Switch Rods ?

[UC Steve]

Bob, I've been practicing Trout Spey for about 25 years & write the Trout Spey column for 'Swing The Fly' magazine, so have been fortunate, being able to try a lot of rods & lines.

Sure, you should be able to fish as small a fly as you like with the #3, assuming you mean 3 weight Spey, a rod with a grain window of about 230-350 grains (based on a cross-section of makes), a 10wt AFTMA line about the center of the grain window. For light Spey in that class, & if you plan to fish a lot of wee softies, I'd suggest an integrated floating line. Presents better & without irritating loop connections bumping through the guides while stripping. In rods of this light a class, the difference in casting distance between a shooting head & integrated line is negligible, & a well-matched integrated line will cast better than an ill-conceived head system. A 9wt DT might be a good choice. The 9wt DT functions like a long-belly Spey, the heavier running line creating tension on the anchor & weight in the D. The DT can be 'choked' shorter or longer for a cast, offering some versatility -- & will turn over short sink tips up to about 7', plenty ample to meet the kind of water appropriate to that class of rod. Very light sinking poly leaders can be cut from the tapered or thinner running sections of old sinking lines. But for wee spiders, nothing presents better than a DT.

But it's good to have more than one line. Another alternative would be an integrated WF floating line, a little more aggressive to turn over larger flies/streamers. Wulff Triangle Taper is a good one, but there are a lot of good ones in this category. And these will carry sink-tips/poly-leaders a bit better than the DT. The OPST Smooth is a good one, designed to be fished with interchangeable tips.

Not much difference between a Skagit & a Scandi, the Skagit a more shorter & aggressive taper designed to carry heavy sink-tips, while the Scandi is longer, designed to be fished in the upper water column, though these will carry short sink-tips. The Scandi is slower & more forgiving to cast &, I think, a better choice for those just breaking into two-hand casting.

And yes, you can attach a float-tip to your Skagit. It is made to carry one & I'd recommend it. Can be cut from a tapered section or running section of an old floating line. Don't know how long your Skagit is, but keep it to the 3-rod-lengths rule for rods under 13' when choosing tips. About 30', altogether, is right for a floating head.

You might have some suitable integrated lines around to try on the #3.

Hope any of this helps.

[redietz]

Thanks. That's lot of info to absorb.

[UC Steve]

Thanks. That's lot of info to absorb.

You asked. And I wasn't too busy at the moment.

[letumgo]

Thanks Professor Steve.

[UC Steve]

Thanks Professor Steve.

Ah gawd.

[redietz]

I do have a question about your recommendation about DT line weight. Yes, a 3 spey, and the recommended weight of a skagit head is 230-250 grains, but the recommended scandi head weight is 200-225 grains (it's conveniently written right on the rod) which would be more of an 8 weight, and I've had the recommendation from a Rio rep that if I wanted to use a standard line, to just go up three sizes from nominal weight, making a it 6 weight. It overhand casts a 6 weight very nicely in the yard, but I haven't actually tried using it on the water. It makes sense to me that the scandi head recommendation is lightly than the skagit recommendation (since the anchor will probably be longer, so that the rod loads with less line weight.) Your recommendation of a 9 weight seems a bit heavy, though.

I do own an 8 weight, so I may try that out. As I say it casts a 6 weight overhead nicely, but it's hard to judge how well the snap-T works with that weight when I'm in the yard. (Although I believe a single spey would be a more appropriate cast with a DT anyway.)

[UC Steve]

Bob, keep in mind that if you purchase a Skagit or Scandi, those lines are designed to be used with tips weighing from 20 to 90 grains, depending on type & length. One of these weighing 180-200 grains would be about right, considering you'll add more weight with a tip. I allow 50 grains for the tip. The most common mistake I see people make is buying a Skagit head the exact weight recommended for the rod, then when a 60 grain poly leader is added, the line is too heavy.

There's quite a bit of variation among brands, so the window I gave for a #3 is a mean. Still, the line weights you mentioned fall in that window. The 8wt @ 210 grains is very close, &the 9wt @ 240 grains is right there. It takes a lot less weight to load a rod with a double-hand, overhead (switch) cast than it does with an anchor-point cast, so yeah, the 6wt probably works okay overhead casting. A 7wt or 8wt might work as well. An 8 or 9wt DT would give you the option of going either way, as the line can be choked shorter to lighten it for an overhead cast.

Try the 8wt DT on it & go from there.