9'6 7wt single hand rod with OPST commando 275 grain head with mono running line. BOOOM I have a gap in my ars hole too

 

I fish an 8 wt with 24' of 300 grain Rio Sinktip for the big stuff. Doesn't spey cast at all though.

Maybe Chromers or someone else can chime in on that. I know he has a line that works pretty well for single handed spey.

 

I fish an 8 wt with 24' of 300 grain Rio Sinktip for the big stuff. Doesn't spey cast at all though.

Maybe Chromers or someone else can chime in on that. I know he has a line that works pretty well for single handed spey.

Same thing I use (for bull trout) though I cut the tip from about 24' to 16'. Found the 24' was just to much line and I'd be dredging too quick.

Ito a clunky cast but it gets the job done. Make sure you have open loops, but I think you'd be further off using a switch. Likely the way I'll end up going.

 

I use a 9' 8wt with the Rio Versa-tip system...probably a lot better options out there but it is what I have been using for the past 10 years or so and it works. Built up a spey and a switch setup but seem to go back to the single hander on most occassions....probably mostly due to my crappy casting.

 

I have used a 5wt rio scandi short versitip on an 8wt single hand rod with great success. I use it on the beaches chucking 4in long heavily weighted clousers and it handles it fine. Not as much punch as an outbound short, but a very smooth casting line with excellent turnover and distance. The 5wt will Spey cast pretty well, though a 6wt would be better for dedicated Spey casting (too heavy for overhead casting tho).

As a starting point to line a single hand rod with a scandi shirt versitip, go down 3 sizes for overhead casting and down 2 sizes for Spey casting.

 

6 wt
Airflo multi-tip. 12-15' of T-14
Hate the loops but it puts fish on the business end of things.
SF

 

um, the title of the post had me laughing...

 

Yeah, me too!

I love fly-fishing and I love digging and eating clams. I thought someone had finally figured out a way to combine both sports!!

 

It depends if you are wading or drifting. For wading, I like a longer or normal head with an aggressive front taper like SA Nymph or Magnum. Drift fishing is good with a shooting line like Outbound Short.

I use 6 or 7wt for wading, 7 or 8 on a boat.

 

I do pretty much exactly this. Let me add a little color: You want to match the mass of your line to the mass of your flies. Bigger meat needs more fly line mass to move it through the air without unnatural and tiring physical acts from your arms to your lower back. Yes, the total weight of your outfit is more if you use an 8wt rig vs. a 6 or 5, but the balance is better and that makes it less tiring. As for line choice, I tend to use a longer sink tip in a super dense sink rate, but correct weight for the rod, at least on moving water (lakes/ocean are different). For example, I often use an Airflo Galloup Streamer Long 300gr for my 8wt Sage One, which is a super fast 20' or 25' of tip. I use this when in a boat or wading, but Kyle makes a good point about using a shooting (aka short) head like an Outbound Short out of a boat. This allows you to strip all the way back to the boat, back-cast once, and shoot the whole line out to the next target with no extra back/forward cast sequences because so much of the weight of the line is placed in the first 20' or so. I have one of those lines in a 7wt, and it's super efficient and physically easier, and I use that one a lot from a boat. I have to say though that it is mentally tiring making that many casts in a day. But then again, tiring out my brain doing that activity is what I want, so it's all good.

 

If want to fish lighter outfits ditch the weighted streamers.

I fish bull trout on the Skagit (a decent size creek) with streamers and I can't imagine that your brown trout fishing game would be much different. On larger flows I fish a 5 weight sage RPL+ with a 250 grain sink tip. Have no problems fishing 3 to 4 inch un-weighted streamers and can push the size up to 6 inches if the need arises. While not the best caster can comfortably cast up to 70 feet or so and if needed roll cast 60 feet or so. With the outfit I have good success on the bulls with occasional steelhead and when in season coho with fish holding in up 8 feet of water without undue effort.

Curt
+

 

In with @manuelotion when it comes to Spey casting, my setup is a 10' 7wt with 300 grain opst commando and this setup will chuck whatever you want from 10' t material and weighted flies to mono leader and unweighted fly and any other combo. Replaced my ambush for wade fishing, out of boat I use a 9' 6wt with ambush full line for stripping up to my leader/tip.

I have no xp with them, but what I believe @Swimmy is referencing is the nextcast coastal line in single hand or trout, I do have xp with the coastal line in the steelhead version and it is kick ass with the multi_density and casts like a dream, would definitely check these lines out if I was you.

"Shouldn't your next cast be with a nextcast?"

- Mr. Chromers (did I quote it right?)

 

Yes if you are primarily two hand casting the nextcast coastal switch is great along with the opst. Currently for two handed mode I use a coastal switch in the f1 version and the commando for floating heads. Both lines are excellent and well designed. They are different than one another though so it's really about preference.

Hi, I'm Dustin chromers. I rely on nextcast spey lines to take my delivery and presentation to the next level in some of the world's most challenging fishing conditions. Shouldn't your next cast be a nextcast too?

 

For most of the streamers I fish (under 4"), I really like a Teeny T-200 (same as most other integrated shooting heads out there, I just really like his running line) and fish it on either a heavy 6 or a 7wt. When I fish larger streamers than 4" (all of my self-tied streamers aren't tied with super heavy materials because I like the line to take them down), then I'll bump up to a T-300 and throw it on my Steffen 8wt.

Although, if it's really shallow, either an Ambush or one of my home-made "OPST"-style heads work great.

 

I use a 40+ intermediate and floater. Ambush also has its place. The opst commando though is becoming my goto for most applications involving light rods, large flies and tips along with striping. The short head makes strip retrieves awesome as you can see your fly before casting again.

 

6 and 7wt rods.. using basically two lines. Ambush and Airflo Streamer Max (full length, no trimming)

I like the Ambush for tight fishing out of a drifter. One line class lighter than the rod combined with T-10 tips of 8' - 12' - light anchor / quick stroke - or a super easy loading overhead cast.

Streamer Max actually doesn't do to bad with spey casts in my opinion.. nice with overhead too. The intermediate 'body' has some bulk to it and definitely helps with turnover. Match line class on rod and line same/same.

 

All day today i threw 4" bunny zonkers and intruders with 5/32 lead eyes , or 2 bead heads under a indicator on a 10' 6wt Scott SAS on a Rio Nymph indicator line in 15-20mph winds at times ..
Its a soft rod but if i slow it down it all pans out , single hand spey worked fine along with roll cast with a bit more quicker flick of tge wrist ..

On a side note i have a brand new 7wt Rio singlehand spey line that may be smthing to look into also as it has a 260 or 280gr 34 ft head (not sure in weight but i know the 8wt is 300gr .. i cant help u as instead of buying a new rod for the line i had unexpected things pop up

 

This thread has got me itchin'. Streamer fishing here is about to turn on. Mar - Apr in SW Montana is hard to beat if you like throwing the big stuff.

 

Are you guys just massively overloading your rods then? 250-260 seems just right on my 8wt, though it is one of those true to weight Winston sticks. I tried 8 feet of T-7 (a hacked up Streamer Express tip) at the end of 7wt OBS, and it was just too much. Maybe that would work with some of those saltwater rods you guys use though.

 

Next time we are out, you should cast my set up. I don't think it feels overloaded at all.

 

I love it when Kyle and Lugan talk gear.

Definitely two of our resident experts.

 

I love it when Kyle and Lugan talk gear.

Definitely two of our resident experts.

Hmmm, mighty smarmy of you.

 

Lugan/Kyle -
Without a doubt a fly line 250 grain 24 foot head is an overload for a 5 weight on that sage RPL+ it works for me. The RPL+ is a cannon! After 35 years of experimenting with this streamer game on my home waters with a variety of rods/lines/flies etc. I have hit upon a system that balances my enjoyment with the typical size of fish encounter (17 to 22 inches), more than adequately handles the large fish, allows me to efficiently cover the water all and comfortably fish a full day without unduly taxing my aging body.

I did qualify that this choice was for large water with significant flows. On the same water during low flow periods my equipment choice changes with my go-to tool being a 8 foot 6 inch sage SP 5 weight coupled with 150 grain head. I believe that is a more typical rod/line weight situation. On my water during those conditions the average size of the fish encounter are a bit smaller and the largest fish smaller so that SP is ideal and yet I can still comfortably present all but the largest streamers and if need be achieve much the same distances though an additional false cast or two maybe required. In the water that I fish I often need to use roll casts is a little more limited than the larger outfit; that may be more of a reflection of my casting skills than the capabilities of the rod/lines.

Clearly with my insistence of fishing unweighted streamers with single handed rods with that SP being the "newest" rod in my arsenal I'm old school. Even so I enjoy my time on the water, seem to be more than adequately fish the chosen water with good success; this old dog is unlikely to change.

Curt