Over the last week or so I have been putting in some practice on a couple of our bigger local waters that are still open for fishing in the lower South Island of New Zealand with a 11′ 8 wt Airflo Switch rod and a skagit head.
Now this is new to me as I have been a single hander rod man for all my fly fishing and I have a fair bit of learning to do. I am starting to get the hang of it and better still have hooked and landed some fish with this system. It really just goes to show there are always things you can learn in the world of fly fishing. Knowing how to use different gear in the right situation can open up a lot of water and fly fishing opportunities. Being prepared to take the plunge and look like a bit of a knob as you learn should not deter anyone as the results will pay dividends – more fishing and more catching of fish.
I am looking forward to putting this gear to the test in the summer in certain waters down my way where the water is big, back casts are limited and large NZ trout reside. Now is a good time for me to get the hard yards in and also have a bit of fun along the way.
Three things I have done that have helped me with this gear is spend a bit of time time on You Tube watching videos of masters of the skagit and spey casting, practicing on the grass and getting a colleague of mine who is a casting instructor to give me a bit of feed back on my casting while we have been fishing together. Now I know not all of you have friends who are casting instructors but they are very valuable and I would thoroughly recommend spending a small amount of money and time to do a session with one. It may not be on spey/skagit casting but on other elements of casting that you will be able to practice and the next time you hit the water you won’t be practicing you will be fishing with those finely tuned skills you have developed. End result is more time fishing effectively which usually translates to more hooks ups.