[NrthFrk16]

They have been described by one caster as "it's like throwing a wiffle ball versus a baseball" where the Skagit line is the baseball. ...and they will be available this week.

For anyone that would like to try them, stop by Spey Days this weekend and there should be a fair selection of them for you to try on various rods.

 

[fshbm]

Any word on their cost? How about specifications?

 

[Rick J]

This is a quote from a previous post from Scott O who worked with Mike McCune on developing the lines. They are full length lines with running line included.

"You may be happy to hear that you will no longer need to chop up lines to create a decent Skagit line. Mike McCune and I just got done finalizing the parameters for the new Rio Skagit Heads. They'll come in a 7/8, 8/9, 9/10 and 10/11. The 27' bellies weigh 450gr, 550gr, 650gr and 750gr respectfully. Combined with the new Skagit Cheaters they'll match up with any rod length and the indivduals natural stroke length. The big shocker is that they actually match up with the corresponding rod weight designations, no more guess work!"

 

[Rambo]

Rick What are the cheeters needed on the skagit line for. I was under the impression that the cheeters were for converting a WC to a skagit line. The Email I got from a dealer said they would cost $75 and be avalible in early march.

Rambo

 

[Rick J]

Again I will quote Scott. Really not sure if he is using these to make a longer line? I think the 27 foot head is looped to take any tip you want - maybe the short sink tip compensator will help get tips down though seems you are now extending the length of the line past a short skagit type line?

Scott - can you comment?

"Skagit Cheaters are a new Rio product that came out this summer as a result of our demonstration at the Sandy River Spey clave last spring. They come in a package of four belly extensions, two floaters of 5 and 10 feet and two sink tip compensators of the same length. They were designed for use with the windcutter in place of the 15' belly extension and they work really well with the new Skagit Heads. I should add that the new lines aren't just heads, they'll have 110' of running line for the two smaller lines and 120' for the two larger ones. Also, the first five feet of running line will be .042 for durability at the rod tip and taper down to .035 (or something like that) for slick shooting."

 

[NrthFrk16]

by utilizing the Skagit Cheaters you will be able to fine tune the Skagit Line for your particular rod.

 

[Grampa Spey]

For those of us who don't know Skagit from Forgetit, what rods work the best for most people re:

Length
Action

Hopefully there will be a lot of ongoing workshops, good instructors, available rods and Skagit lines at the upcoming Sandy Clave.

 

[ChromeFever]

Skagit Lines

Yes but when can I order one and how much are they? Will they come with sink tips? Can you order them without tips? Killing me here! :saeek: :Eyecrazy:

 

[Speybro]

The word is out! Get the kids off the street, the Skagit Spey lines have arrived! They are running this very second and will be available next week or so. As NrthFrk was saying, though, we have dispatched samples of each size to the Spey Days bash for this weekend.

There are 4 lines, all 120 ft long. The head is 27 ft and ends in RIO's unique, bullet proof welded loop. No tips are supplied as most casters have there own 15 ft tips already. The running line is the same green as the WindCutter running line and the head is the GrandSpey chartreuse. The four weights are 450 (7/8), 550 (8/9), 650 (9/10) and 750 grains (10/11).

The Skagit Cheaters are designed to be tied in with this line. As Skagit casting requires a consistant line to rod length ratio (3 to 3.5 times the rod length), you simply add the 5 or 10 ft cheater to the Skagit line with the longer rods or with shorter T14 type sink tips.

Hope this helps.

Have fun at the Spey Days, those lucky blighters that are going....wish I was there!

Cheers
Simon

 

[Speybro]

I forgot, the recommended retail price is $75.

 

[Rambo]

cheeters

so do the cheeters come with the line
thanks
rambo

 

[NrthFrk16]

i just returned from boeing field....in my hot little hands are copious amounts of skagit lines. first come, first served. :saevilw: :devil:

 

[Brian Simonseth]

Sparkey

Will you be there on Saturday?

 

[NrthFrk16]

Sparkey

Will you be there on Saturday?

bright and early!

 

[Brian Simonseth]

Cya Am Sparkey

 

[NrthFrk16]

rambo-
The Cheaters do not come with the line. When one purchases the Skagit Line, a whole lotta versatility is opened up for the angler. You can fish your standard 15' tips off the bugger, attach Cheaters and attach t-14 or if you drop down a line size, I am sure you could pop a Big Boy onto the end of it as well.

By adjusting the actual weight of your 15' tip (by changing up from a #9 to a #10 or #11 to a #10 etc. etc., you can dramatically effect the load imparted on your rod) and/or by attaching a Cheater , if you do, you can fine tune the length and the grains so that you have a line that is a perfect match for your rod.

 

[Scott O'Donnell]

Drama

Hello again Sparkdude,
First I want to thank you for your excellent support and explanations of the skagit heads and cheaters. But I do need to correct you on one small detail. Changing from #9 to #10 15' tips (etc) is not going to dramatically change the load on any rod. The change is going to be very slight if any at all. The incredible density of the belly is such that it wants to turn over just about anything no matter how heavy. The problem with these lines is when you try to cast a tip that is too light, say 100 grains, it will tend to windmill. However this problem can be overcome by adding an extra five feet of cheater.
During the cast, the sink tip stays mostly in the water and acts as the anchor, the belly is loading the rod. Once the rod is unloaded and releases the line it becomes the belly's responsibility to turn over the tip. I believe you saw an excellent example of this during the spey days. Eddie said that he wanted approximately 550 grains to load one of his rods, so he figured to use the 450 with a 100 grain tip, the result was poor, as you saw. We lined the same rod with the 550 and a 190 grain tip and all of a sudden the rod was transformed into a magic wand.

 

[Tayside]

Line weight

Scott thanks for the info but your point about Ed makes me wonder, if Ed can get it wrong what are casters who are new to Skagit casting going to pick the proper line size. I guess my question is do the Rio line designations match rod designations or are we going to have to buy myltiple lines and sort it out ourselves.



Ian

 

[Scott O'Donnell]

The RIO line designations match the rod designations for every one of the dozens of rods tested so far. The fact that ED got it wrong initially was for the same reason I get it wrong so often. If a line has never been put on a rod then the result can only be a guess and nobody guesses with perfection.

The trick is, that once the line has been put on the rod, is the result still a guess.

For ED it's not.

 

[Tayside]

Line designations

Thanks Scott will see how things work out when the lines hit the Fly shops....



Ian