First Ever Women's Spey Clave

Spey Shooting Heads Defined
By: Josh Linn

Working in the fly shop you get asked a lot of different questions about Spey lines. What is a Skagit line? What is a Scandi line or a Scandinavian shooting head? Well the Skagit floats does that mean I can't use it in the winter time? These are all good questions and unless you work in the fly fishing industry, the answers may not be apparent.

When I first started spey casting the Windcutter Spey line from Rio was pretty new and very popular. This line had a 55' head and was a complete departure from previous traditional spey lines that had heads measuring approximately 100' long. This new line with the shorter head had revolutionized spey casting. Now you could operate in more confined locations and more easily cast sinking tips and bigger flies. Since then the heads on Spey lines have been getting even shorter and in some cases flies keep getting bigger. The biggest advancement in spey fishing has definitely been with shooting head type lines. When I first started fishing with a two-hander, normal rods were 14' or 15' long in a 9 or 10 weight sizes, the reason we needed those big rods were to cast the lines that were being used back then. Recently in the Pacific Northwest we have had another big jump in line development. The head portion of Spey lines have been shortened again. A great majority of the people are fishing lines with heads between 30' and 40'...enter the modern Spey shooting head. With these lines there are basically two approaches to casting. You can use line speed to load your rod or you can use the weight of the line to load the rod. Here is where the Skagit and Scandinavian lines differ.

First we should talk about the differences between the lines themselves, and what they are used for. If you look at the diagram you will notice that both of the lines are almost the same length, but the profiles (the shape of the line) are completely different. The Skagit line is a heavier line with little to no taper made for turning over large flies and big heavy sink tips. Skagit lines are made to have sink tips attached to the fronts of them. They do not have any front taper so the power is not dissipated by the taper of the line. The attached sinking tip provides the taper.

Josh Linn with a steelhead caught with a Skagit Line. Photo: Marcy Stone.

Scandinavian lines have a long front taper and are made to turn over longer leaders and smaller to mid sized flies. They are not made to cast heavy sink tips and bigger flies. They are more suited for summer fishing, ie floating line work with long leaders where a delicate presentation is required. Scandinavian lines when cast are made to have just the leader anchored to the water. When casting these short shooting heads you should try to use a short casting stroke pulling with your bottom hand to attain higher line speeds and maintaining your anchor.

The Scandinavian Head weight should be 15%- 20% lighter than a Skagit head for the same rod. If you are fishing a 400 gr Skagit head you would want to use a Scandinavian line around 340gr. This is just a general rule and there are plenty of exceptions.

For fishing around our local waters I have multiple heads for all of my rods. Both short and long Skagit heads are commonly used. Shorter heads, such as Airflo's Skagit Compact are best when fishing under and around obstacles. Longer heads like the Airflo Northwest Skagit will ultimately enable you to throw longer casts. Rio's Skagit Shooting Heads are a good compromise in length between the two Airflo designs.

Also you will want to get a Floating Scandinavian Shooting Head such as Rio's AFS or Airflo's new shorter Compact Scandi for fishing rivers like the Deschutes when you are fishing smaller flies and long leaders. Here again, Airflo gives you two choices in head length with Rio fitting between them. Airflo Scandinavian Shooting Heads are longer and slimmer than either the Rio AFS or the newest Airflo Compact Scandi. If you fish a reel with a running line that has a loop in it you will be fishing the most versatile system available. Acquire a set of sink tips in different densities and lengths for the Skagit lines and an assortment of Polyleaders for the Scandinavian line and you are in the game. Did I mention that buying 2 heads is the same price as buying one line? This system can also be the most cost effective.

Fly Fishing: “SPEY” Casting / Beginning – Intermediate

Spey casting can be learned quite easily with the assistance of a professional instructor. This class starts with the most basic fundamentals so that you will have a solid foundation on which to build your "Spey Casting Skill Set". Our approach allows you to easily understand the scientific principles of how a rod and line work together to propel your fly to the target. This crash course starts in a nice warm class room where the necessity of acquiring good casting skills becomes apparent. Here, rod and line theories are discussed in detail so that before you get to the water, you have an understanding of the principals you are going to use. Then you will ride to the river with your instructors. There your instructors will demonstrate the theories you have already explored. Then you will take a rod into your own hands and be able to practice what you have learned. You will be amazed at how easy it is. All the major Spey Casts will be explored. Both floating and sinking tip lines will be learned. This class is centered on developing casting skills that will make you a better fisherman. Time: 8 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Lunch is provided). Meet at: The Fly Fishing Shop - Instructors: Mark Bachmann and Josh Linn Cost (8 hrs.): $150. You will need the following equipment: Waders, boots, rain coat, hat and polarized glasses. You may bring your own rod and reel if you want to. Properly balanced Spey Outfits will be provided. (6) Students total. First come, first served. Deposits are payments in full. Deposits are non-refundable unless water/weather conditions prohibit class. SEE CLASS POLICY
Item	Description	Price	To Top
SPEY-CL-030709	Spey Casting Class, March 07, 2009	$150	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

One-Day Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing School
This is Winter Steelhead Fly fishing 101.
Take a pontoon boat ride down a Local River with:
Mark Bachmann and Josh Linn.

Winter Steelhead fly fishing is very practical if you know how. Being able to find fish and being able to present the fly properly are key factors. Save yourself five years of experimenting on your own. We will show you how.
This school that will cover a lot of water and fishing knowledge in one day. Length of the class is 8-hours on the water. All schools conducted on the Sandy River. Big, safe, roomy pontoon boats will enable us to cover six miles of river during the class. Two students per boat/instructor format.

Learn how to locate steelhead water and how to approach it. Emphasis will be on giving you a solid foundation of skills to build on, with a high priority given to hooking fish during the class. We want to give you maximum advantage by having as many fish hooked during this class as possible. Nothing teaches you more about fishing than being where fish are being hooked and landed. Emphasis will be on spey rod use and sinking-tip line fishing. Students should at least have moderate casting skills. This is a fishing class.

If you need basic knowledge or a brush-up on Spey Casting skills, we suggest signing up for the January 3 Spey Casting Class and be ready to use these skills to catch winter steelhead.

What you need to bring:
Bring your own waders and rain gear. Bring your own rod/reel set up if you want to.
A variety of premium quality 2-hand rod/reel set-ups will be available for you to use at no extra charge. Flies are supplied.
A hot lunch will be served on the river.
There will be a very short rest period after lunch.
Meet at The Fly Fishing Shop at 6:30am for half-hour orientation.  Coffee and donuts will be served.

Watch an expert guide as he fishes and discloses the secrets and proven methods that put fish on the beach. Get a lot of hands-on help so that you too can be productive.
Arrive back at The Fly Fishing Shop at 6:00pm.
What our customers say.
A report on a Steelhead School.
First come, first served.
Deposits are payments in full.
Deposits are non-refundable unless water/weather conditions prohibit class. SEE CLASS POLICY

Catch winter steelhead with your Spey Rod...

WST-CLASS-032709

Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing School March 27, 2009, Sandy River, 2-students per boat, 4-students maximum

$225

Sale Over

-->SALE ENDED

	*	Search	Catalog	Trips & Schools	Bargains	SALE ENDED
	Our Waters		Order Info	Steelheadquarters	Events	SALE ENDED

		Topics Women's Clave Henrick Mortensen Bootfoots! Spey Shooting Heads
Spey Casting Class	Winter Steelhead 101	All pictures are Mouse-over.