Fish a light sink tip in the riffle (10 foot Airflo FLO tip in T-7) then switch to a longer heavier tip (10-12 feet of T-11 or T-14) for the “gut” of the run. Our 132 grain tips work best for rods from about a 6-weight spey to an 8-weight switch, or about a 325 to 400 Grain Commando Head. Home / Spey / Lines, Leaders, and Sink Tips. They allow for spey-style presentations on single hand rods. The first Spey line that I ever purchased came packaged in a box as thick as an encyclopedia. Spey works Steve Godshall zink tips in z7, z10, or whatever else. I was not alone in my ventures…. Get free shiping on domestic orders over $50. When I use them, I find that only full sinking T or MOW tips are used. I just built myself a D11. Several line manufacturers still produce full length sink tip lines for single-handed rods in a number of weights. April, nice writeup on the very confusing types of tips that skagit lines need to have. 4 min read. We all have the “spey” face. They turn over big stuff way better than polyleaders. In the end, you’ll want to rely on sink-tips like T-7, T-10 and T-14 for dredging large, heavy flies and reserve your polyleaders for those times when the fish are shallow and spooky. Also, I fished that rod with 12 feet of T11 on Haida Gwaii to get a little deeper. Comments will be approved before showing up. The Drift - Fly Fishing, Fly Casting and Fly Rod Building, When you go through all the above considerations in. Like all things casting, mathematics and physics are the sole components of the efficiency of proper rod load. It was horrifying. Half the length of the Windcutter, the short condensed head allowed anglers the option of turning over heavy sink tips and large flies with ease, especially in areas with limited back-casting space. For example, all #10 weight tips weigh 150 grains regardless of which of the above ‘types’ they are, so as to allow the angler the option of changing their tip density (depth) without losing the line weight necessary to load the rod efficiently. Check out our selection of fly fishing sink tips and tip kits from your favorite brands at Gorge Fly Shop. T-18 sink tips, versileaders, polyleaders, running line, scandi and skagit shooting heads, and the inordinate number of different spey casting techniques are virtually guaranteed to cause confusion for anyone getting into spey fishing. The TC Tip system is a revolutionary approach to Spey tips, as they’re the industry’s first truly tapered, fully textured, double-density sinking tips. Sink tips and polyleaders can be added to the ends of Skagit, Scandi, or even traditional fly lines to give you the ability to transform it into a sink tip or make it a longer version of a floating line. While originally designed in the Pacific NW to cast big flies and sink tips for Steelhead, Skagit lines have evolved into the most versatile of Spey lines. It was soon thereafter that the popularized Skagit shooting head hit the scene and nothing was ever the same. Click this link if you want to learn more about sink tips and spey lines. Quite opposite to the density of the ‘Type’ tips above, these lines sink as per the amount of grain weight they have per foot. These sinking tips allow you to penetrate deeper into the water column, whether you are making a swung fly presentation or stripping flies. MOW Tips (stands for McCune, Ward and O’Donnell). Keep it simple and easy to cast. Truthfully, one could spend a lifetime trying to analyze every factor that plays a role in a presentation that they feel the fish prefers to see… or one could find something that simply works for them and just go fishing. I was casting a 10’8" graphite switch rod rated as an 8 weight using a very short line at 425 grains with a 12 foot clear intermediate tip. We put the best of everything into our fly rods, that’s what makes them so damn good. $ 14.99. With all of the different Skagit Spey lines out there, I thought I would try and simplify things a little. The original fifteen foot tips come with a color coded welded loop that indicate the tips’ density (or in this case, sink rate) and the weight of the rod/line weight it should be used on. Works perfectly with our SONAR Sinking Leaders and textured TC Tips. The weight of fly lines and sink-tips are measured in grains. With four tip systems available through RIO, the confusion only seems to grow within our clientele. These tips are level (non-tapered), fast sinking, and designed to be cut to a desired length. When trying to determine whether your rod will cast best with a light, medium, heavy or extra heavy class, the RIO recommendations are that: Light tips are ideal for Skagit lines of 475 grains and lighter, Medium tips are ideal for Skagit lines between 475 and 575 grains, Heavy tips are ideal for Skagit lines between 575 and 700 grains. I reached out to Simon Gawesworth of RIO to clarify the mystification, and have simplified it here for you in hopes that it may make your time on the water a little more enjoyable. Skagit sink tips come in a variety of lengths and styles. The kit included the mid-belly line (already fused to an integrated running line) and a series of fifteen foot sink tips in a compact wallet with a cardboard cut-out to explain the different sink rates. Fishing it differently, depending on the situation at hand, there are times where I high-stick it, times where I dump slack into it, times where I walk it through a seam with side-drifted tension, and the frequent occasion where I just let the pushy current fondle it as it sees fit. NEED HELP? As a general rule, a sink tip should not be longer than the rod being fished, making most tips somewhere between eleven to fifteen feet long. With that in mind, I had thought that a clear explanation of the very basics of Skagit sink tips might be nice. Such tips are tapered and allow for a much better presentation than their level tungsten relatives. Shops were soon selling tips in various sink rates/lengths in either a home-made tungsten fashion (labeled as T7, T11 or T14) as well as the RIO pre-made tip systems (labeled as Type 3, Type 6 or Type 8). All brands Airflo Maxima USA New Phase OPST Rio Scientific Angler Trouthunter Wapsi. To ensure consistency as a balanced outfit, each tip is given a standard weight (measured in grains) per weight class of rod. (#8 = 109 grains, #9 = 129 grains, #10 = 150 grains, #11 = 166 grains). MP. One will note that the heaviest tip (type 8) is thinner than the lightest tip (type 3), thus explaining how the system works. January 15, 2021 This particular line was developed in the Pacific Northwest and was specifically made to be cast with a tip on its thickly tapered end to avoid having its anchor ripped from the water’s surface before allowing the rod to completely load. Third Coast Textured Spey Tips from Scientific Anglers are available in lengths of 8' (80 grains), 10' (120 grains), and 12' … 10' of true sink tip (NOT a wimpy versileader) is so nice to have. Ultra-short head for turning over heavy tips with light two-handed rods; Tip recommendations: 150-210 grains – SONAR leaders; 240-300 grains – 8’ TC Tips Graphene is the strongest known material. If your fishing situation dictates you can go longer or shorter or lighter, (or heavier) Do I need a Polyleader, or a versileader? They were originally designed for winter steelheading scenarios in the PNW that entailed heavy sink tips, big flies, and minimal back casting room. With this sudden casting aid, I dusted off my old lead-core lines and began to make my own cost efficient systems. - Choose a simple beaded woolly bugger to begin. That is because we are using just the sink tip to control the depth of the fly, very rarely are the flies weighted much. When using a sink tip, you want a short leader. The dilemma here is that a two foot sink tip wouldn’t allow the short compact anatomy of a Skagit line to anchor in the water without “popping” itself from its loading sweet-spot. Add a 15' sink tip to that (this was standard 10 years ago) adn you have a 33' head plus leader. Same setup as my graphite rod or different line? Finally, our 168 grain tips work best on 7-weight spey rods to 9 weight spey rods, or about a 375 to 475 grain … Sink tips are typically of a level diameter, though tapered sink tips are also available. OPST Commando Sink Tips are 12' long and perfectly matched to work with the OPST Commando Shooting heads. - Learn the double spey and circle spey as above. Level Sink Tips. Our range of Spey lines includes Skagit, Scandinavian, Traditional, and Switch lines, as well as a comprehensive selection of perfectly matched shooting lines and floating/sinking tips - everything to meet the needs of the modern fly fisherman. Sink tips generally have a line weight or grain weight associated with them, while polyleaders (aka versileaders) are not rod weight specific. Each Spey line has been meticulously designed and infinitely tested to ensure that any angler using a RIO Spey line will have the best on-the-water … When most people think of spey, they instantly think of two handed rods. Spey Tips. Floating . Historically, Skagit heads were about 23' long. 541.386.6977, © 2006-2019, All Rights Reserved | Webmaster New casters easily adapt to the stroke of the short line and are able to keep their time on the water more efficient as their fly remains in the water and out of the bushes behind them. There Riffle is S2/3, the Run is S5/6 and the Bucket is S8/9. I wonder what you recommend for the D11? The Swift Fly Fishing Company handcrafts the World’s best fly rods. Unless you’ve established a good point of reference we recommend you don’t focus on the weight quit yet. The MOW tips feature six different tips with differing lengths of sinking sections seamlessly fused to a floating line. To many customers, the differentiation between the two was unclear. We offer leading brands, classes, guided trips, fishing reports and more. Are there other options for multi density heads ? There are several fly rod material types, including graphite fly rod, bamboo or fiberglass. Sink-tip Grain Weight In order to start talking about how to match sink-tips to your Spey rod, we need to understand a little about sink-tip grain weight and density. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - **Discounts & Shipping Calculated At Checkout**, December 06, 2016 These are simply a shorter version of the fifteen foot tips. Default Most viewed Newest products Lowest price Highest price Name ascending Name descending. 3IPS . Thanks for this clarification. For example, T-10 weighs 10 grains per foot. Receive our regular Fly Fishing tricks and tips, special offers and competitions. 4 min read, January 05, 2021 They are easy to cast and fun to fish and definitely what we’d recommend using for your Trout Spey rod. Personally, even after gaining an understanding of the above explanation, I still find myself favouring the same sink tip I once did as a bright-eyed Spey hopeful: a 15 foot, faded grey to white ‘type 6’ fifteen foot tip (now slowly nipped down to about 13 feet). Furthermore, they load spey rods easily, creating good casting performance at close distances, while simultaneously producing enough power to cast as far you desire. They are ideal for shorter rods, tight casting situations or smaller rivers. The density options are the same as the fifteen foot tips listed above. Anglers then add a “tip” that either sinks or floats. Experience what makes a fly rod exceptional. I fish smaller streams in Alaska for coho. However, an important distinction to make is that spey is a style of casting, not necessarily a type of rod. Rich with knowledge and the possibility of growth, the comparisons were evident — the difference being that with an encyclopedia I had an idea of where to start. That is why a spey rod is the perfect tool to cast a sink tip. The Skagit line, while deemed the more simple of the line categories to cast, is one that is a blessing to many of us who guide. There are times when an angler is looking to specifically sink their fly into pocket water or behind rocks/structure without the use of a full tip. What exactly is Graphene and why use Graphene in fly rod manufacture? View as: Grid. Extra Heavy tips are ideal for Skagit lines heavier than 700 grains or for when large heavy flies are used. These two tips are called Salmon/Steelhead Polyleaders (by Airflo) as seen above, and the equivalent Versileaders (by RIO, mentioned below). Each a premium quality fly fishing tool. Receive our regular news updates, special offers and competitions and go into the monthly prize draw for a $250 Epic gift voucher. When you’re swinging a fly for salmon or steelhead using a two-handed rod, controlling the depth and speed of the fly is paramount. That’s why we created the Third Coast Textured Spey Tips. Summary As an streamer fisherman or spey angler for both steelhead or trout, polyleaders should be in your arsenal of tools and you should take care to note that they are offer great benefits even when casting lighter flies. Between the MOW tip, T17 and fused looped tungsten systems and we had widespread befuddlement. At times, just a mere two feet of sinking line is required to get the necessary presentation to catch a fish. It allows you to use 2-4 weight switch rods and still fish big streamers. Although a few anglers still continue to fish their single-handed rods, floating shooting heads fished on a two-handed rod using Spey casts have become an especially effective combination for summer steelhead. RIO Light Scandi Versileader. I don’t really do much floating skagit heads on the salt and prefer the dual density and the triple density shooting heads. As a new caster, my casting stroke was unsightly and I imitated a flailing backwoodsman while chopping liquid wood with a piece of graphite. We love Fly Fishing. 8 min read, January 15, 2021 Intermediate 1.5IPS . To add onto your clarification, would you be able to do a discussion on clearing up multi density lines ? CALL THE SHOP! Quick View Sink Rate. Available in ten and twelve foot lengths, the Mow tips come in light, medium, heavy and extra heavy ratings. The slightly longer tips help the caster sustain their anchor on the water and makes the cast smoother and more efficient. These lines are called “heads” and are attached to a thin-diameter running line. As a general rule, a sink tip should not be longer than the rod being fished, making most tips somewhere between eleven to fifteen feet lon The Skagit line, while deemed the simpler of the line categories to cast, is one that is a blessing to many of us who guide. 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