Fly Rod Demo Day - with OPST, Sage, Winston, Scott, CF Burkheimer

ON THE WATER CASTING CLINIC 

WHERE?
Ben Howard Boat Launch
Sunday July 10 th, 2016
10 am till 2 pm, BBQ @ noon

Bring your own single handed rod, or demo something new

Representatives from Winston, Scott, Sage, CF Burkheimer & Redington will be on hand to answer questions and let you demo the latest in fly rod technology.

Map link on our events page.
Email us to sign up for BBQ info@avidangler.com
FREE EVENT
 
Watch video below for a demo.

*Please no hooks while at the demo, casting yarn will be provided.  Please display vehicle use permit or discover pass in vehicle.

There is a decent amount of parking at the Ben Howard Boat Launch.  But if you are trying to coordinate with a group.  You might try parking at Lewis Street Bridge in Monroe and carpooling to Ben Howard.

 Representatives will be on hand from Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics.  The group will give a demo and then put a rod in your hand to try.    

We have been playing around with these heads for some time now.  On steelhead outings these fly lines play a vital roll in covering small water with a swung fly.   

Many smaller rivers like the higher coastal streams of the Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia are perfect for single-hand spey techniques. 

The OPST Commando Head is a short (12 through 18 feet) and are best cast on 9 foot trout rods on up to two-handed rods around 12 feet.  You can take your standard trout fishing rod and create a really fun new setup. 

Size (gr)                  Length (ft)    

150                                    12

175                                    12

200                                    13.5

225                                    13.5

250                                    13.5

275                                    13.5

300                                    15

325                                    15

350                                    15

375                                    15

400                                    16.5

425                                    16.5

450                                    18

475                                    18

Casting Technique Spotlight: The White Mouse

Unleashing the two-hander on the upper Skykomish River.

Casting nerd alert!
This post gets a little technical so bear with us.

Spey casts fall into two main families: touch-and-go and water-loaded casts. Touch-and-go (aka splash and go, aka airborne anchor) casts land your anchor on the water like a plane landing on a tarmac, and they demand precise timing to form a D-loop and load the rod. When we're thinking about these casts such as the single spey, reverse single, and snake roll, it's important to note that these are primarily summer and fall techniques with floating lines, light tips and smaller flies.

However, when prepping for upcoming winter and spring steelhead trips, you can bet we're practicing our water-loaded casts! They use the pull of the line on the water to load up your rod and launch your fly, a technique very well suited to the cooler months of the year. Skagit-style shooting heads are designed to excel at this type of casting, and they’re the main family of techniques that you’ll use to present flies to sea-run fish in the high, cold flows of winter and spring.

The best tip we give when our clients and customers are running into trouble with their spey casts is common prescription: “SLOW DOWN”.  Skagit-style casts, when properly executed, are very slow compared to your single-handed stroke and even the touch-and-go casts of summertime. But how fast are you supposed to go when you “slow down”?

Instructor and guide Ben Waldschmidt demonstrates the White Mouse.

With Skagit style casting. one of the best indicators you’re executing a proper sweep and set-up of your D-loop is the aforementioned White Mouse. It’s the little rooster-tail of spray that appears at the point where your line is peeling off the water. Once you have the basics down, it’s a good thing to start paying attention to because it makes you conscious of how fast you are executing the rod-loading stages of a circle spey, snap-T or double spey. Sweep too fast and the line blasts off the water and no “Mouse” is formed. Too slowly and the little spray of water doesn’t form. What you’re looking for is what’s in the picture, just a little spray that follows the point where your line peels off the water.

For more information on the “White Mouse”, water-loaded casts (aka sustained anchor aka waterborne anchors) and getting the most out of your spey casting technique, come hang with us on the Skykomish river for our monthly free spey casting clinics. More info on how to sign up, here. Spey on!