got a rod...need a line

[8wtflyrod]

Hi everyone...

I'm totally new to the spey casting world and have just jumped right in... I bought (ordered) a rod recently with the help of a friend (dont hate me for not trying several out before I did, I am an impulse buyer and have little patience), and will need to select the proper line. I have no idea....

I ordered a Scott LS21509 for use on the Skagit as well as SE AK and will be going for steelies and coho. Is there all around line that would work well for all (locations, species)? Obviously, I would like to get a line that casts easy for a beginner (possibly at the sacrifice of distance?).

Any help (or thoughts) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Steelie Mike]

Rio's recomendation is a Skagit 600 with a ten ft cheater or a windcutter 8/9/10. I am not sure about Airflo and the other lines, but I think these types of lines would be good to start. I have fished a 7wt version of that rod and liked it a lot.

[Red Shed]

Impulse buying of a two handed rod is not always the best idea. Having said that, you now have the 1509 Scott, a great choice buy the way for my river. A Skagit system including a floating tip is pretty good but I still think the most versatile line going for the traveling angler is a WC VersiTip.

Simon's (Rio's) line choices are a good place to start. I think the WC 9/10/11 would be a good match for you and that rod. The very best way to find out which line weight fits you/and your rod best is to try both the WC 9/10/11 and the 8/9/10 on the river. Everything else is a crap shoot.

I am wondering what "your friends" advice is on picking the proper line? Tell the shop where you bought your rod that you need a couple demo lines for an on the water test drive.

[bigtj]

Second RS's advice on the windcutter. It is a great beginner line and with practice and some good instruction you will get all the distance you are likely to ever need with that line. A skagit line would be better for throwing big bugs at moderate distances, and be a little bit cheaper, but the wincutter will give you all-around performance. With that 15' rod some day you can graduate to longer-belly lines but for right now I'd stay on the shorter side.

If you are on a budget keep your eyes peeled on the classifieds section, sometimes new or near-new lines come up for sale if I remember correctly there is a cortland reel with a couple WC's for sale insanely cheap less than $200 right now.

Best of luck to you.

[Brian Thomas]

I don`t have the rod , but I`ve played around with one . Great stick .I tried the same lines I use on my ARC 1509 . as mentioned , the Windcutter 8/9/10 is a good match . Another line I liked was the Airflow Delta 9/10 , and the XLT8/9 (but you might want to hold off on this one , at least for now) . My favourite line though , is the Snowbee 2d . With this line , the rod almost seems to cast itself . With this combo , it is no problem at all to cast the whole line (OK , the line is only 110 ft long , but still ...:)) . The sink-tip version is a GREAT line , if you want to swim your fly just under the surface . I liked all of the LS2`s I`ve cast , and may yet pick up the 1610 for long belly work on the Thompson .

[Christian Brewer]

Give Michael at Pacific Flyfishers in Mill Creek a call (his website is under the site sponsor list on the WFF homepage), the LS2-1509 is one of his go to rods. He can give you a lot of info on the rod and which lines cast better than others.

That is definitely a sweet rod!!! I've casted it with the Rio Midspey and WOW is it nice :eek: !!!

Christian