Trout Spey Fly Line Round Up | Part 1 | Ashland Fly Shop

[@ThePortableHam]

This is the best video I've seen so far on lines for trout spey please keep them coming

[@mikecoughlin5419]

Agree

[@gregkosinski2303]

These guys put out the best content. The videos with Jeff Putnam on spey casting and Simon Gawesworth on trout Spey gear are both incredible.

[@jkdurden]

Nicely done. I’ve tried the skagit, scandi and scandi body - I completely agree that for the most versatile head, the scandi body or now the Trout Spey head or line work the best for 90% of trout work. If you’re going to chuck a chicken, you’ll need the skagit but for everything else - buggers, marabou speys and softies - the scandi body/trout Spey heads are MONEY. :) I don’t like changing systems that often but the modular capability of the Spey world really is great and I love it. Same rod, same reel - just swap out the head for whatever you’re doing and go fishing. The scandi body/trout Spey heads and lines even make it more convenient. Thanks Will.

[@fatcobra54]

Awesome video really helped me hone my understanding of the subtle differences between these setups.

[@willjohnson9412]

Great! Appreciate the feedback! More to come!

[@awaken77]

Not mentioned SA Spey like Skagit and SA spey lite Scandi. I think they are one of the best, especially for single hand rods in integrated option

[@michaelsw0rd]

If i want to fish deep buckets and go with the RIO GameChanger 23' shooting head, how will that pair up with rod? The lowest rio makes is 350 grains, but the window for the 4wt it 325 at its high. Would love your feedback!

[@christiancherry1377]

Really agree that there is a need for a longer Skagit trout spey head. The Scout is good but need one in low 300s grains for sub 12' rods. I have a Meiser 11'7" 3wt that kills with Scandi 30+ ft, but no fun with 15.5' Skagit heads.

[@ashlandflyshop770]

An all time favorite head of ours is the Rio Scandi Body. It's about 23' and we choose it in skagit weight . Absolutely flies off the rod and is very versatile.

[@francoisl7663]

Great video.

[@mg-by7uu]

One of the most helpful trout spey line videos I've ever seen. Nice job Will! You guys really seem to think outside the box. I'm a couple hours north of you. My first trout spey rod is the exact rod you are using (Hydrogen 4116-4). The shop I bought it from sent me home with the S.A. Spey Lite Skagit 15.5ft 300gr. It's been 6 months and I still struggle to cast that thing so it's just been gathering dust. I have a really hard time slowing down. I might have to try the Scandi body soon. Thanks! P.S. Maybe go over the difference(s) between intermediate(E.G. SA Spey Lite) and normal/floating(E.G. Rio Trout Spey) lines as I have never heard this mentioned in a video and it was pretty confusing as a beginner.

[@willjohnson9412]

Thank you Michael!

[@bobb3rdown676]

have a redingtion dually2 3wt. have a few heads that came with it. a 240gr airflo rage, 230gr rio scandi body and a 240gr airflo compact scandi. my first 2 handed rod. have a 225gr opst commando head coming with a 10ft floating tip and a 10ft 80gr s4 tip. what tips would you recommend for the other heads? only used a trout versileader 7ft 4ips

[@ashlandflyshop770]

Those trout versileaders are going to be very useful with those heads. You could also take a look at RIO's Light Scandi Versileaders - www.ashlandflyshop.com/products/rio-light-scandi-versileader

[@Luke-zn3hh]

I have a Echo trout spey 3 wt. which line would you recommend as an allrounder? Mostly throwing streamers on 60ft+ streams

[@willjohnson9412]

I would suggest an airflo skagit scout for streamer fishing. This is an awesome head for trout spey. My guess is either 270-300 grains.

[@seanryan517]

Great video! When is Part 2 coming out?

[@willjohnson9412]

Oh man! As soon as we can get to it! it's in the works!

[@camomano2]

Some time ago I built an 11 ft rod and made it two handed. I suspect just because the cork's longer, it's not going to perform like a true switch rod. If I really get into this, I'll either buy or build a real trout switch rod in 3 or 4 wt. My question is: If I use a "Trout Spey" 4 wt line on this "war club" 5 wt of mine, will it perform well enough? This way, I won't have to buy another line for the new rod. Thanks Will, awesome video.

[@willjohnson9412]

So this rod began as a 9' 5wt and you turned it into an 11 footer by adding the extended cork and the lower handle? I have seen several of these mods and they typically come out very nice.

[@camomano2]

Will Johnson No, I purchased an 11’ blank, but it wasn’t specified as a “ switch rod”. Are there specific blanks that meant to be switch rods or is it simple the fact that the blank is long?

[@willjohnson9412]

@@camomano2 You should assume this is a switch rod blank. There are very few single handers made that are 11'. Very, very few. And unfortunately no - you will need different lines for your 5 wt switch & 3 or 4 wt trout spey should you add one. I would try fishing the 5 wt first and see if it meets what you want out of it.

[@camomano2]

Will Johnson Cool, thanks for the feedback

[@sakanatsuri]

Thank you for the great info. It's so confusing these days to decide on what to buy.

[@willjohnson9412]

Agreed! Glad this has helped!

[@smitty96161]

Thanks for the video, it had some great info. The full name of the OPST line is "Pure Skagit Commando Head", so I am puzzled as to why you used the recommended Skandi grain weight of the rod when you are casting a Skagit head. They make a 325gr line that is 15ft long. I would love to hear how you think the OPST line feels on that rod using a more appropriate length and grain weight line.

[@willjohnson9412]

Hey Steve! Appreciate the feedback! I agree and look forward to putting 325gr on this rod and I believe it will be nice. We really wanted to stay within the manufacturers suggested grain windows on these lines and tried to do this. Here is a link to OPST suggested grain weights for switch & spey rods. You can also read hear about how they suggest you figure in the tip weight to achieve the total grains. I think we actually ended up over the suggested size. Thank you! pureskagit.com/store/Pure-Skagit-Commando-Head-p51800109

[@cachi-7878]

Will, you mentioned you need to slow down your casting stroke when fishing the OPST heads. However, if you look at Ben in the link you pointed out here, his stroke is really short and fast using the single hand rod. I have to say I don’t like his style at all but he is effective at throwing a nice tight loop though. I’d like to hear you comment on this. Thank you for the video, pretty informative.

[@petermorse5442]

No Rio trout Skagit?

[@willjohnson9412]

Wasn't out yet - we will come back to it for sure.

[@Talos353]

Look how the OPST lands all curled up.. Loosing the first 2-3 meters of the swing before the current has stretched it out.

[@ThePortableHam]

He also didn't have the proper tip because he was trying to feel out the shooting heads to give you a better decision of how the line reacts is what I got from the video

[@laurieharper1526]

As did the Airflo. To be fair, if you hit the reel hard/shoot all your running line in the cast, it will tend to jerk, bounce back and land in a heap. Adjusting the force of the cast to suit can help solve that issue.

[@tundraoutdoor8903]

Omg!! Not a single one of the cast stretch the line/tippet out .. Not with any of the lines...

[@Jesse-cy7ws]

Nice casting. Hate the versi leader. Didn’t even roll over for you. Don’t feel so bad.

[@knightclan4]

Probably needed a hook get it to role.

[@willjohnson9412]

Yeah - there might be better leaders and I know there are better casters! ;)

[@willjohnson9412]

@Tiverton69 not in our experience. :)