Showing posts with label skagit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skagit. Show all posts

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Rigging Mono running line with Shooting head Spey lines

Got all your gear for a new setup but not too sure how to rig it all up? This is a very easy and dependable way to set up a Slickshooter (or Mono) running line with a Compact Spey head (Skagit, AFS, Scandi, etc.)
Starting off with backing, there are a few knots you can use to tie it off. I use 2, the first being the end loop knot which is strong and easy to tie but a bit Bulky.

The End loop knot

The second is the Bimini twist which takes a bit of practice but is the strongest of the bunch. Make sure that the loop of backing is big enough to go around the reel or spool of running line.
Then I take my Slickshooter and tie in a perfection loop.

Perfection loop with the Slickshooter flat against itself right before tightening

IMPORTANT! when you tie your loop, make sure that the Slickshooter is lined up flat and there are no twists, otherwise when you tighten the knot the sharp side of the line will cut through itself. You will know very quickly if you did it wrong when you test the strength of the knot. If done right, you should have a perfect loop that shouldn't break for any good reason.

Loop to loop

Loop the Backing on the running line and reel the rest on. Tie a perfection loop on the other side of the Slickshooter and attach the Line. Easy!

When attaching Airflo Shooting heads, remember that black is the back

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Metal Detector two handed Skagit rod

A sneak peak at Peiroway;'s Metal Detector series rods designed specifically with Skagit casting in mind. The rod is available in 470, 510 and 720 grain line weight sizes to fill in the niche. The big 720 is perfect big water or Chinook rod, the 510 is an excellent light Steelhead rod and the 470 is perfectly suited for anything Trout/Char. They will be available later in the season


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Spring Chinook on the fly in Whistler


Chinook fishing is a bit like Steelhead fishing except everything is bigger, the water, the gear and the fish are all jumbo sized. We are lucky here in Whistler to have some awesome fishing for chrome Spring Salmon right on our doorstep. The Springs we have are some of the earliest returning Chinooks on the coast.They enter fresh water in the early spring and will not start spawning until late summer, making them a very unique Salmon.
At this time of year they are Chrome and take to the fly very well. Gear of choice is anything around a 9/10 weight with a 600+ grain skagit is an appropriate rig to be able to toss some of the very heavy tungsten tips and giant flies used for these fish. Me, Brian and a couple good friends Pete and Mike took a trip and risked dirty water conditions to see if there were any around. Water clarity was decent and there was a huge salmon fly hatch going on which was pretty interesting.

Thousands of hummingbird sized bugs like this.

I got lucky and got into a nice high teen Spring. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not, and if they are around, big intruders work well.
Like this

A good day on the lower river

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

New Loop Whistler Line and opti 8124

In the last year the Loop Opti 8124 has become my favourite Steelhead stick. I have this rod matched up with Loop's new Whistler spey line and Classic 7/9 reel loaded with 40#LTS running line.

The Opti is a gun, super light with a tonne of power. A nice smooth progressive flex with a tip that is medium in flex but incredibly quick recovering, making for a fast rod that doesn't feel like a broom handle. The overall reduced weight and diameter of the Whistler line combined with the fast precise tip of the opti make for a set up that throws razer lazers and fishes great too.


The Whistler spey line is a completely new concept in spey line design.In fact when the line production engineer first received the design this was his comment,

"this new line design is as crazy as a Norwegian in Bull season"

The Whistler casts best with modern fast action rods which is really no surprise as these lines were designed to match up perfectly with the Loop Opti two hand rods. The unique taper of the Whistler line positions the weight in the portion of the D loop where it will have the most effect on loading the rod and generating line speed. The Whistler line perfectly suits our modern northwest speycasting technique. The smooth continuous motion of the rod tip rising into the forward stroke drives the heaviest portion of the head through the apex of the D loop generating line speed. As the heaviest and thickest portion of the line is at the front it is a very efficient use of weight making for a light line that loads the rod like a much heavier line. The Whistler flies fast and true,the aggressive front taper turning over sink tips and large flies with authority.

The first real test of the Whistler line was my trip last summer to Alaska West Lodge fishing for King(Chinook)Salmon. Alaska West operates a tent camp on the lower reaches of the Kanektok river where lucky anglers get to swing flies for chromers fresh in from the Bering Sea. Check out the Deneki blog for more information on Alaska West and other great Deneki destinations.

After great results in Alaska the Whistler lines were put through their paces fishing for wild Steelhead on the Skeena river system in northern British Columbia and then on ocean bright Coho and Chum Salmon back home in Whistler.Along the way the Whistler line was put in the hands of wide cross section of anglers ranging from spey newbies to seasoned guides. The most common comment from the testers was the distincive slow slinky drift the Whistler line gives.


The line has a 12 foot progressive intermediate section at the front to which sink tips are attached meaning that a good portion of the overall head is below the waters surface where the current is slower. This allows for the most direct connection to the fly resulting in unbelievable feel throughout the swing. Rather than the thick floating portion of the line towing around the sink tip, you feel the fly and sink tip in the most straight line connection to the fly and fish. The reduced drag of the thin line combined with the intermediate sinking portion enable the slowest possible swing with a level of control never before experienced. The rear floating portion of the Whistler blending smoothly into the intermediate section behind the faster sinking tip allows the angler to fish deep when out on the seam and yet swing the fly smoothly into a foot of water.