4 Wt Vs 5 Wt Switch Rod Review

photograph past Louis Cahill

Before we talk about specific lines and how they fish, let's have a minute to understand the switch rod.

If you take not read "Role 1: Understanding lines and line tapers" you tin find it Hither. I think yous volition find the information helpful.

The switch rod is a production of evolution. A decade agone the boilerplate length of a two- handed rod was 14 feet and the boilerplate line weight was nine. Every bit two-handed casting has become more pop and its application more varied, the average 2-hander has go shorter and lighter. The modern two-manus rods are less fatiguing, beautifully balanced and more versatile, allowing Spey-style casting in tighter casting situations.

The switch rod adds to this adaptation the selection of single-mitt casting and high sticking. Things that couldn't exist achieved with longer heavier rods. This makes the switch rod the nearly versatile rod e'er made and the well-nigh confusing. Information technology is a rare angler who uses their switch rod in every application it can handle.

A switch rod is really a short, calorie-free weight Spey rod. Although it will arrange overhand casting, fifty-fifty with traditional lines, its taper is designed for 2-handed Spey casting. Therefore, in well-nigh applications, it will perform its best with a line designed for two-handed casting. When matched with the right line switch rods are not merely versatile but incredibly effective.

A lot of switch rods spend their lives in the closet because they got matched with the wrong line. Often, folks coming from a single-manus casting background will set their switch rod up with a traditional line for single-paw overhead casting and detect that it performs poorly. This is considering the rod is under lined and information technology's an easy fault to make.

Switch rod and Spey rod weights are rated on the AFTTA standard and unmarried-hand rods and lines are rated on the AFTMA standard. It's like comparison Celsius to Fahrenheit or meters to feet. This means that a 5-weight switch rod, for example, takes a much higher grain weight line than a v-weight single hander in order to get the proper load. That 5-weight single-mitt rod needs a line in the range of 180 to 200 grains, whereas a #5 Switch rod needs 300 to 330. That'southward a huge difference and if it seems unnecessarily complicated, that's because it is. It'south critical when choosing a line for your switch rod that yous remember in terms of the grain weight needed to load the rod.

Here'southward a breakdown of suggested grain weights for switch rods past line ratings. These figures will vary from rod to rod and may too exist affected by your casting mode, but it's a practiced guideline.

3wt. 200 to 275 grains

4wt. 250 to 325 grains

5wt. 300 to 375 grains

6wt. 350 to 425 grains

7wt. 400 to 500 grains

8wt. 450 to 550 grains

9wt. 500 to 600 grains

Now that nosotros have a lilliputian amend understanding of the switch rod, its lineage and some of the luggage associated with it, allow's talk virtually some of the line options and some of the fishing opportunities they open for the angler. Virtually anglers take a line manufacturer that they like. Because Simon Gawesworth of RIO has helped me by providing a neat deal of information on this topic, I will be talking about RIO lines. That doesn't mean that other manufacturers do non make comparable lines. If you have experience with a line that you like on your switch rod, please share it in the comments department.

Line Options

The beginning lines we will look at are Spey style lines. In almost cases these lines are shooting heads that must be attached to a running line of your choosing and in some cases a sinking or floating tip. While these shooting caput systems perform beautifully on a switch rod, offer a lot of versatility and give you the best two-hand performance, y'all need to put some thought into your fix up. For example, mono running line is a dream to cast and great for swinging flies but is unmendable. It's useless for angling nymphs or dries.

Head length is very important when choosing a Spey style line for your switch rod. Generally speaking, you desire to choose a line that has a head length no longer than 3 times your rod length, equally the greater the ratio between rod length and head length, the harder it is to spey cast. Every bit the majority of Switch rods are around 11 ft in length, a good starting point is to utilize a line with a head length of around 33 ft. Simply put, this means either a "Skagit" type line, or a "Scandi" blazon line.

Skagit Lines

The only choice when swinging flies for winter steelhead and a great line for swinging streamers for trout. Skagit lines have thick and heavy front ends and are designed for one thing –turning over weight. These lines (well-nigh of them are shooting heads, rather than "lines") are perfect for casting fast sinking tips and heavy flies. The ability at the front is likewise great for casting in tough wind conditions. The power of any fly line is related to how many grains it has per pes, and if there are more grains per pes at the front of the line, information technology volition deliver a powerful dial. For example, the front foot of a 525 grain Skagit Brusque weighs just over twenty grains. The front foot of the equivalent weight of a Scandi caput weighs just over 9 grains – far less dial.
Pretty much all Skagit heads that are on the market require the addition of a tip – either sinking or floating – to the front end end, and a shooting line to the rear end, and the heads characteristic a neat welded loop on both ends to facilitate this. Information technology is very important that the pulley takes into account the length of the additional tip and adds it to the length of the Skagit head to notice out if they fit shut to that 3:1 ratio.

RIO offers three Skagit head designs; the "Skagit iFlight", "Skagit Flying" and the "Skagit Curt". In most situations, the Skagit Brusque is the all-time option of line for a Switch rod due to its shorter head length (totaling 20 ft). This ways an angler can fish the very popular 10 to 15 ft sink tips without exceeding the iii:i ratio significantly.

Scandinavian or Scandi line

Scandi lines are great for summer steelhead as well as fishing for trout. Whatsoever angling scenario where two handed casting is advantageous and medium to small flies are being fished on the surface or at moderate depth a Scandi line will perform well.

Scandi lines over again tend to be shooting heads, and the dorsum end needs to be attached to some kind of shooting line, though there is no need to adhere a tip to the front finish similar the Skagit heads require. Scandi lines are built with long front end tapers and have nearly of the weight at the back. This blazon of design creates the smoothest and tightest of loops when bandage, and have the very all-time in presentation. While you lot cannot add together a sink tip to most Scandi heads (non enough grains per foot at the front), y'all can certainly add sinking (and floating) VersiLeaders to such Scandi heads, and use these to control the depth.

RIO offers three Scandi head designs; the AFS, Steelhead Scandi, and Scandi Short VersiTip, and, for the switch rod, in most cases the selection is going to boil down to either the Steelhead Scandi or the Scandi Brusk VersiTip.

The Scandi Curt VersiTip was specifically designed for Switch rods and has a full length of 33 ft. Information technology comes with 4 different density, x ft long sink tips, which tin can exist switched effectually as fishing conditions change. The real selling point of this head is the versatility of it. If y'all adhere one of the supplied 10 ft tips, it is a beautiful and easy casting Scandi caput. If you don't attach the supplied tips, the 23 ft trunk is a swell Skagit head that can handle the heavier fast sinking tips (such as the MOW tips) as needed. For anglers that desire to just fish a floating head and continue it simple, the Steelhead Scandi is the best option.

Now let's talk well-nigh Switch Lines.

Switch Lines

A new, and very constructive, grade of lines that combine the blueprint of a traditional unmarried paw line with a taper which is fabricated to Spey cast. It is non the best line for either Spey or overhead casting, but does a pretty good task at both. This line is the all-time choice for the angler who wants to use their switch rod with techniques traditionally employed when fishing for trout with a single hand rod but wants the ability to Spey bandage. These lines volition let you lot to cast a nymph rig with an indicator either Spey manner or overhead. Combined with the powerful line control reward of the switch rod, it's a deadly set for trout or steelhead.

RIO'southward switch line has a 55 foot head which is well over the 3:ane ratio and requires that you lot modify your casting stroke on a Spey cast. The downside to this is that if you are new to 2-handed casting, this line volition reinforce habits that are non proficient for casting with Spey lines. To be the best all around pulley I recommend that you learn to Spey cast with a Scandi line.

Notwithstanding Water and Saltwater

For the angler who fishes still h2o or in the surf, the switch rod offers a powerful advantage– incredible distance. When used for overhead casting the two hander allows yous to generate serious free energy and line-speed. With the proper line you can shoot for a country mile.

For this application RIO offers the Outbound series. The Outbound combines a powerful 37.5 foot caput designed to load high performance rods quickly with minimal fake casting and a high tech low resistance shooting line. You feel like a super hero when casting the Outbound. It is available with floating, intermediate and sinking heads so you can easily fine melody your line choice for the type of fishing y'all do. Remember, buy by grain weight. The Outbound is rated on the AFTMA scale.

Summary

So to summarize, here are some basic choices for switch lines.

• Spey fishing almost exclusively with heavy sink tips and large flies – Skagit Brusk
• Line-fishing indicator rigs with nymph/egg patterns – Switch line
• Overhead casting in the surf or on a lake for maximum distance – OutBound Short
• Everything else – Scandi Brusk VersiTip

Hopefully one or more of these scenarios describes the kind of angling you lot would like to practise with your switch rod. Maybe they open new possibilities that you haven't considered. Any type of fishing interests y'all, there'south a good chance that your new switch rod is upward for the challenge. In part three, I'll talk specifically almost ii of the RIO lines I am using on my switch rod.

Read Part 3 Hither.

Louis Cahill

Gink & Gasoline

www.ginkandgasoline.com

hookups@ginkandgasoline.com

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Source: https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly-fishing-gear/choosing-a-line-for-your-switch-rod-part-2-choosing-a-line/