Double Hander in the Salt

Here are some good videos I found on casting double hand in the salt. Double hand rods are especially suited for blind casting as it greatly reduces fatigue when you have to fire off cast after cast whole day long. Double hander can also handle wind and distance better. With the advance of Switch rods and modern Spey shooting heads, we no longer have to contend with heavy 15 foot rods that used to dominate the double hand scene not so long ago. 

Switches in the 10' - 11' range is especially suited for light saltwater estuary work whereas those handling big surf may opt for rods in the 12' - 13' range. Advancement in graphite rod making technology has also made double hander a lot lighter than it used to.

In this first video, the caster is using a T&T 10 footer 6wt employing snap-C, snake roll and switch cast with good effect.

In this 2nd video, Andrew Moy demonstrate the technique of double hand overhead casting in the salt. 

Here is another good video on using Switch rod in the shorline surf and estuary by Jeff Putnam with useful tips on how to time your cast in the surf. For some reason I am not able to embed the video here but you can follow this link to youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAamuCaUZOQ&list=UUZISfHZinEMnFPHYMdPMQog&index=9&feature=plcp

Note: You can access all my blog post on saltwater spey by clicking on the "Saltwater Spey" link located on the right hand side under Labels.

TFO TiCr X Double Hand Conversion Kit

I have the TFO TiCr-X double hand conversion kit in my arsenal for a few years now but never really thought much about using it for Spey as this rod was mainly designed for overhead casting. Recently, I got interested in progressive action DH rod for saltwater Spey and started experimenting.

A true progressive action rod typically has a relatively stiff butt section with the upper sections bending progressively downwards as more and more load is being applied. This is in contrast to most Spey rods that are designed to be more regressive, loading quickly to the butt. TFO TiCr X rods attached to the beefy DH conversion kit is as progressive as it comes.

I had a chance encounter not long ago with a friend's TiCr X 6wt fitted with the DH conversion kit casting 400 grain Wulff Ambush line and was very impress with how well it loads and fire, easily forming tight loops. Before long, I started digging out out my seldom used TiCr X 5wt and tried fitting it to the conversion kit and to my surprise, it fitted rather nicely.

My on water session with the rod last Sunday blew my socks away. Matched with a 350 grain Wulff Ambush line (plus 15ft versi-leader), the rod was easily firing 100 foot cast post Perry Poke with insanely tight loops. It  has never cross my mind that a 5wt can have such performance. I have previously cast my DH TiCR X 8wt (with 450 grain Ambush line) but was never this impress. I think the key is in softening the top half of the rod to bring out the animal in it. Although the TiCr X conversion kit was originally designed for the 7 & 8wt TiCr X  rods, we know today that it will also fit the X 6wt, the non-X TiCr 6,7 & 8wt as well as the BVK 6 & 7wt rods.

This easily makes the TiCr X conversion kit a best buy from TFO for anyone wanting to make a foray into the double hand world. With just a TiCr X conversion kit, one can affordable own up to 4 Spey rods ranging from 5wt to 8wt with the corresponding single hander to boot. Two thumbs up for TFO!

The DH TiCr X 5wt will make its way to Maldives with me next year to do battle with Bonefish and Trevally. I am looking forward to it. I am sure the beefy butt section will have more than enough juice to handle the occasional big GTs.

Updated 21Sep2015:
Here is a video of TiCrX8wt conversion kit in action fighting Arapaima in Thailand. I was fishing with a 450 grain Ambush line but felt that the rod can handle heavier. I recently have confirmation from a fishing buddy that the TiCrX8wt DH handles 500 and even 550 grain very well.

Updated 29Mar2016:
I recently bought a 510 grain Airflo Skagit Switch to match with the TiCrX8wt DH and it cast great. I find it easy to fire out out 100 ft cast with this set up. The Airflo Skagit Switch is also great with static roll cast with minimum back space. I could easily roll cast 80ft with this line even with minimum D-loop space.

Arapaima on DH TiCrX 8wt

Anatomy of a Good Spey Casting Line

Someone once asked me whether we can up-line a single-hand designated line and use it on his double -hander. The simple answer is yes but it will not Spey cast very well due to limitation of the design. It will no doubt over head cast well as it was designed to do just that but when it comes to Spey casting, there are some salient features needed for the line to Spey cast well. I will break up the Spey line into various sections and briefly discuss them here.

1) Section A-B:
This is the back taper of a typical Skagit or Scandi head. The back taper typically should be as short as possible so that it quickly merges with the thin running line (or shooting line). Since the purpose of the Skagit or Scandi Spey is to shoot line for distance, it make sense not to have too long a back taper. Typical back taper can range from a few inches to a no more than three feet. There are however exception to the rule. For the purpose of distance mending when fishing big rivers, RIO for example has incorporated a 25ft back taper to their RIO Switch line. This improved mending capability of course comes at the expense of shooting distance.

2) Section B-C:
This is the meat of the Spey line where most of the mass should be concentrated to optimize loading of  the rod. Once this section of line is aerialized by the unloading action of the rod, it will gain the necessary momentum (= mass x velocity) to pull the rest of the line (C-D-E) along for the ride. You can think of B-C as the drive train and C-D-E as being the passenger carriages on tow. In order to go the distance, this  lead section of the Spey line (B-C) should be as hefty as possible so as to provide maximum momentum for the shoot.

3) Section C-D:
This section of the line serves to link the power section of the line (B-C) to the anchor (section D-E) when a D-loop is formed. This section does not need to be as massive as B-C but should still have sufficient mass to turn over the sink tip (D-E) + fly. If this section is too light, it will fail to turn over the sink tip. If it is too hefty, it will put too much load on section B-C and slow down the overall line speed, resulting in a shorter cast. Rule of thumb is that this section must be less hefty than section B-C but must be at least as hefty as section D-E.

4) Section D-E:
In the case of a Skagit line, this section is the sink tip (or a long versi-leader in the case of Scandi). The main function of this section is to provide anchor for the cast. All spey cast require a good secure anchor to form before power can be applied effectively to the forward cast. If the anchor runs or slip, power of the forward cast will be lost and the cast will not go well. Another important purpose of this section is to turn over the fly. If we are using a heavy wind resistant fly, we will need a heftier sink tip (higher grain/ft)  to provide sufficient momentum for turn over, Otherwise if we are casting dry fly or small nymph, we can probably get away using lighter grain weight versi-leader.

Here are the profiles of some of the better casting spey line out there that embraces this general design philosophy.

Skagit Set-up for Switch Rod

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

Goran Andersson on the Deschutes

Here is a very nicely done video on Goran Andersson, the father of underhand casting (Scandinavian Style) fishing the Oregon Deschutes river. A very insightful video on the man who invented this style of casting and how it came to be.

Intermediate Skagit Head

The wait is over..... SA finally introduces an intermediate sink Skagit head!
For the longest time I have been waiting for a fly line manufacturer to come up with a slow sink Skagit head for still water application and SA beats everyone  to it. No longer will I need to cut and join a bunch of lines to create my own intermediate sink head. This new line has Gary Sandstrom (creator of Wulff Ambush line) as the principle designer and I have no doubt will perform flawlessly given his credential. The only drawback for now is that it is only available in 400 grain onwards. I suspect the lower grain heads will probably be available later. More details of this line can be found here: http://www.flyfishusa.com/newsletter/082211/

Latest update .... Royal Wulff Products just released the clear intermediate version of their popular Ambush line - The Ambush Clear Head! The line is available with integrated running line from 5wt (215 grain) to 8wt (290 grain). You can read more about this new line following this link: http://www.royalwulff.com/products/ambush-clear-head-line/.

With this release, intermediate sink Skagit type head is now available from either manufacturer covering 215 grain all the way up to 680 grain.

Euro Style Underhand Casting

Enlightening video on true Euro style underhand casting (Scandinavian style). Goran Anderson, the father of Scandinavian style Spey casting talks about the grip and introduces the basic Switch cast. The Scandinavian style is distinctive in the way the power comes mainly from the bottom hand (underhand) with a very compact power stroke. In contrast, Skagit style casting make use of both top and bottom hand more or less equally in the power stroke.

Wulff Ambush Line

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:

http://www.flyfishusa.com/lines/wulff-ambush-line.html

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:

*Updated 12 Mar 2015:

Wulff Ambush line now also comes in clear intermediate sink (Ambush Clear Head) as well as neutral intermediate sink (Ambush Neutralizer).

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

TFO BVK 3wt Switch Rod

I finally found a switch rod lower than a 4 wt to play with - the TFO BVK 3wt 10'6" Switch rod. Don't bother surfing the net looking for this rod because it is custom, or should I say semi-custom. The base for this rod is the TFO BVK 3wt with conversion kit. By adding a detachable lower grip to the set-up, I got myself an ultra lightweight Switch rod that is a real pleasure to cast and fish with. It is especially good for the juvenile peacock bass that over run some of the local ponds here. With the equally light Lamson Litespeed, it is a match made in heaven.

Wiggle Roll Cast

When fishing double-hander with intermediate sink Skagit head (custom cut), I often find myself roll casting  twice just to bring the head (and fly) up to the surface before I could commence with the main cast. Because most of my fishing is done in still water, I don't have the benefit of the current to help buoy  up the head.

I find double roll casting tiresome after a while and soon started experimenting with a different  roll technique. I finally settled on this technique that I find very workable and named it the Wiggle Roll Cast because of the wiggle I throw into the loop prior to the actual roll cast.

This roll cast is not just limited to lifting intermediate head but is also useful in lifting fast sink tip. Neither do you need to limit yourself to one wiggle. If need to, you can even throw in a double or triple wiggle to help surface the fly. In this video, I am casting a floating set up and very respectable distance can be gained with this cast as it affords a deeper and more dynamic D-Loop compared to the standard static roll cast.

Updated 22Jan2015: Here is a better version of the video in slow motion. I am casting with a TFO BVK 3wt Switch rod with a 235 grain Ambush line.