Switch Rod for Trout | Swinging Flies in Alaska

Swinging for Trout - Sly Rig — Variations of Sly’s Bleeding Tube Sculpin. Photo: Jordan Sly

Jordan Sly is back today, this time with another information-packed post for our Expert Rig series.

Jordan Sly’s Trout Swinging Rig

Here at Alaska West our river is just asking to have a fly swung through the water column. Swinging flies for trout is not only fun, but it is also often very effective and can produce very large “steelhead like” rainbows. It doesn’t have the visual excitement of sight fishing for bows with a mouse in that schnittle of a side channel, but it is fun to bomb a big sculpin out there with minimal effort and let it swing.

Be sure to hold on because you just might get crushed.

The Summary

Echo Dec Hogan 4119-4
Ross CLA #4
Airflo 20 pound Ridge running line
Airflo Compact Skagit 360, Airflo Rage 330, and Airflo Scandi 300

The Detail

200 yards of orange 20 pound dacron tied to the spool with an arbor knot. “I add a bimini twist to the running line end to create a loop.”
Running line attached to the backing with a loop-to-loop connection.
Head connected to the running line with a loop-to-loop connection with the factory loops.
Six to eight feet of T-8 connected to the Skagit head with a whip finished loop and two feet of 15 lbs Maxima Ultragreen as tippet, or Airflo Polyleaders connected to the Rage or Scandi.
Fly of choice is Sly’s Bleeding Tube Sculpin with a size 6 Gamakatsu B10S pulled into a little section of junction tubing so the hook point rides up.

The Commentary

“This setup is very versatile to allow for different conditions, depths, presentations, and flies.”

“For the most part I use the Skagit head and T-8 combo to dredge the depths. I create a loop on the head end of the tip by doubling it on itself, and then wrapping some gel spun tying thread over the top. I finish it by adding a little UV Knot Sense to help lock the thread in place and add a gentle taper. On the other end of the tip I strip the coating off to expose the core. I then tie a double surgeon’s loop in the core of the tip and coat the knot with UV Knot Sense. I connect my tippet to this loop with a loop-to-loop connection by tying a perfection loop in the tippet. This setup casts well, and allows me to get deep pretty fast.”

“If I want to bring the fly up in the water column I will switch to the Rage head and a polyleader. I also use the Rage combined with a floating polyleader if I want to swing a mouse pattern.”

“It isn’t often I bring the Scandi out, but I have a couple small sculpins that are a blast to cast with a floating or slow sinking polyleader when the wind dies down. On the tips of all my polyleaders I tie a perfection loop and I connect the tippet using a loop-to-loop connection.”