Steelhead reel/line thoughts

[jlisk]

So I have decided to pick up a reel specific for my 7 wt (sage vantage) rod for fall/winter/spring steelheading. I have been doing lots of researching and thinking on what really bothers me about my 8 wt setup (salmon) and how I could improve/hone in on a great 7 wt setup for steelheading.

My first thought was techniques I will be using. I essentially use a WF floating line with an indicator rig on it or a versileader (sinking leader) for swinging flies...

Secondly what challenges do I often approach when fishing my "home" rivers? The two biggest challenges I face are getting enough line out to properly load my rod/have enough of the head of the line out to cast out an indicator rig and having zero back cast space in almost every situation. This is simply the nature of fishing smaller systems with lots of forested areas and leaving fellow fishermen room to drift.

After some reading and general pondering I think my best course of action will be to find a line with the shortest head length possible. This will allow me to load my rod better in smaller creeks where having 30-40 feet of line out is impractical if not comical and will give me more power to cast in those tight spots and crowds...

I checked my current 8 weight line (SA mastery steelhead) and the head length is a lengthy 63'... good for long mends and actually pretty nice to cast when I do have the space but far far to long and painful on my arm for most of my fishing needs. Looking at RIo I noted a few lines with a shorter (<40') head length. Airflo seems to make a line specifically designed with a shorter head length as well.

Thoughts?

 

[Madriverfisher]

Your on the right track It couldn't hurt to go a line wt Heavier to add a little more punch to your cast I also suggest working on your single hand Spey casts witch are the same method as Spey casting but with a single hand rod when I single hand Spey cast I haul the Line as I shoot the line out to increase line speed and as for line maybe look at the rio outbound witch is two line classes heavier so if you bought a 7 wt it would have a head of a 9 wt hope all this helps

 

[BASSMASTER19]

i think for your casting issue, the proper cast is called a loop cast. let out line till when the rod is all the way up there just a little line touching the water and theres a gently arc in the line, then simply flick forward and your good

 

[Madriverfisher]

Ct I'm pretty sure that's a roll cast I've never heard of a loop cast

 

[[email protected]]

thats the roll cast CT,form a 'D' loop cast forward

 

[Madriverfisher]

That's what I thought or in Spey casting its basically a single Spey cast

 

[BASSMASTER19]

its probably a roll cast i didn't know what it was

 

[jlisk]

Yeah roll casting is good but it doesn't address the issue I want to solve of having more wt in a shorter head of the fly line. Ill check out that rio product... cheers.

EDIT: Found the specs on the rio outbound short... quite a short head and a bit heavier then a comparable freshwater wf7f line...

WF7F Moss/Ivory 265 30ft 9.1m Float 100ft 30.5m

What are the disadvantages of a shorter head like the one mentioned here? Less mending control?

 

[jlisk]

Went to store to check out some stuff and had a gift card I had been given in my back pocket... while gazing at the wall of lines I joking made a comment about how there are too many lines out there it is hard to find which one is the best compromise to another gentlemen gazing at the wall as well. This lead to a lengthy but extremely informative talk with this mid aged class act and a counter full of lines... After telling him my goals and what I was willing to sacrifice on I walked out of store with a new box of RIO Grand and a wealth of knowledge... what a great comment that turned out to be.

Now to search for a great reel.

 

[swiftcurrent]

Interesting issue.

If you rely on overhand casting, then shorter more condensed heads are a solution. Upsizing a weight isn’t a bad suggestion or even looking at a double taper line (depending on how far you are casting).

On the other hand, if you want to roll cast, then a blunt or short tapered head isn't ideal.

I fish some pretty cramped areas and have very little issue turning over wets and nymphing/indicator rigs by using some spey techniques on my single hand rods. Once you get the hang of 'water loading' into a basic spey cast, the possibilities are endless. I find the two easiest spey casts to learn are the Snap T and Double Spey. Learn those and you will be able to cast from almost any position on the river.

I did a quick YouTube search and found these two videos to show you what I mean, I'm sure there are better ones if you look for them.

Double spey(with a huge indicator)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbP1cIWVJZw

Snap T (he uses a switch rod with two hands but it can be easily done with a single hand as well)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNcGn3Dzvmk

Hope this was useful.