[Mean Mr Mustard]

A little bird tells me I have a pair of these rods on the way; too cool! I could use some suggestions on lines.

I want these rods for trout fishing (and Pinks) in a larger river. It is important that the line NOT be fluorescent orange or white since trout can be notoriously leader shy, etc.. Further my style (or lack) suggests ...? Baring all, I'm not particularly proficient with either the WC or XLT on my #9 wts., so should I go midspey? [Too much exposure there, I suddenly feel a cold draft.]

Initially I plan on using a SA Mastery Steelhead Taper, WF7F (I have a couple of these, new, hanging around). It has proven pretty good for single hand spey casting.

Let's talk lite spey lines...

mmm

 

[kush]

mmm,

I think the steelhead taper may be the right way to go. When I used these rods for chironomid fishing in July I simply used my single handed 6 weight lines and they overhead cast very well. I did do some experimentation with spey casts as well. The lines, although weight forwards did a creditable job with the various casts. It was my feeling that an extended belly WF like a Steelhead Taper would be perfect. Let me know how it goes.

 

[Mean Mr Mustard]

The birds were right and the big brown truck showed bearing great joy! That makes three CND's from The Red Shed Fly Shop :smokin: Poppy is my go-to-guy!

I'll be trying this line combo and letting you all know how it goes.

New toys, new toys, new toys...

mmm

 

[juro]

Aaron told me the new Windcutter 5wt loads it well. In addition to the Mastery / as an alternative to that is.

I am going to ask Simon in Denver to let my play with one at the casting pool and will let you know.

 

[NrthFrk16]

Juro...you should be seeing a #7 Mastery Steelhead Taper at your door anydays to use for demoing various rods.

I also sent along a nearly new 8/9 Mach I that could very well be a nice match on the 1306 Expert as this line was sweeeet on the 5120.

 

[speybum]

Love those Light Speys

I have been working with this rod since the Sandy when my demo arrived.
The 5/6 Windcutter with Rio sinking leader lends itself well to most situations.
On of my clients used it for Red Salmon at Yakutat and it handled fish up 8ish pounds with out any problems.
The on negative was it was just to much work to handle a 25lb King with it.
I like Sparkey have been using the Hard Mach I 8/9 with it along with sinking leader and it was a hoot.
Just a little underhand flick and away the line goes.
Have played with the Rio Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon line in both 7wt and 8wt.
I think the 6/7 Mid-spey would be the max as far a with is concerned.
:smokin:

Neat rod can not wait for the Sea Runs.

:devil:

 

[ZachMatthews]

Hey guys-

I'm looking at this rod too and will be wanting to play a little before I line it up for real. I have an SA Mastery Distance Taper 6 weight that I have just laying around on a spool- can I use it to get a feel for the rod? Will I be able to do the traditional casts with it or just the overhead?

When overhead casting, does anyone try to haul or are these rods just too heavy to manage with one hand?

Zach

 

[SSPey]

the "extra" hand in a two-handed rod is used to far greater effect as a lever than as a hauler. In other words, keep both hands on the wheel, get the groove, and you'll get more distance than you would by hauling.

 

[Mean Mr Mustard]

Re: Love those Light Speys

The 5/6 Windcutter with Rio sinking leader lends itself well to most situations.

Aaron,

The above quote addresses what I perceive to be how I will fish it about 40% of the time. The other 60% of the time I wish to either fish a skating, riffle-hitched, fly or simply one that is dead drifted. How's the WC 5/6 work as a dry line on this rod in question?

Thanks.

mmm

 

[speybum]

I have been using the 5/6 Wincutter for most of my dry line work.

Have a few of my freinds who have been using the 6/7 Midspeys and even the 6/7 XLT.
I think that the XLT boges the rod down some what and does not it perform to it max.

I very rarely riffle hitch any thing let alone flies so I would not be a good judge on that.

 

[juro]

Thanks to Ryan I now have a Mastery steelhead taper and Mach I line to try on the 1306... will report when I get a chance to toss them.

Thanks Ryan! My line purchase $ for 2003 has probably exceeded what I've spent my whole life trying to line all these demo rods! :eyecrazy:

I *really* do appreciate it.

Likewise Speybum, I will take you up on your generous offer.

You guys are the best!

 

[NrthFrk16]

Juro-
You are very welcome!

 

[juro]

Will test these lines today!

Yesterday I had to get my palm burned by some gnarly fall screamer stripers on the new all-arounder overhand rod in the surf

 

[dansteelieman]

line...

I really like the Rio salmon/steelhead line for smaller spey rods and overhand casting with spey rods. I usually go one-two sizes up depending on the situation at hand. The 1306 CND is probably a great tool to use with that line. The SA Mastery series salmon/steelhead is similiar to Rio's.

Just for a similiar comparison....

I have the Sage 6126, brown IV graphite that is labeled as a "european" type rod. IMO, it is more of a softer type rod then it is stiffer. I can load a line well into the butt, but yet it still recovers somewhate quickly. Still, with other lines if all depends. Mainly I use the Rio salmon/steelhead taper in a 8wt which has a 66' head that I cut back about 10' for use of tips/smaller heads. I also use it when I fish indicator methods for steelhead, which really impresses me. The line really makes the rod come alive quite well!

Hope this helps!

 

[juro]

Ryan -

I got out to try these today.

My guess would've been that the steelhead taper would work well and the Mach I would be too heavy. I was totally wrong!

The steelhead taper, one of my favorite single handed lines, has a stiff middle section in the head and does not want to form into a tight loop unless you drive it with an overhead cast. This characteristic is probably why it's so good for overhead casting for distance with a single hand rod, but when you try to form an easy d-loop or punch it forward into a wedge it stays stiff in the middle right where a spey loop wants it to bend. With the head out, it was about the right grains, but never really felt great.

I then put the Hardy Mach I 8/9 head on the rod. The color change was fantastic for knowing where the head was right off the bat. As soon as I got the line going I was amazed at how well-behaved the line is and how well-suited it is to spey casting with an easy stroke and an abrupt stop. As I got tuned into it, I have to confirm your hunch - this is a fantastic line for this rod.

The 1306 Expert is really the only CND spey rod that is a trout rod at heart. It's much different than it's next bigger brother, the 1308, which is a robust spey rod with a lot of depth in reserve. The 1306 is a gentle, traditional small spey rod and you don't want to overpower it. With the load that the Mach I put into the blank, it lays a nice tight finesse loop even in the gusty conditions I had with Isabel's wake in our area.

Thanks Ryan, I would have to say with confidence that this is one of the great line matchups for the 1306 Expert!

Juro...you should be seeing a #7 Mastery Steelhead Taper at your door anydays to use for demoing various rods.

I also sent along a nearly new 8/9 Mach I that could very well be a nice match on the 1306 Expert as this line was sweeeet on the 5120.

 

[NrthFrk16]

Juro-
I forgot to mention to you today that I have the detailed spec sheets regarding head lengths and such (variable head lengths and tapers depending upon line size) at the shop somewhere. Once I find them, Ill fax em to you!

Plus, I do have the grain weights on these lines somewhere as well.

Secondly, it is interesting that you mention that the Steelhead Taper didn't Spey cast all that well. I never thought about the stiffness of the body being a factor in that...maybe that is why I ahve found the Rio Steelhead/Salmon line to single-hand Speycast a tad better then the SA (could it possibly have a softer belly???)

 

[dansteelieman]

maybe....

That is another reason I prefer the Rio. It is a little softer in my opinion, the SA is alot stiffer from what I can tell. Even with casting you can feel how stiff the line is. Although I did feel a little more stiffness from the 8wt to a 9wt, but that is just normal. Rio's Salmon/Steelhead line allows me to make a beautiful D-Loop and rolls over quite well when casting. I am fond of this line, I bumped up two sizes and cut off the line at the back of the taper before the running line and used an alternate color running line. Makes the line come alive. I also cut off the first 10'-12' and made a loop so it could be used with heads/tips. I can just add the floating tip back on if needed, fish it with heads, or indicators too.

I found many uses for this line, and it rates #1 over all the lines I have ever used for the GL fishery...hands down. I will take it over a windcutter anyday....but that is just my opinion!

 

[juro]

Frankly, I am not sure why the middle section of the WF head resists formation of a sharp wedge for me until you reach a certain amount of energy when it snaps into shape and propels the line forward... I assume it's more a matter of taper and material distribution than anything else. In any case it sure overhands nice, but put side by side with the Hardy you can tell which one was developed for spey casting from the first toss. I am no line expert and can only speculate, but man what a difference.

Likewise, the Rio spey lines are 110% designed for spey casting which is why they are so easy to spey cast. Sometimes I experiment with the amount of effort I put into forming a d-loop with the midspey line. It's amazing how easy a good cast pops out from the rod with that line.

MMM -

Thanks to Sparky, I can now say with confidence that the Mach I 8/9 (surprisingly) is a great match for the 1306 Expert. Aaron recently told me that he likes the new improved Windcutter 5/6 on the 1306 CND, I haven't gotten my hands on one yet so haven't tried the combination. He also said some guys like the 6/7 Midspey on it, which is kind of a surprise to me because I like that line on the 1307SP Custom which is a lot more rod. The 1307 can certainly handle more than the 6/7 anyday, this is probably where personal preferences kick in, I like a light touch that can be used for all variations of casts with more line out. I like to come home from 10-12 hours of fishing and feel none the worse for wear.

Let us know which you like, or if you'd like to try before you buy I can send this line out for you to try.

Juro

 

[Mean Mr Mustard]

Success

Juro,

Thanks for the help and offer! But...Speybum got to me first at his mini-clave today and what I found I liked. The RIO WC 5/6 is a sweet line for this rod and everything I could possibly want.

As most who've seen my casting would admit, I am not a particularly proficient caster (though I can fish what I throw) and had never before tried the single spey until today; the casting still wasn't very pretty but serviceable. Now to try it at home with the casts I do know.

The Expert 1306 with the WC 5/6 is a match made in heaven for me and the kid!



mmm

 

[Tak]

Expert 13�f

hello,
I used Rio Steelhead 7 and WC 5/6,but I like Midspey 6/7.
The smooth cast which harnessed bat power is made possible.
Even if it adds a sink leader according to a situation, it can be used satisfactory.
But, I think that it is easy to use the WC 5/6 rather than Midspey 6/7.

Expert 13�f is just good to Yamame trout fishing.

Tak