Rod Review - TFO Deer Creek Switch 8110-4

First off I will answer the question, What is a switch rod? "Switch Rods" are multi-task fly rods designed to allow a variety of both one handed and two handed casting options.

Temple Fork Outfitters - Deer Creek Series Switch Rod. This switch rod has a simple design by Bob Meiser and Mike Kinney. The rod is rated as an 8wt and for 400-600 grains and is 11 feet in length.  It's a deep cobalt blue blank with blue & copper wraps.  The handle is spot on in length for the 11' rod and looks great too.  The rod is light and a pleasure to cast all day long.

I have mine loaded with a 600 Rio Skagit cut back to 24' (brings down to about 535 grains).  Using 10' tips of T-8 up to T-14.  If you keep your stroke really tight, this setup will sing.  For Dryline swinging, I use a Delta Spey 7/8 which casts really nice, you just need to find the right loading point for your casting stroke on the head, for me a few into the head is perfect.


The price point of this rod is $349.95 and accompanied by the "No Fault" warranty, in my book it’s as good as gold, trust me I know.  I broke the tip off in the truck door, sent the rod back with $25 on a Thursday and had it back in 5 working days.
 
TFO Line Recommendations:

Scandi: Rio AFS 7/8
Skagit: Airflo Skagit Compact 450/480 & Tips to +-130 grains
Short belly Spey: Delta 6/7

This is a great rod for the Salmon River, it's short enough to sneak into small spots when the river is crowded and swing thru pockets, yet powerfull enough to make a 80' cast if needed.

Skagit Master Forum

Ed, Scott, Mike and crew from the Skagit Master have added a forum along with a blog to the Skagit Master site, Check it out and get your Skagit fix.

Scott Howell Ties a Signature Intruder in less then 2 minutes

Did you catch all that???

Managing Running Line - Simple Tips

When using Skagit spey lines – short, heavy heads connected to a running line of one type or another – casting far means stripping off and managing 40' - 70' of running line.

Managing your running line well helps prevent tangles and allows for easier long casts. Here are a few tips to help with tangle-free and long casts. 

Make Loops in Descending Size - When making long casts you need to be able to hold multiple loops on line - you wont be able to cast far with 45' of line in a downstream loop in the current. On a cast that shoots 7 strips of line, count 4 strips, hold a loop, count 3 strips, hold a loop, and then make a cast. Holding a couple of the same length is OK, but for some reason that our brains are too small to figure out, loops of the same size tend to tangle.

Mono Running lines - Berkley 25lb - 40lb mono works very well, but the downside it is very slippery when wet. Try pinching the mono running line under your thumb on the top of the cork instead of under with your fingers, I found this works great (thanks Ed).  On the Salmon River during those guide freezing days mono running line saves the day when stripping in line all day.

Well, we've been blessed with water....LOTS of it. Here's a shot of the Altmar bridge. Discharge hit 4500cfs, enough water to cause change throughout the river. Especially in gravel areas. Hopefully we see some monster log jams this fall because of it! The Salmon doesn't have enough fishy log jams anyways!