The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

I've heard so much about the new switch rods that I thought I might try them out. What are the experiences of all you switch rodders?

TIA
John

John,

Pappy made me a 10' 8" 4c switch rod a couple years ago. Been slowly learning it ever since.

1. It has materially improved my ability to roll cast with a regular rod

2. I have used it to catch fish on dries and with a bobicator when there was no or very limited back cast room

3. Last Tuesday I had my switch rod mentor, Craig Neilsen take me out for a day of swinging flies on the Klamath as a learning experience. I caught nineteen fish swinging streamers. Most were half pounders [or quarter pounders, no cheese]

4. Monday I was watching some guys about my age fish at the Prospect St access in Dunsmuir. One guy was wading nearly waist deep trying to get to the far bank with his cast, and I thought " That is a short cast with a switch rod - piece of cake." It has ruined me!!

From the California Fly Fisher:
http://www...d-techniques-and-tactics

I like mine!!!

Ed,

Just curious, but did Craig have you casting the switch rod while wading or from his boat? Did he sell his boat yet? I recall he was looking to replace it last year. Glad to hear that you caught fish with him.

I own an 11 foot 6 weight switch. It is my main stick for the Lower Yuba River when Steelhead roll in. It is a valuable tool in the quiver. I have two reels with different lines to use it as a single handed nymph rod and as a compact Spey.

As a nymph rod, what I like best is the extra length. That allows me to roll my indo-nymph rigs further, mend line more efficiently, and keep line off the water to eliminate drag.

I also use my switch as a Spey rod in which distance is not much of an issue. My effective range is 40 to 60 feet. If I want more distance, I have a full length Spey rod for that. It allows me to cast with very little backcasting room. I use a 20 foot Skagit style shooting head which allows me to cast with as little as 5 feet of backcasting room. The shorter length gives me a tad more tree clearance compared to a full length spey. Plus I get all the line control benefits of having a long rod.

The best thing is the rod's versatility. I have gone on trips in which I only wanted to take one rod. There have been times I would nymph fish, then I would Spey fish later or the reverse. If I could only take one reel with me, I could still indo-nymph fish with my Skagit line as long as I used a floating tip.

AB

gitt wrote:
Ed,

Just curious, but did Craig have you casting the switch rod while wading or from his boat? Did he sell his boat yet? I recall he was looking to replace it last year. Glad to hear that you caught fish with him.

Gitt,

I was casting from the boat, but it was just me and Craig, so room was not a problem. We could have waded a couple of times, but I was concentrating on casting, and one complicated physical thing at a time is my limit these days, so I did not wade.

I did wade the next day in the Upper Sac while practicing, but the flows were much more benign.

re: boat - if you mean his drift boat, I don't think he sold it. I am pretty comfortable saying that the one I was in last Tuesday is the same one I was in last December when the temp was in the middle teens. Damn cold.