But once you get it you realize how much fun this can be . I carry a spare reel rigged with a Skagit set up and when ever I see some good swinging water I just swap reels and I’m ready to go . Thanks for sharing
Thanks Ryan. I’m certain all you said is true. The frustration of no backcast room on the Delaware river in the March runoff fishing for shad is/ was the impetus for my seeking skagit, back in the mid 00’s.
Ryan perfect explanation . There is a lot of monkey motion going on with single hand Skagit for the first time new guy , But it’s worth the effort to learn . I started with two handed Skagit and Scandi swinging so it was pretty easy to go to single handed . The best part is you more then likely have the rod and reel so no equipment cost just line and heads . I’m an OPST person I like there running line and heads as far as tips you can use anything that matches up with the grain weight of your head . I do use OPST tips 10’ 12 ‘ and RIO MOW 10’ tips all work well it’s all about getting the fly to the fish . My current set up Sage XP 6 wt 9’ OPST lazer running line 35lb OPST Skagit head 225gr and OPST tips 98gr I will also use RIO T-11 MOW tips . With this rig when I want to get down . This set up allows me to throw small stuff and big heavy stuff . And as you know it’s just fun casting it .
Thank you for the kind words. It really does ease the transition if you're coming from two handed rods. I know for me originally it was hard to even conceptualize how all these pieces fit together and why. I also think you hit the nail on the head, in the end it's really just fun
Great vid Ryan. I was looking at getting a head for my 4 wt as well. I think 175graibs is what opst recommends. If I wanted to throw say a t11 5 foot tip and a weighted small leech or sculpin, would this head weight turn it over with ease or get a 200. I'd love to see some casting vids of you using some of your setups. Thanks for sharing
You can probably get away with 5 feet of T11. Best thing you can do is try different setups. You could definitely cast a 5 foot piece of T8. I just don't really fish anything that's deep enough for me to need much weight.
Can you just use your standard floating line for the running line and then take the head and sink tip off and set up normally with tippet off of the floating line if you see a hatch and want to dry fly fish? And then put the head and tip back on for streamers?
The issue with this is that your standard weight forward floating fly line has tapered mass at its head, meaning the first 20-50 feet (give or take) is thicker in diameter then the rest of the line, which also makes this section heavier. This is what makes a fly line easy to cast. If you attached a Skagit head to the front of your WFF fly line you'd essentially have two heads at the beginning of your line. It would not cast very well at all. Technically you could reverse your weight forward fly line and use it backwards as running line for a Skagit head because the rear of a wff fly line is just thin level running line, no head or taper. To get the result you're looking for I typically carry a small tapered floating tip and swap that out with the sink tip. Then I can fish dries or nymphs under and indicator. This works well but presentation becomes an issue, especially with heavier lines because a Skagit head carries more mass in a shorter length then a standard floating line. That means it lands harder. While I've used floating tips with great results with larger terrestrials and bigger foam dries it definitely leaves something to be desired if you're wanting to fish smaller dries that require a delicate presentation. Midges, Tricos, bwos, these sort of bugs are usually a bit too small and delicate for even a lightweight Skagit system. Great question though. I may very well try to do a video on floating tips, although there isn't much surface action here in February 🥶. Might have to wait until spring.
Hi Rysn I'm planning to go for salmon fishing ..I had spey rod no 9 ..what size or grain of shooting head I need .. what factor determine the size of ur shooting head ...thanks
I do use backing, just because it takes up less space on the reel than mono does. A Skagit head is big and fat, so I want all the room for it I can get. You could totally use all mono if you wanted to though.
Question, the line I just got is a Scientific angler integrated skagit line, I'm assuming I need to add a tip to this line? What happens if I do not add a tip but rather a tapered leader like I would on a single handed rod normal use?
Yup, the running line and head are integrated, so you do still need tips. If you were to fish without a tip and just use a tapered leader you wouldn't be able to sink flies, even if they were fairly well weighted because the floating head will buoy them up in the water column. A tip will also make your casting easier and a lot more natural. OPST Micro tips and RIO MOW Light tips are a great place to start. I usually scour Ebay because paying retail sucks.
@@ontheflywithryan5611 I have a few tips, SA sink 3 and 6, but also a floating tip, what would the floating tip be used for if the skagit head floats? Thanks for all the info.
A floating tip is necessary to dissipate energy from the cast. If you tied a fly and a piece of tippet to the head it would slam the fly down into the water very forcefully because the head has so much mass. Either that or the head will fold in the air during the cast instead of turning over. The tip dissipates that energy and turns it into a nice roll over, straightening the whole system when your cast lands. The other reason a tip is helpful is for overall length and water anchoring. If you're going to use casts that need a water-borne anchor (double spey, snap t) you'll need a long enough line to leave some line on the water to anchor that cast. Many of the compact Skagit heads we're fishing these days are too short to make those kinds of casts without a tip. I use an 11 foot head for most of my trout fishing and I wouldn't be able to make a very good D loop without the extra 5 feet my tip gives me. I've used a floating tip with hoppers and had a great time doing it but unfortunately I think a Scandi line will give much better results if you wanna fish something as light as a dry fly. You can do it with a Skagit head and a floating tip, but it isn't very delicate.
You guys should have been around 50 years ago.. it was the Wild West back then.. we made our own lines, tips and leaders ..more learning curves back then and no RUclips .
But once you get it you realize how much fun this can be . I carry a spare reel rigged with a Skagit set up and when ever I see some good swinging water I just swap reels and I’m ready to go . Thanks for sharing
Thanks Ryan. I’m certain all you said is true. The frustration of no backcast room on the Delaware river in the March runoff fishing for shad is/ was the impetus for my seeking skagit, back in the mid 00’s.
That's awesome. I love seeing Skagit casting used for different species
Solid information. Been wanting to get into two-handed fly fishing for a while.
Thanks for watching! Feel free to shoot me any questions, it's definitely a little confusing.
Ryan, I really appreciate the succinct explanation. I’ve been trying to figure all of this out and your video hit the nail on the head for me!
I'm glad! Hope it gets you out on the water! Shoot me any questions you come up with.
Thanks Ryan, wish I had have come across this 8 months ago when I bought my first commando smooth! was fun figuring out all the same
I hear ya, not the easiest thing to figure out without help. Glad you got it figured out.
Excellent...thank you so much
Happy to help!
Thank you, great video. I’m looking at setting up my 7wt for steelhead with this type of setup
Happy to help, good luck out there
Great information
Dude awesome!! Thanks.
Thank you, grate presentation, from a great channel you have here, definitely new sub👌
Thanks for the kind words!
Rio Trout Max looks like a fun head, gota get some.
Keep an eye out for them online, they pop up for sale pretty cheap occasionally.
Ryan perfect explanation . There is a lot of monkey motion going on with single hand Skagit for the first time new guy , But it’s worth the effort to learn . I started with two handed Skagit and Scandi swinging so it was pretty easy to go to single handed . The best part is you more then likely have the rod and reel so no equipment cost just line and heads . I’m an OPST person I like there running line and heads as far as tips you can use anything that matches up with the grain weight of your head . I do use OPST tips 10’ 12 ‘ and RIO MOW 10’ tips all work well it’s all about getting the fly to the fish . My current set up Sage XP 6 wt 9’ OPST lazer running line 35lb OPST Skagit head 225gr and OPST tips 98gr I will also use RIO T-11 MOW tips . With this rig when I want to get down . This set up allows me to throw small stuff and big heavy stuff . And as you know it’s just fun casting it .
Thank you for the kind words. It really does ease the transition if you're coming from two handed rods. I know for me originally it was hard to even conceptualize how all these pieces fit together and why. I also think you hit the nail on the head, in the end it's really just fun
You should try the royal wulff running line. I find the lazar line gets very coiled after around a year.
@@tysonseafoot7834 I'll have to take a look
Will have to have a look at it , haven’t found anything yet that doesn’t get some form of memory. Thanks
@@mikekuczynski1552 it’s the Royal wulff triangle taper
Thank you for the video.
My pleasure!
Regular shooting heads have different depth density, opt or others are floating or intermediate at best, so a sink tip is needed, more complex.
Great vid Ryan. I was looking at getting a head for my 4 wt as well. I think 175graibs is what opst recommends. If I wanted to throw say a t11 5 foot tip and a weighted small leech or sculpin, would this head weight turn it over with ease or get a 200. I'd love to see some casting vids of you using some of your setups. Thanks for sharing
You can probably get away with 5 feet of T11. Best thing you can do is try different setups. You could definitely cast a 5 foot piece of T8. I just don't really fish anything that's deep enough for me to need much weight.
Can you just use your standard floating line for the running line and then take the head and sink tip off and set up normally with tippet off of the floating line if you see a hatch and want to dry fly fish?
And then put the head and tip back on for streamers?
The issue with this is that your standard weight forward floating fly line has tapered mass at its head, meaning the first 20-50 feet (give or take) is thicker in diameter then the rest of the line, which also makes this section heavier. This is what makes a fly line easy to cast. If you attached a Skagit head to the front of your WFF fly line you'd essentially have two heads at the beginning of your line. It would not cast very well at all. Technically you could reverse your weight forward fly line and use it backwards as running line for a Skagit head because the rear of a wff fly line is just thin level running line, no head or taper.
To get the result you're looking for I typically carry a small tapered floating tip and swap that out with the sink tip. Then I can fish dries or nymphs under and indicator. This works well but presentation becomes an issue, especially with heavier lines because a Skagit head carries more mass in a shorter length then a standard floating line. That means it lands harder. While I've used floating tips with great results with larger terrestrials and bigger foam dries it definitely leaves something to be desired if you're wanting to fish smaller dries that require a delicate presentation. Midges, Tricos, bwos, these sort of bugs are usually a bit too small and delicate for even a lightweight Skagit system.
Great question though. I may very well try to do a video on floating tips, although there isn't much surface action here in February 🥶. Might have to wait until spring.
Hi Rysn I'm planning to go for salmon fishing ..I had spey rod no 9 ..what size or grain of shooting head I need .. what factor determine the size of ur shooting head ...thanks
Great thanks....question if using mono to shooting head ....do u still use backing or simply the mono can be ur backing and running line as well
I do use backing, just because it takes up less space on the reel than mono does. A Skagit head is big and fat, so I want all the room for it I can get. You could totally use all mono if you wanted to though.
Thank u so much ..the video was very informative and your reply is greatly appreciated 👍
@@efam7349 Happy to help!
Question, the line I just got is a Scientific angler integrated skagit line, I'm assuming I need to add a tip to this line? What happens if I do not add a tip but rather a tapered leader like I would on a single handed rod normal use?
Yup, the running line and head are integrated, so you do still need tips. If you were to fish without a tip and just use a tapered leader you wouldn't be able to sink flies, even if they were fairly well weighted because the floating head will buoy them up in the water column. A tip will also make your casting easier and a lot more natural. OPST Micro tips and RIO MOW Light tips are a great place to start. I usually scour Ebay because paying retail sucks.
@@ontheflywithryan5611 I have a few tips, SA sink 3 and 6, but also a floating tip, what would the floating tip be used for if the skagit head floats? Thanks for all the info.
A floating tip is necessary to dissipate energy from the cast. If you tied a fly and a piece of tippet to the head it would slam the fly down into the water very forcefully because the head has so much mass. Either that or the head will fold in the air during the cast instead of turning over. The tip dissipates that energy and turns it into a nice roll over, straightening the whole system when your cast lands. The other reason a tip is helpful is for overall length and water anchoring. If you're going to use casts that need a water-borne anchor (double spey, snap t) you'll need a long enough line to leave some line on the water to anchor that cast. Many of the compact Skagit heads we're fishing these days are too short to make those kinds of casts without a tip. I use an 11 foot head for most of my trout fishing and I wouldn't be able to make a very good D loop without the extra 5 feet my tip gives me.
I've used a floating tip with hoppers and had a great time doing it but unfortunately I think a Scandi line will give much better results if you wanna fish something as light as a dry fly. You can do it with a Skagit head and a floating tip, but it isn't very delicate.
@@ontheflywithryan5611 perfect, exactly what I was wanting to know, thank you 👍
You guys should have been around 50 years ago.. it was the Wild West back then.. we made our own lines, tips and leaders ..more learning curves back then and no RUclips .
whats that 4 wt reel?
Yep, 3-4 weight Redington Drift
Can't hear the video.
Hmm, seems ok on my end?