The Confusing World Of Skagit Heads

[@sebastianvido3594]

I came to this realization a few years back. Now when I see rod reviews, I just cringe at the recommendation they give for line grains. I think these companies/influencers/reps are a bit apprehensive to recommend something that goes against what the norm has been for so long, or they simply just don’t know any better. You nailed it man. Listen to the OG guys. They’ve figured it out. Ed Ward, Jerry French, just to name a couple. All fishing shorter rods and lighter heads. They have no problems sending their lines out to any fishable distance. Plus you gain all the sensitivity of a lighter line system, and when you do hook a fish, the fish is fighting you, not a jumper cable of a fly line. Thanks for posting this. Cheers!

[@greenhornflyhorn]

You said it perfectly! I hope someone will fix it. At least OPST has it right so there’s a start

[@self-taught_angler]

This is what I have been advocating all along. You can even go lower in weight. The more one gets into it, the more the case for lighter rod and lighter lines. This is the reason designing your own lines and heads are super important. It takes the understanding of the line design to a new level. There are literarily dirt-cheap lines online from abroad one can cut and play. Short heads are good for close to bank fishing. I can shoot a 26 ft system (14ft of 240grain head + 12 ft of 70 grain versileader) above 85ft with a 10ft 4wt switch rod from under a tree. I do not even cast regular casts with my single hand rods anymore, I have my own spey lines for them too. Always go lighter in rod and line.

[@SevenBrokenBar]

Darts! 😂

[@wschield608]

Beautiful place to fish and great camera work! I know nothing about that type of fishing but always enjoy watching and learning Thanks Wes

[@DrDitchpickle]

Another great video. Impressive casting and very informative

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@DrDitchpickle thank you doctor!

[@c11235]

Appreciate the Great Lakes switch rod Skagit content. Keep it coming! Like you suggested in some of your earlier vids, I know I just had to just get a setup and get out there and cast. I got a casting lesson, which helped a lot. But I still have a ways to go, a lot of my casts are botched. I think I’m trying to cast too far, and am trying too hard. It’s hard to self diagnose the problems with my cast

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Good on ya for seeking proper instruction. I have made(and continue to make mistakes from time to time) every mistake imaginable.. The way i improved dramatically was breaking down each portion of the cast. Also, huge tip, film yourself with your phone and you will see the faults right away. I am not qualified enough to instruct people but I will put out a video how i fixed my mistakes. I have one out now but the quality is not as clear as it should be. I will redo that video soon. Go get em. Here’s the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqPaZIdmZdllY5osi=f4NXMQAPVCTBdcw9

[@loomi47]

Yes, it's two styles. Style 1 ,sink tip lay on water, only the skagit head and a little part of sink tip load your rod,main mass comes from skagit head. But if you are advanced caster,there is style 2,you make much bigger D loop,most part of sink tip join into the D loop ,sink tip plus skagit head load your rod. Just like Peter Charles said,it actually is a changeable tip Scandi head. My sage 2wt ,200-250grain window,used a 240 SA Spey Lite Skagit and 10ft T8,it overloaded,no distance,no line speed,but it cast perfectly when using a Spey Lite Scandi 240grain.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

When i first saw his video on the subject (Peter’s video) it took me awhile to understand what he was saying. I didn’t know much about Scandi. Then I saw the matrix!! Haha! I started watching all those OPST videos and any good casters running the small skagit heads. Every single one of them casted like this! I am completely sold on the idea now. Thanks for watching and sharing your setup🤘

[@loomi47]

@ Fly shop reviews like trident etc,they also use a lighter skagit set up ,such as a 270-300 window rod,they use a 300-320grain Scandi head,but a 240grain Skagit,in summary,the shorter the lighter,because the shorter head always need more sink tip length to join the D loop,it will put some extra weight to load the rod.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@ yes absolutely. Very key to the setup, including the tip into the grain window made perfect sense once i understood the cast. Keep er’ tight!

[@lassilehtineva3967]

For some reason the line and rod manufacturers have gone crazy with their weight recommendations. My all casting problems were gone once I changed to lighter heads.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Yup! Finding that sweet spot and let er’ rip🤘 Thank for taking the time to watch and comment

[@elkhtr8472]

Darts!!😂💰👌

[@moneymonk66]

I fish in a lot of tight conditions, trees, high banks yadda yadda, and figured skagit heads were going to have me throwing darts, but I have issues. That said, I'm using 4/5wt 7'6" - 9'ft rods. I think I have a 250grain commando for my 5wt and a 200grain for my 4wt and I have a glass 4wt that I run a 175grain. You've inspired me to maybe down size my lines even further and SLOW DOWN!!! Any other tips for micro skagit on single handed short rods/glass would be much appreciated.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@moneymonk66 if I may. I would try the 200 grain on your 5wt and 175 grain on the 4wt(non fiberglass). I struggled when i first got into the skagit game. I couldn’t feel the line bending the rod, i blew the anchor a lot, almost 50% of my casts flopped in a big mess. What i found that helped(and I mean night/day difference) was to slow down! But, slowing down will only do so much. Take the double spey, make sure when you sweep to the “d loop” it remains on the same plane. Basically don’t raise your rod incrementally during the sweep until you’re ready to lift into the 10&2 position(the basic casting position). THIS ONLY works for shorter skagit heads like commandos, skagit scout etc. What this does is helps keep your rod loaded(also slowing down helps with this too) and it helps with not blowing your anchor. Lighten up!! Lighten the grip pressure, when you have a death grip on your rod it helps nobody! It also makes your rod come alive(wow that sounded bad) think about it like you’re holding an egg. Don’t break it. Finally when you get to the forward stroke don’t put too much effort in, just make sure you come to an abrupt stop. Until I make a video on the subject this is all i got. Keep er tight! Milan

[@JohnRitson78]

Give me a classic double taper for sure, I am now learning that all these WF variants are not the answer.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@JohnRitson78 i do enjoy being able to swing in a deep pool. With skagit i can do that. But!!! A double taper is so buttery to cast, i just can’t get them down enough for my purposes. If you have any ideas, shoot away, would like to hear how you do it🙂

[@JohnRitson78]

@@greenhornflyhorn I do not know what to suggest as it is one of those things that you learn to adapt to and I come from the days when the WF was not even thought of. But after coming back to the game, I sure can see the lesser benefit of the WF ranges.

[@williamblair2934]

I switched to opst to reward ed ward and his common sense approach

[@greenhornflyhorn]

They’re fantastic lines. I have em and can’t complain whatsoever

[@robertheal261]

My head hurts.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@robertheal261 hearts? Well thank you Rob😆😆 if that was a typo and it hurts. Allow me to explain, short skagit setups need to have the sink tip plus skagit head included in the calculation. So my grain window is 520 grains. What i did was took 390gr skagit head plus 120gr sink tip and got 510 grains. Close enough for me! Since the D loop is more aerialized ie. The sink tip and skagit head are in the air, that weight is what loads the rod and makes those epic casts easy! Now that i write this out, i realize that I have to work on my video game. Ughh….Back to the drawing board, I will get good at KZbin eventually 🙂

[@robertheal261]

Total typo.

[@robertheal261]

I know how it works. I also know that it's tough to explain generically. After teaching it for 20 years, it's still difficult for a lot of people to understand. Kudos

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@ ahhh, yeah I knew something wasn’t right cause I know you know this stuff inside and out. Cheers

[@springteen3743]

That was a killer parasite get out of the water🤔

[@tomosedwards8369]

Just looked like a lamprey. Nothing to worry about

[@greenhornflyhorn]

No idea, was about 4 inches long. Some trout is gonna gobble that up though.