Advice about casting a 0.9 gram trout streamer with a 12 gram / 185 grain 6.2 meter scandi shooting head

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Martin

Fly fishing - Fish Better

Hi,
I am considering using zonker streamers of about [all included] 0.9 grams (= 13.9 grains) on single hooks size 6 to try on my new 9' 5/6wt rod with a 6.2 meter 185 grain scandi shooting head (3D: float, hover, sink3) + 5 feet of tippet, underhand style (lack of room for a proper overhead backcast).
I am still a beginner at fly fishing, especially underhand style; do you think those streamers would be too heavy to cast on my equipment or can I safely try?
How heavy do you think I can go as far as flies?
Thanks a lot in advance for your answers

Nemo,

It's a heavy fly, but doing an underhand cast with a heavy fly shouldn't be a problem. You can't really do any harm to your equipment, and the only problem can be that it's difficult to lift the fly out of the water and propel it out. Heavy flies on a 5/6 weight can be a challenge. But a lot of people cast very heavy flies on fairly light gear - like those using the Skagit style of lines and casting techniques. It's not necessarily elegant, but it works.

You may find that the fly is too heavy for comfort, and of course a rod in a higher class and a line that follows in weight might then be a solution.

Martin

Thanks Martin. The rod is a Guideline Elevation 9' 5wt (rated for 11 grams to 13 grams heads, so obviously more a 6wt and some)
I think I'll downsize a little to size 8 to 6 hook with a plastic head and composite material instead of rabbit pelt.
I've found this very interesting video: https://youtu.be/1ovxdURdcP8
It should be both light and big enough. If I need to go deeper I'll switch to another sinking head combination...
The sea trout fly patterns on GlobalFlyFisher are really nice too, but I don't know if they would work for river brown trout...?

Nemo,

You can experiment with the fly size and weight, but do give the larger and heavier flies a try. It might not be as bad as you think.

Regarding the sea trout flies, I know for sure that a lot of them will work for brown trout. Anywhere where you might consider fishing a Wooly Bugger or a streamer, I'm sure a lot of the Baltic sea trout flies will do fine. I have used quite a few of them in a classic wet fly swing down and across on streams, and have had success. Quite a few of them are actually inspired by classic wet flies, various streamers and Woolly Bugger style flies, originally tied for brown trout.

Martin

I've downsized the fly to a size 6 Ahrex NS 122 Light Stinger hook and a transparent plastic head (Fish-Mask), and used composite material for the body; it works like a charm - when I manage to get the cast right ;) - on a 5 foot fluoro leader. No need for the weighted head , the S3 tip brings the fly to the right depth in my neck of the woods.
Now, this single handed speycasting can be quite tricky to perform. Definitely not as easy as it seems in the vids; you really must get every step right and smoothly too. But when you get it right it flies :) I'll need a lot of practice for sure, but it's well worth the effort as I'll be able to fish lots of new stretches of water where an overhead cast would be near to impossible.

Nemo,

Good to hear that the setup works! And yes, the spey casting or underhand casting requires practice like all other fly casts. I find it fairly easy to get into the rhythm and get it to work - and if I can do it, so can you!

On of the keys - as with most casting - is not to force it, but work the rod and let the weight of the line do the work, so to say. On a two hand rod I find that keeping the bottom of the rod fairly still, and simply moving the lower hand (left in my case) while the top hand on the handle is more static, works well. I'm not quite as used to casting this way with a one hand rod, but when using a shooting head, the way the line is lifted off the water is kind of an underhand cast.

Martin

Martin

Nemo,

It's a heavy fly, but doing an underhand cast with a heavy fly shouldn't be a problem. You can't really do any harm to your equipment, and the only problem can be that it's difficult to lift the fly out of the water and propel it out. Heavy flies on a 5/6 weight can be a challenge. But a lot of people cast very heavy flies on fairly light gear - like those using the Skagit style of lines and casting techniques. It's not necessarily elegant, but it works.

You may find that the fly is too heavy for comfort, and of course a rod in a higher class and a line that follows in weight might then be a solution.

Martin

Thanks Martin. The rod is a Guideline Elevation 9' 5wt (rated for 11 grams to 13 grams heads, so obviously more a 6wt and some)
I think I'll downsize a little to size 8 to 6 hook with a plastic head and composite material instead of rabbit pelt.
I've found this very interesting video: https://youtu.be/1ovxdURdcP8
It should be both light and big enough. If I need to go deeper I'll switch to another sinking head combination...
The sea trout fly patterns on GlobalFlyFisher are really nice too, but I don't know if they would work for river brown trout...?

Nemo,

You can experiment with the fly size and weight, but do give the larger and heavier flies a try. It might not be as bad as you think.

Regarding the sea trout flies, I know for sure that a lot of them will work for brown trout. Anywhere where you might consider fishing a Wooly Bugger or a streamer, I'm sure a lot of the Baltic sea trout flies will do fine. I have used quite a few of them in a classic wet fly swing down and across on streams, and have had success. Quite a few of them are actually inspired by classic wet flies, various streamers and Woolly Bugger style flies, originally tied for brown trout.

Martin

I've downsized the fly to a size 6 Ahrex NS 122 Light Stinger hook and a transparent plastic head (Fish-Mask), and used composite material for the body; it works like a charm - when I manage to get the cast right ;) - on a 5 foot fluoro leader. No need for the weighted head , the S3 tip brings the fly to the right depth in my neck of the woods.
Now, this single handed speycasting can be quite tricky to perform. Definitely not as easy as it seems in the vids; you really must get every step right and smoothly too. But when you get it right it flies :) I'll need a lot of practice for sure, but it's well worth the effort as I'll be able to fish lots of new stretches of water where an overhead cast would be near to impossible.

Nemo,

Good to hear that the setup works! And yes, the spey casting or underhand casting requires practice like all other fly casts. I find it fairly easy to get into the rhythm and get it to work - and if I can do it, so can you!

On of the keys - as with most casting - is not to force it, but work the rod and let the weight of the line do the work, so to say. On a two hand rod I find that keeping the bottom of the rod fairly still, and simply moving the lower hand (left in my case) while the top hand on the handle is more static, works well. I'm not quite as used to casting this way with a one hand rod, but when using a shooting head, the way the line is lifted off the water is kind of an underhand cast.

Martin

Martin

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