Here is a good video by Reds Flyshop that really helps to clear up the confusion on the multitude of lines out there available for Switch rods. A pretty comprehensive coverage of lines including the Wulff Ambush, RIO Scandi Short Versitip, Switch Chucker and RIO Skagit max.
Here is a good video by Simon Gawesworth of RIO on how to choose the ideal Spey line for your application. It covers the 2013 range of Spey lines by RIO and is very informative on the purpose and usage each of the Spey line type from Skagit to Scandi to traditional long belly Spey.
Most of RIO Spey lines do not come integrated with shooting / running line. You will have to buy a separate shooting line to loop to loop to your Skagit or Scandi head. Below is another video that covers the 2013 range of shooting lines by RIO to help you select the ideal shooting line for your application.
For those who like to read about buying the right line for their Spey/Switch rod, here is a good article by American Fly Fishing Co.
The more recent RIO Spey line that caught my attention is the RIO Scandi body. The profile of this line is very similar to my favorite Wulff Ambush line but it comes in the form of head only in 3 densities, floating, intermediate sink and 5ips sink rate. This line is very versatile because it can cast both Scandi and Skagit style equally well as long as you match it up with the appropriate Spey versileader.
Here is a good introductory video on how to select the right fly line for your Switch rod. A Switch rod can be used for either overhead casting or Spey casting. If you want to know more about Switch rod, please refer to my earlier post on Why Switch Rod .
To supplement this video, I am including a more comprehensive guideline below:
Lines suitable for Skagit Spey casting with Switch rod:
1) Wulff Ambush line - wonderful line that cast easy even with minimal D-loop. Available also in intermediate sink as Ambush Clear Head or the slower suspend sink Ambush Neutralizer.
2) RIO Skagit Short - good for turning over very big fly or very heavy sink tip but clunky
3) RIO Skagit Flight - a more refined version of the skagit short. Available in intermediate sink as Skagit iFlight.
4) SA Skagit Extreme - SA version of the Skagit Short but with a more refined front taper but still plenty powerful. Available also in intermediate sink.
5) Airflo Skagit Compact - a favourite of many skagit caster in the early days
6) Airflo Skagit Switch - a shorter version than Skagit Compact more in tune with Switch rod
Lines suitable for Scandi Spey casting with Switch rod:
1) Wulff Ambush line - make sure you match it with a 15ft floating or clear Versileader before attempting Scandi casting with this line or it will prove too short
2) RIO AFS
3) RIO Scandi Short - this line was designed after AFS to cater to shorter Switch rod
4) RIO Switch line - this line has long back taper suitable for mending but not so good for shooting line
5) RIO Steelhead Scandi - designed for rods 13 ft or less. Long 22ft front taper design supposed give better presentation.
6) SA Scandi Extreme - a very long front taper scandi line.
7) Airflo Scandi Compact
Lines suitable for double hand overhead casting with Switch rod:
1) RIO Outbound short - 30ft head. Comes in floating and intermediate sink; tropical or cold water formulation.
2) AIRFLO Forty Plus - 35ft head. Comes in floating and multiple sink version.
3) Wulff Ambush line - This line is so versatile that it can shoot with the best of them. Just match it with a 10ft versileader to form a 30ft head and shoot away.
Lines suitable for indicator nymphing with Switch rod:
1) RIO Switch line - the long back taper ensures easy mending
2) AIRFLO Speydicator - with 12- 15 ft rear taper for good mending.
3) Wulff Ambush line - This line works great for indicator nymphing as well. It will turn over heavy flies easily even in tight quarter.
At a request of a friend wanting to start up on double-hander, I have put together a diagram to illustrate how a typical Skagit set up looks like. Some Skagit lines like the Wulff Ambush line comes integrated with running line whereas lines like RIO Skagit Short or Airflo Skagit Compact mostly comes as head only (~20ft) and will need a separate running line.
Every Skagit set-up will need to have a sink tip at the business end to bring the fly down. In the case of lighter Switch rods (4wt - 6wt), RIO versi-leader makes very good sink tips and is a joy to cast.
My preferred set-up for Switch rod is the Wulff Ambush line with RIO Spey versi-leader as sink tips. Here is my recommendation for the length of versi-leader to use for Wulff Ambush line up to 400 grain:
1) Floating versi-leader - 15ft
2) Clear Intermediate versi-leader - 15ft
3) Medium to Fast sink versi-leader (2.6 ips to 7 ips)- 10 ft
The Wulff Ambush line is my go to line for Switch rod for good reason. It is ridiculously easy to roll cast and make Spey casting a lot easier to learn. It has a 20ft tapered head joined to an integrated running line. The key to this line success is its concentration of mass near the butt end (the part joining the running line). When the head just overhangs the rod tip, most of the mass is right at rod tip making it very easy to load with a D-loop.
This line was not specifically design for double-hander. It was meant as a line for tight quarter roll casting and single hand spey casting. However, with the rise in popularity of shorter Spey rods and Switch rods, this line found its niche. Gary Sandstrom designed the line for Royal Wulff. You can read more about his design philosophy and inspiration here in this newsletter:
For Spey casting with Switch and shorter Spey rods, this line match well with RIO versi-leader from 10ft - 15ft. For floating and intermediate tips, I typically use 15ft versi-leaders. For faster sinking tips, I stick to 10ft versi-leaders. The Ambush line is now available from 195 grains all the way up to 600 grains.
Here is a chart I created to reference Wulff Ambush line grain weight:
The Ambush Clear Head is a great stealthy line for lake fishing as well as saltwater flats fishing. It has one the best intermediate running line I have come across so far. The running line has little memory, not overly stiff and neither too limber. It does not pile up on my stripping basket like most other intermediate running line. Instead, it will lay relatively flat on the basket and that helps tremendously in reducing tangle on the shoot. I also like the diameter of the running line, it is not too thin and gives positive comfortable grip during strip back.
For those who fish lakes and would like to have a slower sink line (1 ips), then the Neutralizer will fit their need. I typically use Ambush Clear Head for my saltwater flats fishing because of the faster sink rate (1.75 ips) and stealth (clear line).
It is also important to note that the Ambush Clear Head, being of faster sink rate is slight more challenging to Spey cast compared to floating head. It tends to stick to the water a lot more since it sinks faster. When using Ambush Clear Head, I typically make use of the Speed Poke to overcome this problem.
*Updated 29Jul 2016:
Royal Wulff recently added a 3wt (175gr @ 18') to their popular Ambush line. This is indeed good news for those into micro-spey. They also added half weight lines for better tuning. For example 8wt Ambush (290gr) now comes also in 8.5 wt (325 gr). For those into longer Spey rods, they now have 650 gr @ 30'. You can follow this link to the new Ambush Line Specs
