Line Recommendations

[sldrose]

I'm building a sage one 8126-4 (8wt 12' 6") blank for a Skeena/bulkley tribs trip this fall

 

Any advice on what line works for this rod. I cant find the recommended grain windows as this rod is on closeout.

 

I am new to spey/steelhead fishing. I've done a couple casting days at the FT speyorama.

 

The rio website line selector recommended 8 lines for this rod (didn't help me narrow it down)

 

It recommended "Skagit MAX" and "Skagit MAX short" lines in grain weights from 425 to 575.

Seems like a large grain window.

 

As I said, I'm new to spey casting but I have picked it up well.

I understand they throw 10' T14 in those systems.

 

What do you recommend?

Should I go the short head 20' or the standard 24'

Should I go the 575gr head if I'm fishing T14, or go lighter.

 

any advice would be welcomed.

 

Also any preference on shooting line.

 

thanks

[Dangus]

The grain window is like that to let you know what will adequately load or over load the rod. If you're using heavier tips and bigger flies, or like to feel more flex to time your cast, maybe err on the heavier side of the window.

I think I've seen guys on spey pages chatter about liking the heavier heads on that rod.

 

Bcube will call me out on this, but...t14 in the fall? Seems a little wild. How late in the season are you going? Usually type 6 handles it all...even in winter. I filed the 14 away and just fish 6 with a change the weight of the fly and my casting angle. Your arms might thank you at the end of the day!

[bcubed]

Not sure why I'd call you out on it, as I was going to say the same thing. I hardly touch T14 unless I'm chinook fishing, or fishing 2.5 feet of it for small buckets, sometimes more in spring when the water is 36 degrees. I fished a month straight on the bulkley and copper with 1 rod with a dry and the other with a type 6.. hell don't think I changed flies for a week. T14 is handy as it's cheap,but it will be a very rare time where you need more then 6-7 feet of it in fall if you're targeting aggressive fish. Plus you'll lose a lot less flies. I wouldn't be too concerned about what can toss 10 feet as any of those mentioned head grains can do it.

 

I like slickshooter for skagits as I find I can feel every little pull and pluck, and it shoots well and is cheap. I'd try a 550 skagit on it, maybe drop to 525 if you're wanting a quicker response. 575 seems a tad heavy from what I remember with that rod, however with you being new to the Spey it will get you out and fishing a little easier then going on the lighter end of the spectrum. Short heads are nice on the shorter rods, plus let you play out of the deep rough a little easier. Sometimes those hard to fish zones are the place to be as a lot of people ignore them.

[BurningChrome]

Some of the shops have Rio or Airflo kits with all the different grain weight skagit heads that they'll loan out. Use the 425 to 575 grain window as a starting point and cast some different heads until you find the one that's right for you. I'd probably start at 550 then try one heavier and one lighter and go from there.

[sldrose]

thanks guys

the rio website has two recommendations for that rod.

 

575 for casters who want to feel a faster action

625 those that prefer a deeper bend and to feel the rod load

 

i'll check FT and see if they have those head kits available. thanks.

 

 

As for the T14, I only mentioned it as that was working for the guys on their trip last season.

 

I'll have to buy a range of tips, but I'm more concerned with the rod being overloaded if I go for the

heavy head combined with the heavy T14.

 

I've never cast with the heavy tips before.

They say not to factor in the tip when selecting a head as the Dloop is formed with the head only(not the tip), but that doesn't make sense to me.

10ft T14, adds 140 grains to the system.

 

How that "doesn't" effect the cast is beyond me.

[bcubed]

You won't overload the rod with more T14, you'll just find it harder and harder to actually get the increasing amount of T14 out of the water with the same head. You need mass to move mass.

 

Haven't cast my spey rods in over a year (has me itching) so trying to visualize it, but it's pretty rare that you're lifting the tip out and incorporating it into the D-loop. The extra grains from the tip dont affect the system as they are static in the water (if they're moving, or not straight you're going to have a bad cast anyway, look up the Bloody L - Simon Gawesworth)

[monger]

My old Graphite IV 8126-3 thought 550 was too light. Not sure how this old rod compares to a ONE, but it is pretty stiff. I tried a 600 and things were better

[tyler909]

I believe the last time I cast this rod it was with a 570 or 600 airflo Skagit with 10wt rio replacement tips cut to 14ft and it cast very well .