6 slump busters, sculpzillas, and most recently a #4 Lil' Kim. I'm not expecting this rod to throw Dungeons and Cheech Leeches. My research says to get the #4 spey for streamers but I don't want to overpower the fish I catch. Most people talk about the #3s as being more all-rounders but I'm mostly interested in swinging bigger flies. Thoughts? Downsize my streamers? Or just go for the #4 and enjoy the tug?

I'm confused and also have some questions.

Your post says that you booked a trip for next year but you will be swinging flies for trout "this summer".

It would be helpful to know the destination in AK. because I may know a little about the size of rivers and fish where you are going.

Because I live here (AK.) and fish here I would always advise people toward the heavier rod / line match up because of what you have already mentioned about difficulty casting larger flies. Basically the heavier the better for casting wet flies like streamers tubes and other assorted patterns here.

The concept of a rod overpowering a fish is lost on me. Does that mean that you can simply reel them in without 5 or more minutes spent playing them? If so that is a positive thing in my view. I don't live in the very best place in Alaska to fish but I myself and people fishing with me catch many rainbow trout in excess of 5 pounds here. When fish that size or larger are a probability I think that a 2 hand rod in the 6 / 7 range is about perfect. Rods that size will use a 500 through 575 grain line which will cast whatever you tie onto the leader tippet.

Bear in mind that bringing a rod best suited for trout fishing in the lower 48 states to Western Alaska to fish for trout / salmon may work out but landing some fish will take a long time. I've fished places where using a heavy rod with 15 pound tippet was a plus because it allowed me to catch more fish in numbers due to not wasting time playing with them.

 

[ddb]

IF I were in your shoes headed to Alaska I'd go with Ard's advice and get a rod dedicated to that challenge.

Plus I'd look into a pack spey rod for carry-on rather than risk damage/loss of a longer package by the airlines. Epic has a six piece blank and components in a kit.

Then I'd also get a 3wt trout spey for working trout down here.

ddb

 

[LukeNZ]

IF I were in your shoes headed to Alaska I'd go with Ard's advice and get a rod dedicated to that challenge.

Plus I'd look into a pack spey rod for carry-on rather than risk damage/loss of a longer package by the airlines. Epic has a six piece blank and components in a kit.

Then I'd also get a 3wt trout spey for working trout down here.

ddb

Don’t get the Epic thing? They are very noodley and always are too short for their respective line weights - probably because the full length would make them even noodlier?

More pieces also disguises the noodleyness of them, because all those extra joints are just an attempt to make them seem firmer.

The US makes the best rods. Take advantage of that fact.

 

[dbgoff]

I'm confused and also have some questions.

Your post says that you booked a trip for next year but you will be swinging flies for trout "this summer".

It would be helpful to know the destination in AK. because I may know a little about the size of rivers and fish where you are going.

Because I live here (AK.) and fish here I would always advise people toward the heavier rod / line match up because of what you have already mentioned about difficulty casting larger flies. Basically the heavier the better for casting wet flies like streamers tubes and other assorted patterns here.

The concept of a rod overpowering a fish is lost on me. Does that mean that you can simply reel them in without 5 or more minutes spent playing them? If so that is a positive thing in my view. I don't live in the very best place in Alaska to fish but I myself and people fishing with me catch many rainbow trout in excess of 5 pounds here. When fish that size or larger are a probability I think that a 2 hand rod in the 6 / 7 range is about perfect. Rods that size will use a 500 through 575 grain line which will cast whatever you tie onto the leader tippet.

Bear in mind that bringing a rod best suited for trout fishing in the lower 48 states to Western Alaska to fish for trout / salmon may work out but landing some fish will take a long time. I've fished places where using a heavy rod with 15 pound tippet was a plus because it allowed me to catch more fish in numbers due to not wasting time playing with them.

To clarify, I'm just looking for a trout spey to play with on western rivers for trout and make sure my basic spey casting skills are tuned up. I'm already geared up for my Western Alaska trip with appropriate steelhead oriented rods. I lived in Alaska for 13 years and I'm familiar with the guns I'll need for those fish. When I mentioned over-powering fish, I meant the situation where the rod is considerably more powerful than necessary to land a fish. Think grayling on a 7 wt., or high-country brookies on a 6 wt. I'm not interested in playing a fish to the death but it the fish should still bend the rod. A 7wt. rod is usually overkill on the streams I fish in the Rockies. I only use them when I'm stripping monster streamers from a drift boat and there is a realistic chance at a 22" plus fish. 6 wts. get it done the rest of the time for me.

 

[dbgoff]

"get a Burkheimer 4114-4, you will never regret it."

I got my first Burkie last year--a 9'5" Standard action 6 wt. that I use primarily for float tube fishing. Everyone who picks it up is enchanted. I'm not sure how much of this trout spey I'll do so I'm reluctant to go all on, but in my mind all of my ideal rods are Burkheimers at this point.

 

[dbgoff]

Do you want to build your own rod or purchase one? I am looking into the exact same thing, a switch/trout spey rod in a 4 weight. I was eyeing up the Rainshadow but am disappointed to hear your review. See Trident fly fishing website and they recently had a 3/4 weight trout spey shootout. Yellowstone Angler had one as well in a heavier weight range. The Sage trout spey rods get great reviews. You can of course buy finished or as a blank. T&T blanks are available at Bearsden. The Winston micro spey is in finished or blank, and while it is on the soft side, is supposedly quite nice. The Redington Hyrdrogen trout spey is supposedly a great buy at $300.

I think I've built my last rod. It never brought me the joy that fly tying does. I gave my wrapper and my tools to my brother and declared that I was out of the rod-building business (although I do consult on occassion). I never felt the love from the Batson and it was about a foot shorter then some of these trout speys (10'8")--if that matters. It was probably my issues and not the rod. I have thought about getting it back and lining it with an Outbound for ice-out lake fishing. I would not shy away from Batson two-handers based on my assessment. I just don't think my expectations at the time were realistic and I'm better informed now. When I bought my blank I understood that Steve Godshall was involved in the design (it came with one of his Scandi lines) and I assume he knows a lot more than I do about this game.

 

[coug]

"get a Burkheimer 4114-4, you will never regret it."

I got my first Burkie last year--a 9'5" Standard action 6 wt. that I use primarily for float tube fishing. Everyone who picks it up is enchanted. I'm not sure how much of this trout spey I'll do so I'm reluctant to go all on, but in my mind all of my ideal rods are Burkheimers at this point.

I have the 4114 and it is a very fun rod. Probably overkill for many of the streams I use it on in N. ID and W. MT, but I am looking at the 2-3-4 Red Shed Special by Meiser for those. Meiser and Anderson have been doing the lighter grain weight two-handers forever; you cannot go wrong with either.

I have the 695 and it is a tremendous rod. That, the 595, and 489 are my go-to single-hand rods along with Sage rods in 4, 5, and 6. Do not even want to get started on my Burkie two-hand rods!

Bruce and Walker has a new two-hander for grain weights 270-300 that you may want to consider. They really hit a home run with their 7140 introduced this year, so am anxious to try the lighter model. I ended up fishing the 7140 all fall until our rivers closed because it was so much fun to cast.

 

[ghostrider408]

I do quite a bit of trout spey in Colorado and steelhead fishing in Oregon in the fall and winter. My trout spey rigs consist of a 3 wt. Sage Pulse 11 footer, a 4 wt. Sage One 11'6", and a Loomis IMX Pro Short Spey at 11'11". The 3wt. is lined up with an OPST 30 lbs. Lazar line and I have two heads for it. A 225 grain Commando and a 265 grain Rio Trout Spey (short Scandi head). The 3 wt. is great for small trout up to about 20" or so, although my biggest on that rod was 24", but it was in winter flows and didn't have much room to run and get out in the current. For me the 3 wt. is a good fit for moderate sized streamers (with the Commando head) and soft hackles and fish up to about 20". Now, with that said, wind can often be a factor, so here is where I want to steer my experiences. My Sage One 4116 is by far the most versatile in the lot. For Skagit heads on the Sage 4 wt. I run a 360 grain Airflo Skagit Scout and an OPST Commando 300 grain in front of 30 lb. Varivas shooting line. There is no part of the river that can't be hit with those two combos. I can easily reach far off seams and buckets with either of those two heads and with some wind involved. The 4 wt. also casts the 265 grain Rio Trout Spey Scandi pretty well with both sustained anchor and touch and go casts with soft hackles and smaller to moderate sized mostly unweighted streamers on light tips (Polyleaders, light MOW tips).

My Loomis 5wt. serves as my big river/high flows Colorado rod and my fall stick in Oregon. That rod utilizes the same Airflo Scout 360 grain head and the OPST 300 grain Commando head. It has a little more oomph than the 4 wt. Sage and feels more like a light steelhead rod with power to jack it across the river when needed. I should say that the Sage One 4116 will handle 10 ft. of T11 on either the 300 grain Commando or the 360 grain Airflo Scout if needed. On the 5 wt. T11 is a non issue. This coming spring I want to get a 330 grain Airflo Scout for my Sage 4 wt., as I think going down 30 grains on that head will "light up" the Sage 4 wt.

With all of this said I would get a 4 wt. trout spey as a good all around player in the Rocky Mountain West. It will really do all you need it to do, plus it is not overkill in most trout fishing situations, but it is the versatility that the 4 wt. possesses that makes it such a nice trout spey size. Wind, big to bigger rivers, high flows, heavier tips when needed to get down are all on the table with the 4 wt. trout spey.

You will love trout spey!

 

[LukeNZ]

I do quite a bit of trout spey in Colorado and steelhead fishing in Oregon in the fall and winter. My trout spey rigs consist of a 3 wt. Sage Pulse 11 footer, a 4 wt. Sage One 11'6", and a Loomis IMX Pro Short Spey at 11'11". The 3wt. is lined up with an OPST 30 lbs. Lazar line and I have two heads for it. A 225 grain Commando and a 265 grain Rio Trout Spey (short Scandi head). The 3 wt. is great for small trout up to about 20" or so, although my biggest on that rod was 24", but it was in winter flows and didn't have much room to run and get out in the current. For me the 3 wt. is a good fit for moderate sized streamers (with the Commando head) and soft hackles and fish up to about 20". Now, with that said, wind can often be a factor, so here is where I want to steer my experiences. My Sage One 4116 is by far the most versatile in the lot. For Skagit heads on the Sage 4 wt. I run a 360 grain Airflo Skagit Scout and an OPST Commando 300 grain in front of 30 lb. Varivas shooting line. There is no part of the river that can't be hit with those two combos. I can easily reach far off seams and buckets with either of those two heads and with some wind involved. The 4 wt. also casts the 265 grain Rio Trout Spey Scandi pretty well with both sustained anchor and touch and go casts with soft hackles and smaller to moderate sized mostly unweighted streamers on light tips (Polyleaders, light MOW tips).

My Loomis 5wt. serves as my big river/high flows Colorado rod and my fall stick in Oregon. That rod utilizes the same Airflo Scout 360 grain head and the OPST 300 grain Commando head. It has a little more oomph than the 4 wt. Sage and feels more like a light steelhead rod with power to jack it across the river when needed. I should say that the Sage One 4116 will handle 10 ft. of T11 on either the 300 grain Commando or the 360 grain Airflo Scout if needed. On the 5 wt. T11 is a non issue. This coming spring I want to get a 330 grain Airflo Scout for my Sage 4 wt., as I think going down 30 grains on that head will "light up" the Sage 4 wt.

With all of this said I would get a 4 wt. trout spey as a good all around player in the Rocky Mountain West. It will really do all you need it to do, plus it is not overkill in most trout fishing situations, but it is the versatility that the 4 wt. possesses that makes it such a nice trout spey size. Wind, big to bigger rivers, high flows, heavier tips when needed to get down are all on the table with the 4 wt. trout spey.

You will love trout spey!

Wow you push the weight on your Sage One 4116-4 quite a bit more than I ever would.

For me even the SA Skagit Scout at 330gn. is overloading it, and really slows it up. And when you occasionally leave some of your tip off the water when you cast, you will definitely lose a ton of power as the original overloading gets amplified.

I like the OPST Commando head, or smooth at 250gn. on that rod, with not more than a 5ft. or 7.5ft tip max. for any of their 3 sink tips. And, use the 10ft. OPST float tip on it for a Scandi effect, as it casts that combo really well.

But if I use it just for Scandi, with small streamers and soft hackles, I prefer the SA SpeyLite Scandi (integrated) 300gn.

It can reach out nicely to 100ft. with either of the above set-ups with relative ease, if you want to fish like that.

OPST Commando at 275gn with 7.5ft. sink tips or 330gn.for a Scandi is 5wt. trout spey rod territory for me, and I like 360gn. - 390gn. on my 6wt. trout spey with a Scandi. OPST Commando is 350gn head for 6wt.

I have found that heavier flies and longer leaders get down better than any sink tips will.

So I tend to go up in Scandi line and rod wt. when the leader length and streamer weight need go up,

It keeps casting easy, tidy, tight and accurate.

Something to remember with trout spey rods, and one of the reasons I prefer the longest available trout spey rods, is that the handles take up 2 feet more or less of the rod.

So if you have an 11ft. trout spey rod your top hand has roughly only 9ft of rod above it... You can easily spey cast a 9ft rod with one hand. So you have no more real water authority/ advantage.

I like 13ft or more for a trout spey for that reason; and also, because when wading, even if you wade in to just under your knees, that has the same effect as reducing your rod length another foot In terms of the distance of rod tip to water - or in other words it reduces your water authority by that amount, all things considered.

I really like that Bob Meiser can supply 3wt. 4wt 5wt. trout spey rods in 13ft. and longer. They are fantastic for many reasons - but the length is the big plus for my money, and Spey style.

I would have liked Sage to increase the length of their One trout spey 4wt. from 11’ 6” to 12ft. or even 12’ 6” when they replaced it with the HD. But they made it shorter at 11’ 4”.....!!

So, I will definitely be going with another Meiser when I replace the Sage One 4116-4. And I will go for a 13ft. 4wt.

It can become a severe addiction this trout spey - so be careful!..

Cheers and beers,
Luke.

 

[ghostrider408]

Thanks Luke for the insight and information on what you're using on your Sage One 4116. As you know, with the 4116, it is more of a 4 plus rod. It was really the original trout spey from Sage. It is a powerhouse for sure. I started out with a Loomis 5 wt. IMX Pro Short Spey and had the 360 heads for that rod. I had the 300 grain Commando for my 8 wt. Sage X and Xi3 9ft. rods that I use on a large reservoir for warmwater species. So, I put those heads on the 4116 and it works pretty good. But, you are right, it is somewhat overloaded. I really think the Airflo Scout in a 330 grain or maybe even a Scout 300 grain may be the best Skagit head for the 4116. The Scout is a little longer by a foot than the Commando, so a guy can go up a few grains on the Scout vs. the Commando because there are more grains per foot on the Commando than the Scout. I also fish a Rio Trout Spey in a 265 grain 22 ft. head on the 4116 as well and it throws lasers with that short Scandi style head. I'm using both Polyleaders and light RIO MOW tips with the Rio Trout Spey head with good results. I absolutely love my Sage One 4116. Such a versatile rod. With that being said, Jon Hazlett, an Oregon steelhead guide, uses a 325 Rio Scandi Body head (pretty much the same head as the Rio Trout Spey) on his Sage One 4116 with great results.

 

[eastfly66]

I like the One 4116 with a Rio IT Skagit trout 300 gr. @ 16' and think the SSVT #4 at 275 gr. is a perfect match. Lots of trout spey post these days , maybe we qualify for a sub forum

 

[LukeNZ]

I like the One 4116 with a Rio IT Skagit trout 300 gr. @ 16' and think the SSVT #4 at 275 gr. is a perfect match. Lots of trout spey post these days , maybe we qualify for a sub forum

Agreed! A trout spey sub forum would be good, and save us having to hijack other posts - sorry OP if we have gotten away a bit on your question..

 

[ghostrider408]

I like the One 4116 with a Rio IT Skagit trout 300 gr. @ 16' and think the SSVT #4 at 275 gr. is a perfect match. Lots of trout spey post these days , maybe we qualify for a sub forum

No doubt eastfly, we need a sub forum on trout spey! I got into the trout spey game 3 years ago and just can't get enough of it! It started with my cousin and fly fishing partner since we were kids moving from Colorado to Oregon. He got into steelheading with the two hander and got me interested in it. So, I started out doing single hand Skagit, then went to Oregon and started steelheading with a 7 wt. two hander and Skagit heads and just got TOTALLY hooked on it!! I am all self taught, having watched every video on YouTube about Skagit casting and fishing in Oregon with a few of the top guides in the Portland area. Once I got the steelheading bug, it was on to trout spey with a two hander in Colorado and I haven't looked back! The casting, setting up the swing, and the grab are just absolute magic. I love this stuff! I have had a ton of success on trout spey and am really starting to figure out steelheading in Oregon. I got my first swung fly steelhead in Oregon this fall, after getting blanked last winter in about 12 days (throughout the entire winter, when I was able to go to Oregon) swinging flies in Oregon, around the Portland area and out on the coast. It was a tough year for steelhead up there. Low returns and fished mostly low and clear conditions. But... I loved every second of it and will be heading back out there this winter to try and swing up a fish or two. I had a couple of good grabs last winter, but just didn't hook up. I will fish with more confidence and a better understanding this season though and can't wait.

 

[LukeNZ]

Thanks Luke for the insight and information on what you're using on your Sage One 4116. As you know, with the 4116, it is more of a 4 plus rod. It was really the original trout spey from Sage. It is a powerhouse for sure. I started out with a Loomis 5 wt. IMX Pro Short Spey and had the 360 heads for that rod. I had the 300 grain Commando for my 8 wt. Sage X and Xi3 9ft. rods that I use on a large reservoir for warmwater species. So, I put those heads on the 4116 and it works pretty good. But, you are right, it is somewhat overloaded. I really think the Airflo Scout in a 330 grain or maybe even a Scout 300 grain may be the best Skagit head for the 4116. The Scout is a little longer by a foot than the Commando, so a guy can go up a few grains on the Scout vs. the Commando because there are more grains per foot on the Commando than the Scout. I also fish a Rio Trout Spey in a 265 grain 22 ft. head on the 4116 as well and it throws lasers with that short Scandi style head. I'm using both Polyleaders and light RIO MOW tips with the Rio Trout Spey head with good results. I absolutely love my Sage One 4116. Such a versatile rod. With that being said, Jon Hazlett, an Oregon steelhead guide, uses a 325 Rio Scandi Body head (pretty much the same head as the Rio Trout Spey) on his Sage One 4116 with great results.

Have used the 325gn Rio Scandi body as a head on the 4116 and it does cast well. It is a bit more splashy than a Scandi though, but it will turn over a heavier fly than the full tapered Scandi and handle a bigger breeze.

So I would probably just use a 5wt. with a full Scandi that day.
Because for the weight of fly being cast and/or maybe handle the breeze, it puts me in the middle of the 5wt. performance and casting effort range; rather than, be at the top end of trying to keep a 4wt. consistent all day in conditions that are more effort with it.

Was in US a couple of months ago - caught up with Marcus at Ashland and got a Hardy Cascepedia from him. The trout 6/7wt., which is perfect on my Meiser 5wt. 13ft. Trout Spey.

Some really great trout fishing in those parts of your fine country!

Marcus is a big fan of Rio Scandi body as a trout spey head too - they do get some heavy breeze there.., but he probably spends too much time with Jon!

 

[eastfly66]

Hey Luke, Have you had a crack at that new OPST Skagit rod yet ?