Skagit Or Scandi?

[Madpiper]

Hi,

 

I've got a newish Beulah 5wt spey; wondering what line type most fish with; and what they are casting for flys on the Bow.

 

 

Thx

 

 

 

[jdangler]

I fish with both, it depends on the water conditions, & the fly.

[Vagabond]

I prefer Scandi personally,but I would guess Skagit might be the more popular style around here?

Regarding flies,good question,being as the types of flies you intend to use should influence your decision on Scandi vs. Skagit.

Skagit lines and casting was developed to make hucking heavy flies and heavy sink tips easier then was possible with the available lines of the time,and the Skagit lines/casting style do that very well.

Scandi lines and casting is closer to the original Spey casting of the UK,traditionally casting lighter flies and tips for more surface oriented Atlantic salmon.Scandi lines have a finer,longer front taper,that can still cast versi/poly leaders and lighter tips to sink your fly sufficiently for most scenarios,but they don't have the heavy front taper of a Skagit line required to turn over the heavyweight flies and "sink like a rock" tips often used for PNW steel and salmon.

So with that in mind,if you plan to/want to mainly chuck heavy streamers,dumbells,coneheads,fishskulls,etc with your 5wt,then Skagit is better suited to that.That said,a Scandi head will still chuck a decent size conehead on a poly leader and get you as deep as you need to get for most conditions on the Bow,it's just not as easy perhaps,but more of a graceful style of casting imho.

Personally speaking,I think I favor Scandi being as one of my main motivators for getting into 2H casting was wanting to bomb long casts and swing relatively light wet flies and surface skaters at Atlantics and summer Steelhead,and the Scandi does that well,typically with more finesse/less disturbance to the water then does ripping sustained anchor Skagit casts.Absolutely though,you can still fish a floating tip on a Skagit head when you don't need to get deep....it just aint as pretty,and was designed more with dredging heavy flies and tips in mind.

Both lines/systems can crossover and do both tasks "reasonably well" ,but in a nutshell,for Scandi think finer tapered head,lighter tips and poly leaders,skating dries and swinging wets from the surface to moderately deep.

Skagit means heavy front taper for turning over heavy tips and heavy flies,generally swinging from moderate depths to bottom dredging.

 

Congrats on the new rod.Coincidentally,I'm just about to pull the trigger on another Beulah myself,I just can't decide between the 5 or 6wt Spey?I'm finding myself more interested in just moving up to mid-long belly full length lines for salmon/steel and getting away from the compact short heads altogether?For the new 5 or 6wt Beulah,I'm considering maybe the Speydicator as possibly a kind of do-it-all line that should chuck moderately heavy tips,indi rigs as it's intended,and swing small wets and streamers on long mono or poly leaders?Might even do some custom chopping of it,and make some specialized tips for each task?

[stonefly]

Skagit would be better for beginner cause the head is short. Easier to learn.

[EveretteD]

I just bought a beulah 7/8 switch. I'm brand new to this spey style of casting. I went to one of the fly shops and the fella there set me up with everything I needed from running line to a skagit head and a sink tip. I have used it on the bow with some success.

I basically bought it for pike fishing, or if I ever get the chance to catch some salmon.

 

I would agree with the previous statement about skagit heads for easier casting for beginners. I found it easy to learn how to roll cast and gain a fair bit of distance at the same time. I'm even casting a double streamer and they aren't getting hooked on each other.. bonus!

 

I will also say that I wont be fishing a streamer on the bow while walking and wading any other way they spey. I'm hooked on it...... thanks to the wicked guy that was selling it at the tackle swap a couple of weeks ago.....

[lumpy]

I use a scandi on my 5 weight skagit on my 6 weight, backed up with Rio Grip Shooter running line.

I have found that scandi works better for me on 5 weight and down.

Personal choice