Your sink tip should be added to make up the overall length and achieve the 3.0 to 3.5 times the length of the rod.
Emergency Newbie Question
I'm Making the 3 hour drive in the morning to fish for the first time with the switch rod. I had a 30 minute practice session tonight on what amounted to ice (15 inches of snow with a slick layer of ice on top). I'm casting an 11'6 / 8 wt Cabelas LST rod. It's rigged with a 450 grain RIO Skagit Line. Feels pretty good to me, but what the heck do I know. I'm brand new.
Being in a hurry, I didn't attach any t-14 to it, so was just casting the line and a leader. I've read that the head should be 3-3.5 times the length of the rod. Is adding the t-14 to the line how I achieve the desired length of the head? Sounds crazy, but I'm very new to this.
The rig casted very well out to about 35-40 feet. I was achieving almost zero load due to the slick ice. Will being on the water tomorrow allow me to cast farther than what I was able to tonight jut because I will have some loading. It shouldn't be a problem if I'm only able to achieve the 40 foot casts as the river I'm planning on fishing isn't very wide. If I can't find a good piece of open water, I'm gonna head to a much larger river where 60 foot casts would be a lot better than 40?:beathead:
Being in a hurry, I didn't attach any t-14 to it, so was just casting the line and a leader. I've read that the head should be 3-3.5 times the length of the rod. Is adding the t-14 to the line how I achieve the desired length of the head? Sounds crazy, but I'm very new to this.
The rig casted very well out to about 35-40 feet. I was achieving almost zero load due to the slick ice. Will being on the water tomorrow allow me to cast farther than what I was able to tonight jut because I will have some loading. It shouldn't be a problem if I'm only able to achieve the 40 foot casts as the river I'm planning on fishing isn't very wide. If I can't find a good piece of open water, I'm gonna head to a much larger river where 60 foot casts would be a lot better than 40?:beathead:
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That's what I was thinking. Thank You very much for confirming.
It doesn't have to be t-14. You can get several different sizes of tips for your line but you do need the correct length to make your rod load properly. I'm no great caster and my first lawn cast with my first switch rod was in excess of 80 feet so I'd say you need the tip.
"...Will being on the water tomorrow allow me to cast farther than what I was able to tonight jut because I will have some loading."
The answer is yes, by quite some distance. With the conditions you discribed, you've got very little in the way of 'stick' to your anchor. Water will take care of that. One other thought (although I don't remember anyone on several 2-hander boards here in the US or the UK for that matter commenting) is a 'grass leader' may help even on snow. This is a made up leader where you have a 'connection' between sections every foot or so with a one to two inch tag sticking out (barrel knot, just don't trim off the excess).
fae
The answer is yes, by quite some distance. With the conditions you discribed, you've got very little in the way of 'stick' to your anchor. Water will take care of that. One other thought (although I don't remember anyone on several 2-hander boards here in the US or the UK for that matter commenting) is a 'grass leader' may help even on snow. This is a made up leader where you have a 'connection' between sections every foot or so with a one to two inch tag sticking out (barrel knot, just don't trim off the excess).
fae
Thanks fellas. I had a great day swingin through some great water. The rod casted very well.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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