[Panhandle]

I'm sure there has been much info in this topic thus far.

When skagit casting in swift water, with a lot of running line sitting out, how do you avoid the stick of the RN? Typically I let the running line form below me in a big U, then grab the U and throw it behind me, then hurry up before it sticks too much. I've tried hand coiling and everything else i can think of. Hand coiling results in running line tangles, perhaps, 10% of the time, which ads-up when you spend so much time stripping in line.

 

[Mumbles]

Hand loops of differing lengths. Longest on the pinkie, next longest on ring man, next longest on tall dude and shortest in pointer. Tuck over the outside diameter of the reel to the butt, cast and as you cast open your fingers keeping the butt pressed into your palm. The open fingers will allow the line to exit. My casting sucks so I don't get out nearly as much line as you, but my tangle rate is way lower than 10%.

You could always stop stripping and cast a long belly!

 

[DocDoc]

There is a thread on Speypages about this too. One suggestion by one of the masters, in addition to changing the number of strips in the loop, is to add one palm down and the next palm up. This is easier to do than to try and describe. It does seem to help reduce tangles.

 

[Panhandle]

Ed, I don't torture myself on purpose. :beer
I'd love to see what you described in practice by any good spey caster.

 

[Brian Thomas]

Hand loops of differing lengths. Longest on the pinkie, next longest on ring man, next longest on tall dude and shortest in pointer. Tuck over the outside diameter of the reel to the butt, cast and as you cast open your fingers keeping the butt pressed into your palm. The open fingers will allow the line to exit. My casting sucks so I don't get out nearly as much line as you, but my tangle rate is way lower than 10%.

Mumbles - try that in reverse order . Biggest loop goes out first , the rest get progressively smaller . I`ve been doing this for a few years now , and I find that A) it makes sense to shoot the largest loops first to ensure there is plenty of energy to lift the last few feet of the smallest loop off the water at the end of the cast , and B) because the largest loops go out first , I get fewer tangles .

And of course , good running line helps . Immensely .:thumb:

 

[Gone’r]

Mumbles - try that in reverse order . Biggest loop goes out first , the rest get progressively smaller . I`ve been doing this for a few years now , and I find that A) it makes sense to shoot the largest loops first to ensure there is plenty of energy to lift the last few feet of the smallest loop off the water at the end of the cast , and B) because the largest loops go out first , I get fewer tangles .

And of course , good running line helps . Immensely .:thumb:

thats what ive been doing and it works great, i carry 2 loops most of the time but when i'm waded in especially "sticky" water i'll hold 3. works pretty well especially if you train your fingers to release em one at a time.

 

[Mumbles]

Brian, I'll give that a shot. I've heard both sides and have gone large first to smaller last. I can't shoot too much line anyway, trying something different won't hurt!

Pan, I've gone fishing, or intending to fish a couple of times and run into really good casters. I think I spent more time watching them, I mean really watching what they were doing and I found that very helpful. I did not actually fish much on those days.