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Update re Rio's New Mid Spey 7/8 w/tips and the Sage 7141

3K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Grampa Spey 
#1 ·
Yesterday I got a few hours on the Russian River to cast my Sage 7141 and Rio's New MidSpey 7/8 with tips.

The river was still high and really rushing. In fact it took me hours of driving up 101 and back roads to find an area where the water line wasn't in the trees. That makes it a little difficult to wade and cast.

The 7141 did a great job of casting all the MS and all of the tips in high water without the compensator.

I then removed tip 2 and replaced it with the compensator.

Rio has done all of us a massive favor with this compensator. When the rivers are really ripping along, the 15' tip by itself just doesn't get down fast enough to fish. The running line part of the Spey line floats and not enough of the 15' sinking tips get down, including the new fast sinking tip.

With the compensator the tip immediate goes down, with one good mend the compensator lines up and sinks behind the sinking tip.

Yet the combo of the compensator and sinking tips do not catch bottom and snag up like with 26' shooting heads, Teeny lines and even Rio's new 26 ft Stripper sinking lines. I tried two casts with my Rio 350 sinking tip in the same water that all of the Spey sinking tips and the compensator had no problem and snagged the bottom twice and lost a fly each cast/snag with the Rio 350.

I was so impressed with the combo of the compensator, that I left my compensator on the reel for this winter. That way I can just add whatever sinking tip is needed for the winter high waters. I felt that it was easier for me to load the 7146 and cast the tips with the compensator than without the compensator. A late afternoon wind upstream had minimal effect on the combo.

Last but not least, even in fast and heavy water, I was able to lift the compensator and sinking tips up to the brown mark of line and do a double spey cast with my Sage 7141. I could feel when the rod was loading properly and or not due to my casting. The rod really felt good in the Double Spey with the compensator and sinking tips.

At the last of the day I was using a tungsten bead size 2 hook with pink bunny tied to it (looks like an earthworm). The rod lifted all of this up and I was able to make 40 and 50 ' casts out into the deep part of the river and mend once for great drifts with the compensator and deep sinking tip and about 1 foot of tippet.

Conclusions: For this old Grampa, the new Rio Mid Spey 7/8 with tips and the wonderful compensator is a great package with the Sage 7141.

Kudos to Simon and Jim Vincent for this great line. It makes my older WC678 feel like an old Model A. This MS 7/8 with tips and my Sage 7141 should be able to handle basically any steelhead stream in N. California and S. Oregon. One reel, one rod, and one line with the tips in one little package makes life very simple and yet very versatile to meet and match different river conditions.

I don't have to look for an 8 weight 14 foot European action Spey rod anymore. With the Mid Spey 7/8, my Sage 7141 is really an eight rod capable of ripping up sinking tips and my big ugly flies even in high, deep and fast running waters.

I will be buying a compensator for my Sage 10151 for Salmon season later this year. It should work great on my Accelerator 9/10 with the tip two replaced by the compensator.

Thanks again to Rio, Simon and Jim Vincent for this great new MS 7/8 with the tips.
 
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#2 ·
Living in Healdsburg for several years (ys, there still is

a great place to live in Calif. "I know your pain." Or what ever the hell Clinton was 'won't to say.' The Russian River is a wonderful bit of water to fish, and lots of the buggers ... assuming the sea lions arn't wacking everything in site at the mouth of the river.

Sounds like a great combo for the river. Either a dry line, long leader and small fly .... or go for Glory during high water. Still a 'what the heck' question after all these years why the majority of vineyard owners wouldn't seed 'twen' row crops to keep the run off to a far lower minimum.

A bag of seed is/was/still is dirt cheap ... go figure. Would rather screw up the river ... their life blood and water system ... to save what $200-$300 bucks?

I'll get off this rant before I go ... :razz:
fae

To put you all in context, Joan and I have been involved with vineyards/wine production for a lot of years. Sold our vineyards a few years ago, but still very active in the Rogue Valley Winegrowers Assn. Prior to that I worked (beyond Mortgage Banking) for one of the largest wine producers in Sonoma/Napa Counties. Could never understand the 'fowl you're own nest' mentality.
:tsk_tsk:
 
#3 ·
Fred

Well the river has been muddy since two weeks before Christmas, and we haven't had any rain for about two weeks. You know the reason why.

Speaking of fouling your nest, the illegal aliens in the open to public areas treat the river and land like a dump ground and a bath room.

Yesterday at about 4:30, 6 of them came down to the river about 100 hundred yards upstream and started taking their clothes off.
Seeing this I started gathering my gear. Then they dived in to bath with soap. We are talking January. Not wanting to be wading downstream of this I just left.

I will be back next week on private property. Hopefully we don't get a lot of rain this weekend.

One of the best secrets is to use a floating or emerger caddis with a long leader like you said from about 11 am to 3 pm. The only problem is you have to use fairly small tippets and big hot natives will just pop that tippet.
 
#4 ·
Grandpa,

If you're going to make it to the Yuba mini-clave/bash in two weeks, bring your 7 weight and we can compare notes. I use the same rod, but with a 7/8/9 wc and a 7/8 XLT. I don't like the midspey as much on that rod, but am interested in the compensator thingy.

Jims
 
#5 ·
jimsand

Right now, I will probably not be able to make it to the Yuba Spey Clave due to family commitments.

If I can slide up Friday, I will bring it up, and we can make comparisons.

I'm so glad we live in this age in America to have all of these choices and the internet to chat with each other and to compare experiences.

The sinktip compensator to me is a major break through. I can't wait to try it shad fishing on the American and other rivers. One roll cast and a John Judy roll cast mend, and the tip is down in the strike zone.

The other breakthrough that Rio has made is with their new connecting loops. They go through my rod's eyes so well, that I can't feel them. I really can't see them either.

I can tell with my eyes closed when the loops on my older WC 678 go through my 7141 or 7136 eyes or my Accellerator on my 10151. Also, if you have a big fish on, getting those WC or AC loops down through the eyes can be a little touchy.

These new loops seem to have about eliminated the hinging effect on my weak casts. There is definitely less aero drag in the casts with the new loops.
 
#6 ·
more info

interesting ingo. I fish an older brown 7136 and a wc789 year round here in washington, am interested in fishing a longer line in order to eliminate strippingline every cast. Have you fished the Mid Spey on the 7136?

any info, much appreciated.
 
#7 ·
Jumbo re 7136 and MS Line

I think that you will find that the MS 6/7 Floating line with no tips will work great with your 7136. Use a 10 to 13' leader with a dry or a plain fly.

This Combo works very well with a Boles indicator, nymph and tungsten bead as the weight.
 
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