Scandi grain recomendations?

[nookslayer]

I have an awesome 7wt 10' 8" switch rod that Meskel customized for me from a single hand 10'. I have an Airflo 420 grain compact skagit on it now and it casts like a dream! Amazing accuracy and distance with ease.

I am now looking to add a floating line for skating a drys and want to have the same performance. I believe the compact Scandi is the way to go but not sure about what grain.

Do you think I go up, down, or stay the same grain as the 420 Skagit? All input would be helpful.

I am planning on taking this rod with me on our annual trip to the reservation for the salmon fly hatch June 11th. It will be perfect for the area we hike down in to near the base of the dam for the big boys!

Thanks in advance...

[hooksetter1]

If I were you, I'd try a 14ft poly leader before switching to Scandi just in case you like it.

[LunkerFish]

Originally Posted by nookslayer

I have an awesome 7wt 10' 8" switch rod that Meskel customized for me from a single hand 10'. I have an Airflo 420 grain compact skagit on it now and it casts like a dream! Amazing accuracy and distance with ease.

I am now looking to add a floating line for skating a drys and want to have the same performance. I believe the compact Scandi is the way to go but not sure about what grain.

Do you think I go up, down, or stay the same grain as the 420 Skagit? All input would be helpful.

I am planning on taking this rod with me on our annual trip to the reservation for the salmon fly hatch June 11th. It will be perfect for the area we hike down in to near the base of the dam for the big boys!

Thanks in advance...

I can only speak generally, not having cast your rod and allowing for personal style.

Having said that, and assuming only the skagit head weighs 420 grn, my preference is to have a scandi head about 4 - 4.5:1 including the leader with similar total grains as just the skagit head. So the head and leader would be around 40 feet. This would make for a scandi head about 340-360 grains at 32 feet, with a 15 polyleader and 3 feet of tippet. This would give the following: head (32') 340 grains + leader (18') 60 grains = 400 grains at 40 feet.

All of the above is then dialed in to adjust for personal preference and rod characteristics. With my faster rods I like to go on the longer-lighter side of the formula and on the shorter-heavier side for my shorter slower rods, but that's the formula as I understand it and what works for me. For chopping and customizing Scandi lines the Vision Ace is an awesome line.

[gustav]

I agree with the last post, you go under for the scandi set up. I was trying lines a couple weeks ago at the fly fishing expo and I normally use a 550 skagit on my 8 wt; when I tried the scandi lines the 470 gr scandi felt right on my rod. I am also looking to get a scandi set up, so let us know what you end up with. Have you tried a fly shop that will let you try the different lines?

[Slow and Low]

3.25, is a good compact ratio. Shorter the better. But for turning over stone fly dries you may want to get a heavier head and cut it back. I don't care for ploy leaders much and prefer standard 9' leaders, especially if you are fishing dry flies. I would get something in the 420 grain range. Chances are it will cast great out of the box. If not cut it back. Keep in mind most people casting scandis are not casting in the underhanded style.

The other thing you might try is a steelhead taper single hand line by SA size 9 or 10. This line would actually turn something over. Plus it will cast overhead nicely.

Good luck and let me know how it works out.

[nookslayer]

Thank you for the input guys.

Sam, I like the idea of keeping it compact and I will be throwing very large salmon fly drys as well as stones. In this case, you think by going with a regular steelhead taper weight forward line in 9 or 10 would do this trick huh? I hadn't really thought about that. That may give me a little more flexibility in how I cast the rod in addition to the spey cast. I was a little confused by the "underhand" style comment though. I am still relativly new to spey. Can you expand on that? Maybe I'll just ahve to book an RBO trip and you can show me.

Thanks again guys. I think I'll go see Don and try some of these ideas out.

[LunkerFish]

Sam makes a good point. On a shorter rod like yours, and being new to two-hand casting, it would make more sense to stay on the compact side so you don't have to change up your stroke. Like I said, I can only speak generally and what works for me.

In short, underhand casting uses a more dominant bottom hand in the cast with the upper hand acting more as a fulcrum. In addition, the whole body is incorporated in the cast. Faster rods and long leaders are used because the style uses a "kiss-in-go" anchor. The previous doesn't do the style justice, but defines the basics. Andre Schultz and Henrik Mortensen have both contributed greatly to the development and defining of this style if you want to learn more. One thing to remember though as you delve more into all things spey is that it is best to stick with one style and perfect that style before you learn another.

Finally, great idea to book a trip with Sam. He knows his stuff and can help your casting as well as fishing.