Rio Skagit Line

Rio Skagit Line in-stock, no sales tax - $50 orders ship free in USA.

Rio Skagit Spey Line                  NEW for 2007! Skagit Shooting Head

Color: Yellow Head/Green Running Line

Loop on Tip End for loop to loop connection to Skagit Cheaters and/or Sink Tip
Overall Length: 120ft       Head Length: 27ft   
Perfected by legendary steelhead guides, Scott O'Donell and Mike McCune, this weight forward line is designed for "Skagit Style" casting. It incorporates a short, heavy shooting-head type line with a fast sinking tip for presenting very large, weighted flies to fish that are lying deep in the currents.  With one of these lines, a 5' Cheater and a 15' sinking tip the head length will be 47'.  The head on this line is 7'-8' shorter than the popular WindCutter line of the same weight.  The compact design allows easier casting of large flies and requires a shorter "D" loop which will appeal to beginners or anglers working around stream bank vegetation.  This is currently the most popular two-hand-rod line in the Pacific Northwest.  It is also a proven line for fishing all sizes of flies in the wind. Sinking tips are especially effective in the wind.  For fishing flies close to the surface in hard winds, try an intermediate AquaLux tip.  All Rio sinking and floating tips work well with this line.  Larger diameter tips turn over larger flies and get deeper.  Eleven and twelve weight tips are regularly used with 450-grain and larger Skagit Speys.  Other popular sinking tips are made from 9'-13' Rio T-14.  Cheaters can be added to lengthen the belly of this line.  Adding a Cheater will also increase the weight of the head and change the load-point in your rod.  New this year are 350, 400, 500, and 600-grain sizes of Skagit Spey lines.  This will allow an angler to find a line that works perfectly with any rod.  There are also four new Skagit Shooting Heads available for anglers who prefer a certain shooting line other than what comes seamlessly attached as part of the standard Skagit Spey Line configuration..
 More information below.    Cheaters    Tips

Rio Skagit Shooting Head  NEW FOR 2007 !!!
Looped on both ends for attaching shooting line, cheaters & tips.  These lines are made for the angler who wants to use a different type of shooting line than the conventional fly line that comes with the Skagit Spey line (above).  Fore a selection of shooting lines, please refer to our page of Shooting Lines.  The Rio Skagit Shooting Heads are so new they may not be available by the time this is published.

New for 2005, Rio proudly introduces the Skagit Spey Lines.  After extensive field-testing by noted casters Mike McCune, Scott O’Donnell and Ed Ward along with others in the spey community, the new Skagit Lines are ready for the market place.  
Available in: 450 grains 7/8, 550 grains 8/9, 650 grains 9/10 and 750 grains 10/11. 

Based on the McCune-O’Donnell formula, Rod/Line match ups work out as follows: 

7-weight rod matched with a 450 grain (7/8) Skagit line.

Rod length 13’6’’ or under go with straight Skagit 450 (no cheaters).

Rod length 14’ formula = 450 Skagit plus 5 (5 foot cheater).

Rod length 15’ formula = 450 Skagit plus 10 (10 foot cheater).

8-weight rod matched with 550 grain (8/9) Skagit line.

Rod length 13’6’’ or under go with straight Skagit 550 (no cheaters).

Rod length 14’ formula = 550 Skagit plus 5 (5 foot cheater).

Rod length 15’ formula = 550 Skagit plus 10 (10 foot cheater).

9-weight rod matched with 650 grain (9/10) Skagit line.

Rod length 13’6’’ or under go with straight Skagit 650 (no cheaters).

Rod length 14’ formula = 650 Skagit plus 5 (5 foot cheater).

Rod length 15’ formula = 650 Skagit plus 10 (10 foot cheater).

As you can see from the above the basic Skagit line/rod formula will depend on rod length with the enhanced use of the Skagit Cheaters (cheaters of matching size).  The cheaters will come in both 5’ and 10’ lengths, both in floating and compensator (intermediate) formats round out the formula. When selecting the appropriate set of cheaters follow the Skagit number, for example a 550 Skagit is a 8/9, use a 8/9/10 Skagit Cheater.

Below you will find a run down of Sage Rods with appropriate Skagit Line match-ups;

6126-3  WindCutter 9/10/11 off the back loop (23’, 320 grains).

7141-4 (this one doesn’t follow the standard format) Skagit 8/9 550 grain  + 5’ 8/9/10 cheater.

8136-4 Skagit 8/9 550grain

9140-4 (another one that doesn’t follow the per-se chart) Skagit 8/9 550 grain + 5’cheater

9141-4 Skagit 9/10 650 grain + 5’ cheater (the “teacher’s” pet is awesome with this!)

9150-4 two choices here (1) Skagit 8/9 550 grain with 10’ cheater. (2) Skagit 9/10 650 grain with 5’ cheater.

10150-4 TCR Skagit 10/11 750 grain +10’ cheater (10/11/12 Cheaters).

As you can see form doesn’t necessary follow function.  In that rod/line weight can be adjusted based on rod action, see 7141 above.   Although not an exact science the above charts are generally user friendly with some exceptions as noted above.  No doubt other rod companies will have these same non-match up/match ups.  

Skagit Lines are purely a design for use with sink-tips.  To be sure most fishing will be with type 6,8 and T-14 tips in 9,11,13,15 foot lengths.  With 15’ being the standard sink tip length.  Aqualux as well as type 3 tips can and will apply depending on strategy or seasonality. 

The Skagit Lines are new and are proving to be an effective tool in the art of spey casting.  The idiosyncrasy of rod to line match ups will continues to emerge in the coming months as spey casters give these lines a try.