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With all the interest in Skagit Casting right now I've been wondering what the next phase of spey interest will be.
A few years ago extended belly lines were all the rage, and the XLT and GrandSpey were burning up the bandwidth as folks debated their respective merits and whether or not longer bellies were superior to other lines. These were great discussions, and sometimes quite heated, and there was a sense of some real experimentation going on among a small group of spey enthusiasts. After a whille lines were developed and brought to market, and everyone seemed to want to be a long belly caster.
Then, word got out that "Skagit" lines were in R&D at Scientific Anglers, and suddenly everyone wanted to be a Skagit caster. We went from "long lines good; short lines bad" to a serious interest in shooting heads, which is what Skagit lines are. Tapers and applications were discussed, and now everyone is interested in becoming a Skagit caster.
It seems to me that line development drives the interest in various aspects of spey casting, so if we are now all keen about shooting heads,will we soon swing back to our interest in longer bellies? Or will we make a pit stop at the mid belly lines for a while?
If we can categorize spey line styles as shooting heads (or short heads), mid bellies and long bellies, we can debate the merits of each from various perspectives, but there is overlap. A good example of this is my approach to underhand casting long belly lines. Now, there are some who have told me it can't be done, but I manage it quite well. Is it "pure" underhand casting? Of course not, it is an adaptation of the casting style for use with long belly lines. I am using very different tackle than the classic underhand casters such as Goran Andersson. I guess if underhand casting is as much about tackle as technique, then I'm not "Underhand Casting" with a capital "U". But since I can underhand cast with the classic tackle as well, I feel safe in saying that my approach is an adaptation--perhaps even an expansion--of the underhand cast.
I see Skagit casting moving into the realm of the undehand cast, in that you need a specific type of line, rod, and even fly along with the casting technique in order to do it "right." I believe that Ed Ward has really hit on something quite unique in his conceptualiation of the Skagit cast, but it is important for students of spey casting to recognize that much of what Ed talks about can be and is applied to other forms of spey casting. The continuous load concept is something that skilled longline casters must do if they expect to cast lines like the XLT and GrandSpey with the full head out. Does this mean that someone might figure out how to Skagit cast with long belly lines, as I've done with the underhand cast?
So once we have explored the intricacies of Skagit casting, where will our enthusiasms take us? I think one area of the spey that has been long neglected is the classic double taper line, and it is probably high time that someone developed a modern version of these lines. What this would look like is hard to say, but I think the lessons learned in the development of the XLT and GrandSpey could be applied to the next generation of long belly double tapers.
And then I'll see if I can underhand cast those, too...!
A few years ago extended belly lines were all the rage, and the XLT and GrandSpey were burning up the bandwidth as folks debated their respective merits and whether or not longer bellies were superior to other lines. These were great discussions, and sometimes quite heated, and there was a sense of some real experimentation going on among a small group of spey enthusiasts. After a whille lines were developed and brought to market, and everyone seemed to want to be a long belly caster.
Then, word got out that "Skagit" lines were in R&D at Scientific Anglers, and suddenly everyone wanted to be a Skagit caster. We went from "long lines good; short lines bad" to a serious interest in shooting heads, which is what Skagit lines are. Tapers and applications were discussed, and now everyone is interested in becoming a Skagit caster.
It seems to me that line development drives the interest in various aspects of spey casting, so if we are now all keen about shooting heads,will we soon swing back to our interest in longer bellies? Or will we make a pit stop at the mid belly lines for a while?
If we can categorize spey line styles as shooting heads (or short heads), mid bellies and long bellies, we can debate the merits of each from various perspectives, but there is overlap. A good example of this is my approach to underhand casting long belly lines. Now, there are some who have told me it can't be done, but I manage it quite well. Is it "pure" underhand casting? Of course not, it is an adaptation of the casting style for use with long belly lines. I am using very different tackle than the classic underhand casters such as Goran Andersson. I guess if underhand casting is as much about tackle as technique, then I'm not "Underhand Casting" with a capital "U". But since I can underhand cast with the classic tackle as well, I feel safe in saying that my approach is an adaptation--perhaps even an expansion--of the underhand cast.
I see Skagit casting moving into the realm of the undehand cast, in that you need a specific type of line, rod, and even fly along with the casting technique in order to do it "right." I believe that Ed Ward has really hit on something quite unique in his conceptualiation of the Skagit cast, but it is important for students of spey casting to recognize that much of what Ed talks about can be and is applied to other forms of spey casting. The continuous load concept is something that skilled longline casters must do if they expect to cast lines like the XLT and GrandSpey with the full head out. Does this mean that someone might figure out how to Skagit cast with long belly lines, as I've done with the underhand cast?
So once we have explored the intricacies of Skagit casting, where will our enthusiasms take us? I think one area of the spey that has been long neglected is the classic double taper line, and it is probably high time that someone developed a modern version of these lines. What this would look like is hard to say, but I think the lessons learned in the development of the XLT and GrandSpey could be applied to the next generation of long belly double tapers.
And then I'll see if I can underhand cast those, too...!