Getting Down with The Skagit

[TallFlyGuy]

When you guys throw the skagit system or any other shorter belly system, I would imagine you have to have the compensator tip to achieve any real depth.

If not how do you keep your tips/fly down. I'd imagine the skagit belly would be fat and float like a cork keeping your tip up. If this is the case do you make a skagit tip with a density compensator built into the 3 to 3.5 times your length of rod? Or do you just attach your tip onto the belly and let er roll?

Comments?

Thanks

Justin

[Philster]

Haven't you seen Dec's new book? Going deep is overrated;) Seriously, all my skagit tips are either straight sections of t14 or t8, or they are t14 spliced to 13 weight level floating line with the the t14 in 2 foot, 4 foot, 6 foot, or 9 foot lengths. The 4 and the 6 foot get most of the work and get down. The 9 is for water that is probably too fast to hold fish 90% of the time, but looks too good to pass up. Standard rio 15 foot tips fish fine too off a skagit head.

[Salmo_g]

I've heard of density compensators, but haven't yet seen one, let alone used one. I've been splicing 15' High Speed, Hi-D sink tips to my floating lines for 29 years. It gets unweighted flies down where they need to be to hook winter steelhead, except in pocket or slot water, and a density compensator is irrelevant there.

I'm wondering if the density compensator concept is an exercise in over-thinking. In most steelheading applications, I just change the length or density of the sink tip I'm using if I'm not getting my fly to the desired depth.

I've seen Ed Ward's Skagit head and various sink tips built as Philster describes, with no density compensator to be seen.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

[Brian St]

Justin

What do you consider "real" depth? Deep enough to catch a steelhead. I have been watching gear fishers on our local rivers fishing floats for the last 10 years and usually its about a three ft leader to the jig or pink rubber worm. They seem to fish alot of the same pools I do and they catch more than there share of the fish. I would say that you could get into the zone with only a 8ft piece of T-14 and a weighted fly using your skagit head of choice. No need to dredge the bottom and loose flies.

[TallFlyGuy]

Well, My mentor taught me that steelhead usually take flies in two zones.... Right on top or right on bottom. There are the exceptions, but few. Most jig articles say the same thing, keep your jig a foot to 18" off bottom. We have current that pulls against our fly and line, causing them to go up. You need more weight to counter that. 8' might work, In some areas, 8' might not be enough. Slow and Low. That phrase is the real deal!

[fredaevans]

Darned interesting you should make this comment: "Well, My mentor taught me that steelhead usually take flies in two zones.... Right on top or right on bottom."

Chatting with Bruce as we were driving up to the SpeyFair a few days back and one of the topics of conversation was on this point. Bruce was saying a study had been done some time back to block Lamprays (sp?) from getting up into some river systems (forget which now). "They" installed several fish weirs that ran from just a few inches off the bottom to almost the top of the river(s).

Apparently half way up the flow was more than enough. Moving (and active) fish rise up in the water col. as they're moving up stream. Only resting (inactive) fish hold on the very bottom. The end result was a low weir held the 'rays,' and moving steelhead/salmon moved right over the top ... apparently it didn't slow them down a bit.

Repeating myself here, but if you want a 'd-comp' just use a 2-3 foot section of 25-30# MAIN LINE mono fishing line. Slow down your casting stroke a tad (which you should be doing with tips anyway) and 'it works a treat.' The length of stiff (this is why you don't use 'leader material') allows the sink tip to drop below the floating line section without having 'try' to pull it under.