rio skagit lines

[bja]

Anyone using them?
What do you think, and whats the compensators all about?

got offered quite a lot at a good price but aint got a bloody clue about them, any advice appreciated :)BJA

[worktofish]

go on the rio site tell you all bout them and how to put it together

[scanny]

Cracking lines for throwing tubes just now, can't go wrong with them.

Two myths,
1st that they'll break a rod- if the rod is a dud then anything will break it, a well designed rod will be fine.

2nd that they present like a sack of spuds- it's the caster that causes that not the line, they can present very well.

The cheater is a section of floating line you add to increase the head length, increase the cheater if you find your blowing your anchor. Heres what I use:

12'6- no cheater + 10' tip
13'- no cheater + 10' tip
14'- 5' cheater + 10' tip, or no cheater and 15' tip
15'- 10' cheater + 10' tip

They are getting a little more popular although people still go very heavy, take an airflo compact 9/10 skagit- it's 660grains, it's on the heavy side on my 15' 10/11 rod let alone a 9/10 rod.

Rio are reputed to be the best at turning big flies, and still hold good prices, Airflo compact Skagits are down at £20 each and good too.

[CB]

I'll have to agree with Scanny. I have a few of the Rio Skagit heads and think they are nice and a fun line to cast. I have the short, regular and flight models for various rods, mainly use them to cast pike flies and large flies from the coast. Not only with the heavy sinking tips they are known for but also with floating tips for dry fly or sub surface presentations. Of course they can be used for salmon fishing as well, although I tend to use other lines for that as usually the flies are smaller and don't require a special heavy line to cast. It does great with heavy sink tips though so if you don't want to cast a full sinking line a Skagit head and a heavy T14 or T17 sink tip can be just what you need to get down to the fish when the circumstances ask for it. Compared to casting big flies on heavy sinking lines I found the Skagit setup with heavy tips a breeze to cast all day. It's a very relaxed style of casting where you go fairly slow and let the rod do most of the work. As Scanny said you can land a Skagit line fairly quietly if you do it well but it's still a thick heavy line type and I find it easier to cast stealthy casts with longer full lines but maybe that's just me.

The skagit short heads work well for me in combination with a switch rod whereas the regular head I found works well with a 13' rods and longer where you might want to experiment with the 'cheaters' that are basically just a short extension of your line to make the whole set up a bit longer so you don't blow your anchor points with your style of casting. You tune the length of the line to your rod and style of casting.

The Skagit flight have a longer back taper that should make them cast with tighter loops and there for make them fly further. To be honest I don't feel there's much difference between casting one of these or casting their regular head with a bit of overhang.

I know these lines and type of casting are not always regarded as 'real' spey casting but I think they have their uses and are a fun line to have in your arsenal that can be used very effectively for various types of fishing.

[SnapTcaster]

As a follow on to the above.....
I have a Rio Windcutter multi-tip h find is a great line. I bought a "Big Boy" a few years ago - 24ft as opposed to the usual 15 - and again find it great for fishing deep in fast streams ( The Woody Hole at Stormont, for example).
However, I see that you can get 30 feet of T17, sinking at 9/10ips. Can anyone advise on how much a rod could handle....my chosen weapon being a 16ft Scott Mackenzie.
Any advice would be appreciated....

CH