RIO Skagit iShort

[reddie]

Evening lads. Searched the forum for the above line and there has been no mention of it. Absolutely looks the bees knees for early season/high water fishing with a switch rod. I have an 8 weight rod meaning I should opt for the 575 grain line which will chuck a heavy T-14 Mow tip. This will cover 99% of the spring and high water conditions I will fish. The ishort Skagit line comes with an intermediate front section, ideal for a slow swing. Has anyone got any experience with this line?? Will like yer views on it before purchasing. Cheers, Jason.

 

[andy345]

I've got the skagit short floating but not the intermediate version, yes it has more lifting power, but in my opinion doesn't go out as neatly as my regular flights, there's about 3 feet in lefty between my short and the regular and in most instances the regular is just fine

 

[dexterbuchanan1]

Reddie which switch rod do you intend putting this on? i have a switch #7/8 and wouldn't put a 575gr head anywhere near it!!!

 

[reddie]

Reddie which switch rod do you intend putting this on? i have a switch #7/8 and wouldn't put a 575gr head anywhere near it!!!

Thanks for replies guys.

Dexterbuchanan1; this is exactly where I was hoping someone would come in. The RIO website states that I should use the Max Short line head weighing 575 grain for my 8 weight rod which is less than 12 foot long.

Skagit Max - RIO Products

I have the Airflo Airtec Switch Rod, which is 11 foot 3. What do you have?

 

[dexterbuchanan1]

Thanks for replies guys.

Dexterbuchanan1; this is exactly where I was hoping someone would come in. The RIO website states that I should use the Max Short line head weighing 575 grain for my 8 weight rod which is less than 12 foot long.

Skagit Max - RIO Products

I have the Airflo Airtec Switch Rod, which is 11 foot 3. What do you have?

I have the shaky oracle switch exp #7/8 ,I use compact heads between 21g and 24g,if i wanted a skagit for this i would be looking at 360/390gr approx

 

[andy345]

I'm guessing if you followed the Rio website you answered a series of questions perhaps picking inexperienced as one of your choices? If that was the case then you'll probably find it's picked a heavier line by default, I went down the same route with mine, by marking experienced the recommended line weight was lower coming out at 525 for my method 11'9 8 weight, if any of your friends have these lines it's worth asking to borrow one for a cast before spending your hard earned...

 

[Rennie]

reddie- no, no, noooooo,not on that rod!.Its a blindingly super rod(I've the 6 weight version) and I think they're rated for trout lines not Salmon lines.
I got my 6 weight with the Airflo 40+ 7 weight line and it cast's perfect.I bought a Rage 450g line for it on recommendation and its wayyyy tooooo heavy.
I've weighed the 40+ head and it comes in at 284 grains which is 18.5 grams, so were I to go for any other Shooting head/Skagit it would need to be at that weight!.
Hold on a while and I'll find out a recommendation for you, will get back to you in a moment or two.
Pedro.

 

[Rennie]

Right reddie,ere we go, your 8 weight Airtec should handle a 9 weight Trout 40+ just fine which comes in at 355 grain or 23.5 gram. if you'd rather the 8 weight thats 323 grains or 21 grams.
These are Airflo's specs for the lines.
I beleive that will be a good starting point for you,the skagit you've mentioned will be far too heavy for the rod!.
If you've already got a line that you're using that works fine,use it as a guide in buying a Skagit.
Hope that helps,Pedro.

 

[reddie]

I'm guessing if you followed the Rio website you answered a series of questions perhaps picking inexperienced as one of your choices? If that was the case then you'll probably find it's picked a heavier line by default, I went down the same route with mine, by marking experienced the recommended line weight was lower coming out at 525 for my method 11'9 8 weight, if any of your friends have these lines it's worth asking to borrow one for a cast before spending your hard earned...

Hi Andy,
I didn't use the line selector, only the options given for the fly line on the link I pasted. However, I have just tried the line selector tool now, using Guideline Exceed 11" 8 weight as I read that they were similar to the Airflo, and for experienced you get 525 grain and novice you get 575 grain...

 

[reddie]

Right reddie,ere we go, your 8 weight Airtec should handle a 9 weight Trout 40+ just fine which comes in at 355 grain or 23.5 gram. if you'd rather the 8 weight thats 323 grains or 21 grams.
These are Airflo's specs for the lines.
I beleive that will be a good starting point for you,the skagit you've mentioned will be far too heavy for the rod!.
If you've already got a line that you're using that works fine,use it as a guide in buying a Skagit.
Hope that helps,Pedro.

Rennie,
Thank you for your great and detailed replies. I have the RIO Scandi Short Versitip for my 8 weight and I couldn't ask for a better casting/fishing set up. This weighs 485 grains, a whole 130 grains heavier than the 9 weight trout 40+ you have mentioned. By reading other various articles, I could probably expect the rod to throw a Skagit between the 525-575 grain mark. Fine tuning line selection is never easy eh!?

 

[butler]

Evening lads. Searched the forum for the above line and there has been no mention of it. Absolutely looks the bees knees for early season/high water fishing with a switch rod. I have an 8 weight rod meaning I should opt for the 575 grain line which will chuck a heavy T-14 Mow tip. This will cover 99% of the spring and high water conditions I will fish. The ishort Skagit line comes with an intermediate front section, ideal for a slow swing. Has anyone got any experience with this line?? Will like yer views on it before purchasing. Cheers, Jason.

I have a sage method 7 weight with a 500 grain iflight on it. I use t14 imow tips. It's a dream machine.

 

[reddie]

Hey lads,

Just to update anyone interested in this rod and line pairing...I bought the 575 grain and gave it a wiggle up on the lake with 10ft of t14 attached. Absolutely delighted with how it shot out!! Can't wait to fish it on the river and reckon I've a very good set up for high water/cold conditions now.

 

[Wyeman]

Hey lads,

Just to update anyone interested in this rod and line pairing...I bought the 575 grain and gave it a wiggle up on the lake with 10ft of t14 attached. Absolutely delighted with how it shot out!! Can't wait to fish it on the river and reckon I've a very good set up for high water/cold conditions now.

Reddie
I use the Rio Skagit IFlight all the time and find it works really well in fast deep or shallow water, summer or winter, slows the swinging line down beautifully, only place it struggles is in narrow rivers with poor flows.