Ed's Skagit line formula for the 5120
Dr. Swing said:
Yeah. With the right line, the little rod with throw tips well.
The line I made for it is cut from a dt 12 wt. It is cut at about 30 ft and flipped so the original front taper becomes the back taper. You could cut this back more than the foot or so I took off it. This is spliced to slickshooter. I looped the other end and it throws tips extremely well with water loaded casts. The heaviest tip I have cast on the rod is a 15 foot type 6 150 grain rio 10 wt tip. I am sure it will handle more, I just don't need anything heavier. With this line and sink tips 3-5 inch weighted sculpins can be cast with ease.
Ed posted a skagit line recipe for trout speys a while ago and I am sure his line would outperform the crude one I made up, if you can find the ingrediants.
Thanks. I couldn't find the specifics re Ed's formula or recipe for the Trout Spey Skagit.
However, the following deals with the weight that he has worked out:
"I am currently throwing 488 grains at 36' in length. This line is a bit on the heavy side (will feel heavy on a calm day, will reduce extreme distance casting capability), but the slight overload provides for more "punch" during conditions of wind, and also loads better at "close" distances for better accuracy and precision inside of 65', which is where I plan on casting the most with this rod. I am of course, still "playing", and will probably shave another 15 grains off just to see what it acts like. The current weight of 488 develops so much energy during the sweep of the cast that I am having a devil of a time conducting a DoubleSpey (line lifts prematurely from the surface of the river). However, by incorporating a Perry poke into the Double in order to gain more anchor, or by using a straight Perry Poke, this line will snap the running line tight at the end of a 65' cast, and even jerk a bit of line off of the reel. Cool!"