Skagit Secrets

Photo: Tom Hart/Flickr

I’ve always found the world of two-handed rods, and steelhead fishing in general, fascinating. I’ve never done it, but I’ve dabbled in trout spey a bit here in the Rockies. What I’ve been able to do, however, is read up on and learn as much as I can (without actually doing it) about two-handed casting. This recent story in Fly Fisherman Magazine by John Larison caught my eye because he talks about the need to break some of the long-established rules of fishing Skagit lines.

In particular, he dives into the details on how to more effectively fish Skagit lines in rivers where two-handed rods previously never ventured.

“Only 15 years ago, fly anglers had to pick their winter steelhead rivers with care,” Larison writes. “Because of the rods and lines available then, only those streams with a wide floodplain and a slow gradient readily accepted a swung fly. With the current wholesale adoption of compact Skagit heads, fly anglers have discovered a new world of options: heavily timbered, fast rivers in mountainous terrain–places where fish tend to be big, chrome, and aggressive.”

You can read the entire story here.