TFO Deer Creek 4 wt Review

Recently I had a visitor to my blog site asking about the TFO Deer Creek #4 switch rod. That got me thinking...why have I not done a review on this rod. I had this rod for the longest time and was my favorite workhorse before my Sage ONE switch #4 came along. I bought this rod because I like how soft it is..thinking that it would be perfect for the 1-2 lb Peacock bass in our reservoir. Back in 2009, there were no switch rod quite as limber as the DC#4. I paired this rod with a 235 grain Ambush line and was very happy with it. It cast really sweet and easy, flexing low into the butt and I was catching lots of fish with it.

After a while, I realized that this rod has great potential. TFO made this rod with Kevlar in its matrix and it is an extremely strong and tough rod. Sure, it is not as light as the Sage ONE, neither does it have the fast high modulus graphite response, but it is a very very good rod for the money. I have since landed many big fish with this rod and I have no hesitation using this rod on 20+ lb fish. I also like how versatile this rod is in terms of grain window. It can handle a very wide grain window of 200 - 400 grain. When I know I am fishing for smaller fish with small flies, I will use my 235 grain Ambush. When I have to cast bigger flies to target bigger fish, I will pair it with my 350 grain Ambush. I have a fishing buddy who even tried 450 grain on this rod and he says it still cast good.

I like it that this rod never fails me. It is a tough workhorse. Fish big or small, it will handle. Nowadays, I often bring it along on my trip to back up my Sage ONE 4116. This rod is a lot more limber than the ONE 4116 and will give a healthy bend when into one to two pounders. In comparison ONE 4116 feels a bit over kill for fishes that size.

Although limber, this rod is no push-over. There are plenty of reserve deep down in the blank. When into big fish, you won't feel the need to baby the rod because it is very tough at the butt. I think that is where all the Kevlar fiber is.

So for those considering a 4wt switch, and if the budget is right, this is the rod I would recommend. I feel that it is a better rod than the more recent Echo and Redington offering of the same price range. It has a lighter swing weight, very sweet casting and tough.

Spey Fishing British Columbia

Another beautiful slow motion Spey casting and fishing video done by Simms. Sharing for all to enjoy.

In Search of the Grab - Steelhead fishing Skagit style

Here is a beautiful video by Simms that I thought I should share. Beautiful slow motion Skagit casting for Steelhead in late fall Oregon.

Saltwater Fly Fishing with Double Hand Rod

This is my third consecutive year flats fishing in Maldives with Switch rod using Spey techniques. I must say I have really grown fond of Spey style fly fishing in the salt and probably would not be going back to using single hand rod any time soon ;-)

Switch rod is really a wonderful invention and development in fly fishing. Paired with modern short head Spey line, it is just an amazingly efficient fishing and fly delivery tool. Pre Switch rod and mini Spey era, I would be ripping my arm off, hauling and battling wind and crazy projectile like  Clousers, trying to reach the distance. Doing that whole day for eight consecutive days can really put serious strain on arms and shoulders. With Switch rod, this problem melts away.

From the perspective of battling fish, Switch rod truly excel in my opinion. The 11+ feet length of the rod makes fighting smallish fish sensational as it amplifies every tug and struggle, giving the fish leverage advantage. On the other hand when hooked onto a monster, the butt strength of the Switch rod kicks in, complemented with high fore grip, provide superb efficiency for the battle.

During this trip, I used my trusty Sage ONE 4wt switch throughout. This rod never fail to amaze me with its versatility. Paired with Lamson Speedster 3.5 and the Wulff Ambush clear head 350 grain, It handled everything from spunky Spangled Emperor to Giant Trevally with aplomb.

There was a single day that I did switched over to my brand new Sage ONE Switch 6 wt but that rod broke while casting... big disappointment. Paired with 400 grain SA Skagit Extreme, it was performing really well earlier in the day but somehow folded near the butt in the afternoon while casting. Fortunately I could continue fishing with my buddy's Sage ONE Switch 5wt and that is another  jewel of a rod. Paired with Wulff Ambush 400 grain, the setup zips through wind with ease and was a real pleasure to cast.

This year was a great year in Maldives for clocking up mileage for my Sage ONE 4116 and Lamson Speedster 3.5. Lots of good size Trevally were caught this year including a 22 lb GT. The 4wt setup performed flawlessly each time and this gave me great confidence and satisfaction.

I have not given my Lamson Speedster reel much of a review but this reel deserves more than a passing  mention. It is extremely light for a super large arbor reel and balance nicely with the ONE 4wt. The sealed drag is easy to maintain and is consistently smooth with no start-up whatsoever. This year, the Speedster's drag was put to a real test when it was squeezed tight to stop the charge of a 22lb GT. I am  really impressed that it managed to put the brakes on the GT without palming. I am sure the smoothness of the drag also plays a crucial role in preventing the break off of the 16lb leader. Kudos to Lamson!

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.

Skagit Casting Olympic Peninsula

Click on the photo to go to the Youtube video

Could not resist sharing this. Mesmerizing slow motion video on Skagit casting and fishing in the Olympic Peninsula. Beautifully done video. Beautiful place.

Demystifying Scandi and Skagit Shooting Heads

Click this Video Link for part 1 of the video

For those who are still confused as to what Spey shooting heads they should be using, Scandi or Skagit, here is a good video demystifying the issue. Airflo lines are used as an example but this video clarify how line design impact the casting style. A bit lengthy but good to sit through if you have the time :)

In part 2 of the video, the presenter talked about how to choose the right weight line for your rod and why Scandi and Skagit are weigh differently for the same rod. Another important thing to note is that in Scandi or Skagit system, the polyleader (Airflo) or versileader(RIO) and the sink tip grain weight are not taken into consideration in the total grain weight to load the rod.

Choosing the right fly line for Switch rods

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.

*18 Jun 2015 update:
Here is a good article by Gorge Fly Shop on the various options of line for Trout Spey -
http://www.gorgeflyshops.blogspot.jp/2015/04/trout-spey-lines-no-perfect-answer.html

Fishing Fast Sinking Line with Double Hand Rod

On a recent trip to fish for jungle Perch (Sebarau) in the Malaysian jungle, I was advised by my good friend Nick to fish deep using fast sinking line casting split tail Clousers. And so a few weeks before the trip I dug out my old trusty BIIMx 6wt single hander, blew off the dust and started practicing to get back some form.

It has been a long while since I casted a single hander. Of late, I have been fishing exclusively with two hand rods and I thought it might be prudent to practice single hand casting before the trip. I paired the rod with a Albright XXT fast sink line and started zipping away. Before long it struck me.... single hand casting with fast sink line is just no fun. Unlike casting a floating or intermediate line, the finesse is not there. It's a chuck and duck affair.

My mind started drifting back to my double hand rod again. I kept thinking if only I could make fast sinking line work with a double hander. So I started tinkering ....set in my mind was this fast sinking Skagit head. Fast sink lines are notoriously hard to Spey cast because they stick to the water like glue and is hard to extract on the sweep. Undeterred, I chugged away with a formula in mind.

Digging through my old fly lines, I found an Albright XXT 350 grain 25ft shooting head (6-7 ips) that hardly see daylight. I knew 350 grain load my Sage ONE 4wt switch rod well and so that line gets to go under the knife. First, I snipped off the running line.... never quite like that sticky running line. Then to create an aggressive taper, I folded the rear 5ft of the body back to itself and secured the whole length with 50lb hollow core braid. That effectively shortened the head to 20 ft. Then to the front end, I attached a 7ips RIO 10ft versileader and the rear end loop-to-loop to my favorite running line.

As it turned out, this contraption way exceeded my expectation. I had 4 days of fishing from a boat chasing jungle Perch and this line roll cast like a champ. I was easily covering 80+ ft with roll cast and 100 ft cast with a Perry poke is easy. In fact I find that it roll cast farther than some of my Ambush line. Maybe because this fast sink line cuts through the wind like butter. The only adjustment I had to make when doing Perry poke is to do the speed poke. This photo below shows me casting from the front end of the boat.

The diagram below shows how I constructed the fast sink Skagit head from a 25 ft fast sink shooting line meant for single hander. Alternatively the folded segment can be secured by fusing/welding them together under heat and shrink tube. You can refer to the this Youtube video on how to do that.

Here is another good size jungle perch caught in Khao Sok, Thailand using fast sinking Skagit head.

**16 Jul 2015 update:
RIO has since come out with a RIO Scandi Body S4 that is fairly fast sinking. I have tested this line and it is good for both Skagit and Scandi casting. You can find my review of this line here <RIO Scandi S4 Review>

Fishing with Ultralight Switch Rod

I have been advocating ultralight switch rod since 2010 so when I did a web survey recently on 3wt switch rods, I was pleasantly surprised to see 3wt Switch offering by Echo and Mystic Rods. Echo came out with a new 3wt 10'6" SR Switch rod and Mystic has a 3wt M-series Switch rod at 11'3". Those interested can check out the Mystic 3wt review at 2handedtrout blog.

** May 2014 update: Here is another review of the Mystic 3wt Switch

** Feb 2015 update: Winston now has a 3wt Microspey rod and Echo has a 3wt Echo Glass Switch rod

** Aug 2015 update: Sage now has a 2wt & 3wt Sage ONE Trout Spey 

Being the adventurous pioneering sort, I was one of the very few who dabbled in a 3wt Switch rod in the early days. Back in 2010, there were non in the market and I had to fiddle around to get a set up working. When TFO came up with the BVK series of 10 ft Czech nymphing rod in 2011, I jumped at the opportunity. I took a 10ft BVK 3wt and converted it to a Switch rod by adding a 6" removable bottom handle making it a total of 10'6". This outfit gave me great pleasure when going after smallish fish in my local waters. This early blog post shows me taking my new toy out for a swing.

I started out this rod with a 235 grain Ambush line but found it a bit too heavy. Subsequently, I custom made an intermediate sink Skagit line for this rod by splicing 12 ft belly of an old Hardy type 2 line (approx 140 grain) to the tip 18ft section of 4wt SA Stillwater line. This turned out to be a great set-up for smallish Peacock bass and Tarpon.

Fast forward to 2013 and this rod has since seen great action with fish big and small. I found new respect for this rod recently when I went salt water pond fishing with it on 8lb tippet. Typically, a Barra will rub through the tippet in no time but this is when the Czech nymphing pedigree of this rod really shines. The forgiving tip really helps cushion and protect the tippet even when badly abraded. As long as you have a smooth drag and let the rod and reel combo do its magic, big fish can be landed in good time. Photos below show some of the fishes I successfully landed with this rod on light tippet.

I am also very impress with the butt power of this rod. When need be, and if the tippet strength allow, you can really yank the fish in, capitalizing on the butt power. So this rod is no longer a small fish rod in my book. I now have great confidence in this rod having tackle numerous big fish on it, including a Giant Trevally.

The key to really having fun with this rod is to keep the fly smallish and manageable. Surf candies, Charlies and small Clousers are very manageable with this rod. In case you need to cast heavier fly, this rod can single hand cast very well too as long as the line is not too heavy. My 140 grain line works great as a shooting head when single hand casting.

Here is a nice video of Ed Ward casting with a micro Skagit set up....essentially a 4/5 wt single hand rod converted to a double hand....great fun.

Choosing the Ideal Spey Line

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.

http://www.americanflyfishing.com/retail/common/community/article.asp?id=568&store_id=999&journal_store_id=999

For those who are still not sure on whether to choose Skagit or Scandi heads, here  is an article by Whitney Gould on Skagit vs Scandi heads.

http://www.deneki.com/2013/05/skagit-vs-scandi-heads-and-keeping-it-simple/

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.