Lines
swingndeep said:
So if the WC 8/9/10 I am using is not the right line to turn over heavy flies then what other lines should I try? it casts this line very well. I am not much of a caster but I can almost shoot enough line to get to the backing knot.
Mike
The 8/9/10 Windcutter will work well on the 8150. It just doesn't have the balls to carry a big, heavy fly. You might try a 9/10/11, even a 10/11/12 Windcutter minus the tip two section. Or a 550 or 650 grain Skagit line, which is basically the same thing minus all the tips. You would still need to add a fifteen to twenty foot tip section to a Skagit line, but you can use the tips from your 8/9/10 WC. Or just make up a tip using T-14.
I'm assuming a sink tip since you are talking about heavy flies. What you are after is
mass. It takes a lot of mass to push a heavy fly. The Grand Spey lines are also good with big flies. But they are long belly lines and are not designed for shooting.
What are you trying to cast? Some flies do not work as well with some casts, at least for me. For example, a heavily weighted fly on a fifteen foot leader, single spey cast. I have found a circle, or snap-T works better. Six inch bunny leeches are a ***** with anything but a Skagit line. Again, at least for me. They soak up a lot of water. Big, heavy flies are just hard to turn over with a long leader. A sink tip has a lot of mass compressed into a fine diameter and that, combined with the shorter leader, is much more capable of delivering those types of flies.
Oh, btw, the current thinking on Skagit lines; is head length should equal 3 to 3-1/2 times rod length. So for your 8150, you would need a line 45 to 52-1/2 feet long. This includes whatever length sink tip you are going to use. Back up here,,,,at this length, we are almost back to the full length of a Wincutter. Hmmm,,,,,maybe that is why the shorter rods are more popular for Skagit casting. :whoa:
Wait 'till the Sandy Clave to talk to people and play with all this stuff before you make any decisions.