Back in September we told you about Airflo’s new Skagit Switch Heads – a potential solution to the “nobody makes a modern spey line for my switch rod” problem. Since the early version of the head that we got our hands on at IFTD, Airflo has gone through a couple more iterations. Last month we fished the production version, and we love it.
Design
We won’t re-hash everything that we’ve written in the past about the need for this line. Very briefly, we consider ‘modern’ Skagit spey lines to have a real front taper to produce reasonable turnover, and it’s only now that we’ve got lines like this in lengths that match most switch rods.
Airflo did more than just take their Skagit Compact taper and squash down, though. It turns out that the taper on a typical switch rod is significantly different from the taper on a typical spey rod – the nature of the action is different. This has a big implication on how switch heads should be designed, and Airflo has taken this into account in the design of the Skagit Switch. To be honest, we don’t quite understand all the details here, but Tom Larimer (Airflo line design guy, guide, our buddy) has a much bigger brain than we do, and he wrote up all the gory details on his blog – click here for the nitty-gritty.
How It Casts and Fishes
We spent a bunch of time casting the 510 grain Skagit Switch on a Pieroway Metal Detector 510 – that’s a 12 foot rod designed by Brian Niska for a 510 grain line.
What We Liked
- It loads up deep and easy. Even more so than with the Skagit Compact, it’s really easy to bend your rod with this head. Less effort is good.
- Small D-loops still work. If you don’t have room to fire a big D-loop behind your shoulder, not a problem – your cast might not be a laser beam, but a small or sub-par D-loop still results in a really easy cast at most reasonable fishing distances. This is the ‘big deal’ about the Skagit Switch, and the main reason you should try one.
- It works on short spey rods too. Our test rod was 12′ long – not really a switch rod. Some anglers are using this head on rods up to 13’6″ and reporting good things. Your spey rod works better with less back-cast room now – cool!
- Like Airflo’s other spey lines, it’s made of polyurethane. Our experience to date is that PU heads are pretty much indestructible, good for the life of the angler. Seriously, we haven’t worn one out yet.
What We Didn’t Like
- It’s not great for really long casts. No one line can do it all. This head is designed for short rods and tight quarters, and casts tend to fall apart a bit much past 80 feet.
Summary
Love it. Our switch rods work great now, without the need for craft projects. It doesn’t work great in mega-distance situations…but most of the time you probably shouldn’t be casting 100 feet anyhow. For day-in day-out fishing situations, with normal fishing distances and a variety of amounts of backcast room, Airflo nailed it.
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Which Skagit Switch head would you choose for the Fiberhammer ?
Hi Peter! I haven’t tried out that combo yet, but I bet a 450 or a 480 would be the ticket.
I can attest to the lines effectiveness. I got tothe first production run of the line.
Flash back to 2010. At Easter of 2010 while fishing with one of Tom Larimer’s guides I was put on a very steep & deep bank with no backcast room…I skipped an anchor and hooked my guide, first time ever, and deep, blood everywhere, had to learn the mono removal trick. My worst fishing experience ever!!!
Flash forward 1 year, early Feb 2011. Tom is my guide and puts me on the same spot even though I object strongly!!!!
Using the new line Tom insists I will be able to fish the spot. The casting was easy and most enjoyable. I actually learned a new cast. The pleasure of the accomplisment lasted for days.
Thanks Tom, Thanks Tim Rajeff.
Thanks Andrew – I’ll give it at shot 🙂
Let me add to my comment above…
1. The hook that went in Mike Duffy’s temple glance off of his sun glasses. I heard the contact and knew something not good had happened…
2. The barb had been crimped but still would not back out easily necessitating the mono pulley…
3. To all you guides that trying to figure out how to avoid getting me in the morning draw relax, since then I take a Dremel tool with a chain saw sharpening bit to all my hooks to get them as barbless as possible.
Andrew,
Thanks for the great review! For guys that just have to cast far even though they’re using a little rod, try fishing a sink tip in the 12′ to 13′ range. The longer the tip is, the more delayed the turnover will be. This will help give your loop more stability on longer casts. You’ll find it a little challenging to lift long tips with a short stick… That said, most anglers will feel very comfortable fishing 10′ Airflo Custom Cut Tips and have no problems on reasonable casts for a switch rod.
Happy Hunting!
-TL
Hi,
It was indeed a very good idea to design this new line.
Is the line used in the Rajeff video a prototype? Because it seems to sink like an intermediate, which I find a bit worrying knowing the floating issues some Airflo lines are famous for – great sinking lines though. So, how well does the line actually float?
Thanks a lot in advance for honest your answer
tight lines
Tak
Hi Tak, thanks for stopping by.
Which Rajeff video do you mean? I see if I can find out what he was fishing.
During the time that I fished the Skagit Switch, I didn’t do any side-by-side comparison with heads from other manufacturers so this is not scientific by any means – but I didn’t notice any issues at all with the line floating well. Honestly I never even thought about it, so I guess that says something!
Andrew
So because of reading the article and posts, I just picked up a Pieroway Metal Detector 510 and compact Line. I’m impressed.
I can’t believe how this rod and line benefit an experienced caster. Looking forward to booking a trip at Alaska West soon
Ryan – thanks very much for the good words. Have fun with the setup. We look forward to seeing you in Alaska!
Hey guys, I recently ordered a TFO 11′ 8wt switch, and have been doing a TON of reading trying to figure out what line set ups work best. From what I’ve found the Airflow Switch seems to be the best. Any pointers on what combos as far as running lines, and tips work best? Allot of what I’ve read has been about longer rods, and much more experienced spey casters. I have yet to delve into the two hand cast, and any and all input is welcome.
Hi Jeremy, welcome to the world of switch! Yes I would definitely go with the Airflo Skagit Switch. The Rio Medium MOW Tips would probably be a great match and give you plenty of versatility.
Since you’re getting started with the two-handed game, a running line like the Airfo Ridge line could be a great choice. Lots of us fish mono running lines but they can be a little tougher to handle when you’re starting out.
Have fun with it!
Andrew
Hi guys, I’ll soon receive an Orvis Helios 1107 switch rod, Iread that it is more a shooting head/scandi type of action rodthan a Skagyt rod; However I plan to use a skagyt head, do you think the Airflo will fit? How many grains? Do you know the rod? Any comments about it?
Thanks in advance,
Sebastian
Sorry if this message was sent more than once–having probs with my email.
Also I am quite the spey fanatic and am very interested in your opinion on this matter; some other web sites also address these questions; however, I have found that many replies are by amateur fisherman and often clearly incorrect or misleading. Whereas your answers are provided by people who are really expert fisherman. So finally here is my question please.
Can you address the limitations of using Skagit Switch heads on our 12-13ft. rods and suggest ways to overcome them?
Of course the adv are well known–e.g., short D loop, compact casting stroke, easier shotgun lifting and anchor placement, esp for short guys like me who wade deep and use shorter rods.
While some disadv such as blown anchors can be easily overcome with technique, what about problems with loop instability on longer casts of 100 ft., which can be easily made with conventional Skagit heads. Are there other ideas besides using longer sink tips as suggested by TL or longer overhangs? Does overlining help as you did with the Sage One 7126?
Sorry about the long post; I trust that you are also fishing fanatics and will understand my obsession on these tech points. Thank you for considering this question.
Kevin
Kevin, great question on switch lines vs. Skagit lines. The short answer is that – for northwest-style Skagit casting at least – I think there’s very little downside of using a shorter switch head, and these days I fish them pretty much any time I can.
I think the Switch heads work much better overall with shorter rods. They require much less back-cast room, and are a godsend with overhanging branches. Like you, I’ve had no problem at all with T-14 tips and heavy flies. I also agree that casts up to 80 or 90 feet are no problem at all.
For really long casts and really big pieces of water, a head like the Skagit Compact or Skagit Flight probably does a better job consistently getting the fly way the heck out there – but I’ve always felt like it’s really hard to fish effectively at 100+ feet anyhow, regardless of what head I’m using. I’d rather use the head that’s more fun and easier to fish for the 99% of the time that a cast up to 80 or 90 feet is long enough – and for me that’s a switch head.
I suppose that if you were fishing a really big burly rod (like a 14′ + 9 or 10 weight), a switch head would simply be too short – but I have really bad shoulders so I don’t really like fishing those rods anyhow!
Hi. I’m in the market for this line.
Trying to determine best match-up for a Redington 10′ 6″ 6 weight CPX switch rod. Seem to be some different options, ranges, out there. 390 (5/6), 420 (5/6), even 450 (6/7) seem to fall in this realm, but I’m not totally sure which direction to go. I prefer fishing larger “Intruder” style patterns and trying to get the most out of my rig without overloading it too much. With the shorter stiffer CPX, I am definitely looking to feel the load throughout the stroke, find the sweet spot, and maximize my ability to turn over larger patterns. I do see 390 as a general standard on one of the rod/line compatibility charts.
Also, any recommendations on tips, maybe MOW medium set or other?
I am currently fishing a scandi short #7 line and I am curious to find out what the skagit world (in this case, short switch variety) has to offer.
Thanks
My go-to rod for Great Lakes tribs such as the salmon river is the Z-Axis 8110. I’ve been using a 510 skagit compact and it has certainly been getting the job done. Given recommendations suggest going 30 grains lighter w/ the skagit switch, would you get the 480 skagSwitch or 510 for the 8110? This rod has some serious cahonnes, so I think the 510 may work fine even though it will be a bit heavier than the compact at that shorter length. Anyway, what do you fellas think, 510 or 480? P.S. I typically use airflo FLO tips in t-7, t-11 and t-14 models, throwing anything from green butt Blackbears size 6, to large hobo-Spey intruders.
Regards,
Stephen V.