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04/01/12

fly fishing hawaii:

switch it up!

 

as many of you know i have been playing with two handed rods in our hawaiian waters for a number of years now.  first off, i must say that i am far from a spey casting expert in any way, shape, or form.  i have, however, fished enough water both here and abroad with a bunch of different rods, line combinations, and different situations to at least be comfortable with the whole two handed thang.  along this journey i have even managed to get bit a time or two.  this past week i focused my attention on exploring the role of switch rods in our local fishery and have a few thoughts about it for anyone interested.

 

the switch rod is a kind of hybrid rod bridging the gap between full on two handed or spey rods and single hand rods.  i think it was bob meiser who first started seriously designing and building switch rods but i could be wrong.  switch rods are two handed rods between 9 and 12 feet and are designed (supposedly) to be cast either single hand or with two hands.    in reality, switch rods can do both well but, as expected, not quite as nicely as rods designed specifically for single or double hand deliveries.

 

so why use a switch rod?  most fly fishers here do a combination of sight fishing and the taboo of “blind” casting.  i know there are some out there who would rather stand around all day staring at nothing or taking shots at fish at their feet rather than pitching a fly into the great blue yonder and seeing what happens (never really understood that.  but, if that is you, that’s cool and this blog is just not for you... keep on looking).  most fly fishers here sight fish when they can and blind cast when conditions dictate it (weather, high tides, etc.).  some, we won’t mention names, actually kind of like to “blind cast” and enjoy the repetitive casting, covering of water, and the suspense of not knowing what will grab your fly (as you will see later).  there are also those who just want to catch fish and the law of averages states that the longer your fly is in the water the more fish you will catch.  i think this is the group that gives blind casting the bad rap, though it really shouldn’t be that way... aren’t we all out there just to have fun however that is defined?  anyway, if you fall into one of the latter categories a switch rod can be just the ticket to good times out on the reefs.

 

in my experience, “switch” rods tend to lean more toward one style of casting than the other but most will do both adequately.  when choosing a switch rod you need to decide where your casting preference lies and what you want to do with it.  in general the longer rods between eleven and twelve feet cast better with two hands than single hand.  rods shorter than eleven feet generally cast better single hand than with two hands.  the line you use also is determined by what you intend to do with it.  overhead casting and touch an go casts (both single and double hand) is best achieved with one of those shorter head shooting lines like the rio outbound short (for overhead casting) or a scandinavian style head like the airflo scandi compact (for overhead and touch and go casts).  for sustained anchor casts, long bombs, and heavy flies, it is hard to beat the ease of a skagit set up which is my preferred straight up bombing set up.

 

we are talking switch here which in our fishery means both single and double hand, sight fishing and bombing.  although you can sight fish with skagit set ups and many “sight fished” bones have fallen to a skagit set up (i think the first bone i hooked with a skagit set up was sight fished), it is not ideal or all that much fun to me and others who have done it.

 

the ideal “switch” set up out here to me is a shorter ten and a half to eleven foot rod with an integrated scandi head (a scandi line where the running line and the head is one piece as opposed to separate head and running line attached loop to loop).  having an integrated line is important for the sight fishing part of “switch” because when sight fishing bones the head of the fly line goes in and out of the rod guides a lot.  having a loop to loop connection constantly going in and out of the guides all day is a sure pathway to insanity.  the integrated scandi set up is what i use when i’m not sure if i’m going to be bombing or sight fishing and there is a distinct possibility of doing both.

 

rod weight is also a factor.  if the area and conditions look more conducive to sight fishing and a little blind casting, i prefer a lighter weight switch rod like a five or six weight.  these lack a little in fish boosting power but have enough for most fish you'll run into here and much more fish fighting power than single hand five or six weights (remember a five or six spey or switch rod casts lines in the 250 to 400 grain weights the same weights as nine to twelve weight single hand rods). these rods won't chuck a giant fly a country mile easily but in these areas you don't really need a super long bombing cast.  if it looks like i’m fishing a mostly bombing day and area with maybe a few shots here and there at fish, i’ll go with a heavier switch rod like a 7 or 8 wt., these rods will conk a line a long ways very easily but are not the most delicate fly presenters.  so, like so many things in life, even choosing a switch rod involves trade offs.

 

this past week i put myself into a couple of sight fish/blind cast situations.  the first day i fished a sage 6119-4 tcx switch lined with a rio 6/7 switch line, a ten foot airflo poly leader, six feet of tippet and a fly.  i was planning on more blind casting than sight fishing but the gods had other plans.  i found myself standing in knee deep water on a low barely moving tide with shallow reef all around me, but hey, this thing is called a switch rod.  although 11’ 9” is on the longer side of switches, the day was clear and i could spot fish from quite a distance.  i single hand overhead casted and double hand roll casted into a couple of nice boneys then later my buddy j-rod (who was fishing a sage 8110-4 z axis switch and an 11wt. rio tropical outbound short line) and i decided to “let the big dogs eat” and went out to the edge of the reef and got into some interesting characters out there.

 

yesterday, i planned on doing more sight fishing and took out a beulah classic 10’6” switch 5/6 wt. with a 300gr. elixir scandi line, ten foot airflo poly leader and 6ft. of tippet.  this time i was at a predominantly sight fishing flat and wouldn’t you know it... no fish to be seen.  good thing i had a switch rod and i proceeded to methodically bomb the edge of the flat while keeping an eye out for fish on the flat.  i saw a total of four fish and had a shot at one out of the four which promptly gave me the finger and went on it’s way. if that is all i did the whole day that would have sucked.  instead i was able to comfortably and rhythmically work the edge of the flat while listening to some tunes... a great way to spend a day to me in itself, and on this day, made even better by a pleasant surprise from the gods.

 

so what is the advantages of a switch rod over a single hand rod.  well for sight fishing it is pretty limited.  for one you can turn over a stupid long leader with ease.  my “leader” set up varies between 16 and 20ft including the skagit tip or polyleader.  i know, i know, just relax, i can turn over a 16ft leader with a single hand rod too but can you do it when the fish is only eighteen or twenty feet away from you?  the longer rod length combined with a poly leader helps immensely in those situations.  the longer rod also helps to control and  manipulate the fly line on the water.  most “sight fishers” of bonefish probably don’t even think about this when considering presentation of a fly to a fish and granted it is not super critical as it is in trout fishing, but in some situations it can make the difference between hooking a fish and going home thinking that “they’re not biting”.  when it comes to bombing, there is no contest.  switch rods can cover way more water way easier than single hand rods and this is coming from a guy that can cover some serious water with a single hand rod pretty damn easily.  only a spey rod can probably cover more water easier (and is my choice under those conditions).  however, with the newer generations of switch rods and lines being developed for them, even that gap is closing quickly.

 

yes, an 8 or 9wt. single hand rod is still all you need to get the job done out here but for some, like me, the fun is not in just getting the job done (that can be done with a piece of string, a hook, and some bait).  for me it's all about how you get the job done... that's where the fun is.  chances are good that this blog has confused more than helped, this two handed stuff is a bit overwhelming at first. you guys all know where to find me and, although i am not an expert, i am always willing to talk two handed and share my experiences in this realm of the most awesome... sport?...hobby?...addiction?... well this most awesome thing to do while here on earth we call fly fishing.  i'll see you on the water.

 

remember this?  montana stone fly.

 

this little wrasse has never seen a stonefly nymph before but, as with all fish, it's just got to look like something worth trying to eat.

 

the one that got away.  this guy popped off the hook while i was holding the leader and fumbling around for my camera.  this is the only pic i have to remember him by.

 

this switched up guy was not so lucky and had to strike a couple of poses before continuing his day.

 

among the cast of characters j-rod and i hooked bombing was this moano or many bared goatfish.  we also got some bone grabs (and breakoffs), that odd looking wrasse, and everyones favorite... trumpet fish.

 

trevally, like this nice golden, do exist around the islands but it's tough to get on them whether bombing or sight fishing.  a few of them are caught sight fishing, but your odds are (not good) but better bombing for them.

 

pa'opa'o dos! my second golden trevally. this time on the beulah 5/6 switch.  a great day on the water made even better.  switch rods may not be for everyone but they are a definate part of my good times.

 

clay.


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