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View Full Version : new Rio afs spey lines



shawn kempkes
08-01-2007, 09:13 AM
Has anybody tried these yet? I want to get one for my anderson 7139 and my older 6126-3. which ones should i get ?

Bill Kiene semi-retired
08-01-2007, 09:29 AM
I have not heard yet but Jeff Putnam or Aaron Stiny might know something about them Shawn.

shawn kempkes
08-01-2007, 09:40 AM
Bill
they are brand new. I was hoping jeff has tried them andwould chime in on this thread.

I would send jeff an e-mail but my Isp wont let me send e-mails over a wireless network that isnt hooked up to their network.

shawn

aaron
08-01-2007, 09:57 AM
They're nice...if you are into the shooting head game. Add a Rio poly leader your set. They are a bit more aggressive than your standard scando head so they should turn over heavier tips and flies a bit better as well. At some point Rio will be releasing a type 4 sinking head that should be an awesome fishing line.

nrthcsteel
08-01-2007, 11:12 AM
Havent tried them. Was reading about them on another fly shop site and they gave line recs. for sage rods. For the 6126-3 the 7/8 was recomended. (Thats what the site said so dont hold me to it!)Looks like a great line, especially like the loops at both ends as it will make for a quick change as conditions change.Been using a similar style line made buy Beulah. Matched with varying polyleaders they are quite versatile. I like this style of line for use in the wind and when you really need to reach out there. They absolutely FLY!! with very little effort. Looking forward to seeing the setup with tips. Hope this helps.Kevin

Terry Thomas
08-01-2007, 06:10 PM
Had the opportunity to try them at a Rio/Sage day this summer for the shops in CA. I really liked them. You can shoot a lot of line with them. I believe they had them set up with Rio Slick Shooter running line. We should have them in the shop when they become available.

SPG
08-02-2007, 07:10 AM
Gary Anderson has recently recieved these heads and he has generously shared with me, advantages of a spey shop rat. I have cast them but do not have a lot of time on the water with them, but from the very long front taper you can predict that certain characteristics are going to be present.

First of all I love the new Rio heads and second they are nothing like Vision Ace or Beulah Elixir's, which I also love. Third I thought the name was weird until I cast them but there is something in the taper that creates flight and carry, hence extreme shooting distance. The best situation for these heads will be normal to long distance, far and fine presentations with a scandi head. They are not the best payload delivery system, which the Vision and Beulah are. The AFS heads are the other side of the equation from the Rio Skagit, I hope everybody tries them, and they take a bite out of Skagits, they are awesome. The new heads have finesse where the Skagits have brute power, the Vision's and Elixir's are in between.

For those who like the SA short head spey, another favorite of mine (Al Burh is brilliant), and wanted it as a head, here it is. Now if we only had a Dragon's Tail running line.

Steve G 541-840-2594

Bill Kiene semi-retired
08-02-2007, 07:20 AM
Thanks for the great info Steve.

We are trying to stay up with all this too.

Fall is near.

johnson wozniak
08-02-2007, 07:56 AM
Gary Anderson has recently recieved these heads and he has generously shared with me, advantages of a spey shop rat.
Steve G 541-840-2594

What fly shop do you work at?

SPG
08-03-2007, 06:07 AM
Hi Johnson,

I work for Gary Anderson, Bob Meiser, Beulah and I have my own Custom 2 Hanhed Rod Shop doing work on about 300 spey rods a year. I do design for off shore graphite production and have been rolling some of my own blanks locally at the Rogue Rods facility in White City. I use a graphite engineering technique that I developed and call Blueprinting, that allows me to produce the smoothest most energy effiecent tapers in the world. When all the rods sections are working together, you get a biggger grain window, the ability to throw closer and longer, liter and heavier, fewer tailing loops with an effortless short casting stroke.

Steve 541-840-2594

Bill Kiene semi-retired
08-12-2007, 07:40 AM
I was talking with Gary Anderson of Anderson Custom Rods in southern Oregon today and he said that the new Rio 'AFS' Spey lines come with integrated tips and the ones with the Intermediate tip cast exceptionally well too.

We will be geting some of them as well.

SPG
08-13-2007, 06:07 AM
Hi Bill, The new AFS with integrated intermediate is excellent and will appeal to all levels of casters With a full range of intermediate and sinking poly leaders one could fish a lot of water with ease. The AFS intermediate has energy to handle poly tips to 12 feet, I hope we get the type 3 and type 6 soon. Hope you are stocking a lot of poly leaders they will be very popular with this line system.

Steve 541-840-2594

Bill Kiene semi-retired
08-13-2007, 08:14 AM
Thanks for all the good info here Steve.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
09-14-2007, 05:32 PM
We have the Rio 'AFS' floating heads in now.

Integrated ones with intermediate tips are coming next week.

Adam Grace
09-14-2007, 06:20 PM
I got a chance to try these lines at the Kiene's spey event last weekend, I really like them. They are easy to shoot further than other lines. The lighter tip is not meant to fish really heavy heads only floating or sinking leaders, but they fire off well.

This head is not meant for very deep fishing but it casts very well. I you want to fish deep the skagit heads are much better.

Simon Gawesworth at Rio can design a mean fly line!

aaron
09-14-2007, 08:22 PM
I have to disagree with adam, the AFS with integrated intermediate tip plus the type 7 rio versileader was consistantly on the bottom just as well as anything I have ever cast.

Adam Grace
09-15-2007, 08:39 AM
Aaron, first of all how deep were you fishing and how fast was the current, also how large was your fly. I have been having an e-mail conversation with Simon Gawesworth at Rio, maybe you've heard of him?

I told Simon that I liked the AFS and that I was hoping to fish tips with it, he mentioned that you can cast sinking leaders with the AFS but the thinner and longer front taper of the AFS lacks the bulk and taper to properly turnover the longer and heavier sinktips like skagit heads that can more easily cast large flies and keep them on the bottom better.

Anyway, he is sending me one of each to try out and I will report about them later.

Jasonh
09-15-2007, 06:40 PM
Wow there boys!

It was a pleasure to cast the new Rio AFS heads at Kiene's spey event last weekend. While i am a big fan of fishing skagit lines in the winter using heavy tips and big flies, i believe the new AFS intermediate lines with heavier poly leaders can reach extremely deep water. The advantage of an intermediate line over a skagit head and tip is that the intermediate is going to maintain more of a consistent depth during the swing and can swing a bit slower being that the line is subsurface. The one thing i dislike about skagits is that a floating belly with a dc tip or t-14 fishes with a little more drag as opposed to an intermediate head/belly. While skagits are great for big flies and heavy tips i think the new AFS intermediates will be great for lighter winter fishing and heavier summer flows. Looking forward to picking up a few. Just my .02 cents worth!

Don Powell
09-15-2007, 07:43 PM
Right On, Jason!!!
By the way, I loaded up my Monic 0.030 and cast the AFS 400 on my Meiser System 6 and ACR 1296 today at Watt Ave...sweet! Aaron thinks so too.
That darned Aaron even landed a beautiful half-pounder on my set-up when he tried it out... Aaron, you OWE me!

Don

aaron
09-15-2007, 08:42 PM
Don, It's always a pleasure chatting and casting with you. Hopefully the run stays strong and we can really get into em' sometime.

-aaron

Adam Grace
09-15-2007, 10:01 PM
Aaron, Sorry for my snooty defensive response. I tend to rely on Simon's opinions based on his experience over your own. Yet it sounds like you are getting into spey more and more, which is great.

Jason, I will trust in your opinion and experience. We can play around with these lines on the Trinity and truly compare them there.

Spey On Guys!

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