Skagit Casting

The Skagit cast was originally conceived on the Skagit River in Washington State, and therefore the Skagit line (as it is now called) was designed for delivering and presenting heavy flies to those elusive deep lying fish (originally Steelhead’s) which often proved difficult to catch with conventional lines.

These lines are basically short heavy heads which are generally made up of a section of floating line, incorporating anything from T-8 to T-17 (very fast sinking line) at the tip to complete it’s length and can be used to good effect when fishing for Salmon in larger, deeper, rivers, both at home and abroad, as well as being particularly useful in extreme temperatures at both ends of the scale.

The T scale refers to grains per foot e.g. T-8 means 8 grains per foot and T-17 means 17 grains per foot, (and everything in between). For anyone wishing to know, there are almost fifteen and a half grains in a gram, (15.4323) so with this information, the length, and therefore weight, of the (T number) line that you add to the end of your set up is entirely up to you, and “within reason”, will often be dependant upon the fishing situation you find yourself faced with at that time. That said, there are now a wide variety of balanced Skagit outfits on the market to choose from, helping to take the guesswork out of your set up.

The choice of cast to use with a Skagit line is not set in stone, but waterborne casts, often referred to as sustained anchor casts, such as the Circle “C” and the Double Spey will produce very safe and efficient casts with this type of line. A Perry Poke used in conjunction with these casts (where required) can also be a good option.

Many people now use a variety of Spey casts with modern Skagit lines, but any cast that peels off the water prior to a delivery will work well and can often be the safer option, with the exception of a Snap “T” cast, which I would not recommend with these heavier outfits.

Here are some important considerations when executing casts with Skagit lines:

Try to avoid putting these heavy lines on fast (tippy) rods.
Make sure you keep continuous tension on the line throughout the cast.
Do not rush the cast keep it smooth and progressive throughout.