Micro Skagit - The "Onion Ring Cast".....no seriously the "Snap C" Skagit Cast. Performed with Micro Skagit Flyfishing Gear. A film by Johannes Arlt / www.johannesarlt.com performed by: Silja Longhurst- IFFF Certified Casting Instructor
Just finished a guided trip in Colorado, and the guide was blown away how efficient and effective my micro skagit and 3wt switch rod was. Micro skagit is to me a swiss army knife of rods
Wonderful video you have inspired me to purchase the exact same setup that you are using. Many of the streams in Northern New Mexico in the US (near Taos & Santa Fe)....are somewhat similar to the stream that you are fishing in Germany. Your casting is as beautiful as the environment in which you are fishing which is magnificent!
What a great instructional video! Nicely filmed, focused, wonderful instruction, super casting. One point I think is important that she didn't mention, and it appears to be an important point when reviewingthis video, is that when the C cast is started (to anchor the line), start the tip movement to the shoulder over which you intend to cast. For example, when she cast off her left shoulder, the tip and the C was formed starting to her left, and the reverse when casting over her right shoulder.
Hello Richard. Glad you like it:-D Please keep in mind that this is just a short 3 minute instructional clip/teaser and not all aspects of the cast can be highlighted. However, if more time was given it would surely be mentioned:-) Tight lines
Thanks for that wonderful lesson and very pleasurable video to watch. On you rod, I think that particular Echo is no longer made and they have moved onto the so called river glass series with a 4wt in 7’6”. Do you have any opinion on how that new rod compares to the one in your video for this same kind of small water setup with commando configuration?....thanks, David
fivearmoctopus its in N. Germany, not far from Hamburg. We don't issue day tickets but if you're in the area drop me a message and perhaps we can organise something.
fivearmoctopus sorry I didn't see it, I just had a look and can't find it in spam either. Could you please send a mail to sales(at)balticflyfisher. com Stuart 👋
Great video, very nicely shows what can be done in real stream situations and opens the mind up as to what can be done with the roll! Cant wait to go to and try some. Thanks. Beautiful stream BTW and a quick question, do you think braided/furled leaders would work OK as they seem to 'grip' the water quite well.
Nick Reeves I haven't used one for years, but if a floating poly works (you just have to keep the power down) then I reckon a braided leader will work as well, if not better... 👋
Skagithead+sinkTIP ... then you 3-5 feet of straight 10- 12 pound test for a streamer,swung fly rig,, ,, if your using a floating tip to fish floating bugs then you could use a short tapered leader but 5 feet of straight stiff (8-12 pounds) mono be fine ...... In general skagit heads aren't like scandi heads or traditional lines where need tapered leaders...... the lines have lots of mass and sustained achor casts draw out maximum power. the leader having taper doesn't help unless your using non skagit casts
Hi Mark. The head should be outside your rod tip. It is always easier if the weight of a line is outside the rod tip. Depending how experienced you are fishing with shootingheads, you can have a little "overhang" i.e. let a little of your shootingline (here it is mono/ OPST Lazar) hang out of your rod tip too. This will shoot even more aggressive. ;-) have fun
HI. Yes, this is a waterborne anchor cast. These casts are used mainly for swinging wet flies or streamers. However, if you have an unsinkable foam fly, it works. :-)
was chopping double taper heads down for the shooting heads and using amnesia for the shooting line years ago on the reservoirs nothing new and the old way is far cheaper
Hi Robert. I am living in Denmark and have been fishing with homemade shootingheads and mono ever since I started fishing for seatrout at the coast. Who said it is new? the approach is new....using 4m shootingheads in little streams. I think it is a good peace of tackle for those fishermen and women who don't like cutting up their lines and for those who don't have time for it. Tight lines Silja
Hi Nial. No in this case I don't want to snap. When casting these short skagit heads (here 175grain) one has to be careful with the power approach. The setup is not as delicate as a WF ore DT line and just needs a slight effort to snap the fly towards you. Generally speaking Skagit needs less effort/power to get the job done. And...if you want to perform Skagit delicate use less power. Skagit can be so smooth ;-) Tight lines
The OPST commando heads vary in length from 3.7m to 5.49m depending on weight. The 175gr/11.3g commando is perfect for a #4 weight and it is 3.7m long. //Stuart
Lovely video, you really need to drop the tip at the end of the C though. People watching this will copy you and get their fly caught in the end of the rod a lot.
Hello Fishingguide. Thanks for your comment. Please have in mind the MicroSkagit head is just about 4m long. By the time I have ended my C the head has passed the rodtip. I do agree though that it is important to lower the rodtip after when casting longer lines.
Hi Rick. It all depends on the water and the fishing pressure. I have great success using the Opst Commando in this stream and others. But I must say the streams I fish have a low fishing impact.
what's on the terminal end? is there a polyleader or t-tip? I 'm having difficulties with lining OPST head for low water conditions. T-tip is too heavy, but plain tapered mono leader doesnt transfer power to the fly, and there is abrupt "hinge" when the leader unrolls
awaken77 in a couple of weeks the 5ft opst tips will be available and we used some prototypes in the film but I have found that a 5ft poly leader (fast sink or heavier) works OK. //Stuart
5ft polyleaders are available in 7 densities from AirFlo: float, hover, intermediate, slow sink, fast sink, super fast sink, extra super fast sink. The new OPST 5ft tips will be available as: S2, S4, and S6.
If your OPST command head is heavy enough I would use the RIO MOW or iMOW tips. They are uniform weight and length and come in different configurations for fishing different depths. Light series is equivalent weight to 10 ft T-8 (80 grains), Medium = 10 ft T-11 (110 grains), Heavy = 10 ft T-14 (140 grains). I weighed the medium series and they were all within 110 - 120 grains. Personally I've found if you get the full (10 ft) intermediate and the 5/5 iMOW along with a full tip (10 or 12 ft T-8/11/14) you are set for most conditions. If your command head is really light you could go with poly leaders, but try to match the weight to whatever T tips you use in normal water conditions. Buying a small scale has been awesome for getting tips dialed in. Highly recommend this one on Amazon: American Weigh Digital Scale, 100g [0.01g sensitivity]. I assume your local fly shop would have one and could weigh poly leaders to help you get the right one. Also RIO's intermediate In-touch sink tips might work as they have published grain weights. If you're used to casting a 10 ft T tip and switch to a 5 ft poly leader it will take time to adjust. Best advice is to keep your tip lengths and weights as similar as possible. My 2 cents.
BalticFlyFisher ok.. im from malaysia.. hard to see someone used skagit here.. even fly is hard to see.. even nearest fly shop from my town is about 300km.. thank you very much.. if my fly rod is weight5 9ft can you suggest shooting line weight and length??
In questo caso(fiume piccolo)questa tecnica e' inutile....ma tu sei carina e brava:):):).Puoi ottenere lo stesso effetto con coda normale no micro skagit
@@balticflyfisher6188 I just got my opst head. And. I think it's fun. But. I think it can scare fish away with all the splashing around, if you know what I men. I think the reason that we wear waders is not just to keep dry and warm but to get into position to present the fly. And that means stealth. If you see my point.
@@davidmusselwhite547 certainly in low water conditions, under those conditions if you put a floating tip up front, reduce the power and stop high you can actually cast with an absolute minimum of disturbance...
The ankering in the water is a problem tho with this kind of casting, that line trashing through the surface will easily scare a lot of fish in low water conditions
Spooky trout in small rivers will love all that disturbance made on the water. I am sorry but that is a lot of nonsense. Use a small rod and cast short distances.
Hi Scott. This clip has been filmed on our club water south of Hamburg-Germany. The stream/river populates wild brown trout only and the river is clearly not over fished. I have been fishing Micro Skagit all last season. It is a perfect technique for little overgrown streams where casting is difficult. Perfect for wetfly and streamer fishing and ....dryfly with foam flies. So far no problem in spooking the fish. Regarding tackle... I actually mention at the end of the film that I am using a 7'4#4 ECHO Glass rod. Sure I can go even down to a #3 but a #4 is appropriate. Tight lines
