RIO Skagit Pickpocket Dredger Review – Charlie’s Take
Winter Steelhead on the Brain!
After a lengthy and excellent summer season, my brain is already wandering west. I might be jumping the gun a little, but the reality is that we are just a few storms away from the first winter fish showing up. It's hard not to be at least a little excited! With this in mind, it's time to find all the winter gear including all the right heads that make things happen. One particular niche head that immediately came to mind is the extra-heavy Rio Pickpocket in the "Dredger" S3/S5/S7 density.
Pros
* It's Super Heavy - There are plenty of winter situations where getting the fly down fast is critical. This is particularly true on smaller rivers with substantial flow. Sometimes you don't have a lot of time to get the fly in the zone in a smaller spot. If it's taking too long to sink the bug, you're above the fish, and most of them are not particularly prone to move way up in the column to grab a fly. This head combined with a heavy tip and fly gets you in the zone immediately. Perhaps more importantly, it's heavy enough to hold the fly at depth through the course of the swing. This can be really hard to do with lighter heads in certain situations. In heavy current, sometimes it doesn't matter if you buried your head 5' down before putting the fly under tension. As soon as you do, you can see it raising up in the water through the swing. Not ideal when you're trying to keep the fly at the level of the fish. The Dredger is heavy enough to get down and stay down in most spots.
* Slow Swings - Considering how deep this one fishes, you're way below the faster surface current. It helps you swing the fly about as slowly as you can maximizing the time a fish has to pursue it.
* Casts Shockingly Well - The Dredger is so heavy it probably scares people from buying it! In spite of its weight, it's short enough that it's not difficult to pull out of the water when setting your anchor. You can't let your anchor settle very long as the entire system is plummeting, but it casts incredibly well with a little adjustment to your timing. Because of the 20' length, it's rather punchy for a head that's so heavy.
* Great for a Second Pass - So you made it through the run with a floating Skagit or a lighter multi-density sinker and nothing happened. If you're confident in that run, making a second much deeper pass with the Dredger is definitely worth a shot. I had some success last winter hooking fish on a second pass with this head......and the same fly! It can truly be a game of inches with cold winter fish. Sometimes getting the fly just a little closer to them changes their mind entirely.
“Of course, no specialty tool is perfect…”
Cons
* It's Really Short - This is more of a Pro/Con. At 20', this one works best on rods 13' and under. You can get away with it on slightly longer rods by leaving extra overhang, but it's intended use is with shorter sticks. If an 8134 or 8136 is your go-to winter rod, this line is not the right one.
* Limited Offering of Grain Weights - You've got a 525 grain and a 600 grain to chose from. Though this covers most shorter 7's and 8's, it would be nice if there were a few other sizes to chose from to accommodate a broader range of rods.
“When winter fish are glued to the couch, this is the head that knocks on the door.”
In Summary
This head has become a great tool in the arsenal for winter fishing. When the water is up but in and you need to get way down there, this is the head for the job. Winter steelhead are moody and options are good! Mixing this head into your program when the conditions call for it will certainly open the door to a few extra grabs this season.
"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
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