Skagit Casting is a relatively new way to spey cast It was developed in the Pacific Northwest where anglers needed to cast
heavy flies
on heavy sinking lines. Traditional spey lines just did not have the
right tapers
and mass to cast such heavy setups.
What is the difference between Skagit and Scandi?
The main differences between Scandi and
skagit lines
is that the Skagit line design concentrates more weight in a shorter mass , especially in the sinking
tip portion
, which helps turn over heavy, bulky flies. All Skagit lines need a tip attached to the head portion of the line to enable it to function properly.
Who invented Skagit casting?
The term “Skagit Line” is attributed to Ed Ward , who was a fly fishing guide on the Skagit River in Northern Washington. On the Spey Pages discussion group, he was describing a new form of fishing with two-hand rods for winter steelhead. He called it Spey casting.
What is a Skagit tip?
A Skagit Head with a sinking tip attached was designed and built to provide
extra weight
to sink the fly towards the bottom of moderately fast moving water while using a very compact casting stroke to avoid riverbank obstructions on wild rain-forest rivers. A line tip is just and extension of the shooting head.
How does a Skagit line work?
What is a Skagit Line (in layman terms)? Simply put, a Skagit line is shorter and heavier than the usual shooting head. The idea is, most shooting heads are circa 40ft in length, Skagit lines compress all of the weight that a 40ft shooting head has into a length of circa 25ft.
What are Skagit lines?
Originally developed on the West Coast of the US, skagit lines were designed for fishing large steelhead flies with heavy sink tips The large diameter of the front of the line helps to turn over heavy, wind resistant patterns that are often difficult to cast with conventional fly tackle.
What is the difference between switch and Spey casting?
Switch rods are better suited for nymphing than spey rods because of their shorter length and lighter weight makes them easier to stack mend line or highstick line When swinging flies, spey rods can manage more line on the water because of their longer length.
Do Skagit heads float?
A floating Skagit head will stay on the surface unless a sinking tip or weighted fly pulls it under.
Where can I fish on the Skagit River?
The river is VERY fishable from the upper region at Sumallo Grove, all the way to Ross lake There are a few interesting side trips close to the Skagit as well. There are several lakes close by that have some very good fishing for Rainbow Trout, Bull trout, and Cutthroat Trout.
What is shooting head fly line?
A shooting head (or some may use other names like “shooting taper”) is a length of heavy fly line traditionally around 30 feet long that can be tapered or have little to no taper The head is attached to a thin, level running line which fills up the remainder of the fly reel spool on top of the backing.
What is a running line fly fishing?
The quick answer to WHAT IS RUNNING LINE IN FLY FISHING? The running line is a thinly coated section of fly line between the rear taper and the backing connected to the reel It is typically between 35 and 55 feet in length and can be either floating or sinking.
What is switch fly rod?
A switch rod is a style of fly rod. It is a cross between a single-handed fly rod and a two-handed Spey rod You can cast them overhead using one hand or you can use the bottom handle with your other hand to do different Spey casts (think fancy roll casts).
Citations
http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/mobile/responsive%20web%20design/spey-casting-small-rivers-responsive-web-design.html
https://streamsideorvis.com/blog/post/spey-casting-basics