RIO Elite Skagit Mini Max Power Shooting Head - New Trout Spey Skagit

OVERVIEW

The Elite Skagit Mini Max Power Shooting Head is the ideal head for casting streamers and heavy sink tips on light two-handed rods and trout spey with exceptional ease.

The unique weight distribution deeply loads the rod for long casts while a powerful front taper delivers enough punch to turn over all the weight you need to get large flies down to the fish. Shorter head lengths make this line the perfect choice for two-handed rods in lighter sizes, enabling easy casts when space behind the caster is limited.

Each head is built on RIO's low-stretch ConnectCore Plus, giving the angler enhanced detection of takes, more positive hook sets, and greater control when playing a fish. In addition, SlickCast coating technology creates the slickest, most durable coating on the market - producing the least amount of friction ever measured in a fly line. A shooting line is required to make this head fishable.

A shooting line and a front tip are required to make this head fishable.

• Easy Casting
• Shorter head designed specifically for lighter two-handed rods
• More power for casting larger trout spey flies
• Works perfectly with MOW tips
• ConnectCore Plus
• SlickCast
• Easy ID
• Front and Back Welded Loop
• Color Yellow / Blue

Specs

SKU	Grain Size	Trout Rod Size	Spey Rod Size	Sink Rate	Head Length	Length
6-19750	200gr	#4/5	#1/2	Float	16ft / 4.9m	Head Only
6-19751	225gr	#5	#2	Float	16ft / 4.9m	Head Only
6-19752	250gr	#5/6	#2/3	Float	17ft / 5.2m	Head Only
6-19753	275gr	#6	#3	Float	17ft / 5.5m	Head Only
6-19754	300gr	#6/7	#3/4	Float	18ft / 5.5m	Head Only
6-19755	325gr	#7	#4	Float	18ft / 5.5m	Head Only

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Sage ONE Trout Spey 2109-4 Review

Winter Bow

The highly anticipated player in my multi year trout spey obsession is now in hand! The acclaimed Sage ONE Trout Spey 2109-4. I've been dreaming of the tug on a tight line swing with this pint size trout spey for longer than this rod has even existed. The anticipation is maddening!

Sage One 2109-4

Light, balanced, smooth, without hesitation the power exhibited from the 2109 would go unnoticed if it weren't for your fly landing on the other side of the river. Effortless is an understatement!

It's closing in on 4 years since I've landed my first two hand trout. In that time I have fished some amazing water with some great rods. Those rods have helped me learn and refine my casts and tactics in the pursuit of trout on the swing, especially winter trout.

I've always felt a yearning to downsize my gear. The fives, fours and three weights in progression have always led me to seeking smaller, lighter sticks. I have even spent a considerable amount of time throwing one hand spey on single hand rods and that experience has further increased my desire for less.

A peek at my one hand spey game

I've noticed in many two hand trout conversations that it's generally assumed the smaller trout speys cannot do as much as their big brethren. Proceed with caution in these conversations. Many factors play a part in this discussion including fly size, river size, line weights and wind. In thinking about a trout spey rod consider them to be just longer than average fly rods but with a ton of serious power hiding down deep in the butt section. To be a spey rod and trouty at the same time the rod must have reasonably limber deep loading tip sections for light tippet fish-ability but still harness power to move skagit, sink tip and fly. Trout spey rods, just like fly rods, as conditions increase in difficulty be it such as wind or fly size so does the nature of casting difficulty increase.

My point to all this chatter is to express the idea not to assume the little 2109 is incapable of skagit head, sink tip and weighted flies. This stick possesses a serious amount of trout soul while still having a strong backbone. While not the rod I reach for in the most demanding conditions it has become the rod I grab in all but the toughest conditions.

My experience with trout spey is we are just now realizing the full potential of abilities with the smaller rod offerings. New lines today from RIO, OPST and Airflo have been key in helping us to extract the deeper potential in these small rods. I have witnessed a combined effort of trout speys and short skagits that has taken us to where we have arrived today. Without these ultra short skagits I believe we'd still be unclear in the validity of such small spey rod offerings.

2109 - Not a wimpy noodle!

I gave 2109 a RIO Skagit Trout Max in 225gr and looped on 10' of T-8 and one of my cone head tube flies and went to work! Snap T, swing into the D-loop and gave a pull on the lower hand and away it went as if it was in autopilot. It felt right from the first cast!

Shown with the New RIO Powerflex Max .024"
What's that hiding in the background!

For this rig I chose a Sage 4650 fly reel. I loaded it with 100yds of gel spun backing, spooled on a RIO Gripshooter line in 25# and looped that to the Skagit Max Trout 225gr head. The 4650 five weight reel had plenty of room for the trout size spey lines and with it's lightweight feel, precision sealed disc drag and a audible clicker is a great compliment to the overall trout spey outfit.

RIO Skagit Max Trout Head measuring at eleven foot is the shortest of any skagits I know. When I first tested these heads I had some trouble holding anchor points. I found them more useful on single hand rods for one handed spey cast. Figuring the short length of 2109 I felt that I should give the little skagit a try. I am a bit surprised at how well a 225gr matched up. I really like the shortness of these heads because they allow you to strip in closer. Yes, I swing flies but I also do a lot of swing/strip and many days that's the method the fish want.

Line It Up

I tested OPST Commando Heads in 225gr and the new Airflo Skagit Scout in 210gr. Both heads performed very well. I feel the 2109 just has a great progressive load that allows it to work well over a wide range of skagits. I see on the internet some guys really like this rod all the way down to OPST Commando 175gr. I haven't tried that yet but no reason why I won't in the future. Point is this rod is not picky so choose your preference but a great starting point would be the OPST 225gr.

Soon I will be testing some scandi's on 2109 as well as 3110. As of writing this I am in winter mode and that means staying active, swinging streamers and hunting for aggressive trout. The anticipation is what keeps me warm on cold winter days.

Some will question my sanity claiming I have found the ultimate Trout Spey and it happens to be this little guy 2109. Truth is the entire Sage ONE Trout Series is incredible and if your water calls for bigger, more powerful and longer sticks then by all means step up. The 3110 sibling is super sweet a very capable player of all things trout. The 4116 feels a tad faster and while it handles a skagit with authority it is also "and" still my personal favorite scandi stick for bug sipping season.

If trout are in your perimeter reach and you haven't pick up a two hand trout spey yet then all I got to ask is "Why Not?" The gear is so good, we have all the lines we need, and the TUG CAN"T BE BEAT!

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Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Trout Spey - Why Do It

Curious, being a Northwest fly shop in the heart of Steelhead country we can get clouded into thinking that all fly anglers are involved in two hand spey. Having spent time away in other locales I've come to realize that spey is still a very small part of the overall fly fishing scene. Outside of steelhead water even when you remove the obvious non-spey circumstances such as flats angling or boat angling, I rarely find another two hand angler.

When I'm out wading in the trout stream I still feel very alone swinging a two hand rod. It's funny to watch reactions for other anglers I encounter. Some disregard what you're doing as no big deal. A few will watch for a minute with curiosity. Most will flat out not look at you and pretend you do not even exist. I try my hardest to put on my best show. Slow down, let the line rip from the water and remember to pull with the underhand to launch a sweet tight loop. I always hope I will hook up in front of one of these anglers for no other reason than throwing affirmation their way that fish can be caught without a bobber. Rarely does the hookup happen in front of others and even on the few occasions when it does usually it's in front of the ones that won't glance your way.

Why Do It?

 

To be honest normal trout tactics really don't much appeal to me. Of course dry fly fishing is one exception to that statement but even then I don't much care for it if a fly gets smaller than say a sixteen. As long as the flies are patterns that I can see on the water then I'm good but midge and baetis, you can have that stuff.

Indicator fishing is not really my thing either. I'll do it if from a guided drift boat but even then I'd rather we throw a hopper dropper setup and maybe get a fish to show himself to a chubby once in a while or let's rip some streamers. Really I wish more guides would anchor the boat and get out with anglers to wade more often. For me wading really does add to the experience.

Wade nymphing just does not interest me at all. I like to cast so lobbing a cumbersome nymph indi rig over and over again just takes away from part of the reason I'm fly fishing in the first place. If I'm just going to lob a rig than I might as well have a spinning rod in my hand and even as I make that claim it isn't true either. On the occasions that I have fished a spin rod in a stream I still want to tight line fish so I won't even lob a spin rod. I guess I just prefer to tight line fish, period!

What Was The Question? Why Do It? Why Trout Spey? Why Not!

The Cast is the first reason that comes to mind. I like to cast. Not that I will ever win any competitions at it but I cast well enough. I notice a lot of non two hand anglers have the idea that learning is really tough. My opinion is learning to spey cast is rather easy but getting good at it takes time, patience and practice. Most anglers that start spey casting with an instructor are usually fishing within minutes of picking up a two hand rod. I don't buy into the argument that it is too hard to learn.

The tight line is the second reason that comes to mind. I want to feel what's going on on the other end of the line. I'm seeking the tug. The connection to my quarry. It's real to me. The feeling of the grab indicates there is life in this stream and it wants to eat my fly!

Sink Tips

I never enjoyed casting sink tip fly lines with single hand fly rods. Let's accept some fishing facts, fish live near structure and structure is usually found in the depths and bottoms of rivers. Seams, current breaks and eddies are all created by some kind of structure. Getting your fly to these areas is not always easy. Weighted flies and sink tips on trout size fly rods can get a bit dangerous. Spey casting can remove the danger and help present a fly into these difficult areas. It removes the danger by anchoring the fly in front of you so the fly never comes flying past your body. Using two hands instead of one provides push pull mechanics to a cast that greatly increases available power to move the fly and lines (especially skagit lines) Skagit heads have greater mass to carry sink tips and weighted flies. Another benefit is you never repeatedly false cast line therefore no energy is wasted with time spent getting distance in your cast. I want to finish this paragraph with one fact for anglers that have not yet experienced spey casting, casting a sinking tip is effortless with two hand rods and you won't need shoulder surgery by the end the day.

Fishing Untapped Water

Another benefit I enjoy especially on heavily fished water is I often find myself fishing water that no one else wants to fish. Fast tail outs, long fast runs and seams on the opposite sides of the river that single hand casters cannot reach.

No Backcast Space...No Problem

And there's the backcast space. I need very little backcast space to make a two hand cast. I seek these areas on rivers were single hand anglers cannot backcast. It's like fishing untapped water. I find that even water like this that the boats drift indi's through all day can still be very productive to the swing angler. I believe fish respond because it is a different presentation than what they are use to seeing.

Not Just For Sink Tips

I know I talk a lot about sink tip fishing and all the benefits of two hand delivery but you don't have to fish sink tips with two hand rods. Some examples of fishing dry line techniques includes skating dries, tandem soft hackles and combinations of nymph and emergers can be deadly productive especially on heavily fished water. 

Swinging Soft Hackles

Somewhere along the way anglers have been convinced to fish a nymph you have to use a bobber. I'm here to tell you it's not true. I'm not writing this to dog the indicator and yes there are some pieces of water that simply won't effectively get fished without "bob" but much of the time bobs are like training wheels. They just support you while you learn. It might be time to remove the training wheels and learn to achieve connection. Just saying!

Two Hand Spey Is Not For Everyone

While I make it obvious I endorse two hand tactics let me just clarify that two hand rods are not going to replace single hand rods and many anglers won't have a need for them at all. Two hand rods really lend themselves to river environments. Generally swinging flies is a tactic to cover water and not really ideal for target casting fisheries and stillwater fisheries. Some anglers are using switch rods for overhead shoreline and beach casting because the extra length can provide a lot of leverage for distance casting. Boat angling, flats angling and sight angling is generally better suited to single hand overhead casting for both accuracy and presentation.

A Different Presentation

In this article I've often talked of showing a different presentation. I'm convinced resident fish on highly pressured water become accustomed to standard presentations. Sure these tried and true presentations still work or anglers would quit doing them but I'm not necessarily after just numbers of fish. My most memorable days are not the days I caught 50 fish. Instead my memorable days are often associated with that one brown trout that I was lucky to get a hook in and even luckier to land it. The fished that attacked my fly so hard he nearly yanked the rod from my hands. I want to catch the fish with attitude! The one that fights till the end and splashes water in my face when I release him. I'm not suggesting that you should go to the river with a one fish expectation but ask yourself this, what do you want your experience to be?

Swung on single hand Winston 9' 5wt equipped with RIO Skagit Trout Max
200gr and 8' of T-8 swinging a conehead tube fly.

What's In The Future

Actually I believe the future is unfolding now. Many like myself are figuring out that a good moderate-fast stick in the 9-10 foot range can be a great trout spey stick with the advent of the latest extreme short skagits now available from RIO, OPST, Airflo and Scientific Anglers. I'm not going to stop swinging my Sage Trout Spey HD or Winston Microspey and replace them with single hand sticks but I have experimented with and regularly employ single hand rods in the 8'6" to 9'6" range with amazing results. I think a door is wide open for a trout angler to line a reel with trout skagits and get a taste of trout spey with a rod already in ones arsenal. The cool aspect of this idea is carry an extra reel spooled with a dry line and just switch out if a hatch comes off. There's no reason to not experiment now and if trout spey hooks you then reach for a dedicated two hand stick. More about...Single Hand Skagit - How to get Started

But Why Do I Trout Spey

I trout spey to bring me closer to the stream and its inhabitants. I trout spey to give me freedom to fish weighted flies and sink tips with ease. I trout spey to swing my own flies and know that the fish in that river are seeing something they have never seen before. I trout spey to utilize water others disregard. I trout spey because it helps me find peace and serenity. I trout spey in search of something real in life that will be remembered to my dying day. I trout spey for the challenge and I live for the tug. I trout spey because I choose to do things a different way.

Greg

Trout Spey - New Line Options

Trout Spey Lines

I quoted in the my last article Winston Microspey vs Sage Trout Spey, "Awesome time it is for the New Trout Spey Angler". It's great to have such awesome rods available to us but the best rods really don't mean anything without lines to do what we need them to do. Last year at this time I was writing Trout Spey Lines - No Perfect Answer. This year I am stoked to say I have some perfect answers. Maybe not all the answers but the two hand trout angler is wading up a better creek than ever!

In addition to the search for better trout spey / microspey lines I believe I have found an awesome single handed skagit lines. In pursuit of the quest for better lines for pint size spey rods we got more than we asked for and we now have what I have come to believe is the best single hand skagit heads yet. I'll get into this detail later in the article.

Update: 8/26/2016

Airflo Skagit Scout - Just arrived...NOW IN STOCK

I just got my samples of this new Skagit From Airflo. Can't wait to try them out. Compared to the OPST heads these appear a little longer. NO one is telling us to line up light so I would plan to go with your rod's recommendation.

You got to love this Airflo description...
"They allow trout, steelhead, and salmon fishermen to use their single-hand and switch rods to cast any sink tip in their bag."
That's what I want to hear!

Range	Grains	Head Length
2/3	150gr	13.5'
2/3	180gr	14.5'
3/4	210gr	14.5'
3/4	240gr	15'
3/4	270gr	15'
4/5	300gr	15.5'
4/5	330gr	15.5'
5/6	360gr	16.5'
5/6	390gr	16.5'
6/7	420gr	17.5'
6/7	450gr	17.5'
7/8	480gr	18.5'

Airflo Skagit Scout

New Skagits
Really Short Skagits! With the addition of the new Airflo Skagit Scout there is now three offerings in this category including the RIO Skagit Trout Max and OPST Commando Heads.

OPST Commando
OPST or Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics was founded by innovative spey masters Ed Ward and Jerry French. Commando Skagit Heads are specifically designed to work on the OPST principles of Pure Skagit Sustained Anchor water loaded cast and are optimized for switch rods in the 10-12 foot range.

OPST Commando 325gr w/10' - T8 tip on Winston 4110 Microspey

So what does Pure Skagit Sustained Anchor casting mean? What OPST did with the skagit is take away all that was not necessary and get right down to just enough head to anchor and maintain a fixed position of your fly while keeping the head in constant motion throughout the casting stroke. By using out and around method your casting stroke becomes one continuous motion. This allows the angler to keep a tight casting box and minimizes the space needed for large D-loops and reduces the pause needed for critical timing to get a formed D-loop. In my words if you can perform a roll cast than adapting to an out and around swing with a Commando Head will naturally come easy.

OPST Commando Head Specs

How different are the lengths? I make some comparisons here to demonstrate just how drastic of a turn we've taken.

Winston BIII Microspey 4110 likes 325gr

• Airflo Switch Streamer 330gr head length 18.5'
• Rio Skagit Max Short 325gr head length 20'
• OPST Commando 325gr head length 15'

Sage One Trout Spey 3110 likes 275gr

• Airflo Switch Streamer - N/A - lowest available line is 300gr
• Rio Skagit Max Short 275gr head length 20'
• OPST Commando 275gr head length 13.5'
• RIO Skagit Trout Max 275gr head length 11'

Courtesy of OPST - Recommendation Chart

One thing you will notice in the recommendation chart provided by OPST is the grain weight to switch/spey rod sizes are much less than we currently recommend. Using the Winston 4110 Microspey for my example I like to load it with 325-330 grains but according to the OPST chart they recommend 200-225 grain. I have experimented with both grain windows and at this time I still prefer the heavier load for my rod. This may change as I become more adept to this Pure Skagit form of casting but that is a whole another area that will need it's own article to tackle. The single hand specs I find to be dead on with what I have experienced.


Using OPST Commando heads for single hand rods becomes very interesting especially for trout anglers but also steelhead anglers who fish tight quartered water. These heads give your single hand rod a freedom you have never experienced before. Once you get the feel of it you can add a haul to your forward stroke for more distance. I have been experimenting this year with several single hand rods ranging from 8' to 9'6" and 4 to 8 weight with amazing results. Even rods I didn't really like very well seemed to have a new life with skagit single handed spey.

RIO Skagit Trout Max

Single hand spey brown

If OPST Commando heads are short than the Rio Skagit Trout Max are "micro". Skagit Trout Max heads come in only 4 sizes and all are 11 foot long. Grain weights include a 200, 225, 250 and 275 grain.

Although designed for light two hand switch rods I feel they really adapt better to single hand rod, Single handed spey applications. At 11' these short heads can easily lose anchor with rods in the 10'6" to 12' lengths but with rods in the 8' to 10' length they can take trout fly rods and make them very effective single hand spey casting tools. They are capable of turning over some serious T-series sink tips for example I have been using 8' of T-8 for most my single hand trout swinging but one day I looped on an 8' piece of T-11 on a 9' 7 weight rod with a 275gr Skagit Trout Max to swing a fast tailout. It paid off with two nice browns taken on a #8 Sculpzilla and no trouble at all casting the rig.

The RIO Skagit Trout Max Heads also work very well with polyleader tips. A piece of froggy water I fish often has small depressions scattered throughout a large area shirted with small riffles. Often at times fish can be found in these depressions and on the seams of the riffles. With a 9 foot 5 wt and a Skagit Trout Max 200 grain head tipped with an intermediate polyleader I can wade and work these depressions and seams with a simple swing around into a touch a go cast shooting about 20 feet of running line. I let my two fly rig (usually a small nymph and a soft hackle) swing into the depressions. Strip back to head and move a couple steps and do it again. Most anglers are indicator fishing this water but I find it more rewarding using a tight line swing technique. Of course the skagit doesn't provide a soft presentation but than again neither does a thing-a-ma-bobber hitting the water. Ease along and first work the edges before diving all in and lining the fish. The polyleader will present well when you soften up your stoke and let this short skagit do the job of turnover.

A note about single handed spey:

Single Hand Spey Caught Brown

I can assume that anybody reading this article probably has a 9 foot 5 weight rod or a close equivalent in their arsenal. For many reasons maybe you have hesitated going all in on a trout spey outfit? I know the times I do walk and wade trips the preparation question of what rod do I want to carry always comes up. If you're like me carrying more than one rod just becomes a hassle. But you don't have to let that stop you from enjoying the benefits of spey. Now with OPST Commando's or RIO Trout Max Spey heads you can simply set up a second reel and swing flies on those couple good runs in your water and switch to a dry line when a hatch appears. If you are just learning spey techniques your single hand rod can be a valuable asset. If you can make effective roll casts than you are already on the way to learning single handed spey. With a short skagit you can easily learn to shoot line on a roll cast and perform forward stroke line hauls.

Trout spey has taken a giant leap forward this past year with these two new skagits. Breathe new life into your Switch, Microspey or Trout Spey and/or add a new dimension of Single Handed Spey to your trout arsenal. It's been a real game changer for me. I hope you find that true for you too!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Read more of Greg's Post

Fishing Big Alaska Bows with Sage ONE Trout Speys

LEFT: Scott O donnell - the "O" in MOW...mccune odonnell ward = MOW4
RIGHT: Ted Larsen - AZ Cards

A week at Royal Wolf Lodge
All spring I looked forward to a return to Royal Wolf Lodge in Alaska—fly fishing for rainbows, char and grayling with dries, streamers and mice. With a lower snow pack this year and the weather gods smiling, June 26 to July 3 was shaping up to be epic. Flying out to a different river each day and fishing like a rock star would be fun and engaging.

Sage has two new “Baby Speys” a 2 and 3 weight. Both are in the Sage ONE series of Switch rods at 10’6” and 11’. They relate to singlehanded rods in the 4-6 line weight range. It was my good fortune to fish with the 3 wt prototype this week, along with my ONE 4116-4 and 5116-4. Fishing with “live ammo” like cone headed leeches, sculpins, and mice for wild trout is the best way to learn what these three rods were about.

All three rods were fished with the Rio Skagit Short heads with sinking and floating tips. The running line was the OPST Lazer line, which is made in smaller diameters that match up well with the lighter heads. (I did not have access to the new Rio Skagit Trout Max 11’ heads.) Guidelines for head weights are #3, 275-300; #4, 325-350; and #5, 375-400 grains.

Fun, Fun Fun!

Reward

These are not toys or rods for kids. They are very efficient fly rods that make effortless, precise casts. One afternoon we floated and fished mice mostly from the boat. I fished the 4 wt with ridiculous ease. With a larger trout on, like the size of summer steelhead, it was BENT, but not overpowered. To cast any of these rods, you do not need to change your casting stroke, but just listen to that little voice that says “sloooow the %&#! down”. The sheer number of fishing casts made in a broad range of water, various flies, wind, along with near constant action made for relaxed fishing with no conscious thoughts about the mechanics or the tools. After awhile I forgot what rod I was fishing. You look at a spot and it goes there.

The typical single-handed line up for Alaska trout fishing is 5, 6 and 7 weights, fished with a floater and a sink tip or two. The two types of rods complemented each other well. The Sage Circa 589-4 was by far the best and most fun dry fly rod.


Royal Wolf is one of the top fly-out lodges in Alaska. Their staff of very experienced guides, pilots and chefs make for an extraordinary week.

Jerry Swanson

Fish Head Expeditions

"Fly Fish the World with Us"